Colombian band Bomba Estereo finally released their highly anticipated album ‘Deja’ four years since their last full-length release ‘Ayo’ in 2017. In times as uncertain as ours right now, ‘Deja’ comes as a breath of fresh air, as a grounding moment in music where we get to be present and connect to our planet with the music. In the words of lead singer Li Saumet: “We made this album so you can dance to it at a club, but at the same time it has a profound meaning. It’s meant for you to dance perreo with a conscience.” In an exclusive interview for crema by mitú, we talked to Li Saumet about the inspiration behind the album, dividing the songs conceptually with different themes according to the elements, how the pandemic shaped the process of creating it and more.
The rollout for ‘Deja’ gave fans a taste of the themes of the album which are: agua, tierra, fuego & aire.
‘Deja’ is conceptually divided by the four elements: water, earth, fire, air. At the beginning of this year, Bomba Estéreo started to give fans a taste of the album by releasing the songs from ‘Tierra’ leading up to the release for ‘Deja’ today. The decision to have a different rollout for this album felt very natural for Li Saumet. “We didn’t want to follow the patterns of the music industry with releasing one single here, another single there. Also with our current times right now [with the pandemic], we also didn’t want to rush with releasing single after single, we wanted to follow nature’s flow this time around, because as humans we’re always on the go. We never get a chance to really digest a body of work. In Latin music I feel like we have lost that essence and that feeling that we get from albums, to follow a concept”, Li shared. To record the album, Bomba Estéreo met with a community of collaborators who got together in a beach house in Santa Marta. On the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where the Sierra Nevada mountains meet the sea, they let it all go and recorded ‘Deja’, which captures their tropical alternative essence. “We recorded the album at a place that we feel is sacred, where the energy is extremely powerful, we were connected to our surroundings and let nature speak to us.”
For Li, it was all about taking their time creating something they’re truly proud, something that didn’t feel rushed. “With this album, Simón and I wanted to showcase the different elements and processes of nature that don’t have to be dictated by a release date or a label, so we took our time crafting this album. It was very nice for us to have a different rollout and show fans the elements, and also since everyone was at home during quarantine, so now with the full album they’ll get the complete experience”, Li shared.
“The album is about the connection and disconnection of human beings—from the planet, from one’s own self. It’s about how we’re disconnected, more connected to electronic devices and virtual things than real things. So we decided to use the four elements, because they’re part of the equilibrium of human beings.” – Li Saumet
The album explores different themes including mental health, love, heartbreak and living in the moment
The spirit of Deja can be found on “Ahora“, which spreads a message of mindfulness and being in the present. “I’m seated in the right place/At the correct moment/At the correct time”. For this one, Simón did field recordings that included natural sounds of birds and waves crashing. For Li, she sees herself as nature’s platform to express her feelings in her songs. “My composition process is very spiritual, it’s not really me who writes the songs, I channel them, they come through me. I’ve spent a few years preparing myself spiritually so that the message can be transmitted more directly and more purely to the people who listen to us”, Li shared.
“Lyrics have to say something positive, because at the end of the day, music is a mantra.” – Li Saumet
On “Agua”, “Tamborero” and “Conexión Total”, Bomba Estéreo highlights Afro and indigenous sounds
Bomba Estéreo has always been true to the Afro Colombian and indigenous roots of their sound that capture the vibrant way of life of the Coast in Colombia. On “Agua”, we can hear bullerengue and a mixture of tropical sounds, paired with fellow Colombian artist Lido Pimienta and OKAN’s vocals. On “Tamborero”, percussionist Pacho will take you to Carnaval de Barranquilla with his drums in one of the standout upbeat tracks from the album. “Conexión Total” is one of the few collaborations from the album with Nigerian singer Yemi Alade. About the collabration, Li shared: “Our music comes from Africa, so it felt right to have Yemi on the song. When I heard the final song I was like ‘Wow’. It was the perfect match to have her voice with this song.”
Stay tuned for our video interview where we go track-by-track with Bomba Estéreo on ‘Deja’ next week.
To start examining the topic requires defining and understanding the key terms. Of course the phrase “looking back” implies recollecting and reflecting on what has gone on in the past and in our specific case this is confined to what has gone on in the past of the literary arts scene in Sierra Leone which is the former British colony in the West coast of Africa, surrounded by Guinea, Conakry and Liberia which became independent on 27th April 1961. The word “ART” in The Oxford Dictionaries has been defined as follows:
The production of something beautiful, or the skill and ability in such work.
Works such as paintings, sculptures produced by skill. Creative activities such as paintings, theatre and story or poetry writings.
Skill applied to design, representation or imaginative creation.
The conscious use of skilled imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects.
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p style=”text-align: justify;”>These then suggest that the broad gamut of art covers music, cinema, photography, painting, theatre, dance, literature and architecture. This article, for reasons of space, has been limited to the literary arts. I will as the situation demands be making passing references to other aspects of the arts as we go along. Literature itself is a central art. It is of course the finer material of theatre and sometimes of dance, more so ballet. It is also related to those performing arts in the sense that it also recaptures the dramatic representation of action or slices of life, albeit through the written mode. But depending on the skill of the presentation such representation resonates with life almost as if it were a dramatic recreation or even the very real situation itself. It also captures what the visual arts capture through not the brush of a painter or the camera of the photographer but through its presentation through a carefully selected arranged sequence of words, which convey a vivid and accurate image of that picture. Through words then, a literary writer recaptures the visual images of a painter or photographer in the written mode. Through the reader’s skills in unraveling the mental images, unveiling of the symbols hidden behind language through mental images, he gets the visual representation of reality that words carry. The rhythm is most prominent in poetry, particularly in drama. This should not suggest that rhythm could not be found in novels and short stories. We all know how deep an ingredient, music and dance is in African drama which the late Dele Charley, John Kolosa Kargbo, Yulisa Amadu Maddy, Raymond De Souza-George and Charley Haffner, often exemplify in their performances. I intend to look at the literary scene as it was before independence in 1961. Literature was then seen largely through the medium of newspapers of which the famous Sierra Leone Weekly News was the most prominent. It was almost like a literary journal, though printed in the form of a newspaper. Sawyer’s Bookshop at Water Street also played a vital role as not only making wide selections of literary works from the Western world available, but in also publishing small pamphlets and little books from time to time. At that time clubs flourished and many of them had literary activities as part of their program. Clubs like the City Literary Institute and Greenfield Club organized lectures and dramatic shows. The Greenfield Club was aimed particularly at promoting literary activities. The Eccentric Society (a Multiracial group) organized periodic “mind-uplifting concerts. However many of these clubs were short lived. According to historical analysts this was due to the majority of Krios lacking interest in self-improvement and disunity within the ranks of the upper level of Freetown society. This was limited to a few hundred people from whose ranks many of the other clubs drew their membership. With this sort of close-knitted society, personal disagreements were easily brought into these societies thus disrupting their harmony and causing their break up. It could then be deduced that literary activities then were more or less of an academic and philosophical or religious nature. Seldom were genuine literary efforts displayed. Such a scenario was transferred to the production of books. Many of the books have been more of textbooks or dissertations. One of the first written works by a Sierra Leonean in 1865 reflected this concern. It was the work of the medico James Africanus Horton on West African Political Economy of British West Africa. His second book three years later in 1868 was West African Countries and People, British and Native. This was like many of the other works published in London. There is also A.B.C. Sibthorpe’s monumental historical work on Freetown. Few creative works during this period were produced by creative writers like Adelaide Casely-Hayford and Gladys Casely-Hayford. Gladys Casely-Hayford was perhaps the best-known from this period. Some of her poems and stories have appeared in American and British publications and are still been included in recent anthologies compiled in the West. One of her poems which she published in a small book of poetry, Take Am So in Freetown in 1948 is written in the country’s lingua franca, krio. The Educationist Mrs. Adelaide Casely-Hayford (nee Smith) wrote stories following the traditions of Ghanaian writers like Efua Sutherland and Ama Ata Aidoo. The most popular of these is “Mister Courifer” which is part of Paul Geoffrey Edward’s anthology for schools which was widely used in Freetown schools in the early 60s.,West African Narrative This concern for culture is even seen in her work in the educational field. According to historian, Akintola Wyse, after studying in England and Germany and returning home she was so appalled by the system of education for women that she devoted her whole life to introducing a system that gave an important place to African customs, arts and crafts amongst others. Another poet published during that period was Crispin George whose collection of poems titled Precious Gems was published by a well known vanity publishing outlet, Arthur Stockwell in 1952. A most important name in Sierra Leone Literature is the broadcaster Thomas Decker. His importance is not only because he spans both the colonial and independence periods, but because his pioneering work in propagating the wider use of Krio for literary purposes was what generated the flowering of Krio plays intensified by Dele Charley, Raymond De Souza George, Esther Taylor-Pearce, Lawrence Kweku-Woode amongst many others. He is seen as the principal poet in Krio on to the mid 50’s. Some of them were published in the mid 60’s in the Sierra Leone Language Review and Sierra Leone Studies. He also came out with Krio adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays like Julius Caesar. It is difficult to account for all of the creative works published then as many appeared in varying media, newspapers, magazines and journals locally as well as abroad. Abioseh Nicol’s short stories had achieved renown internationally, appearing in British Literary journals and anthologies. Some of these formed part of his two well known short story collections Two African Tales and The Truly Married Woman and other Stories all published by Cambridge University Press. This colonial period was marked by little publication of creative works in book form. But with the onset of independence and the publication of Robert Wellesley Cole’s autobiographical work Kossoh Town Boy by Cambridge University Press more works in book form were published. The plays of Raymond Sarif Easmon. Dear Parent and Ogre, The New Patriot and his novel The Burnt Out Marriage profited from this. Dr. William Conton’s work, The African was a breakthrough for the Sierra Leone novel. It was almost like our own. Things Fall Apart. Like Things Fall Apart, The African was first published in London. American editions appeared the same year. It was published in 1960 with another edition following a year after. It was reprinted in Great Britain in 1964. Translations of it have been made into Arabic, Hungarian and Russian. EkundayoRowe also had his collection of stories. No Seed For The Soil, self- published in book form. Later, new names like Yulisa Amadu Maddy, Muctarr Mustapha, Wilfred Taylor, Delphine King and Syl Cheney-Coker all broke out into print in various forms. From the 70’s onwards more new writers emerged. Yema Lucilda Hunter’s novel Road to Freedom was published in Nigeria by a Sierra Leonean publishing outfit, African Universities Press A.U.P. She has recently published another novel titled Bitter Sweet. Prince Dowu Palmer’s novel The Mocking Stones was published by Longmans in 1982 in their Drumbeat series. The same publisher had a year earlier published Raymond Sarif Easmon’s The Feud and other stories. This period is also characterized by the aggressive promotion of Macmillan publishers in Sierra Leone. They have already three novels from Sierra Leone in their Pacesetter series. This includes two young writers, the journalist and teacher Edison Yongai who came outwith Who killed Mohta and the insurance manager, OsmanConteh, with Double Trouble. From abroad also news of the publication of Yayah Swarray’s plays was received. His worksinclude ‘De Wol Do for Fraide.‘ Other writers, notably, Talabi Aisie Lucan, Melville Stuart, Marilyn Awoonor- Renner, Winston Forde and Clifford N. Fyfe channeled their creative energies into producing children’s literature many of which were published by Evans. After independence a few newspapers and other magazines of schools, colleges and churches carried limited quantity of creative writing. The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service which was then in the creative hands of the late John Akar, a writer himself, gave much outlet for creativity, whether literary, or performing. SLBS indeed gave prominence to artists like Ebenezer Calendar, Allie Ganda and the Rokel River Boys. There was also a regular short story program in some radio programming quarter. This featured the short stories of young as well as older Sierra Leoneans including two stories of mine. In addition, there were book review programs. The children’s half hour programs in English as well as the national languages were opportunities for the airing and dissemination of the rich folklore of the country. Indeed many of us who had no grandmother at home spinning such rich and interesting yarns for us, the story telling line on SLBS indeed filled in a yawning gap in our social and cultural education. With independence also there were many newspapers including the Daily Mail which was then a truly daily paper that gave much space to creative writing, short stories as well as stories for children in the children’s corner. There were also regular publications of book reviews as well as some attention given to other artistic activities such as dramatic performances and musical concerts. But unfortunately today the literary arts no longer receives as much attention as before in the press. The pressmen themselves complain of paucity of space which limits their publication to just political social and economic news. The Daily Mailitself had plummeted to an all time low in which it could no longer be safely termed a weekly or bi-weekly. It too is in dire shortage of space. But today it has finally gone silent. The New Citizen gives some space to the serialized stories of it’s Managing Director and proprietor, I.B. Kargbo. A commendable trend started in the 70’s with the interest shown by a Swedish Linguist Nevillle Shrimpton in the emerging plays in krio of young as well as older playwrights. Thomas Decker’s translation of Julius Caesar was happily one of the plays he published. Also published in the Shrimpton series have been Lawrence Kweku Woode’s (God pas Konsibul) Raymond De Souza George’s (Bohbohlef) Dele Charley’s (Fatmata, Petikot Korner) and Esther Taylor Pearce’s (Bad Man Pas Emti Os). There were occasional breakthroughs when Sierra Leonean young writers were published in journals and magazines abroad. A notable medium outside which featured short stories regularly was WEST AFRICA Magazine. Stories of younger writers like Peter Karefa-Smart and Brima Rogers have appeared there. Yet another of Rogers’ stories was broadcast on the BBC’s Short Story programme on World Service. And a lady writer won the short story competition organized by the BBC African Service followed by Mohamed Sheriff who has in addition won several playwrighting contests organized by the B.B.C. His name seems like one to be watched as he has demonstrated consistently strong signs of promise. He has published three works already including a play, Sorie Clever, another play The Crook and the Fools and a novella titled Secret Fear, which was co-winner of the ECOWAS prize for excellence in literature. Macmillan Publishers published it in the McTracks series in 1997. Source by Arthur Smith
Looking back across your life so far. Traumas and delights. Surprises and inevitabilities. For many poets, this is the broad overview of their in-print debut. But for some, reflection is their choice to visit later on in their careers. This year, we have new autobiographical collections from two Kentucky poets of considerable range and power.
George Ella Lyon
One is George Ella Lyon, a former poet laureate of the Commonwealth. She surveys her times, particularly in her gender, in the recently published “Back to the Light” (University Press of Kentucky; 106 pgs., $19.95). From surviving assault as a child, to grasping at inspirations and then becoming one herself, to crafting elegies that merge the humble everyday with the infinite.
After 50 previous books, she can interrupt her own collection with a whimsical section on poems that stand out for their meanings. Lyon anthropomorphizes such poetry, calling it “Mean Poem.” Lyon accedes to some of the demands of “Mean Poem,” all the while limning their relationship:
“Of course it shapes me too
like the potter who finds
her face is a bowl
her belly a platter
her hands shallow dishes.”
Also carefully explored here is the time and territory encountered when Lyon lost her mother. A home and its goods become considered useless, and they need to be boxed up per society’s demands. But what of the voices of loved ones that are heard, in hearts and in memory, afterwards? Voices that still have demands?
Bernard Clay’s debut book of poetry is called “English Lit.”
Bernard Clay also hears the demands of society, and of his loved ones. He’s been listening, mentally recording, writing down and revising meticulously. This member of the Affrilachian Poets collective finally has a major collection to his credit. The appearance now of “English Lit” (Old Cove/Swallow Press; 132 pgs., $18.95) may be a sign only of how underappreciated his work has been among those who get such exciting work sewn up in pages. But whatever way we can get it, we’ll take it (and for an in-person taste, Clay will be reading/signing at Carmichael’s Thursday evening).
From Louisville’s West End but moving on often, Clay picked up on his family’s determination (his father’s weekly rituals mixing aspiration and fear in “Getting Sharp”; giving the young poet a public belt-whupping in “Learning to Cuss”); a sense of balancing urban and natural concerns, along with perceptions of housing as destiny; and signs of hope held close by those who reminded him of his relation to Muhammad Ali. But there were also plenty of weights to carry, outright shoves into the dirt and lessons in humility and anger (“My Peoples Believe in Work”). Clay’s work sings in surprisingly traditional style sometimes, but then pushes staccato beats to bring home the points his sharp eye sees, in matters of concern as varied as dealing with natural hair (“Kinky Birthright,” “Mr. Nap’s Fight”) to getting unreassuring looks as a Black man enjoying nature (“Born Trekker”). His experience at working his craft shows in this versatility, with no qualms, if the nostalgia seems a bit quaint as it shades hip-hop memories (“Old School”) and no problem standing straight up with understanding how a poet is a teacher of life:
“i gather the young brothas
and tell them
Without blacks, america wouldn’t exist
and they learn a new way to
deal wit’ it”
These are two poets unafraid to share their times of shame, and show how those times helped bring fire to their ability to weave story. The efforts that most directly reflect such moments are among the best at showing that, by reaching low into torn emotions, a good poet might scoop up a new viewpoint while simultaneously leaving behind, within themselves, yet-untapped views that smolder even more colorfully or that scald hotter than what was there before. That’s been the way with Lyon for decades, even when she’s modest and circumspect. And it’s clearly seen in Clay’s bold-but-disciplined sharing of his life-journey so far.
Bernard Clay Thursday, Sep. 9, 7 p.m.
Carmichael’s Bookstore
2720 Frankfort Ave.
Register (web or in-person)at carmichaelsbookstore.com
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Writing Science Poetry – Làm Thơ Khoa học – Khoa học làm thơ
23 tháng 10 năm 2005
Science poetry or scientific poetry is a specialized poetic genre that makes use of science as its subject. Written by scientists and nonscientists, science poets are generally avid readers and appreciators of science and “science matters.” Science poetry may be found in anthologies, in collections, in science fiction magazines that sometimes include poetry, in other magazines and journals. Many science fiction magazines, including online magazines, such as Strange Horizons, often publish science fiction poetry, another form of science poetry. Of course science fiction poetry is a somewhat different genre. Online there is the Science Poetry Center for those interested in science poetry, and for those interested in science fiction poetry The Science Fiction Poetry Association. In addition, there’s Science Fiction Poetry Handbook and Ultimate Science Fiction Poetry Guide, all found online. Strange Horizons has published the science fiction poetry of Joanne Merriam, Gary Lehmann and Mike Allen. / Thơ khoa học hay thơ khoa học là một thể loại thơ chuyên biệt sử dụng khoa học làm chủ đề của nó. Được viết bởi các nhà khoa học và không khoa học, các nhà thơ khoa học nói chung là những người đọc và đánh giá cao khoa học và “các vấn đề khoa học”. Thơ khoa học có thể được tìm thấy trong các tuyển tập, trong các tuyển tập, trong các tạp chí khoa học viễn tưởng đôi khi bao gồm thơ, trong các tạp chí và tạp chí khác. Nhiều tạp chí khoa học viễn tưởng, bao gồm cả tạp chí trực tuyến, chẳng hạn như Chân trời lạ, thường xuất bản thơ khoa học viễn tưởng, một dạng khác của thơ khoa học. Tất nhiên thơ khoa học viễn tưởng là một thể loại hơi khác. Trực tuyến có Trung tâm thơ khoa học cho những người quan tâm đến thơ khoa học và cho những người quan tâm đến thơ khoa học viễn tưởng Hiệp hội thơ khoa học viễn tưởng. Ngoài ra, có ‘ s Sổ tay thơ khoa học viễn tưởng và Hướng dẫn thơ khoa học viễn tưởng cuối cùng, tất cả đều được tìm thấy trực tuyến. Strange Horizons đã xuất bản tập thơ khoa học viễn tưởng của Joanne Merriam, Gary Lehmann và Mike Allen.
As for science poetry, science or scientific poets like science fiction poets may also publish collections of poetry in almost any stylistic format. Science or scientific poets, like other poets, must know the “art and craft” of poetry, and science or scientific poetry appears in all the poetic forms: free verse, blank verse, metrical, rhymed, unrhymed, abstract and concrete, ballad, dramatic monologue, narrative, lyrical, etc. All the poetic devices are in use also, from alliteration to apostrophe to pun to irony and understatement, to every poetic diction, figures of speech and rhythm, etc. Even metaphysical scientific poetry is possible. In his anthology, The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics, editor Timothy Ferris aptly includes a section entitled “The Poetry of Science.” Says Ferris in the introduction to this section, “Science (or the ‘natural philosophy’ from which science evolved) has long provided poets with raw material, inspiring some to praise scientific ideas and others to react against them.” / Đối với thơ khoa học, các nhà thơ khoa học hoặc khoa học như nhà thơ khoa học viễn tưởng cũng có thể xuất bản các tuyển tập thơ ở hầu hết mọi định dạng văn phong. Khoa học hay nhà thơ khoa học, giống như các nhà thơ khác, phải biết “nghệ thuật và thủ công” của thơ ca, và thơ khoa học hoặc khoa học xuất hiện ở tất cả các thể thơ: thơ tự do, câu trống, phép đối, có vần, không có vần, trừu tượng và cụ thể, ballad, độc thoại kịch, tự sự, trữ tình, v.v … Tất cả các phương tiện thơ cũng được sử dụng, từ ám chỉ đến dấu huyền, chơi chữ đến mỉa mai và nói nhỏ, đến mọi diễn biến thơ, hình ảnh của lời nói và nhịp điệu, v.v … Ngay cả thơ khoa học siêu hình cũng có thể làm được. Trong tuyển tập của mình, Kho tàng Thế giới về Vật lý, Thiên văn và Toán học, người biên tập Timothy Ferris đã khéo léo đưa vào một phần có tựa đề “Thơ ca của Khoa học”.
Such greats as Milton, Blake, Wordsworth, Goethe either praised or “excoriated” science and/or a combination of both. This continued into the twentieth century with such poets as Marianne Moore, T. S. Eliot, Robinson Jeffers, Robert Frost and Robert Hayden (e.g. “Full Moon”–“the brilliant challenger of rocket experts”) not to mention many of the lesser known poets, who nevertheless maintain a poetic response to scientific matters. Says Ferris, “This is not to say that scientists should try to emulate poets, or that poets should turn proselytes for science….But they need each other, and the world needs both.” Included in his anthology along with the best scientific prose/essays are the poets Walt Whitman (“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”), Gerard Manley Hopkins “(“I am Like a Slip of Comet…”), Emily Dickinson (“Arcturus”), Robinson Jeffers (“Star-Swirls”), Richard Ryan (“Galaxy”), James Clerk Maxwell (“Molecular Evolution”), John Updike (“Cosmic Gall”), Diane Ackerman (“Space Shuttle”) and others. / Những người vĩ đại như Milton, Blake, Wordsworth, Goethe ca ngợi hoặc “quá khích” khoa học và / hoặc kết hợp cả hai. Điều này tiếp tục kéo dài sang thế kỷ 20 với các nhà thơ như Marianne Moore, TS Eliot, Robinson Jeffers, Robert Frost và Robert Hayden (ví dụ: “Full Moon” – “kẻ thách thức xuất sắc của các chuyên gia tên lửa”), chưa kể nhiều nhà thơ ít được biết đến. , người vẫn duy trì một phản ứng thơ mộng đối với các vấn đề khoa học. Ferris nói, “Điều này không có nghĩa là các nhà khoa học nên cố gắng bắt chước các nhà thơ, hoặc các nhà thơ nên ủng hộ khoa học …. Nhưng họ cần nhau, và thế giới cần cả hai.” Bao gồm trong tuyển tập của ông cùng với những bài văn / tiểu luận khoa học hay nhất là các nhà thơ Walt Whitman (“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”), Gerard Manley Hopkins “(“I am Like a Slip of Comet …”), Emily Dickinson (“Arcturus”), Robinson Jeffers (“Star-Swirls”), Richard Ryan (“Galaxy”), James Clerk Maxwell (“Molecular Evolution”) , John Updike (“Cosmic Gall”), Diane Ackerman (“Tàu con thoi”) và những người khác.
Certainly those writing scientific poetry like those writing science fiction need not praise all of science, but science nevertheless the subject matter, and there is often a greater relationship between poetry and science than either poets and/or scientists admit. Creativity and romance can be in both, as can the intellectual and the mathematical. Both can be aesthetic and logical. Or both can be nonaesthetic and nonlogical, depending on the type of science and the type of poetry. / Chắc chắn rằng những người viết thơ khoa học như những người viết khoa học viễn tưởng không cần phải ca ngợi tất cả khoa học, nhưng khoa học vẫn là chủ đề, và thường có một mối quan hệ lớn hơn giữa thơ và khoa học hơn cả những nhà thơ và / hoặc nhà khoa học thừa nhận. Sự sáng tạo và sự lãng mạn có thể có ở cả hai, cũng như trí tuệ và toán học. Cả hai đều có thể được thẩm mỹ và logic. Hoặc cả hai đều có thể là phi thẩm mỹ và phi lý thuyết, tùy thuộc vào loại khoa học và loại thơ.
Science poetry takes it subject from scientific measurements to scientific symbols to time & space to biology to chemistry to physics to astronomy to earth science/geology to meteorology to environmental science to computer science to engineering/technical science. It may also take its subject from scientists themselves, from Brahmagypta to Einstein, from Galileo to Annie Cannon. It may speak to specific types of scientists in general as Goethe “True Enough: To the Physicist” in the Ferris anthology. (Subsequent poets mentioned are also from this anthology.) / Thơ khoa học lấy chủ đề từ các phép đo khoa học đến các ký hiệu khoa học về thời gian và không gian, sinh học đến hóa học đến vật lý đến thiên văn học đến khoa học trái đất / địa chất đến khí tượng học đến khoa học môi trường, khoa học máy tính đến kỹ thuật / khoa học kỹ thuật. Nó cũng có thể lấy chủ đề từ chính các nhà khoa học, từ Brahmagypta đến Einstein, từ Galileo đến Annie Cannon. Nó có thể nói với các loại nhà khoa học cụ thể nói chung là Goethe “True Enough: To the Physicist” trong tuyển tập Ferris. (Các nhà thơ tiếp theo được đề cập cũng là từ tuyển tập này.)
Science poetry may make use of many forms or any form from lyrical to narrative to sonnet to dramatic monologue to free verse to light verse to haiku to villanelle, from poetry for children or adults or both, for the scientist for the nonscientist or both. John Frederick Nims has written for example, “The Observatory Ode.” (“The Universe: We’d like to understand.”) There are poems that rhyme, poems that don’t rhythme. There’s “concrete poetry” such as Annie Dillard’s “The Windy Planet” in which the poem in in the shape of a planet, from “pole” to “pole,” an inventive poem. “Chaos Theory” even becomes the subject of poetry as in Wallace Stevens’ “The Connoisseur of Chaos.” / Thơ khoa học có thể sử dụng nhiều hình thức hoặc bất kỳ hình thức nào, từ trữ tình đến tự sự đến sonnet, độc thoại kịch tính đến thơ tự do đến thơ nhẹ nhàng đến thơ haiku cho đến nhung nhớ, từ thơ cho trẻ em hoặc người lớn hoặc cả hai, cho nhà khoa học cho người không khoa học hoặc cả hai. John Frederick Nims đã viết ví dụ, “The Observatory Ode.” (“Vũ trụ: Chúng tôi muốn hiểu.”) Có những bài thơ có vần, những bài thơ không có vần. Có những “bài thơ cụ thể” chẳng hạn như “The Windy Planet” của Annie Dillard, trong đó bài thơ có hình dạng của một hành tinh, từ “cực” đến “cực”, một bài thơ sáng tạo. “Lý thuyết hỗn loạn” thậm chí còn trở thành chủ đề của thơ ca như trong “The Connoisseur of Chaos” của Wallace Stevens.
And what of your science and/or scientific poem? Think of all the techniques of poetry and all the techniques of science. What point of view should you use? Third person? First person, a dramatic monologue? Does a star speak? Or the universe itself? Does a sound wave speak? Or a micrometer? Can you personify radio astronomy? / Và bài thơ khoa học và / hoặc khoa học của bạn là gì? Hãy nghĩ về tất cả các kỹ thuật của thơ ca và tất cả các kỹ thuật của khoa học. Bạn nên sử dụng quan điểm nào? Người thứ ba? Ngôi thứ nhất, một đoạn độc thoại đầy kịch tính? Một ngôi sao có biết nói không? Hay chính vũ trụ? Sóng âm có nói được không? Hay một micromet? Bạn có thể nhân cách hóa thiên văn học vô tuyến không?
What are the main themes, the rhythms? What figures of speech, metaphors, similes, metaphor, can be derived from science. What is your attitude toward science and these scientific matters? / Các chủ đề chính, nhịp điệu là gì? Những hình ảnh của lời nói, ẩn dụ, ví von, ẩn dụ, có thể được rút ra từ khoa học. Thái độ của bạn đối với khoa học và những vấn đề khoa học này như thế nào?
Read. Revise. Think. Proofread. Revise again. Shall you write of evolution, of the atom, of magnetism? Of quanta, of the galaxies, of the speed of sound, of the speed of light? Of Kepler’s laws? Shall you write of the history of science? Of scientific news? / Đọc. Ôn lại. Nghĩ. Hiệu đính. Sửa lại một lần nữa. Bạn sẽ viết về sự tiến hóa, về nguyên tử, về từ tính? Của lượng tử, của thiên hà, của tốc độ âm thanh, tốc độ ánh sáng? Định luật Kepler? Bạn sẽ viết về lịch sử của khoa học? Của tin tức khoa học?
Read all the science you can. / Đọc tất cả các vấn đề khoa học bạn có thể.
Read all the poetry you can. / Đọc tất cả các bài thơ bạn có thể.
You are a poet. / Bạn là một nhà thơ.
You are a scientist. / Bạn là một nhà khoa học.
What have you to say of the astronomer, the comet, of arcturus, of star-sirls, of galaxies, of molecular evolution, of atomic architecture, of “planck time” to allude to other poetic titles. / Bạn có thể nói gì về nhà thiên văn học, sao chổi, arcturus, về tinh tú, về các thiên hà, về sự tiến hóa phân tử, về kiến trúc nguyên tử, về “thời gian kế hoạch” để ám chỉ đến các tiêu đề thơ ca khác.
What does poetry say to science? / Thơ nói gì với khoa học?
What does science say to poetry? / Khoa học nói gì với thơ?
Susan Shaw là một nhà văn tự do và viết nội dung web. Các bài báo và nội dung web của cô ấy xuất hiện trực tuyến. Susan Shaw là chi nhánh của The Book Store / The Science Library, [http://thebookstore.vstoremarket.com/index.htm] (Đối với The Science Library, hãy đặt “Science” vào công cụ tìm kiếm của họ.)
As a teacher, I have always emphasised to my students the importance of having a good grasp on vocabulary before attempting the IELTS test. By that I don’t mean knowing a dictionary by heart, but just enough synonyms to allow them to navigate between topics without having to use the same words over and over again. This is beneficial as “lexical resource” is a part of the criteria for marking in both speaking and writing. / Là một giáo viên, tôi luôn nhấn mạnh với học sinh tầm quan trọng của việc nắm chắc từ vựng trước khi làm bài thi IELTS. Điều đó không có nghĩa là tôi biết thuộc lòng từ điển, mà chỉ cần các từ đồng nghĩa đủ để cho phép họ điều hướng giữa các chủ đề mà không cần phải sử dụng lặp đi lặp lại các từ giống nhau. Điều này có lợi vì “nguồn từ vựng” là một phần của tiêu chí chấm điểm ở cả phần nói và viết.
I have recently had a conversation with someone who made me think about the usefulness of having a bank of words and also of using them at the right time. / Gần đây tôi đã có một cuộc trò chuyện với một người khiến tôi nghĩ về sự hữu ích của việc có một ngân hàng từ và cũng như sử dụng chúng vào đúng thời điểm.
During the conversation I asked ‘What do you like to read?’ and he replied “stories, tales”. As a teacher and literature enthusiast I immediately began thinking about books for young adults or fantasy and expected to hear words such as story, plot, characters, hero, novel, romance, action, sci-fi, which we normally use to describe books or movies. But as the student developed his answer I did not hear any of those words or connected ones, nor was I entirely able to grasp the actual topics of the books. Just to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, I then asked about the genre of the books, also including examples such as adventure or comedy. My question did not have the desired effect, which was to trigger vocabulary to describe subjects or characters. / Trong cuộc trò chuyện, tôi hỏi ‘Bạn thích đọc gì?’ và anh ta trả lời “những câu chuyện, những câu chuyện” . Là một giáo viên và một người đam mê văn học, tôi ngay lập tức bắt đầu nghĩ về những cuốn sách dành cho thanh thiếu niên hoặc tưởng tượng và mong đợi sẽ nghe thấy những từ như câu chuyện, cốt truyện, nhân vật, anh hùng, tiểu thuyết, lãng mạn, hành động, khoa học viễn tưởng mà chúng ta thường sử dụng để mô tả sách hoặc phim. Nhưng khi sinh viên phát triển câu trả lời của mình, tôi không nghe thấy bất kỳ từ nào trong số những từ đó hoặc những từ liên quan, cũng như tôi hoàn toàn không thể nắm bắt được các chủ đề thực tế của sách. Để chắc chắn rằng tôi không bỏ sót bất cứ điều gì, sau đó tôi hỏi về thể loại sách, bao gồm cả những ví dụ như phiêu lưu hoặc hài. Câu hỏi của tôi không mang lại hiệu quả mong muốn, đó là kích hoạt vốn từ vựng để mô tả chủ thể hoặc nhân vật.
At the end of the discussion I realised what was so unusual about the student’s response. He spoke in long, convoluted sentences in which he used multi-syllabic words that were not entirely appropriate for the context. Moreover, some were mispronounced (and correct pronunciation of words does count in the marking of speaking). Furthermore, the speaker did not actually clarify what the “stories” and “tales” were about and the only thing clearly related to the question was an author name. / Vào cuối cuộc thảo luận, tôi nhận ra điều gì là bất thường trong phản ứng của học sinh. Anh ta nói những câu dài, phức tạp, trong đó anh ta sử dụng những từ đa âm tiết không hoàn toàn phù hợp với ngữ cảnh. Hơn nữa, một số đã phát âm sai (và việc phát âm đúng các từ được tính trong phần đánh dấu của bài nói). Hơn nữa, người nói không thực sự làm rõ “câu chuyện” và “câu chuyện” nói về cái gì và điều duy nhất rõ ràng liên quan đến câu hỏi là tên tác giả.
Keep in mind that the questions in the speaking test are not meant to confuse candidates but to give them the chance to showcase their vocabulary base. If this answer had been given in a real exam situation, it may not have brought a good enough score. Other than a few words related to the topic, the speaker seemed unaware of the kind of language that was expected of him. / Hãy nhớ rằng các câu hỏi trong bài kiểm tra nói không nhằm mục đích làm cho thí sinh bối rối mà để họ có cơ hội thể hiện vốn từ vựng của mình. Nếu câu trả lời này được đưa ra trong một tình huống thi thật, nó có thể không mang lại điểm số đủ tốt. Ngoài một vài từ liên quan đến chủ đề, người nói dường như không biết về loại ngôn ngữ được mong đợi ở anh ta.
I always advise students to take the time to prepare before the exam. They should always have a look at books with past papers or practice papers and try to answer the questions provided. Also, they should read as much as they can on any topics they find interesting. It will help to acquire new vocabulary as well as improve sentence structure. / Tôi luôn khuyên học sinh nên dành thời gian để chuẩn bị trước kỳ thi. Các em phải luôn xem sách với các bài đã qua hoặc bài thực hành và cố gắng trả lời các câu hỏi được cung cấp. Ngoài ra, họ nên đọc càng nhiều càng tốt về bất kỳ chủ đề nào họ thấy thú vị. Nó sẽ giúp tiếp thu từ vựng mới cũng như cải thiện cấu trúc câu.
You can find more information about the IELTS exam, the marking criteria, the types of questions and how to organise your responses in my eBook “The IELTS for Beginners Second Edition” available on Smashwords ( https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/578754 ), iBooks and other eBook retailers. / Bạn có thể tìm thêm thông tin về kỳ thi IELTS, tiêu chí chấm điểm, loại câu hỏi và cách tổ chức câu trả lời của bạn trong sách điện tử “IELTS for Beginners Edition” của tôi có trên Smashwords ( https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/578754 ), iBooks và các nhà bán lẻ sách điện tử khác.
According to Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, “Daily newspapers no longer review poetry. There is, in fact, little coverage of poetry or poets in the general press”. (Can Poetry Matter, Dana Gioia, 1991). / Theo Dana Gioia, Chủ tịch Quỹ Quốc gia về Nghệ thuật, “Các tờ báo hàng ngày không còn bình luận về thơ nữa. Trên thực tế, báo chí nói chung rất ít đưa tin về thơ hoặc nhà thơ”. (Cần có Thơ Matter, Dana Gioia, 1991).
John Timpane, Philadelphia Inquirer Commentary page editor, adds: “Today, in my opinion, most newspaper people are afraid of poetry. They’re afraid readers won’t understand it, especially poetry they (these newspaper people) find “hard” or “experimental.” It amounts to a fear of the verbal. (Kelly Writers House, 1999). / John Timpane, biên tập viên trang Philadelphia Inquirer Com comment, cho biết thêm: “Ngày nay, theo tôi, hầu hết mọi người đều sợ thơ. Họ sợ độc giả sẽ không hiểu nó, đặc biệt là thơ mà họ (những người làm báo này) thấy” khó “hoặc “thử nghiệm.” Nó tương đương với nỗi sợ hãi về lời nói. (Nhà văn Kelly, 1999).
One could argue Gioia and Timpane’s claims today, as print media seemingly loses ground, with technological advancements in communications, and as the art of poetry and its society becomes increasingly associated with academia, thereby making it less user-friendly to the general public.
However, there is, even today, life in the press. This article addresses the newspapers that currently accept poetry from the people; listed below are the following newspapers in the United States, (compiled by Melanie Simms) that presently accept poetry submissions. / Tuy nhiên, thậm chí ngày nay, cuộc sống trên báo chí. Bài này đề cập đến những tờ báo hiện nhận thơ của nhân dân; liệt kê dưới đây là những tờ báo sau đây ở Hoa Kỳ, (do Melanie Simms biên soạn) hiện đang chấp nhận các bài gửi thơ.
(If anyone has information on additional listings, please e-mail them to Melanie Simms at moonspinner@pa.net or contact her at her website at [http://www.poetmelaniesimms.net]). / (Nếu bất kỳ ai có thông tin về danh sách bổ sung, vui lòng gửi email cho Melanie Simms tại moonspinner@pa.net hoặc liên hệ với cô ấy tại trang web của cô ấy tại [http://www.poetmelaniesimms.net]).
The Oregonian: Ask for the Poetry Editor or call: 503-221-8100
The Santa Cruz Sentinel: Contact: 831-423-4242 and ask for the Poetry Editor
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Contact: 412-263-1100 and ask for the Poetry Editor
The Christian Science Monitor: Contact: 617-450-2000 and ask for the Poetry Editor / Cơ quan Giám sát Khoa học Cơ đốc: Liên hệ: 617-450-2000 và yêu cầu Người biên tập thơ
Clearly this current list is small (albeit still in development) which only forwards the concerns of the American public that “poetry in the newspapers” is a dying breed, but thanks to the “die-hard” efforts of these remaining voices in today’s newspapers, America still has hope to see the art rekindled. / Rõ ràng danh sách hiện tại này còn ít (mặc dù vẫn đang trong quá trình phát triển) chỉ chuyển tải mối quan tâm của công chúng Mỹ rằng “thơ trên báo chí” là một giống chết, nhưng nhờ những nỗ lực “hết mình” của những tiếng nói còn lại này trên báo chí ngày nay. , Mỹ vẫn còn hy vọng chứng kiến nghệ thuật nhen nhóm.
Every poet and citizen who appreciates the art has an opportunity and obligation as well to assist. The newspapers depend upon its readers. Share your voices of concern so that the press realizes that Dana Gioia, John Timpane and your humble author are not alone in their desire to see poetry in the news again. You can do so by contacting your local poetry editor and requesting a poetry article be developed, or, if you’re creatively (and financially inclined) start a poetry column of your own from your own small newspaper press. / Mỗi nhà thơ và công dân trân trọng nghệ thuật đều có cơ hội và nghĩa vụ hỗ trợ. Các tờ báo phụ thuộc vào độc giả của nó. Chia sẻ tiếng nói quan tâm của bạn để báo chí nhận ra rằng Dana Gioia, John Timpane và tác giả khiêm tốn của bạn không đơn độc trong mong muốn được nhìn thấy thơ trên bản tin một lần nữa. Bạn có thể làm như vậy bằng cách liên hệ với biên tập viên thơ địa phương của mình và yêu cầu phát triển một bài thơ, hoặc, nếu bạn có khả năng sáng tạo (và có khả năng tài chính), hãy bắt đầu một chuyên mục thơ của riêng bạn từ tờ báo nhỏ của riêng bạn.
Let the voice of the people be heard in the art of poetry and thrive once again in the newspapers! / Hãy để tiếng nói của nhân dân được lắng nghe trong nghệ thuật thơ ca và một lần nữa phát triển mạnh mẽ trên báo chí!
Thơ Melanie Simms đã được xuất bản trên hơn 100 tờ báo, tạp chí điện tử và tạp chí văn học bao gồm The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, The Santa Cruz Sentinel và The York Times. Tìm hiểu thêm về Melanie Simms hoặc liên hệ với cô ấy để biết thông tin về các tờ báo đăng thơ tại [https://poetmelaniesimms.wordpress.com/] hoặc moonspinner@pa.net
Have you ever found yourself in a place where it seems literally impossible toshake off personal feelings of weakness and vulnerability that propels you into a state of gloom or frustration? Often we experience some type of unpleasantness, whether it is physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, that sometimes feels overwhelming and inescapable. Since Biblical times, poems (Psalms) have expressed innermost feelings, observations, lamentations or victories from the writer. While poems can depict expressions of love, joy, freedom and exaltation, they can also serve as a therapeutic medium for addressing and overcoming loneliness, tragedy, abuse, pain, grief or heartbreaks. / Bạn đã bao giờ thấy mình ở một nơi mà dường như không thể rũ bỏ cảm giác yếu đuối và tổn thương cá nhân khiến bạn rơi vào trạng thái u ám hoặc thất vọng theo đúng nghĩa đen? Thông thường, chúng ta trải qua một số loại cảm giác khó chịu, cho dù đó là thể chất, tinh thần, cảm xúc hay tinh thần, đôi khi cảm thấy choáng ngợp và không thể tránh khỏi. Kể từ thời Kinh thánh, các bài thơ (Thi thiên) đã bày tỏ những cảm xúc sâu kín nhất, những quan sát, những lời than thở hoặc chiến thắng của người viết. Trong khi những bài thơ có thể miêu tả những biểu hiện của tình yêu, niềm vui, sự tự do và sự tôn vinh, chúng cũng có thể dùng như một phương tiện trị liệu để giải quyết và vượt qua nỗi cô đơn, bi kịch, lạm dụng, đau đớn, đau buồn hoặc đau lòng.
Are there certain words, music, smells, flavors or sounds like a trickling brook or the crash of ocean waves that relaxes you? Have you ever tried using TheraPoetry when you find yourself in a slump? TheraPoetry (therapy or healing through poetry) can help you navigate your way to personal healing through the written word. Try this suggested 5-point “POEMS” formula to begin your journey to writing and poetry healing: / Có những từ ngữ, âm nhạc, mùi, hương vị hoặc âm thanh nào đó giống như tiếng suối chảy róc rách hay tiếng sóng biển vỗ vào khiến bạn thư giãn không? Bạn đã bao giờ thử sử dụng TheraPoetry khi thấy mình rơi vào tình trạng ế ẩm chưa? TheraPoetry (liệu pháp hoặc chữa bệnh thông qua thơ ca) có thể giúp bạn định hướng theo cách chữa bệnh cá nhân thông qua chữ viết. Hãy thử công thức “POEMS” 5 điểm được đề xuất này để bắt đầu hành trình chữa bệnh bằng văn và thơ của bạn:
1. Perception Phase: Awareness of what is causing downtrodden emotions. You recognize that something or someone is creating the stress. / 1. Giai đoạn Nhận thức: Nhận thức được điều gì đang gây ra cảm xúc bị kìm hãm. Bạn nhận ra rằng điều gì đó hoặc ai đó đang tạo ra căng thẳng.
2. Origin Phase: This step is coming to terms with the root of your problem. Acknowledge that these feelings of brokenness and depression exists, so that you can deal with them. / 2. Giai đoạn Nguồn gốc: Bước này sẽ giải quyết vấn đề gốc rễ của bạn. Thừa nhận rằng những cảm giác tan vỡ và trầm cảm này tồn tại, để bạn có thể đối phó với chúng.
3. Expression Phase: Write down how you feel. Perhaps journal where this emotion takes you and what you dislike about being there. This is your plan of action stage and transformational process where you know something must change to avoid catapulting into an emotional abyss. / 3. Giai đoạn Thể hiện: Viết ra cảm nhận của bạn. Có lẽ ghi nhật ký nơi cảm xúc này đưa bạn đến và điều bạn không thích ở đó. Đây là kế hoạch của bạn về giai đoạn hành động và quá trình chuyển đổi, nơi bạn biết điều gì đó phải thay đổi để tránh rơi vào vực thẳm cảm xúc.
4. Medicinal Phase: This is your treatment stage to weed out and release those things or individuals creating toxic and harmful conditions within your entire being. Consider this phase as your prescription and support system toward being cured. / 4. Giai đoạn Thuốc: Đây là giai đoạn điều trị của bạn để loại bỏ và giải phóng những thứ hoặc cá nhân tạo ra các điều kiện độc hại và có hại trong toàn bộ con người của bạn. Hãy coi giai đoạn này là hệ thống kê đơn và hỗ trợ của bạn để được chữa khỏi.
5. Solution Phase: This is the breakthrough and resolution phase. While you will not easily forget what brought you to the point of lowliness, you will gain the courage to write about how you overcame whatever was ailing or controlling you in the first place. / 5. Giai đoạn Giải pháp: Đây là giai đoạn đột phá và giải quyết. Mặc dù bạn sẽ không dễ dàng quên những gì đã đưa bạn đến mức thấp hèn, nhưng bạn sẽ có đủ can đảm để viết về cách bạn vượt qua bất cứ điều gì đã khiến bạn ốm yếu hoặc kiểm soát bạn ngay từ đầu.
The world is full of wonder, imagination and personal healing. In spite of the turmoil that seems to infiltrate our lives at some given point and time, poetry has a way of transforming mayhem into resolve. Healing through poetry gives power to your voice and courage to your spirit. Quite often, your poems could be a catalyst of healing for someone who reads it or a starting point for them to write a healing poem about their circumstance. / Thế giới đầy những điều kỳ diệu, trí tưởng tượng và sự chữa lành cá nhân. Bất chấp sự hỗn loạn dường như xâm nhập vào cuộc sống của chúng ta tại một số thời điểm và thời điểm nhất định, thơ ca vẫn có cách biến tình trạng hỗn loạn thành quyết tâm. Chữa bệnh thông qua thơ ca mang lại sức mạnh cho giọng nói của bạn và can đảm cho tinh thần của bạn. Thông thường, những bài thơ của bạn có thể là chất xúc tác chữa lành cho ai đó đọc nó hoặc là điểm khởi đầu để họ viết một bài thơ chữa lành về hoàn cảnh của họ.
TheraPoetry can help you to recognize the beauty of your value and worth. Through the phases of perception, origin, expression, medicinal and solution (POEMS), TheraPoetry will help you to discover or rediscover your purpose, gain courage, the importance of your contributions and compassion for others. / TheraPoetry có thể giúp bạn nhận ra vẻ đẹp của giá trị và sự đáng giá của bạn. Thông qua các giai đoạn nhận thức, nguồn gốc, biểu hiện, thuốc và giải pháp (POEMS), TheraPoetry sẽ giúp bạn khám phá hoặc khám phá lại mục đích của mình, có được lòng can đảm, tầm quan trọng của những đóng góp và lòng trắc ẩn của bạn đối với người khác.
Kym Gordon Moore, tác giả của “Sự đa dạng của quà tặng: Tinh thần giống nhau” và “Wings of the Wind: A Cornucopia of Poetry” là một nhà thơ, tác giả, diễn giả, nhà từ thiện từng đoạt giải thưởng, chuyên gia tiếp thị qua email được chứng nhận và là người có thẩm quyền trong lĩnh vực tiếp thị chiến lược. http://www.kymgmoore.com Cô là quản trị viên của Câu lạc bộ sách Trà và Thơ http://www.teaandpoetrybookclub.blogspot.com/ , đồng sáng lập của Favourite Things for a CAUSE và được chọn là một trong những người của năm 2012 và Người tặng sách tình nguyện của Đêm sách Thế giới năm 2013 tại Hoa Kỳ.
I DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT ART BUT I KNOW WHAT I LIKE? / TÔI KHÔNG BIẾT NHIỀU VỀ NGHỆ THUẬT NHƯNG TÔI BIẾT TÔI THÍCH GÌ?
Perhaps you’ve gone to a gallery or art museum, looked at the artwork displayed and said to yourself, “What the heck is that? I can’t understand it! Why is this here in a gallery?” / Có lẽ bạn đã đến một phòng trưng bày hoặc bảo tàng nghệ thuật, nhìn vào các tác phẩm nghệ thuật được trưng bày và tự nhủ: “Cái quái gì vậy? Tôi không thể hiểu nổi! Tại sao lại ở đây trong một phòng trưng bày?”
Or, maybe you’ve gone to a gallery or art museum and your reactions was, “Wow! Great stuff! I like this! I don’t know why, but I do!” / Hoặc, có thể bạn đã đến một phòng trưng bày hoặc bảo tàng nghệ thuật và phản ứng của bạn là “Chà! Thật tuyệt! Tôi thích cái này! Tôi không biết tại sao, nhưng tôi thì có!”
Or, maybe you’ve gone to a gallery or art museum, and, after viewing the exhibits, you walk away feeling bored and disinterested. You may have said to yourself, ” Why do I bother with looking at art? I never understand it. It’s beyond me.” / Hoặc, có thể bạn đã đi đến một phòng trưng bày hoặc bảo tàng nghệ thuật, và sau khi xem các cuộc triển lãm, bạn bỏ đi trong cảm giác buồn chán và không có hứng thú. Bạn có thể đã tự nói với chính mình, “Tại sao tôi lại bận tâm đến việc nhìn vào nghệ thuật? Tôi không bao giờ hiểu được nó. Nó nằm ngoài tôi.”
Like any other discipline, art requires the viewer to be knowledgeable about the information it presents. Sometimes we think we should just automatically understand art. After all, there it is, just hanging there on the wall and all we have to do, we think, is just look at it. But do we really SEE it? Often, our response may be, “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.” / Giống như bất kỳ bộ môn nào khác, nghệ thuật đòi hỏi người xem phải hiểu biết về thông tin mà nó trình bày. Đôi khi chúng ta nghĩ rằng chúng ta nên tự động hiểu nghệ thuật. Rốt cuộc, nó ở đó, chỉ cần treo ở đó trên tường và tất cả những gì chúng tôi phải làm, chúng tôi nghĩ, chỉ là nhìn vào nó. Nhưng chúng ta có thực sự THẤY nó không? Thông thường, câu trả lời của chúng ta có thể là, “Tôi không biết nhiều về nghệ thuật, nhưng tôi biết tôi thích gì.”
That is just another way of saying, “What I like is really just based on my ignorance.” / Đó chỉ là một cách nói khác, “Những gì tôi thích thực sự chỉ dựa trên sự thiếu hiểu biết của tôi.”
THE MORE YOU KNOW, THE MORE YOU CAN ENJOY / BẠN CÀNG BIẾT NHIỀU, BẠN CÀNG CÓ THỂ TẬN HƯỞNG VIỆC THÍCH MỘT TÁC PHẨM NGHỆ THUẬT NÀO ĐÓ LÀ MỘT NIỀM VUI.
Liking a certain artwork is a pleasure. You have communicated with visual phenomena and really enjoyed the experience. It can be a very enriching, rewarding experience to know how and why an art form developed or have some knowledge of how and why an artist works in a particular way. More than likely, your perspective is quite limited if you have never studied art or know how it has developed in not only, our Western culture but all over the world. / Bạn đã giao tiếp với các hiện tượng thị giác và thực sự thích trải nghiệm. Đó có thể là một trải nghiệm rất phong phú, bổ ích khi biết cách thức và lý do tại sao một loại hình nghệ thuật phát triển hoặc có một số kiến thức về cách thức và lý do một nghệ sĩ làm việc theo một cách cụ thể. Nhiều khả năng, tầm nhìn của bạn khá hạn chế nếu bạn chưa bao giờ nghiên cứu nghệ thuật hoặc biết nghệ thuật đã phát triển như thế nào không chỉ, văn hóa phương Tây của chúng ta mà trên toàn thế giới.
What if you could gain information on the many forms of art that have been produced since humanity began, and how it developed over time to the present day? What would this kind of study mean to you? It would mean that, equipped with that knowledge, you would be able to enjoy a lot more art! Here’s why. / Điều gì sẽ xảy ra nếu bạn có thể có được thông tin về nhiều loại hình nghệ thuật đã được sản xuất từ khi loài người bắt đầu, và cách nó phát triển theo thời gian cho đến ngày nay? Loại nghiên cứu này có ý nghĩa gì đối với bạn? Nó có nghĩa là, được trang bị những kiến thức đó, bạn sẽ có thể thưởng thức nghệ thuật nhiều hơn! Đây là lý do tại sao.
The more you know about art and its development, the more you can enjoy looking at art! You will see much more and understand the context, content and style of the art form. And this is the basis of Art Appreciation-a study of how to expand your knowledge of the art world, past, present and future and, with that perspective, be able to communicate with the rich visual/creative world! / Bạn càng biết nhiều về nghệ thuật và sự phát triển của nó, bạn càng có thể thích thú khi nhìn vào nghệ thuật! Bạn sẽ thấy nhiều hơn và hiểu được bối cảnh, nội dung và phong cách của loại hình nghệ thuật. Và đây là cơ sở của Sự đánh giá cao về Nghệ thuật – một nghiên cứu về cách mở rộng kiến thức của bạn về thế giới nghệ thuật, quá khứ, hiện tại và tương lai và với quan điểm đó, có thể giao tiếp với thế giới hình ảnh / sáng tạo phong phú!
HOW TO BEGIN / LÀM THẾ NÀO ĐỂ BẮT ĐẦU
So, how do your start gaining knowledge of this vast art world? Where do you begin? / Vì vậy, làm thế nào để bạn bắt đầu có được kiến thức về thế giới nghệ thuật rộng lớn này? Bạn bắt đầu từ đâu?
Begin by dipping your toe into Art History. With a basic Art History 101 knowledge you will be able to see how art, as we know it, was not really a term until the science of Art History was developed in our western culture. And, when it was developed, as you can read in many art history books in the library, art has existed as long as humans have been able to pick up a stick, brush or chisel and record their lives and experiences. / Bắt đầu bằng cách nhúng ngón chân của bạn vào Lịch sử nghệ thuật. Với kiến thức Lịch sử Nghệ thuật cơ bản 101, bạn sẽ có thể thấy nghệ thuật, như chúng ta biết, không thực sự là một thuật ngữ cho đến khi khoa học Lịch sử Nghệ thuật được phát triển trong nền văn hóa phương Tây của chúng ta. Và, khi nó được phát triển, như bạn có thể đọc trong nhiều cuốn sách lịch sử nghệ thuật trong thư viện, nghệ thuật đã tồn tại miễn là con người có thể cầm một cái que, cọ hoặc đục và ghi lại cuộc sống và trải nghiệm của họ.
There are several ways of learning how to appreciate art: / Có một số cách học cách đánh giá cao nghệ thuật:
ONE
— Learn about the basics of art history. How art developed, from the Lascaux cave paintings to modern art today. Older art history books deal primarily with artistic development in Western culture. Newer books add developments in Asia, China, Russia and the mid-East. The study of Art History has, over time, become global. In learning the time lines and factors that produce new perspectives and styles in art, you will not only gain a new historical perspective, but also become acquainted with the various art forms produced over the past centuries. / Tìm hiểu về những điều cơ bản của lịch sử nghệ thuật. Nghệ thuật đã phát triển như thế nào, từ những bức tranh trong hang động Lascaux đến nghệ thuật hiện đại ngày nay. Các cuốn sách lịch sử nghệ thuật cũ hơn đề cập chủ yếu đến sự phát triển nghệ thuật trong văn hóa phương Tây. Những cuốn sách mới hơn bổ sung sự phát triển ở châu Á, Trung Quốc, Nga và Trung Đông. Nghiên cứu về Lịch sử Nghệ thuật, theo thời gian, đã trở thành toàn cầu. Khi tìm hiểu các dòng thời gian và các yếu tố tạo ra quan điểm và phong cách mới trong nghệ thuật, bạn sẽ không chỉ có được quan điểm lịch sử mới mà còn làm quen với các loại hình nghệ thuật khác nhau được sản xuất trong nhiều thế kỷ qua.
TWO
— Choose a certain period or style in art history and learn about it. Perhaps Impressionism interests you. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to know the difference between Op Art and Pop Art. Through studying the cultural impact of a certain style on a specific period in time, you can understand why that particular art form developed and appreciate the artwork in a broader context. / Chọn một thời kỳ hoặc phong cách nhất định trong lịch sử nghệ thuật và tìm hiểu về nó. Có lẽ chủ nghĩa ấn tượng làm bạn thích thú. Hoặc có thể bạn luôn muốn biết sự khác biệt giữa Op Art và Pop Art. Thông qua việc nghiên cứu tác động văn hóa của một phong cách nhất định trong một thời kỳ cụ thể, bạn có thể hiểu tại sao loại hình nghệ thuật cụ thể đó lại phát triển và đánh giá cao tác phẩm nghệ thuật trong một bối cảnh rộng lớn hơn
THREE
— Take a tour of your local art museum. Museums offer a wide variety of art educational programs and tours of their exhibits. Or travel and see the actual art in its setting. There are many websites on the Internet listing global art tours and travel, often by geographical location or specific art and architectural styles. On site art tours offer a unique and interesting way to travel and can give you an intimate, one on one perspective with the historical art and culture of the area. Tour groups are generally small in number and conducted by very knowledgeable guides delighted to respond to all of your questions and comments. / Tham quan bảo tàng nghệ thuật địa phương của bạn. Các bảo tàng cung cấp một loạt các chương trình giáo dục nghệ thuật và các chuyến tham quan các cuộc triển lãm của họ. Hoặc đi du lịch và xem nghệ thuật thực tế trong khung cảnh của nó. Có rất nhiều trang web trên Internet liệt kê các chuyến tham quan và du lịch nghệ thuật toàn cầu, thường theo vị trí địa lý hoặc các phong cách nghệ thuật và kiến trúc cụ thể. Các tour du lịch nghệ thuật trong khuôn viên cung cấp một cách du lịch độc đáo và thú vị, đồng thời có thể mang đến cho bạn góc nhìn thân mật, trực diện với nghệ thuật lịch sử và văn hóa của khu vực. Các nhóm du lịch nói chung có số lượng ít và được thực hiện bởi các hướng dẫn viên rất hiểu biết, rất vui lòng trả lời tất cả các câu hỏi và nhận xét của bạn.
FOUR
— Visit your local art galleries often. Galleries are supportive of their artists and gallery owners and attendants are usually quite pleased at your interest in their exhibits. They will be glad to give you information on the artists, such as whether they are local, where they have shown their work, what awards they have won, and who has purchased their artwork. Keep informed of present and future exhibits. This hands on approach, connects you closely with affordable art that is available where you live and often created by artists who live in or near your area. / Thăm các phòng trưng bày nghệ thuật địa phương của bạn thường xuyên. Các phòng trưng bày ủng hộ các nghệ sĩ của họ và chủ sở hữu phòng trưng bày và những người tham dự thường khá hài lòng về sự quan tâm của bạn đối với các cuộc triển lãm của họ. Họ sẽ vui lòng cung cấp cho bạn thông tin về các nghệ sĩ, chẳng hạn như họ có phải là người địa phương, nơi họ đã thể hiện tác phẩm của mình, họ đã giành được giải thưởng gì và ai đã mua tác phẩm nghệ thuật của họ. Giữ thông tin về các cuộc triển lãm hiện tại và tương lai. Phương pháp tiếp cận thực hành này, kết nối bạn chặt chẽ với nghệ thuật giá cả phải chăng sẵn có ở nơi bạn sống và thường được tạo ra bởi các nghệ sĩ sống trong hoặc gần khu vực của bạn.
DISCOVER A RICH VISUAL WORLD / KHÁM PHÁ THẾ GIỚI THẬT GIÀU CÓ
Art Appreciation is as big or small a study as you want to do. Whether you want to make it an occasional outing or a serious study, whatever you choose, learning how art forms have historically developed and understanding what is on the walls in your local gallery will definitely change your perspective. / Sự đánh giá cao về nghệ thuật là một nghiên cứu lớn hay nhỏ tùy bạn thực hiện. Cho dù bạn muốn biến nó thành một chuyến đi chơi không thường xuyên hay một nghiên cứu nghiêm túc, bất cứ điều gì bạn chọn, tìm hiểu cách các loại hình nghệ thuật đã phát triển trong lịch sử và hiểu những gì trên các bức tường trong phòng trưng bày địa phương của bạn chắc chắn sẽ thay đổi quan điểm của bạn.
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to discuss a painting on the wall in a gallery, instead of shrugging and muttering, “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.” / Thật tuyệt vời khi có thể thảo luận về một bức tranh trên tường trong phòng trưng bày, thay vì nhún vai và lẩm bẩm, “Tôi không biết nhiều về nghệ thuật, nhưng tôi biết tôi thích gì.”
Think of it. Perhaps your response would be more like, “I like the way this artist uses color in an Expressionistic style. The brushwork is so vigorous! There is a lot of energy in the composition. Also, the use of thick paint produces an interesting texture.” / Nghĩ về nó. Có lẽ câu trả lời của bạn sẽ giống như, “Tôi thích cách nghệ sĩ này sử dụng màu sắc theo phong cách Biểu hiện. Nét vẽ rất mạnh mẽ! Có rất nhiều năng lượng trong bố cục. Ngoài ra, việc sử dụng sơn dày tạo ra một kết cấu thú vị.”
Through Art Appreciation you can discover a rich visual / creative world that will inspire you and beckon you to learn more. / Thông qua Art Appreciation, bạn có thể khám phá thế giới hình ảnh / sáng tạo phong phú sẽ truyền cảm hứng cho bạn và vẫy gọi bạn tìm hiểu thêm.
Lois’s website offering free online art classes and many art resources, includes a gallery of her own paintings and pastels, as well as her videos demonstrating a wide variety of skills and techniques in the lessons: / Trang web của Lois cung cấp các lớp học nghệ thuật trực tuyến miễn phí và nhiều tài nguyên nghệ thuật, bao gồm phòng trưng bày các bức tranh và phấn màu của riêng cô ấy, cũng như các video của cô ấy thể hiện nhiều kỹ năng và kỹ thuật trong các bài học: http://www.free-online-art-classes.com
Baxandall’s Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy: A Primer in the Social History of Pictorial Style was first published in 1972. Although relatively short it has subsequently been published in numerous languages, most recently Chinese, with a second edition published in 1988. Since publication it has been described in such favourable terms as being ‘intelligent, persuasive, interesting, and lucidly argued’ to ‘concise and tightly written, and being found to ‘present new and important material’. It may have been published as a book with three chapters. In reality it is three books in one.
Baxandall brings together many strands of previous art historical methodology and moves them forward in Painting and Experience. As the history of art was emerging discipline Art came to be seen as the embodiment of a distinctive expression of particular societies and civilisations. The pioneer of this was Johann Joachim Winckelmann in his History of the Art of Antiquity (1764). Baxandall is certainly not the first to consider how an audience views a painting. He is not the first to discuss patronage either given Haskell published his Patrons and Painters in 1963. Lacan created the concept of the ‘gaze’ and Gombrich the idea of ‘the beholder’s share’ before Baxandall published Painting and Experience. Baxandall does describe chapter two of Painting and Experience as ‘Gombrichian’. Baxandall spent time with anthropologists and their exploration into culture, particularly that of Herskovits’ and his ideas on cognitive style. Baxandall’s approach focuses on how the style of paintings is influenced by patrons who commission and view paintings. The patron’s view is culturally constructed. For Baxandall ‘a fifteenth-century painting is the deposit of a social relationship’. This quote is the opening sentence of the first chapter in Painting and Experience; ‘Conditions of Trade’.
Baxandall’s first chapter in Painting and Experience on the ‘Conditions of Trade’ seeks to explain that the change in style within paintings seen over the course of the fifteenth century is identified in the content of contracts and letters between patron and painter. Further to this that the development of pictorial style is the result of a symbiotic relationship between artist and patron. However, this relationship is governed by ‘institutions and conventions – commercial, religious, perceptual, in the widest sense social… [that] influenced the forms of what they together made’. Baxandall claims his approach to the study of patron and painter was in no way impacted by Francis Haskell’s seminal 1963 book, Patrons and Painters nor by D.S. Chambers’ Patrons and Artists in the Italian Renaissance.
Baxandall’s main evidence to support the development of pictorial style is demonstrated by the change in the emphasis to the skill of the artist over the materials to be used in the production of a painting as shown by the terms of the contract between artist and client. This is the unique element that Baxandall introduces to the examination of contracts between patron and painter and one that had not previously been explored. He supports this argument by referring to some contracts where the terms show how patrons demonstrated the eminent position of skill over materials. In the 1485 contract between Ghirlandaio and Giovanni Tornabuoni, the specifics of the contract stated that the background was to include ‘figures, building, castles, cities.’ In earlier contracts the background would be gilding; thus Tornabuoni is ensuring that there is an ‘expenditure of labour, if not skill’ in this commission.
Baxandall states that ‘It would be futile to account for this sort of development simply within the history of art’. Indeed to ensure his argument is placed in the domain of social and cultural history Baxandall refers to the role, availability and perception of gold in fifteenth-century Italy. Baxandall uses the story of the Sienese ambassador’s humiliation at King Alfonso’s court in Naples over his elaborate dress as an example of how such conspicuous consumption was disparaged. He cites the need for ‘old money’ to be able to differentiate itself from ‘new money’ and the rise of humanism as reasons for the move towards buying skill as a valuable asset to display.
Herein lies the main difficulty with Baxandall’s approach to identifying the influence of society on pictorial style through the conditions of trade. How would the viewer of a painting recognise that skill had been purchased? Baxandall asks this question himself and states that there would be no record of it within the contract. It was not the usual practice at that time for views on paintings to be recorded as they are today consequently there is little evidence of this. Additionally, there is nothing in the contract that Baxandall presents us with that mentions the actual aesthetic of the painting; expressions of the characters; the iconography, proportions or colours to be used.
Joseph Manca was particularly critical of this chapter in stating that ‘Baxandall’s early discussion of contracts has us imagining a dependent artist who is ever-ready to echo the sentiments of his patrons or public’. We know this is not true. Bellini refused to paint for Isabella d’Este because he was not comfortable painting to her design. Even though Perugino accepted the commission from Isabella he ‘found the theme little suited to his art’.
Baxandall makes no accommodation for the rising agency of the artist and the materials to which they have access as influences on style. Andrea Mantegna’s style was heavily influenced by his visits to Rome where he saw many discoveries from ancient Rome, often taking them back to Mantua. Furthermore, Baxandall does not examine the training that artists received during fifteenth-century Italy to ascertain whether this could be an explanation of their style or how it developed. All of the painters Baxandall refers to were part of workshops and were trained by a master. As such there would be a style that would emanate from these workshops. It was recognised that pupils of Squarcino, including Mantegna and Marco Zoppo, ‘came to have common features in their art’. In 1996 he said ‘I didn’t like the first chapter of Painting and Experience. I had done it quickly because something was needed, and it seemed to me a bit crass’.
The central chapter of Painting and Experience is about the ‘ whole notion of the cognitive style in the second chapter, which to me is the most important chapter, [and] is straight from anthropology. This chapter is Baxandall’s idea of the ‘Period Eye’.
Baxandall opens the ‘period eye’ by stating that the physiological way in which we all see is the same, but at the point of interpretation the ‘human equipment for visual perception ceases to be uniform, from one man to the next’. In simple terms, the ‘period eye’ is the social acts and cultural practices that shape visual forms within a given culture. Furthermore, these experiences are both shaped by and representative of that culture. As a consequence of this patrons created a brief for painters that embodied these culturally significant representations. The painter then delivers paintings in such a way as to satisfy the patron’s requirements including these culturally significant items within their paintings. Baxandall’s chapter on the ‘period eye’ is a tool for us to use so that we, the twenty-first-century viewer can view fifteenth-century Italian paintings through the same lens as a fifteenth-century Italian businessman. The ‘period eye’ is an innovative concept that embodies a synchronic approach to the understanding of art production. It moves away from the cause and effect ideas that were taking hold of art historical enquiry in the early 1970s. But how was it constructed?
Baxandall’s asserted that many of the skills viewers acquired when observing paintings were acquired outside the realm of looking at paintings. This is where he examines the economic machinations of Florence’s mercantile community and notes that barrel gauging, the rule of three, arithmetic and mathematics were skills much required by merchants, and these gave them a more sophisticated visual apparatus with which to view paintings. Baxandall believes that the ability to do such things as gauge volumes at a glance enabled the mercantile classes to perceive geometric shapes in paintings and understand their size and proportion within the painting relative to the other objects contained within it.
Baxandall also refers to dance and gesture as further examples from the social practices of the day that enabled viewers of paintings to understand what was happening within them. Baxandall asserts that the widespread engagement in the Bassa Danza enabled the courtly and mercantile classes to see and understand, movement within paintings.
One of the major questions posed by the application of the ‘period eye’ is evidence that it has been applied correctly. Using Baxandall’s approach how did you know if you got it right – is it ever possible for a twenty-first century Englishman to view a painting as a fifteenth-century businessman even with an insight into Italian Renaissance society and culture? The evidence that Baxandall relies on to demonstrate that the pictorial style of fifteenth-century Italian painting developed seems extremely tenuous. Goldman, in his review of Painting and Experience, challenges Baxandall on this by saying that there is no evidence that modern-day building contractors and carpenters are especially skilled at identifying the compositional elements they see in a Mondrian. Likewise, the argument put forward by Goldman can be extrapolated into the other examples that Baxandall uses such as dance being reflective of movement in paintings. An example is Botticelli’s ‘Pallas and the Centaur’ where Baxandall describes it is a ballo in due which Hermeren, in his review, says this is not a useful piece of evidence as most paintings can be described in that way.
The final chapter turns attention to primary sources as Baxandall refers to Cristoforo Landino’s writings on the descriptors used during the fifteenth-century in Italy for various styles seen in paintings. The reason for doing so is that Baxandall claims this is the method through which the twenty-first-century viewer can interpret documents about paintings that were written during the fifteenth-century by those not skilled in describing paintings. With this tool, it is then possible to gain a clearer understanding of what was meant by terms such as aria and dolce. Baxandall uses this approach to interpret the meaning to the adjectives contained within the letter to the Duke of Milan from his agent within chapter one of Painting and Experience.
Although this chapter is detailed and provides a ‘meticulous analysis of Landino’s terminology of art’ Middledorf believes it does little to ‘throw any light on the style of Renaissance painting’. As it is always difficult for words to capture what a painting is conveying this chapter, although worthy, does not provide sufficient information that is of value to a contemporary viewer in entering the mindset of the fifteenth-century viewer. It is unlikely a patron used such language when commissioning paintings. It is also questionable whether this was the type of language that was used amongst artists themselves to discuss their styles and approaches. Of course, there is material from artists of that time that describe how paintings can best be delivered, but even these seem too abstract to be of practical value as per the example of Leonardo da Vinci writing on ‘prompto’.
On publication Painting and Experience received less attention that Baxandall’s Giotto and the Orators. ‘when that book came out many people didn’t like it for various reasons’. One of the main reasons was the belief that Baxandall was bringing back the Zeitgeist. This leads us to other problems identified in response to the question of what kind of Renaissance does Painting and Experience give us. It gives us a Renaissance that centres on Italy in the fifteenth century, on the elite within society as a group and men only. It is a group of people that represents a fraction of society. They do commission most of the paintings hung in public, but they are not the only viewers of it. The full congregation at Church would view these paintings, and they came from all walks of life. For this reason, Marxist social historians, such as T.J Clark, took issue with the book claiming that it was not a true social history as it focused only on the elite within society without ‘dealing with issues of class, ideology and power’.
Baxandall also rejects the idea that the individual influences pictorial style given each experience the world in a different way. He acknowledges that this is true but that the differences are insignificant. This is in stark contrast to ‘the Burkhardtian idea that individualism in the Renaissance changed subject matter (the expansion of portraiture, for example)’. Four years before the second edition of Painting and Experience Stephen Greenblatt published Renaissance Self-fashioning, a book devoted to the methods through which individuals created their public personas in the Renaissance.
There are additional problems raised by Baxandall’s method. The evidence that Baxandall relies on to support his theses is literary. For example, in addition to chapter three’s use of Landino’s writings in chapter two made much of the sermons as a source of information through which to build the ‘period eye’ and in chapter one all of the evidence exists within written contracts. This begs the question of how Baxandall’s approach is applied to a society in which the art survives, but the writing does not. For example, the Scythians of Central Asia, where scholars admit there is a lot that will not be understood of this ancient people because they had no written language. It appears that in this instance that Baxandall’s approach is impossible to adopt and herein we see another of its limitations.
Perhaps the most glaring omission in Painting and Experience is any reference to the role that the revival of classical art played in the creation of Renaissance paintings and their style. The Renaissance was the rebirth of antiquity. Burkhardt writes a chapter on the revival of antiquity in The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy. It must be argued that the revival of antiquity is a contribution to the pictorial style of fifteenth-century Italy.
Painting and Experience had its many supporters who viewed it has an important guide to bringing out the direct causal relationships between artistic and social change. It was met warmly and was influential in disciplines beyond just art history such as anthropology, sociology and history as well as being credited with the creation of the term ‘visual culture’. In 1981 Bourdieu and Desault dedicated a special issue of Actes de la recherché en sciences sociales to Baxandall.
Baxandalls’ analysis of the conditions of trade, despite some shortcomings, has not been without influence. Baxandall refers to money and the payment mechanism in this chapter saying that ‘money is very important for art history’. His focus on the economic aspect of the production of painting garnered favourable reactions from ‘those drawn to the notion of economic history as a shaper of culture’. In the field of sociology: ‘His interest in markets and patronage made him a natural point of reference for work in the production of culture perspective, such as Howard Becker’s (1982) Art Worlds’. However, Baxandall was very critical of this first chapter.
Andrew Randolph extends the idea of the ‘period eye’ to the ‘gendered eye’ in an exploration of how the period eye can be applied to women. Pierre Bourdieu creates the concept of the ‘social genesis of the eye’ which is the revision of his concept of ‘encoding/decoding’ after having encountered Painting and Experience which allowed Bourdieu to ‘place a proper emphasis on particular social activities which engage and train the individual’s cognitive apparatus’. Clifford Geertz was an anthropologist who was able to refine the early structuralist model in anthropology that had been created by Levi-Strauss by incorporating ideas from Painting and Experience. In the field of history of art, Svetlana Alpers applied aspects of Painting and Experience in her book on Dutch art, The Art of Describing and credited Baxandall with creating the term ‘visual culture’. For historians, Ludmilla Jordanova posits that the approach contained within Painting and Experience highlights to historians the importance of approaching visual materials with care and that it can assist in identifying the visual skills and habits, social structure and the distribution of wealth within a society.
Painting and Experience was described by Baxandall as ‘pretty lightweight and flighty’. It was not written for historians of art but was borne out of a series of lectures that Baxandall gave to history students. As we have seen it has had an exceptional impact not only in Renaissance studies and history of art but across many other disciplines too. It has spawned ideas of the ‘social eye’, the ‘gendered eye’ and even gone on to create new terminology in the form of ‘visual culture’. It is a book to be found on reading lists at many universities around the world today. Painting and Experience may have its problems but remains important because it highlights how interconnected life and art have truly become. What Baxandall tries to give us is a set of tools to rebuild the Quattrocentro lens for ourselves; not only through the ‘period eye’ but analyses of contracts between patrons and painters. Along with that and an understanding of the critical art historical terms of the time, Baxandall enables us to identify the social relationships out of which paintings were produced by analysing the visual skill set of the period. We are left wondering whether we have been able to do that. There are no empirical means of knowing whether we have successfully applied the ‘period eye’. We are in fact left to ‘rely on ingenious reconstructions and guesswork’. The visual skills Baxandall attributes to the mercantile classes he believes are derived from their business practices, such as gauging barrels, impacting their ability to appreciate better forms and volumes within paintings is nothing less than tenuous. Not only that but the approach is specific to a single period and has to be rebuilt each time it is applied to a different era. Baxandall’s approach allows for no concept of the agency of the artist, their training or in fact the importance of antiquity to fifteenth-century Italians.
The question remains as to whether it is possible to write a ‘social history of style’. Baxandall has tried to do so but his assumptions and extrapolations and the inability to prove success leave an approach that is too shaky to constitute a robust method.
Brunello Cucinelli: ‘I wanted to be a monk. Maybe a part-time monk…’
For the high-fashion virtuoso Brunello Cucinelli, a brand is much more than the bottom line. From his chic new collection to his Umbrian commune, the Italian maestro sets the standard for a more humanistic post-pandemic style
Suit, £4,050. Shirt, £590. Bow tie, £190. Shoes, £860. Pocket square, £100. All by Brunello Cucinelli. brunellocucinelli.comGavin Bond
“In this company, if you offend someone you are fired on the spot,” Brunello Cucinelli tells me in his expressive yet sotto voce Italian. The king of cashmere’s register is, if not quite as soft as his finest product, then at least as airy as some of the higher-quality wools with which he works and he’s speaking to me by way of his perpetually hard-working translator, Chiara. “Regardless of your position, you are forbidden to offend another human being. I saw my father being offended in his work and I don’t want that for anyone.”
We are sitting in Cucinelli’s expansive office, which is situated in the northwest corner of the main building of his headquarters in the Umbrian hamlet of Solomeo, and the designer is positioned opposite me on a small chair upholstered in chalky wool. His arms and legs are crossed neatly in front of him and his lithe frame belies his 68 years. He’s wearing a pristine white button-down poplin shirt (the collar buttons left undone) with a grey cashmere tie (the back portion left dangling intentionally longer than the front) and on his legs he’s sporting a pair of pale stonewashed jeans, ankles out. His sparingly lined face is tanned and his hair, which is short and the colour of one of the darker chocolate linen suits in his collection, is swept away from his face in a wispy centre parting. Cucinelli’s features – which are deep-set and positioned symmetrically around his nose, a softened version of the muzzle on the mythological winged creature that adorns his company insignia – have a kind yet determined aspect.
In 1985, Cucinelli purchased Solomeo’s 14th-century tumbledown castle, which was where his original studios were based, before he moved, in 2000, to the existing facility at the foot of the hamlet that constitutes his current production compound. Arranged in a U-shape, like a series of giant Jenga blocks dotted around a flat, grassy square, bisected by water fountains, the headquarters are sheltered from the hot Italian sun by the shadow of the castle and they’re an impressive testament to Cucinelli’s success. Indeed, in a year when tailoring sales took a significant hit and the global fashion industry attempted to claw back growth following the decimation wreaked by Covid-19, Cucinelli has come out on top. The designer made not one of his 2,000 global team members redundant during the pandemic and his company boasted an almost 60 per cent increase in revenues in the first half of 2021.
“In this company, if you offend someone you are fired on the spot,” Brunello Cucinelli tells me in his expressive yet sotto voce Italian. The king of cashmere’s register is, if not quite as soft as his finest product, then at least as airy as some of the higher-quality wools with which he works and he’s speaking to me by way of his perpetually hard-working translator, Chiara. “Regardless of your position, you are forbidden to offend another human being. I saw my father being offended in his work and I don’t want that for anyone.”
We are sitting in Cucinelli’s expansive office, which is situated in the northwest corner of the main building of his headquarters in the Umbrian hamlet of Solomeo, and the designer is positioned opposite me on a small chair upholstered in chalky wool. His arms and legs are crossed neatly in front of him and his lithe frame belies his 68 years. He’s wearing a pristine white button-down poplin shirt (the collar buttons left undone) with a grey cashmere tie (the back portion left dangling intentionally longer than the front) and on his legs he’s sporting a pair of pale stonewashed jeans, ankles out. His sparingly lined face is tanned and his hair, which is short and the colour of one of the darker chocolate linen suits in his collection, is swept away from his face in a wispy centre parting. Cucinelli’s features – which are deep-set and positioned symmetrically around his nose, a softened version of the muzzle on the mythological winged creature that adorns his company insignia – have a kind yet determined aspect.
In 1985, Cucinelli purchased Solomeo’s 14th-century tumbledown castle, which was where his original studios were based, before he moved, in 2000, to the existing facility at the foot of the hamlet that constitutes his current production compound. Arranged in a U-shape, like a series of giant Jenga blocks dotted around a flat, grassy square, bisected by water fountains, the headquarters are sheltered from the hot Italian sun by the shadow of the castle and they’re an impressive testament to Cucinelli’s success. Indeed, in a year when tailoring sales took a significant hit and the global fashion industry attempted to claw back growth following the decimation wreaked by Covid-19, Cucinelli has come out on top. The designer made not one of his 2,000 global team members redundant during the pandemic and his company boasted an almost 60 per cent increase in revenues in the first half of 2021.
Inside, the pristine white walls of GQ’s newly anointed Designer Of The Year’s private lair are peppered with pictures of him hobnobbing with all manner of luminaries. There’s the famous shot of Cucinelli hanging out with all the world’s wealthiest tech billionaires, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman and Twitter CFO Ned Segal, whom he invited to Solomeo to eat pasta and talk philosophy in the summer prior to the pandemic (more on that later); there are manifold press cuttings of Cucinelli looking the very embodiment of sprezzatura (the uniquely Italian term that, rather excellently, translates into “studied carelessness”); and there are a series of framed pictures of him looking every bit the happy papa with his daughters, both of whom hold senior positions in the company. Carolina is co-president and co-creative director of the brand, while Camilla is the co-head of the women’s style office.
The medieval hamlet of Solomeo, in the heart of Italy, is the home of Brunello Cucinelli’s headquarters Gavin Bond
Born in 1953, Cucinelli, who at last count boasted a net worth of £1.7 billion, was raised in a poor family in the Umbrian village of Castel Rigone. It was the manner in which his father was treated by his bosses, in the factory where he worked when Cucinelli was a teenager, which he cites as the reason for his particularly tough stance on the culture among his 1,200-strong Solomeo workforce.
“When my family were farmers nobody belittled us. We had nothing but we were never hungry. It was great,” he tells me. “When I turned 15 or 16 it was everyone’s dream to work in a factory with a proper job. We moved closer to the city and my father would come home with his hands ruined because he was working with cement. But he never complained about the work or the wages; he complained about the constant humiliation and belittling.” He pauses. “I did not understand as a teenager why I saw my father with tears in his eyes because of his treatment. And it was then that I decided: ‘I don’t know what I want to do, but I definitely know that I want to work to foster human dignity.’”
Cucinelli started his eponymous business in 1978, when, after dropping out of engineering school, he realised there was an appetite for the dip-dyed rainbow-coloured cashmere jumpers he’d started producing on the back of a small loan (the equivalent of about €500 today). Over the course of the next four decades, Cucinelli transformed his once cottage enterprise into a thriving multinational company. In addition to fondle-friendly sweaters, which still play a key role in his seasonal collections (alongside books by Marcus Aurelius and Pliny The Younger, the blanched shelves of his office are lined by vases filled with raw cashmere fibres dyed in a riot of bold colours in homage to his beginnings), Cucinelli branched out into the soft-handled tailoring, squishy coats and down-padded gilets, which are today beloved by the world’s most tasteful plutocrats, in 2002.
And that’s just the menswear. Head into one of Cucinelli’s stores (he’s recently opened an airy London flagship on New Bond Street) and you’ll be met by rails of feather, fur and sequin-clad womenswear. There are also picture frames and cushions and squared-off scraps of ribbon-wrapped cashmere, which are as light as air but have no discernible use, earthenware platters and bespoke suits, enormous candles that look as though they’ve been hewn from great chunks of flint and, naturally, sweaters as far as the eye can see.
But beyond the waves of sumptuous products, none of which come cheap (you can expect to pay upwards of £2,500 for a suit and at least £4,000 for one of the designer’s cashmere coats), there’s more to Cucinelli’s offering than first meets the fingers. And it starts here, in his factory, where all of his staff, from “the lady who tidies things” (Cucinelli objects to the term “cleaning lady” because it does not imbue its carrier with “dignity”) up to the key players in the men’s style department (including his son-in-law, by way of Carolina, Alessio Piastrelli) are paid around 20 per cent more than their peers elsewhere on the Italian peninsula; where giant pictures of Renaissance artworks, such as Michelangelo’s “Pietà”, hang above the bright and airy factory floor (as visual reminders of the importance of “respecting beauty”); and where staff are not allowed to work or be online past 5.30pm because their boss, the beneficent Brunello Cucinelli, believes that to ask them to do so would be to “ruin their souls”.
“With any Brunello Cucinelli garment, 52 per cent is made with manual work, true manual work,” he tells me intently. “I wanted everything to be made in Italy, using the finest raw materials in the world. I’m not talking about taste – you might not like my taste – but the main thing was that I wanted my products to be top-notch quality,” he continues, gesturing at his lightly ripped jeans. “These are made from the finest Japanese denim… High craftsmanship, top quality, personal taste, yes, but I wanted something more. I wanted for everyone in the company to have their fair share of the profit. We are not a preposterously profitable company, but I wanted every step in the supply chain to make more money. I wanted the workers to work in better places and instead of making €1,400 a month, they make €2,000. In turn, their life changes.”
Suit, £4,540. Shirt, £180. Tie, £160. All by Brunello Cucinelli. brunellocucinelli.com Gavin Bond
It is in Cucinelli’s Solomeo base where each of the garments that appear in every one of his seasonal collections are designed and the initial samples are created, before the patterns and finalised design plans are sent out to Cucinelli’s partner factories across Italy, the majority of which he has worked with for around 20 years. I’m being given a tour of the HQ by a pair of improbably elegant members of Cucinelli’s press team prior to my interview with the boss. It really is an extraordinary environment, so much so that when I joke to the greige-clad ladies that it’s somewhere I’d actually like to come and work myself, they both give me the sort of kind yet pitiful look that suggests I’m not the first visiting journalist to have expressed the sentiment.
The desks that are inhabited by the less practically focused teams – the finance bods, for instance – are the size of decommissioned limousines and the colour of icebergs, the factory spaces are quiet and light-filled, by way of the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows that line both sides of the building, and the entire place is so clean that even when I rub my finger along one of the higher surfaces in one of the enormous company (unisex) loos, I struggle to find any dust. The lady who tidies up things must feel very motivated to do her job, I joke to Cucinelli, when we sit down a few hours later.
“A few years ago we were about to go to Pitti Uomo, the menswear fair,” Cucinelli intones seriously in response. “We always have some kind of fun merchandise to show in the booth. I was in my office and the lady who tidies up things looked at all the footballs in my office and asked, ‘Why don’t you make a cashmere football?’ And in a single day we made it. It was a success. I did not come up with the idea; she did. Every human being has their own nature and power. I would like to be a coordinator of all this human genius. The fact that she dared to say that to me was because she has dignity and respect in her workplace.”
Arguably the most marvellous thing about Cucinelli’s Umbrian utopia is the enormous staff canteen, which runs perpendicular to his office, behind the company car park and in front of the football stadium Cucinelli built for the local townspeople. Each day, Brunello’s team of chefs turn out four-course lunches for each and every member of staff. I’m invited to try the menu for size after my two hours with the maestro and, from the buttery Parma ham that opens the show to the main event of tagliata di manzo (served with the best roasties I’ve ever eaten), I can safely report that the place is to a UK office canteen what Murano is to Bella Italia.
‘THE SHAPE OF MY TUXEDO HAD TO BE
ENGLISH. I WANT THE COLOURS TO BE
DIFFERENT, MORE ITALIAN’
Although Cucinelli’s munificent approach (which he refers to as a practice of “humanistic capitalism”) may be part of the reason his brand is such a success, it is by no means the only one – after all, there are plenty of fashion brands who expect their employees to work all hours for pitiful wages and whose profit margins remain in rude health. The truth is that Cucinelli’s collections boast an aesthetic consistency unmatched by many of the labels that occupy the same category as his. Each collection follows a similar palette of muted burgundies, greiges, taupes and caramels, his cut is close (trousers are near-universally finished with pleats and double turn-ups) and his jackets are most commonly cut to his trademark one-and-a-half-breasted style: a less restrictive, arguably more youthful take on the double-breasted suits found in the traditional English tailoring houses that inspired Cucinelli’s look in the first place.
“I like to be unwavering, but also in keeping with contemporary silhouettes,” he tells me, looking up at the bright white ceiling of his office, as if in search of divine inspiration. “When I designed my original tuxedo, the shape had to be the English, classic shape, but what I did to make it different was to change the colour of the tuxedo. I only changed the colour, not the shape.” He points at me, enfaticamente. “It’s a traditional English tuxedo but I added the double turn-up on the trousers. And I wore it with a pair of suede Church’s chukka boots. I am always very grateful to the English. With my work I want to combine colours that are slightly different to the traditional colour palette, something more Italian. It’s a painstaking job. Everything must be correct.”
‘MY STAFF NEED TO BREATHE AND ABSORB
THE BRUNELLO CUCINELLI LOOK ON A
DAILY BASIS’
It’s a didactic approach adopted by many of Cucinelli’s more successful contemporaries in the “haute fashion meets tailoring” space. Giorgio Armani has his shades of navy, syrupy suits and Far Eastern influences; Ralph Lauren has nailed every facet of the American Dream, from arch prep to rodeo chic; and Cucinelli, I suggest, has taken ownership of ultra-expensive sports luxe (albeit with a strong Italian accent). “I think you need to have a set of very basic canons and rules,” he concedes. “For instance, I’m passionate about Ralph Lauren. In 2019 I went to meet him personally in New York. I said to him, ‘Thank you, maestro, for everything you have taught us in visual merchandising.’” He smiles, showing me a picture of Ralph – not Ralph and Brunello, just Ralph – which is framed in his office. “When I set up this factory, even though we were into sweaters back then, I’ve always aimed for something that would make the brand recognisable. Ralph Lauren was recognisable in every scenario. I know it’s difficult, but to my staff I show images of the look, the Brunello Cucinelli look. They need to breathe and absorb it on a daily basis.”
At precisely the moment I begin to wonder whether Cucinelli’s singular approach makes it difficult for the other creatives who work with him to find their voice – not least son-in-law Alessio Piastrelli – Cucinelli cuts in with an answer. “The staff sometimes submit very creative proposals to me and [when] it’s not really in keeping with what we are, I’ll say, ‘It’s beautiful, but it’s not us.’” He smiles. “What Alessio does is great. He’s got all these references: James Dean, Mother Teresa, Ferrari. He’s a 39-year-old man and he doesn’t know many things, but his references are his dream of the world. In the pictures there’s a universal humanism and respect for everyone. He’s got an actor on his wall, a thinker, the young Steve Jobs – for whom I made 400 black turtlenecks to order in 1989 or 1990 – the young Michelangelo.”
Suit, £4,540. Shirt, £180. Tie, £160. Pocket square, £180. All by Brunello Cucinelli. brunellocucinelli.com Gavin Bond
Cucinelli’s obsession with the arts is palpable not only in his office, where portraits of Confucius and Leonardo da Vinci lock eyes with busts of Socrates and Marcus Aurelius, but also, perhaps more notably, in the pretty medieval hamlet that looks down on the factory. In 2012, Cucinelli floated his company on the stock exchange, which afforded him the financial freedom to expand on the creation of a Forum Of The Arts in the area, which had fallen into a state of disarray. Cucinelli not only established a successful boutique, but he also opened a tailoring school, an Aurelian library, a gymnasium and an impressive theatre, which he established in 2008.
Cucinelli lives in the settlement, opposite his 100-year-old babbo and next door to both his daughters (though Carolina is on the brink of moving to a larger property across the valley). In addition to his Forum Of The Arts, at which the Solomeo School Of Arts And Crafts was established in 2013, Cucinelli, in 2018, unveiled a Palladian-style “Tribute To Human Dignity” (carved from gigantic blocks of travertine) and a park featuring a plant nursery, an olive oil mill and a winery, the latter of which is situated, conveniently, in the basement of Carolina’s new digs.
“Solomeo is the hamlet of cashmere and harmony,” says Cucinelli, smiling. “There are all these schools for tailoring, gardening, music, arts and crafts. I wanted to create a place for excellence – the spiritual, moral, civil.” He adds: “This is an open-air monastery, open to the world, for your mind, for studying, for your soul, for praying and for work, [with] the highest, utmost respect for the human being, regardless of their religion or gender.”
When Cucinelli invited Bezos et al to Solomeo in 2018, he explained to me in a subsequent interview that he “wanted them to open up and show me their hearts. ‘No one ever asks us what our sorrows are, what our feelings are,’ Bezos said. ‘They just keep repeating that I’m this billionaire. I know I am a billionaire, but besides that I also have my soul and relationships.’ It was a great experience to have them here. We were all moved and emotional; they had tears in their eyes.” Considering Bezos’ continued purported tax dodging and his much-criticised recent mission into space, does Cucinelli feel that his message was understood?
“When we toured the company, Jeff said, ‘I would like all my employees to work exactly like yours, in these conditions. I know it is not easy.’ But in his public statements of the past year he said he wanted to become one of the best places in the world to work. So there is an underlying feeling there.” He pauses. “But it is true: there is a huge gap in terms of wealth.”
Cucinelli fared extraordinarily well through the Covid crisis. In the most recent report to his shareholders, the designer explained, “This year, 2020, closed ‘well’, especially considering how things looked in the spring. The turnover of these 12 months, what we have defined as a ‘year of transition’, saw a ‘small’ decrease of ten per cent.” Revenues dropped from €607.8 million (£519m) in 2019 to €544m (£465m) in 2020. Yet the picture this year has been somewhat rosier. According to a report in the Business Of Fashion, “The company said revenues soared by almost 60 per cent at constant exchange rates in the first half of the year to €313.7m [£268m] compared with the same period of 2020.”
“February, March and April of 2020 were very painful,” Cucinelli tells me. “But on 12 March we made three big decisions. We said: we will not lay anybody off, no redundancies. We will guarantee all our workers their full wages for two years,” he says, counting his fingers theatrically. “The second decision was that we would not ask for discounts from anyone. This is not the way we work.” He pauses. “Our last decision was to start ‘Brunello Cucinelli For Humanity’. We sent out packages of our unsold luxury goods around the world to our contractors, who we then asked to pass on to the needy. And then 9 November came. The best day of my life – except for the family events, of course – was the day the vaccine came.” He adds: “And then 15 days ago we came out with the men’s collection, at Pitti Uomo.”
The collection the designer is referring to is as much a soft-edged paean to all things ivory – a fresh beginning, perhaps – as it is an archetypal Cucinelli offering. One-and-a-half-breasted jackets rub hems with peg-leg trousers in pearlescent shades, collegiate shawl-collar cardigans are worn over cashmere sweaters and with linen trousers in rich hues of clotted cream, while the designer’s trademark chalk-stripe suits come paired with denim shirts and natty sand suede Derbies. “Everyone said it was the best collection in our history.” He pauses. “If you combine pain, focus and dedication you get success. I don’t know why, but that’s the truth.”
Suit, £4,540. Shirt, £180. Tie, £160. Boots, £590. All by Brunello Cucinelli. brunellocucinelli.com Gavin Bond
One colour you’ll never find in a Brunello Cucinelli collection is green. “When my family were farmers my mum bought me a pair of green corduroy trousers. I was eight or nine back then and she bought me them for Christmas,” he tells me, leaning forward in his chair, his soft, slightly greying hair falling lightly over his forehead. “I took these green trousers to the field behind my house and I buried them because I hated the colour.” He laughs. “When I was a child I was either wearing white bottoms or a grey jumper. My family were farmers, but I didn’t like green. So there’s something that’s born in you, I suppose.”
Given the precise, businesslike way in which Cucinelli approaches both his creativity and craft, I’m intrigued to know what he thinks he might have done with himself for the past four decades had he not become a fashion designer. Cucinelli was the chairman of Italian association football club Castel Rigone Calcio for a short number of years and his passion for the sport is legendary, but it turns out that “footballer” is way off the mark. “I am a born-and-bred rigorous man.” A pause. “I wanted to be a monk. Maybe a part-time monk, which is obviously difficult.”
‘THERE IS A CUCINELLI STYLE. IT’S NOT JUST IN CLOTHING, BUT A WAY OF LIFE, A
WAY OF BEHAVING’
Is he proud of his achievements? “I am proud that I have done something serious,” he says, looking across at me earnestly. His hands are resting in his lap and his fingers have formed a steeple at the tips. Perhaps he should have become a monk after all. “Hopefully I have not damaged mankind, hopefully I have respected creation and hopefully I have developed a style, because there is a Cucinelli style, if you think about it. And it’s not just in clothing, it’s in humanistic capitalism.” He pauses. “The way of life, a way of behaving. And I feel, I hope, that this will not end for a long time.”
