Subject: Re: Daumier-Smith and Empathy
From: Catherine Marie (tangerineness@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed Jul 25 2001 - 13:43:58 GMT
I happened to love Paul's essay but haven't said anything because, like Tim,
I didn't really feel there was anything more to say. Then again I get torn
because I do not read criticism intentionally. Perhaps this is because, as
my drawing teacher said regarding the humanities department "most of what
they do over there is ruining the work that we (artists) do." Of course one
girl disagreed until she realized that within artist, she included great
authors, and such. That it was the super critical tendency she was referring
to. I don't think that Paul does that. I just don't. Perhaps it is in his
approach, which comes closest to mine of anyone I know... (excuse me if I am
wrong in these assumptions, Paul) he has a certain respect for the work and
comes at it not as someone who must produce some great number of books on
all the great liturature out there, but as a reader who seems to become
captured by certain things, images, entire stories, etc. and wants to find
why they have captured him. For me anyway, this was always the goal. Not to
tear apart a book a week but that if something should catch me, to stick
with it. To maintain respect for it. To reread, to continue until I feel I
understand what within it has touched me for more than a second. It also
seems he creates, unlike most who just want to prove.
I know that Paul brought up and discussed this story over a year ago. I'll
admit I've mostly been deleting this list lately, but perhaps this is the
right line back in. That he is still caught on this story is beautiful to
me. Perhaps it is the professional I dislike in all this. Or all those kids
in so many literature classes who always want to prove the author wrong. It
was never the ones who Loved what they were reading. And the ones who Loved
what they were reading always had some detached/attached relationship to the
author. Sort of a respect and reverence but not a desire to force their
opinions onto the author, or to force the author to have "some opinion" on
the matter. I feel like I'm getting lost here and unable to quite express
this. I guess I just respect all these great authors who I read but at the
same time I want to and don't care to know what they intended. I think I'll
stop now as I'm just going further and further in some endless pit.
Catherine
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