On Difficultyin poetry and other arts

George Steiner, On Difficulty (1978)A common reaction to poetry: Huh?

Four DifficultiesContingentModalTactical (my favorite!)Ontological

Four Difficulties Contingent -- a cultural reference that you might have to "go look up."

Your understanding (and, presumably, enjoyment) is contingent on knowing some fact (or tune?)

Jan van EyckMarriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami, 1434single candle =Gods eyeSt Margaret?crystal prayer beadsoranges = ?shoesimported carpet $$$Fido

Four Difficulties Modal -- after sincerely trying to engage and understand the work, you just can't like it due to fundamental issues of taste or personal experience.

(Horror films revel in modal difficulty.)

The Slaughtered Ox 1655

Four Difficulties Tactical -- the artist deliberately gets in your way of immediately understanding the work's meaning (Why do this? Which is more enjoyable the tale or the telling of the tale?) Pulp Fiction Speed or overwhelming complexity of music bebop Insider slang in lyrics Ravels La Valse

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Woman in Front of a Mirror, 1841oil on canvas, 33.5 x 26 cm (13 3/16 x 10 1/4)

Braque, The Portuguese, 1911CUBISM

James Rosenquist Welcome to the Water Planet1987POP-ART

Hypo Alpe-Adria Center in Klagenfurt, Austria, MAYNE, 2002

Four Difficulties Ontological -- the artist through the work challenges the very definition of the genre or even the idea of art itselfFountain, 1917

Four Difficulties ContingentModalTactical (my favorite!)Ontological

All together now . . .

HOLBEIN, HansThe Ambassadors1533Oil on wood207 x 209.5 cm

Attention, shoppers. From within the inverted commas of a strambotto, seditious whispering watermarks this time of day. Time to get out and, as they say, about.

From a poem, Where Shall I Wander, by John Ashbery, 2005

Attention, shoppers. From within the inverted commas of a strambotto, seditious whispering watermarks this time of day. Time to get out and, as they say, about.

From a poem, Where Shall I Wander, by John Ashbery, pub. 2005contingent

Attention, shoppers. From within the inverted commas of a strambotto, seditious whispering watermarks this time of day. Time to get out and, as they say, about.

From a poem, Where Shall I Wander, by John Ashbery, pub. 2005tactical

Attention, shoppers. From within the inverted commas of a strambotto, seditious whispering watermarks this time of day. Time to get out and, as they say, about.

From a poem, Where Shall I Wander, by John Ashbery, pub. 2005ontologicalThis is a poem?ontologicalThis is a poem?

in music?Brian Ferneyhough

Ferneyhough String Trio (1995)Ontological?

Tactical?

Convention Expression

John Cage (after McLuhan)music is information brushing against information

JOHN ADAMSHallelujah Junction (1996)for 2 pianos rhythmically very tricky for the performers

improv, especially with electronicsnew tuningsrhythmic developmentshybrids with rock, studio techniquestimbral refinementNon-ontological directions in new musicxMe

Sonata Rocinante a tactical difficultyan initial ideaas writtendeveloped

Sonata RocinanteRocinante Don Quixotes horse

4 sections -- Rocinanteas described by Cervantes (bony, stubborn)as imagined by Quixoteagain as described by Cervantesas imagined by Quixote and the reader?

the horse the rider the writer the reader(computer demo performance)

Sonata Rocinantethe horse

Sonata Rocinantethe riderQuixotes POV Rocinante as dark, powerful, muscular

(sort of in the style of Chopin)

Sonata Rocinantethe writerthe authors games(the composers games)horsin around

Sonata Rocinantethe readerthe response of the reader integrating the effects of the novel

Undercurrenttraditional motific development & expansionthen subjected to various folding, fragmentation and repetition

******The Slaughtered Ox 1655 *Ravel La Valse***James Rosenquist American, born 1933Nomad,1963 Oil on canvas, plastic, and wood, 90 x 141" Gift of Seymour H. Knox, 1963 James Rosenquist./Lincensed by VAGA, New York, NY James Rosenquist was a major figure in the 1960s movement known as Pop art. The term "pop" refers to popular culture, which was used as subject matter for both painting and sculpture. In this painting, Rosenquist combines consumer items, such as the laundry detergent Oxydol and the bright red canned spaghetti sauce, with things related to leisure time activities, such as ballet dancers and a picnic table. Seemingly unrelated are a plot of grass, a microphone, and an electric light bulb. A gray wallet and the word "new", which is placed on a bright yellow background and done in relief, reflect important aspects of 1960s America. Everything was "new" in this affluent, mass-producing, and consumer-oriented society. The composition of Nomad, in part, reflects the fascination Rosenquist holds for the way people are constantly bombarded with images, through printed materials, signs, television, movies, and so on. It can be distracting and hinder the ability to focus. No element in Nomad stands out as a focal point of the composition. This is due to the artists skillful manipulation of scale, color, and repetition of shapes such as Xs and Os. Choosing the word Nomad for the title might reflect the way our eye roves around the painting trying to make sense of the fragmented information that he presents. Another important factor that influenced the appearance of Nomad was Rosenquist's earlier career as a commercial billboard painter. Since billboards are read very quickly as cars drive by, there is no need for a lot of detail. Objects must be large and easily identifiable. Rosenquist became intrigued by the fact that while painting a billboard, he could only see a fragment of it at a time. Also, he realized that even an everyday object could attain a certain visual power when enlarged. Mariann Smith************Density intensityHybrids with pop,Studio techniques******