tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145559362024-03-07T20:00:28.214-08:00Optic VerveAn open notebook.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.comBlogger600125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-24174274692616803362011-10-29T08:15:00.001-07:002011-10-29T08:16:58.112-07:00Tumblr.I have migrated to <a href="http://dwkuan.tumblr.com">Tumblr</a>. Again, and finally.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-14553595204544837102011-10-23T11:39:00.000-07:002011-10-23T11:44:21.907-07:00Lament by Wayne KoestenbaumI want to stop being a person.<br />If only there were a choice--<br />a rat or signet ring<br />one could become--a waterfall<br /><br />or the rocks the water lands upon, or an alien child<br />picking up a wet stone, drying it with a pocket rag, <br />taking it home, and placing it on his bureau top<br />so that other aliens can touch and admire it.<br /><br />There is no choice, however.<br />I dare not answer<br />the knock on the door, the voice that says<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Now you may become an alien,<br />the table is set.<br /></span><br />Isn't it time to reconcile myself<br />to darkness in the kitchen, the confession "I have darkness,"<br />all whispered by one person, all forgotten?debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-15011533013560721242011-10-14T07:28:00.000-07:002011-10-14T07:29:26.684-07:00Launch party.I will be reading from XING tonight at Pete's Candy Store, 7 pm, with Jason Koo and Erin Morrill. After party at Loreley Biergarten, starting around 8:30 p.m.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-22179030493706321742011-09-19T16:36:00.000-07:002011-09-20T07:25:38.385-07:00The Accursed Lot<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmFIlEytnyyt7miLnqmhpHUNynJ0AVXJH_WTKzpENGr8PUOJEEDpBX1_UaBc0ED3RoREllu3A0v5aCxVbShW5FVHdGbFDy5em1KD2pQlm1cr8psfLU66VrGCoOamPa5M6sg1d/s1600/joyce-carol-oates.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmFIlEytnyyt7miLnqmhpHUNynJ0AVXJH_WTKzpENGr8PUOJEEDpBX1_UaBc0ED3RoREllu3A0v5aCxVbShW5FVHdGbFDy5em1KD2pQlm1cr8psfLU66VrGCoOamPa5M6sg1d/s400/joyce-carol-oates.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654447434425015538" /></a><br />(Unrelated, earlier photo of J.C.O., not looking particularly accursed, I admit, but it's such a great picture. Her cat as fat as she is skinny.)<br /><br />There are those--a blessed lot--who can experience life without the slightest glimmer of a need to add anything to it--any sort of "creative" effort; and there are those--an accursed lot?--for whom the activities of their own brains and imaginations are paramount. The world for these individuals may be infinitely rich, rewarding and seductive--but it is not paramount. The world may be interpreted as a gift, earned only if one has created something over and above the world.<br /><br />To this, Ray would respond with a bemused smile. <span style="font-style:italic;">You take yourself so seriously. Why?</span><br /><br />Always Ray has been the repository of common sense in our household. The spouse, who, with a gentle tug, holds in place the recklessly soaring kite, that would careen into the stratosphere and be lost, shattered to bits.<br /><br />-Joyce Carol Oates, <i>A Widow's Story</i>debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-70308637148223305672011-09-19T12:18:00.001-07:002011-09-19T12:23:43.109-07:00I Heart Maira Kalman.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYciLlkNK2kahHVTx3jrig1288B0ZHZ8gneDR_AtWTnhJghJFTNxBrj0VFAqGrQbEsBYbX3v6fWVEavsJKfrr5Ea3Ci8Z1OE3uH8LHG8EadwidcaO2oJKmkhxo95HfTbT1hl5A/s1600/mairakalman.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYciLlkNK2kahHVTx3jrig1288B0ZHZ8gneDR_AtWTnhJghJFTNxBrj0VFAqGrQbEsBYbX3v6fWVEavsJKfrr5Ea3Ci8Z1OE3uH8LHG8EadwidcaO2oJKmkhxo95HfTbT1hl5A/s400/mairakalman.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654152404316202690" /></a><br /><br />I picked up <a href="http://www.mairakalman.com">Maira Kalman</a>'s <em>Principles of Uncertainty</em> by chance at Powell's Books in Portland last month and fell immediately in love with it. In fact, I loved the book so much it pained me to finish it, and I wanted to savor its pages as long as humanly possible.<br /><br />I sort of didn't know--maybe my subconscious knew--that she was a <em>New Yorker </em>illustrator. Nor that she was one of the people responsible for their famous NewYorkistan cover.<br /><br />Anyhoo. Maira Kalman. Buy her books! She's so terrific.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-747842653440719622011-09-19T07:08:00.000-07:002011-09-19T07:12:17.498-07:00"the purest cinema you'll see all year""Brooding, sophisticated and drop-dead gorgeous, <em>Drive</em> is lowbrow trash rewrit as highbrow treasure. Its clumsy coincidences, unnaturalistic expository dialogue and pulpy themes--vengeance, sacrifice, redemption--are brought to life with elegance and gravitas: it's the action movie treated like art, the cinematic equivalent of literary genre fiction. Ryan Gosling plays an unnamed mechanic with sidelines as both stuntman and getaway driver. He's a stoic loner steeped in Jean-Pierre Melvillean melancholy, possessed of preternatural driving abilities, capable both of honorable service and shocking barbarity."<br />-Henry Stewart, <em>The L Magazine</em><br /><br />RAVE.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-42122967272271361692011-09-04T17:59:00.000-07:002011-09-04T18:10:12.271-07:00BOOK news!!<span style="font-style:italic;">Xing</span> is now available for pre-order at your favorite online bookstore, <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780983368618-0">Powell's</a>, <a href="http://http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/xing-debora-kuan/1102081399">Barnes & Noble</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Xing-Debora-Kuan/dp/0983368619">Amazon</a>.
<br />
<br />To launch the book, I will be reading at Pete's Candy Store in the Multifarious Array <a href="http://www.petescandystore.com/multifarious_array/multifarious_array.html">reading series on Oct. 14</a>. Please come! Book party to follow (location TBA).
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<br />And lastly, <span style="font-style:italic;">Xing</span> and Michael Robins' <span style="font-style:italic;">Ladies and Gentlemen</span>, also due out October 11, will launch Saturnalia Books' foray into ebooks! Hurrah. Now you can read us on your handy lil' handheld devices without that nasty inconvenience of having to turn pages. What are you waiting for? Buy your copy today!
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<br />debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-40595656451632743702011-08-05T07:25:00.000-07:002011-08-05T07:30:58.495-07:00Watching Terrence Malick at HomeMy <a href="http://www.papermonument.com/web-only/watching-terrence-malick-at-home/">slideshow review of Malick's four films</a> prior to "Tree of Life" is up at <a href="http://www.papermonument.com">Paper Monument</a>. Low-tech forever.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-74379341338643266132011-08-04T11:03:00.000-07:002011-08-05T08:04:03.292-07:00The edge of the cape, nearly.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwUP_UgBibtQevQoPo_fgTl8xxutP1rMU2ghSdO4N15Faz-cF9FNyGD01obalgD2W5ONEBeNx88jV-i50Xvup57oVxTH18fRmoDwKWi8NODgW7VrZVlf5qmAurE1eLpBCvhHm/s1600/chatham+beach.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwUP_UgBibtQevQoPo_fgTl8xxutP1rMU2ghSdO4N15Faz-cF9FNyGD01obalgD2W5ONEBeNx88jV-i50Xvup57oVxTH18fRmoDwKWi8NODgW7VrZVlf5qmAurE1eLpBCvhHm/s400/chatham+beach.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637381710079984530" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHtJBTCeOQFR0E1gxuch2REgA1SGikFopfn0V9NxZFtFaO-lvyCpX-0rQ2VFSjojKRaCTT-1T9ClsUkhM471SOmGupAA9A6875lPyyDRc9IjNtrA4cMlJc9NOWXdop4sYdnyWG/s1600/bicycles+on+matt.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHtJBTCeOQFR0E1gxuch2REgA1SGikFopfn0V9NxZFtFaO-lvyCpX-0rQ2VFSjojKRaCTT-1T9ClsUkhM471SOmGupAA9A6875lPyyDRc9IjNtrA4cMlJc9NOWXdop4sYdnyWG/s400/bicycles+on+matt.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637381604633037618" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6cJpQKvzkFgaLxDtH0mfl6PDs_4agu5zNixLLk_O7HgbaSM-JytCYU4z0fdQIaLepqVbHyBDWMslcOddTkcgRD8Y5ZleHT_H4D7zaVY_Hztc9fKyOsCfbS-skrYZfFbsPgzt/s1600/chatham+boats.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6cJpQKvzkFgaLxDtH0mfl6PDs_4agu5zNixLLk_O7HgbaSM-JytCYU4z0fdQIaLepqVbHyBDWMslcOddTkcgRD8Y5ZleHT_H4D7zaVY_Hztc9fKyOsCfbS-skrYZfFbsPgzt/s400/chatham+boats.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637381239004103762" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9yqdbeGQ9iet4EZu-sDEWJC14X8QzBpsK7jOYBmaz5BeVD6eSOGbwF53i90upaPKMG0G_EwIWztPuqz2Ymtg5IrRA-2SuzoYJMQ30s8ZSxqtUd-mmBxhTLhEPbSRBA6e7nHz/s1600/shells2.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9yqdbeGQ9iet4EZu-sDEWJC14X8QzBpsK7jOYBmaz5BeVD6eSOGbwF53i90upaPKMG0G_EwIWztPuqz2Ymtg5IrRA-2SuzoYJMQ30s8ZSxqtUd-mmBxhTLhEPbSRBA6e7nHz/s400/shells2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637381152343451234" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawuWjDV9tRFwWM6hEqNtGx5kMDVrFB9Zpr9WR7pziRFjMpudk-WFR2gvY4L1uFLmWuMlCjp-VmWpQfSza-jaEnBt4psum_PHArCG6XIJ_7ef0E6qw6Bbmhp-YEzSHdsusTEa3/s1600/shells+at+atwood+house+museum.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawuWjDV9tRFwWM6hEqNtGx5kMDVrFB9Zpr9WR7pziRFjMpudk-WFR2gvY4L1uFLmWuMlCjp-VmWpQfSza-jaEnBt4psum_PHArCG6XIJ_7ef0E6qw6Bbmhp-YEzSHdsusTEa3/s400/shells+at+atwood+house+museum.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637063225067136386" /></a><br /><br />I don't have any particular feelings about the town of Chatham in Cape Cod. It's brimming with money and white people, a little more than the rest of the cape, it feels. You can eat off the lawns, and every inn, house, and boutique wears a fresh coat of glossy paint. But I had wanted to go to the Atwood House Museum, an 18th-century museum I discovered in a little Cape Cod booklet the night before while eating fish tacos at Finbar's in Orleans. Actually, the building, rather one wing of the building, is the oldest house in Chatham, with warped floorboards and an elliptically-shaped basement for storing apples and turnips and potatoes (circles and ovals are stronger than 90-degree angles, yes?) and a borning room near the kitchen for pregnant women and the convalescent. These shells were collected by a Chatham family, not the Atwoods, but clearly they are not native to the area. The shells native to Cape Cod are drab and unremarkable and live in their own little glass case in the middle of the room (unpictured because of their drabness). Is everyone over the Hipstamatic? I still can't get enough. Especially since here the Hipstamatic makes the black behind the displays look so rich, like oil paint laid layer upon layer upon layer.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-21327217175197634842011-07-26T18:49:00.000-07:002011-07-26T18:51:17.164-07:00.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqRoWjby_qxQoiCda26VpJo3xnVxtYPUvJpqy6zfXq3IyQE-SG0tVsC9ObXuTXdbG_jX-stNx_RQnZHuZxNt9chGq5426H3SrfS7F21yXmYZ9sIH9eyOmClmGrAefHvnNWj8N/s1600/photo%252813%2529.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqRoWjby_qxQoiCda26VpJo3xnVxtYPUvJpqy6zfXq3IyQE-SG0tVsC9ObXuTXdbG_jX-stNx_RQnZHuZxNt9chGq5426H3SrfS7F21yXmYZ9sIH9eyOmClmGrAefHvnNWj8N/s400/photo%252813%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633843392723563826" /></a><br /><br />Toward the end of dinner, I looked down and saw he had drawn this. "Is this my vacuum?" I asked.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-32531069415322623092011-07-26T09:33:00.000-07:002011-07-26T09:34:38.644-07:00Running into tornadoes.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6cP5jbfIDEuHY-M2R7jWR8t31uh0kHdN1HFf_uvw1XKF2V3_Cf5jvu9jCqVPmow7EGcm7sp-bVx5X7dIqFHJ1lH-EH6QSl87dJlqP-76-u4ZuXHvE-pkvGeEPah3VzeJj7mf/s1600/francis-alys-tornado.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6cP5jbfIDEuHY-M2R7jWR8t31uh0kHdN1HFf_uvw1XKF2V3_Cf5jvu9jCqVPmow7EGcm7sp-bVx5X7dIqFHJ1lH-EH6QSl87dJlqP-76-u4ZuXHvE-pkvGeEPah3VzeJj7mf/s400/francis-alys-tornado.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633700242275226962" /></a><br /><br />Francis Alys.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-73733602464552837712011-07-13T13:41:00.000-07:002011-07-13T13:42:29.750-07:00TwilitMoving away from rattled towns,<br />gaining, as a bird in a dishwasher,<br />an altered view, the owlish lakefronts<br />with their punch-clock crews<br /><br />seem less luckless, the lunch-pail<br />chatter less dim; even recess seems pleasant.<br />Schoolmates from the third grade call<br />and nothing since matters,<br /><br />you leap into kerosene waters<br />and swim, leaving the nervous talons <br />on a perch. The past doesn’t hurt,<br />the past is divine, everyone<br /><br />the same age at the same time. <br />Moving is a white lie, a soft arrow. <br /><br />-Star Black, <a href="http://www.theparisreview.org/poetry/5933/twilit-star-black">via</a> <em>The Paris Review</em>debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-38124034978269718272011-07-07T12:04:00.001-07:002011-07-07T12:06:27.166-07:00Grounds fo' Sculpture, yo.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCGWzXLyyjrQZNdqG2Hh9YVTvYBvfMMP7N9PWo9_jQycfkbYVt9UN4o5IqAEcOJCU356uO0nV3GnwGMefpHSztPiPLwg4aj3NWo4mmqv1VZ6ToC0FJOooNmJf-qAH6sfI4yn_E/s1600/clement+meadmore.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCGWzXLyyjrQZNdqG2Hh9YVTvYBvfMMP7N9PWo9_jQycfkbYVt9UN4o5IqAEcOJCU356uO0nV3GnwGMefpHSztPiPLwg4aj3NWo4mmqv1VZ6ToC0FJOooNmJf-qAH6sfI4yn_E/s400/clement+meadmore.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626688620795179858" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bqfoiHa7JIutUZ9RL5gTz49FvTV5qUOdPNHu1GkmnDG-1Ixhtfs6XLCI6gwyDlNy2M_U8s-pcohIgITztDW1eeJs1ieO-FeRszk-jxWIBGC2xaFUlW8sSzp5_G5g4f7eJNRn/s1600/treeway.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bqfoiHa7JIutUZ9RL5gTz49FvTV5qUOdPNHu1GkmnDG-1Ixhtfs6XLCI6gwyDlNy2M_U8s-pcohIgITztDW1eeJs1ieO-FeRszk-jxWIBGC2xaFUlW8sSzp5_G5g4f7eJNRn/s400/treeway.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626688498693431746" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzM51JqxCWzPBRPOUoyMIPzuEY7I5B1_BtixeNqcabdPiQuI8vaO8KoM2NWiNEXumFvo5pb-xiuDIeJFVA6gAUaMQmfKQgNh2eXvpZXdXIpXMY910nHYMDiWCL7TFMiPz76A_8/s1600/peacock+back.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzM51JqxCWzPBRPOUoyMIPzuEY7I5B1_BtixeNqcabdPiQuI8vaO8KoM2NWiNEXumFvo5pb-xiuDIeJFVA6gAUaMQmfKQgNh2eXvpZXdXIpXMY910nHYMDiWCL7TFMiPz76A_8/s400/peacock+back.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626688456130188354" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOmoP41JlZ_TIUqtMOH1GWZ9RF_tg8idKSfHeH0Pp0DwOLRGDSw5dn-VCSirSMVUW_Vo2rTLIN5XknaxKGTAaVV-9OkfXm_SKgQWS2n9K3cggJ7C5PKMVm_w6H_Xp957_wbkN/s1600/shrubs.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOmoP41JlZ_TIUqtMOH1GWZ9RF_tg8idKSfHeH0Pp0DwOLRGDSw5dn-VCSirSMVUW_Vo2rTLIN5XknaxKGTAaVV-9OkfXm_SKgQWS2n9K3cggJ7C5PKMVm_w6H_Xp957_wbkN/s400/shrubs.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626688409041249346" /></a><br /><br />Sculpture by Clement Meadmore.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-6401136727209400802011-07-06T07:09:00.001-07:002011-07-06T07:20:49.606-07:00Twombly, revisited.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPnFQlpPqfuiJtr-fdTnvKadnHyPiXjhLdmKV5YrqM4Sjs32Kwcx4wsAN9EAkUBzvVhPcIAFnkwtOQJGCdWHqFi_xEQu912cgR8aTBRX6V0Dt0PEX2tiiTSzJ9MJUYqv3t72c/s1600/cycles+and+seas_twombly_7.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 286px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPnFQlpPqfuiJtr-fdTnvKadnHyPiXjhLdmKV5YrqM4Sjs32Kwcx4wsAN9EAkUBzvVhPcIAFnkwtOQJGCdWHqFi_xEQu912cgR8aTBRX6V0Dt0PEX2tiiTSzJ9MJUYqv3t72c/s400/cycles+and+seas_twombly_7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626241661454385698" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF71AJEj5tMyICPTmEY2pcx25KVuZS56cXozl4vasyZYuovLm2cVyYYtArmwEhGkcc5341F-mh1LFAYvqmuVJkVTnSP4wAS5-_9LcaE4paRgeXefvTU4m-HthF-JfARJJgJMPV/s1600/twombly+epitaph.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 381px; height: 389px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF71AJEj5tMyICPTmEY2pcx25KVuZS56cXozl4vasyZYuovLm2cVyYYtArmwEhGkcc5341F-mh1LFAYvqmuVJkVTnSP4wAS5-_9LcaE4paRgeXefvTU4m-HthF-JfARJJgJMPV/s400/twombly+epitaph.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626241557987404386" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNPqRJdslljSTLcynmyJTNMPQmbX4LeYF7bJcnV0dAZ_-ZkyiQKBQH0bYtkRsQWcaTUUCANOxzfAfNqbrQFD5xvqrM7GThl1OKy6ihqiLK7HZFPDgDLKP8KD0T4qxo3y4iwwWf/s1600/twombly+roses.bmp"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNPqRJdslljSTLcynmyJTNMPQmbX4LeYF7bJcnV0dAZ_-ZkyiQKBQH0bYtkRsQWcaTUUCANOxzfAfNqbrQFD5xvqrM7GThl1OKy6ihqiLK7HZFPDgDLKP8KD0T4qxo3y4iwwWf/s400/twombly+roses.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626241398352651986" /></a><br /><br />Odd how the mainstream press uses such words as "idiosyncratic" and "inscrutable" to describe Twombly's work and legacy. To me, his work has always seemed intuitive, raw, purely and nakedly expressive. Even the white boxy sculptures, which are mute and ungiving, seem to enact something elemental and human about the impulse to create objects, particularly art, monuments, memorials. The impulse to make something the opposite of oneself--permanent and resolute, open to any and all possibility and immune to death. How does that not translate? Or are these people merely the ones who can never appreciate anything non-representational?<br /><br />Rest in peace, Mr. Twombly. Your work survives you.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-62930177544376100002011-07-01T16:01:00.001-07:002011-07-01T16:02:06.919-07:00Huh.My little painting (see below) has even more resonance today, given the Strauss-Kahn case developments.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-76447982831680916422011-06-30T09:39:00.000-07:002011-06-30T09:40:11.774-07:00.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHuSWDlO1Sa_RnS6-xnn5AIu8W53XNhFTZomnbyjqNNTmu7NP2dsIo19NEpjhzqashijNRsoKxsZO1vXQTlorYt5rNWXr-KUDovS3FzZWaqt4A1ZWsWZbMzXD4IzDH8hV4zpRS/s1600/fountain.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHuSWDlO1Sa_RnS6-xnn5AIu8W53XNhFTZomnbyjqNNTmu7NP2dsIo19NEpjhzqashijNRsoKxsZO1vXQTlorYt5rNWXr-KUDovS3FzZWaqt4A1ZWsWZbMzXD4IzDH8hV4zpRS/s400/fountain.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624053453924746050" /></a>debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-80858946197186268722011-06-30T06:33:00.001-07:002011-06-30T11:16:46.827-07:00I never touched her.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3QEP52LKrHIYddANys6evRV4fng8iuo91l6TWz0NKetVEZ-gDDbkd3AWN-kYaBgaG5pbOKV2QVbAfOxu1dxq9uPuTkPNTwfqCRutrGQD7rO-I7ZD6xIJYB3bxumx2zrCHEGT/s1600/inevertouchedher.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3QEP52LKrHIYddANys6evRV4fng8iuo91l6TWz0NKetVEZ-gDDbkd3AWN-kYaBgaG5pbOKV2QVbAfOxu1dxq9uPuTkPNTwfqCRutrGQD7rO-I7ZD6xIJYB3bxumx2zrCHEGT/s400/inevertouchedher.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624007925337996274" /></a><br /><br />On my way to meet the writers last night, I bought this little painting from J. Williamson near Union Square. For $9. The funny thing is that I already own one of his paintings--a little man dressed to the nines in a top hat and coat with tails, which I got a few years ago as a gift--but I didn't know it until I had looked at his work a little longer. I told him, "I have one of your paintings!" "Oh?" he said, taking a drag from his cigarette. "Which one?" He was a large man, blotchy-skinned and doughy in build, draped in an XXL salmon-colored T-shirt; Rusty Brown immediately sprung to mind. "A little man," I said. <br /><br />Then I bought this painting. Isn't it a riot? I'm sorry I can't right the photograph. Something is strange with my machine. I know how to do it, I swear, and it appears right side up everywhere else but here.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-24320242150569485062011-06-27T12:11:00.000-07:002011-06-27T12:12:51.461-07:00Blues for Harvey.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3pMbKZWBoy4WmzPhwzQhhTaturUuqSXodZ_qiZPF2QuvihNFDmZib4_Qevst9WaegtgnHCBgUqRL8XllJq_iqfwowRR-QOwnqnrH5JANBXVfhl-ccMYBz_GOflhVuzhmiRBu/s1600/johnnygriffin_blues+for+harvey.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3pMbKZWBoy4WmzPhwzQhhTaturUuqSXodZ_qiZPF2QuvihNFDmZib4_Qevst9WaegtgnHCBgUqRL8XllJq_iqfwowRR-QOwnqnrH5JANBXVfhl-ccMYBz_GOflhVuzhmiRBu/s400/johnnygriffin_blues+for+harvey.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622979547383402114" /></a><br /><br />My weekend.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-85382687213154644822011-06-27T10:55:00.001-07:002011-06-27T10:55:50.649-07:00Little-known Muybridge.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXHScXFAf4XUkIeBahcN6XVoqYam9aQ3ImYyIIDTowcVSrANGm_641-4_qwK-v8ZVTC_Yr9-dGhru-m6VmHSEjYEUNSbMsGxL_w487gqqdys4nXkIeEdNSv45tlRdC607jRh6i/s1600/muybridge06.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXHScXFAf4XUkIeBahcN6XVoqYam9aQ3ImYyIIDTowcVSrANGm_641-4_qwK-v8ZVTC_Yr9-dGhru-m6VmHSEjYEUNSbMsGxL_w487gqqdys4nXkIeEdNSv45tlRdC607jRh6i/s400/muybridge06.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622959690085997330" /></a><br /><br /><br />Naked man on a horse, courtesy of my friend Chris.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-60612171338352885932011-06-20T11:46:00.001-07:002011-06-20T11:48:01.477-07:00Wellfleet.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8Ushf-1YKVydbpWF_xrJnGAFBBMx3IeCYykTU4P3dUjD24CD5WUKK4lXmD17M3MzTstNy360M6Zgf5tGCLFrNjMrI9wOYLhmu0eWCANuo9cmwsdRJ5P9L99R9PqiGMMINXvN/s1600/photo%252811%2529.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8Ushf-1YKVydbpWF_xrJnGAFBBMx3IeCYykTU4P3dUjD24CD5WUKK4lXmD17M3MzTstNy360M6Zgf5tGCLFrNjMrI9wOYLhmu0eWCANuo9cmwsdRJ5P9L99R9PqiGMMINXvN/s400/photo%252811%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620375590870448418" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSoxpYa5ztmmnewDzlvIRx1hcNPh0Rnh0yZF1ZHYrgtrGLOuMG_5VctO_NH9hVppScvYZu5vQ8MuPMhzfXhoGnq7ie_NLF0oSSUd0T5_etxCUQjeXjP35Xvo9BQV5T1QG-AmCV/s1600/photo%252810%2529.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSoxpYa5ztmmnewDzlvIRx1hcNPh0Rnh0yZF1ZHYrgtrGLOuMG_5VctO_NH9hVppScvYZu5vQ8MuPMhzfXhoGnq7ie_NLF0oSSUd0T5_etxCUQjeXjP35Xvo9BQV5T1QG-AmCV/s400/photo%252810%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620375498736467218" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKW7uwcAKXzzbKwEF0dx_Pcsr-rFavyc8vyA97HSP7CLNc7csIBCoSZvy6a7DN1nFG2rF_xj-1XY_bEC32JroiIZXNZiUhtKhUCBPzxJfvrqCOpZ1dIfc67FeA9aSLRLU1fCu/s1600/photo%25288%2529.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKW7uwcAKXzzbKwEF0dx_Pcsr-rFavyc8vyA97HSP7CLNc7csIBCoSZvy6a7DN1nFG2rF_xj-1XY_bEC32JroiIZXNZiUhtKhUCBPzxJfvrqCOpZ1dIfc67FeA9aSLRLU1fCu/s400/photo%25288%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620375398600649890" /></a>debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-23217986732209091312011-06-15T12:37:00.000-07:002011-06-15T12:41:27.745-07:00Hartigan & O'Hara.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3uOGbke4yrX9y5v1uDg7Rwt8Gy0dv83ghC_UGwSJFFGLQJtlANIVCTEi-RaXtk_vJ_9Ef4iL71O0S4qaPSxHczp852ZbTuRqUUx1QF_Pf-xD6yxCGWtzPltOHYoJNZz6AbZL/s1600/ohara2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3uOGbke4yrX9y5v1uDg7Rwt8Gy0dv83ghC_UGwSJFFGLQJtlANIVCTEi-RaXtk_vJ_9Ef4iL71O0S4qaPSxHczp852ZbTuRqUUx1QF_Pf-xD6yxCGWtzPltOHYoJNZz6AbZL/s400/ohara2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618533242749720498" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirduT3qugb_uRur1nCLVbP9_GePhNrS_z-QNngN037ex6SgEv0El-ieNfB3NTtlWOKwwUwfpzENIi7QIF1xkO3k-ywMqWDVu7BZdCnOxG8IPmQ31tmlSI3VY78W3LNZyHSjR_D/s1600/grace+hartigan+collage.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirduT3qugb_uRur1nCLVbP9_GePhNrS_z-QNngN037ex6SgEv0El-ieNfB3NTtlWOKwwUwfpzENIi7QIF1xkO3k-ywMqWDVu7BZdCnOxG8IPmQ31tmlSI3VY78W3LNZyHSjR_D/s400/grace+hartigan+collage.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618533091117290674" /></a><br /><br /><br />Via the <a href="http://beineckeroom26.library.yale.edu/2011/04/29/for-grace/">Beinecke Library at Yale</a> via <a href="http://www.anambitiousprojectcollapsing.com/">An Ambitious Project Collapsing</a>.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-28893862335676083562011-06-15T09:04:00.000-07:002011-06-15T09:05:38.648-07:00"Facebook Giveth and It Taketh Away" on The Rumpus.<a href="http://therumpus.net/2011/06/funny-women-55-facebook-giveth-and-it-taketh-away/">I am mildly obsessed with Facebook</a>.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-43409454054510026722011-06-15T08:57:00.000-07:002011-06-15T09:00:51.149-07:00New York Young Composers & Improvisors WorkshopMatt's <a href="http://yciw.lrei.org/workshop2011/">website</a> for this workshop has launched! You can hear the amazing compositions of his young students (5th graders!) and read their scores... I am particularly fond of Izzy's "Translucent" and Jack's "Simpatico." Lovely, intuitive website built by Oliver Delano.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-44249609006418368152011-06-15T08:49:00.000-07:002011-06-15T08:55:15.548-07:00New York Pelagic<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1e8reWhW37E4NuzcqacOFJudsKtBKmCiupO1dU-chONiVMT8HhcvPl1RksInrv-1-gtUbQrWBRaXOpn0SmlQsxuGpWU1vuAMdtbtE4b7R9MrIAX4pnXKv7QaRCCbhgKSi1RXK/s1600/newyorkpelagic.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1e8reWhW37E4NuzcqacOFJudsKtBKmCiupO1dU-chONiVMT8HhcvPl1RksInrv-1-gtUbQrWBRaXOpn0SmlQsxuGpWU1vuAMdtbtE4b7R9MrIAX4pnXKv7QaRCCbhgKSi1RXK/s400/newyorkpelagic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618475099835755474" /></a><br /><br />Artist George Boorujy, who I interviewed for Idiom <a href="http://idiommag.com/2011/04/charismatic-megafauna-interview-with-george-boorujy/">here</a>, has a blog detailing his newest project, <a href="http://nypelagic.com/">New York Pelagic</a>, in which he is throwing original drawings of seabirds into the New York waterways. We were at the first launching a few weeks ago. This is the back of my head, as I take a picture of George. The first bottle was discovered by coastal scientists! Read his blog for more juicy details.debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14555936.post-43528158864699291032011-06-08T13:08:00.000-07:002011-06-08T13:12:04.842-07:00Joe Brainard.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xjvLAf4G3U9FaW7PnA0E-AO4fz1EYH2mDzGNRktqY_rUVXbj7kNvRHVJ_lU-dfGYpTWfVU9nqhKhUd-6aTGcrzqFDez9jbR6MZcOL3VTuvadAbdQOIeVfwNx4TmEsGGQQGV7/s1600/joestripphoto1medium.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 69px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xjvLAf4G3U9FaW7PnA0E-AO4fz1EYH2mDzGNRktqY_rUVXbj7kNvRHVJ_lU-dfGYpTWfVU9nqhKhUd-6aTGcrzqFDez9jbR6MZcOL3VTuvadAbdQOIeVfwNx4TmEsGGQQGV7/s400/joestripphoto1medium.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615943473187545394" /></a><br /><br />Thinking about the late artist <a href="http://www.joebrainard.org/BOOKS_JOE_BRAINARD.htm">Joe Brainard</a> today and his fantastic book, <em>I Remember</em>, which I bought for M a while ago...debora kuanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15586251867301064132noreply@blogger.com0