Some of my Favorite Texts
On Art and more ...
Some of my favorite passages from
books about creating art and more. They have shaped my thinking and ideas about art,
life, what it
is, and how it is made. Hope they answer some of your questions on my how's and
why's.
The
First Step
Constantine P. Cavafy (1863-1933)
Written between 1896 and 1904
To stand on this step
- you must be in your own right - a member of the city of ideas.
How
Verses are Made?
Vladimir Mayakovsky, 1926
What
basic propositions are indispensable, when one begins poetical work?
The weight of
verses!
Aristophanes, The
Frogs, 405 b.C.
How
to weight verses and judge the poet!
Art
Value and Valuation
Zafiris Gourgouliatos, 2001
How art is being priced (or why art
is so expensive - not mine - in general.
Artists
and Suicide
Leo Tolstoy, Confessions
Thoughts
of an artist contemplating committing suicide.
The
Sanity of True Genius
Charles
Lamb, 1775, 1834
Thoughts on
the genius / madness syndrome of artists.
Untangling Love
David Deida,
1995
What
is romantic attraction, infatuation, “falling in love?”
Satyricon
: Eumolpus in the Art Gallery
Titus Petronius Arbiter ?-66 A.D.
‘I am a poet,’ he said, ‘a poet of not
inconsiderable genius.'
How the Romans saw art and the artists
Satyricon
: At the School of Rhetoric
Titus Petronius Arbiter ?-66 A.D.
"This is why I believe that our hapless
youngsters are turned into total idiots in the schools ..."
How contemporary!
Name
of the Rose : Amor
est magis cognitivus quam cognitio (We know things better through love than
through knowledge).
Umberto Eco, Written 1980
"And
therefore what I suffered that morning was evil for me, but for others perhaps
was good, the sweetest of good things."
Name
of the Rose
: Speculum Amoris
Umberto Eco, Written 1980
Instructions on how to diagnose the disease called love.
Feynman's
Rainbow: The Creative Mind
Leonard Mlodinow, Written 2003
How the creative mind works and the vagabond Nobel
laureate.
The
Myth of Sisyphus
Albert Camus, Written 1941
Maybe the most comprehensive test on the futility and
greatness of human existence.
Don
Quixotte: Marcela's Defense and the Reason to Turn Crazy.
Miguel de Cervantes,
Written 1605
Beauty defends itself; the reason behind Don Quixotte's craziness.
Lovers
rarely love to criticize
MOLIČRE, Le Misanthrope, 1666
Moliere's instructions on how to woo a woman. Any woman.
On Death and Dying
Various writers through history
A collection of writings about death and
dying that have impressed me the most over the years.
A
Prayer For My Daughter
William Butler Yeats, Written 1921
It's certain that fine women eat
A crazy salad with their meat ...
An untruth must be
spoken
Herodotus, Histories, Thalia, 430 BC
For whether men lie, or say true, it is with one and the same object. Men
lie, because they think to gain by deceiving others ...
Ne me quitte pas
Jacques Brel, 1970
Letter to a future killer
- and the analysis from an inmate
Truman Capote, In Cold Blood, 1965
Her letter failed because she couldn’t conceive of the profundity of
your problem—she couldn’t fathom the pressures brought to bear upon you because
of environment, intellectual frustration and a growing tendency toward
isolationism.
What am I doing wrong?
Picked up from the internet, 2007
An unbelievable listing from this ridiculous girl. and a hilarious
response from a guy who fits her "criteria."
The Halfpenny Loan
From: A Flock of Fools, Ancient Buddhist Tales of Wisdom and Laughter,
published in 2004.
Original Title: One Hundred Parable Sutra*
(Sutra=Disclosure) - Many people are like this fool. They seek some minor recognition ...
Exorcism
Against Demonic Influence (Evil Eye - Κακό Μάτι - Βασκανία)
From: The Orthodox Christian Priest's Service Book (Mikron Euchologion -
Μικρόν Ευχολόγιον).
A form of exorcism that Orthodox Christian Priests read to faithful when
there is suspicion or evidence or demonic influence, such as "Evil Eye" (Κακό
Μάτι - Βασκανία),
The Halfpenny Loan
From: A Flock of Fools, Ancient Buddhist Tales of Wisdom and Laughter,
published in 2004.
Original Title: One Hundred Parable Sutra*
(Sutra=Disclosure) - Many people are like this fool. They seek some minor recognition ...
Exorcism
Against Demonic Influence (Evil Eye - Κακό Μάτι - Βασκανία)
From: The Orthodox Christian Priest's Service Book (Mikron Euchologion -
Μικρόν Ευχολόγιον).
A form of exorcism that Orthodox Christian Priests read to faithful when
there is suspicion or evidence or demonic influence, such as "Evil Eye" (Κακό
Μάτι - Βασκανία),
Tango Nuevo Milonga
Playlist - 08-29-10
My Los Angeles DJ debut.
Feel free to request details,
Language Test
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