- Annotated
Bibliography
- Bachelard, Gaston. The
Poetics of Space. Boston: Beacon Press, 1969.
This novel reveals the relationship between building structures,
particularly in reference to houses, and the way in which we
remember things. Going through each part of a house including
the attic and basement, he refers to many literary works which
demonstrate a character being influenced by his home surroundings
and the sort of events that took place within those settings.
While discussing the different aspects of a house and connecting
them with more primitive settings such as huts, he makes readers
consider how their dreams, particularly daydreams are shaped
by these various places. He also discusses the way children view
the homes in which they have lived. He notes that the house people
are born in, and/or spend the most time in, carries the most
influence over a person. Furthermore, remembrances of a childhood
home are seen through a child's eye; one does not see the entire
house, but rather sees fragments of it. Another important idea
that comes up in his writing is the notion of imagining versus
experiencing. He says that it is much better to spend the most
time imagining a space rather than having the entire image placed
before you where there is no room for speculation. Throughout
the entire novel, he really makes one think about the influence
our homes have on our thoughts in general.
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- Bernadac, Marie-Laure. Louise
Bourgeois. New York: Flammarion, 1996.
This book describes the life of the 20th century American Sculptor
Louise Bourgeois with relative detail. Included within this description
is a discussion of her life as an artist. It mainly discusses
her sculptures that contain abstracted or segmented human parts,
i.e. hands. Through these works she begins to deal with the relationships
she has had throughout her life (as signified by the human parts).
The author also discusses some of Bourgeois' other works in the
context of recalled experiences. In other words, her works reflect
her recollections of past relationships within the setting of
their original occurrence. For example, she uses her childhood
home as the foundation for many of her works.
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- Calvino, Italo. Six Memos
for the Next Millennium. New York: Harper Perennial, 1985.
Calvino's memos mainly describe his feelings concerning the role
of books and literature. He does not want their role to be discounted
because they are able to do many things that other forms of communication
cannot. I would argue, after reading his memos that many of the
issues he describes can be found abstractly through art. For
example, Calvino discusses the idea of quickness. In his discussion
he talks about a variety of factors including linking of unusual
events by a common object or phrase, the importance of using
and creating time, and greater effectiveness due to conciseness.
Of these ideas, the part about connecting thoughts seems of greatest
importance to me. Just as he might connect a series of seemingly
unrelated thoughts by some element, I too can connect a series
of seemingly unrelated images into one memory - as the mind often
does.
Perhaps of the greatest importance to me is his memo entitled
Exactitude. He breaks the section into three parts: 1) precise
and thought-out plans for intended work, 2) the calling up of
good images that stick in one's mind (vivid), and 3) perfect
words (exact and few) for expressing even the smallest aspect
of a thought of any kind. Though he is again writing these ideas
in terms of literature, I can still apply them to art. In creating
art it is important to summon the right images and only use the
essential elements that produce a memorable image. Understanding
how these elements work together is important.
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- Faerna, Jose Maria, ed. Trans.
Diane Cobos. De Chirico. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc,
1995.
This book gives a brief description of the life and works of
the 20th century Italian Painter Giorgio de Chirico. His works
draw on ideas of Surrealism, but include elements of the supernatural
and therefore make his art Metaphysical. Although many of his
paintings include morphing bodies or everyday items (gloves,
artichokes), his deserted cityscapes are the most interesting
to me. His use of exaggerated perspective, sharply contrasting
lights and darks, and ambiguous architectural spaces sets up
mysterious settings where anything could happen. Their openness
and lack of actual people promotes a strange silence that further
enhances the intrigue of these paintings.
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- Fineberg, Jonathan. Art
Since 1940: Strategies of Being. Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1995.
This textbook gives summary information about the history of
Modern (and Contemporary) Art. Through discussions of art movements,
it focuses on various artists who have significantly contributed
to the art world. These artists are then discussed in contrast
to each other, the style their art applies to, and the time period
they live(d) in. It was useful for getting general information
about contemporary artists.
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- Gimferrer, Pere. Giorgio
de Chirico. New York: Rizzoli International Publications,
Inc, 1988.
This book gives a brief history of de Chirico's life and discusses
his artistic style. It describes his morphed figures and deserted
cityscapes. In addition, it points out elements of his works
that were inspired by his past - for example, the reoccurrence
of trains as a result of his father being an engineer. His well-known
cityscapes were also linked to places he used to frequent in
his homeland, Italy. Once again, I am drawn to the descriptions
of his open architectural spaces that are filled with exaggerated
perspective, sharply contrasting lights and darks, lack of people,
strange shadows, and anticipated action.
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- Kotik, Charlotta, Terrie
Sultan, Christian Leigh. Louise Bourgeois: The Locus of Memory.
New York: The Brooklyn Museum, 1994.
This catalogue contains a description of Louise Bourgeois' life
and works. It also contains several essays written by the artist
herself and others that describe some of her Cells (her later
installation pieces). These installations are based on her childhood
and familial relationships. The spaces she creates are designed
to reveal her feelings of anxiety and fear, as well as enable
her to work through unresolved issues of the past. Rather than
recreating the settings in which past events occurred, she abstracts
forms and uses symbolic objects and spaces to reveal her feelings.
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- Lively, Penelope. Moon
Tiger. New York: Grove Press, 1987.
Lively's novel focuses on a woman in a hospital bed. Though unable
to move from the hospital, the main character Claudia begins
a history of the world. However, this history comes mainly in
the form of the history of her life. Centering mostly on a love
affair with a man named Tom, she recalls many events from her
past. I liken this novel to Toni Morrison's Beloved, in that
the events of Claudia's life fade in and out as well as change
views a bit. While discussing one occasion, she manages to come
at the experience from many different angles. Overall, the novel
makes one think about the way in which we remember events of
our past. While there may have been the actual event, our minds
often change the course of that event. Small details can be changed
and some added. However, despite any discrepancies within the
memories, the memories belong to the person and form the person.
I found her varying remembrances to be very interesting as a
way to get in better contact with the way in which I remember
events from my own life.
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- Sacks, Oliver. The Man
Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. New York: Harper Perennial,
1985.
In this series of writings, Sacks explores the workings of the
mind. Observing numerous people with all sorts of peculiarities,
he is able to present readers with very interesting workings
of the mind. In many cases people are stuck in one part of their
past. Due to some sort of brain damage, these individuals are
not able to deal with their current surroundings. Other people
lacked short-term memory and therefore fabricated current events
out of pieces of their pasts - a part of their lives they remembered
well. While some in that case are able to find their identity
in their pasts, some are forced to continually remake themselves
and therefore almost lose their identity entirely.
Of particular interest is the section of his book entitled Transports.
This section deals with how one remembers. In the first case,
a woman remembers a phrase of music through seizures that enables
her to remember her past. Continuing to deal with seizures and
other stimuli that cause sudden remembrances of the past, he
turns to the drug L-Dopa. This drug 'wakes up' memories that
have been dormant in one's brain for a variety of reasons. In
each of the cases he presents, people are remembering aspects
of their lives with great detail. Although the memories in these
cases are inspired by artificial or unpleasant means (seizures),
the nature of their remembering and their memories is interesting
to read about.
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- Stachelhaus, Heiner. Trans.
David Britt. Joseph Beuys. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers,
1991.
In this book, Stachelhaus describes the life of the 20th century
German Expressionist Sculptor Joseph Beuys. Going into great
detail about the events of Beuys' life, the author goes so far
as to point out many discrepancies in other accounts of the artist's
life. He talks about Beuys as shaman, teacher, and creator of
art. In describing Beuys' actual works he is quick to note the
references to past events. Furthermore, he notes the nearly fatal
plane crash as having the greatest impact on Beuys' art. Stemming
from the crash is the systematic use of fat and felt. Through
the use of these materials, Beuys is able to evoke the experience
of the past, and present art that inspires viewers to consider
their physicality and presence.
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- Steinmetz, Sol, ed. Random
House Webster's College Dictionary. New York: Random House,
Inc., 1997.
This dictionary was used to get a clear definition of memory
- a definition that I could compare with my own notions.
-
- Sylvester, David. "On
Beuys." Art in America April 1999: 115-117.
This article discusses public perceptions and interactions with
Beuys' works as well as the author's own relationship with the
artist. Sylvester notes that Beuys' works are often based on
past experiences. Despite the fact that viewers are sometimes
unaware of this connection, his works are able to exude a strong
presence. The majority of the article continues the discussion
within the context of Beuys' exhibition at the Dia Center for
the Arts. The exhibit contains works, called Fonds, that use
felt and metal to provoke thoughts of existence. They also encourage
viewers to consider the space they occupy. Furthermore, these
works have a silence that resembles that of de Chirico's paintings.
Thus, through the use and presentation of personally significant
materials, Beuys tries to inspire deep thoughts among his viewers.
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- Tversky, Barbara. "Memory
for Pictures, Maps, Environments, and Graphs." Intersections
In Basic and Applied Memory Research. Mahwah, New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 1997.
This chapter of a larger textbook discusses the organization
of memory. It begins by noting the mind's tendency to remember
objects in relation to other objects. Although there is no real
order of importance when it comes to objects, we find some objects
to be more important than others. This tendency is related to
the fact that we see everything according to its relevance in
our lives. Tversky also describes our inclination to remember
objects and events according to a frame - namely the frame created
by floor, walls, and ceiling. Rather than recalling a single
object, people may first think of where the object is and then
what it looks like. Also, when recalling an event, it is common
for one to recreate the entire space in their minds as a way
of remembering the sequence of events. Generally, Tversky points
out that our minds use places and spaces as sources of reference
for recollection.
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