Laura Marks- not a figment of the imagination

I really enjoyed the presentation today. I thought about things like the connection between geometric decoration and the contemplation of numbers (an arabic invention) during "Allahu Akbat". I also thought it was interesting to think about whirling Sufi mystics imagining those types of mandala images as they spun themselves into a religious trance. I often enjoy the electronic crossover you get from the Middle East. I had a short run of watching YouTube videos from Turkey last semester.

I often think about how amazing it is that so many sensual and textural elements exist in art that comes from a region we all learn to think about as evil and repressive these days. In reality, we are talking about a small minority of people who would fit the representation. "Les Egares" acknowledged that idea, in imagery- where the decidedly western looking people in it were still connected to the architecture of their religious culture, still facing the direction of prayer, and praying in the end even as the poem expressed a more modern sentiment in French.

I said in my last entry, I cannot imagine growing up with that kind of background noise. As in dead time, where the distant rumbles have no effect on the people in the street. They don't even look up to see who is coming up the street. It's just normal. Even in the superman shirt, there is no outrage, indeed the very thought of protest is explained away as something funny, that he just didn't have the mood for. Even "In this House" brought out that impossible idea of the real spectre of bombs accidentally buried in your backyard, and having to have three government agencies involved in the recovery of a simple letter. (Also, I was going crazy with the guy digging because he just kept digging in his own direction and didn't listen to the obvious directions to dig closer to the house.)

I think the letters from Beruit more than anything show how insulated we are from that kind of existence, history is not on our heels, at least not yet. Perhaps in 500 years, as things get clouded by time it may be. After all, I recently saw some online postings about how great the 80's were. By people who couldn't possibly remember. It's like my friend who wishes it was the 50's. So not quite on our heels, but working towards it. The 50's? Yeah, we have forgotten apartheid and the real belief that we could drop the bomb if we had to. The 80's? Yeah, we've already forgotten about the beginning of a class war fueled by HIV, crack cocaine and trickle down economics. It's a real good question, how and whether to represent history. I don't have an answer. Chakar's footnotes give the best light on history: it is constructed for the moment from our own memories, the memories that suit the story of the week, some songs and the Discovery Channel.