Make-Up Posting, The Book as Art

I owe a posting about the "Book as Art" exhibit at Boston College. This was an experience that I -- or "we," my mother came too -- truly enjoyed. On the lower floor (and I see that others reacted to this, as well), there was a piece by M.L. Van Nice titled, Dinner with Mr. Dewey. The display was accompanied by an artist's statement referencing the Sir Francis Bacon quote, "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested."

This seemed to be an accurate, overarching assessment of the exhibit as a whole. Many of the pieces seemed whimsical, at most, simply presenting the viewer with an unexpected novelty. Those books, which were "to be tasted," only, seemed to include Carrots Anyone?, Bon Bon Mots, The Uneventful Life of Dona Carmen y Costanza, Green Salad, Teatimes, and Eight Slices of Pie. Others seemed to require more consideration, with a deeper meaning to be "swallowed," including The Legacy of Scheherazade, Soap Story, and (I don't remember the title of this one) the book featuring excerpts from Soviet newspapers. Some few definitely deserved to be "chewed and digested;" we thought that Endangered Species, a pop-up book with images of African-American children and children from China, Brazil, Uganda, and the Balkans, certainly warranted much more attention and reflection.

In fact, some of the best art in the room came in the form of reflections from BC faculty members and administrators. Their statements, which were printed on the walls, endeavored to tie together the books by theme, addressing matters of nature, family dynamics, food and nutrition, travel, etc. In these cases, their individual expertise shone through, and achieved the most powerful and lasting impressions of the day. My favorite statement commented on the long-standing environmental struggle that has arisen from man's insistence that he is "above" and separate from the rest of the ecological web. It was great!

Time-Based Society; Time-Based People

Within the context of human social movements, the passage of time more closely resembles a pendulum than it does a straight line. Progressive outbreaks of social thought are met by resistance -- a backlash, some might say -- only to emerge again with heightened fervor in subsequent generations. People reject a way of life as antiquated, but then beatify and resurrect it through nostalgia and revivalism, respectively.

This trend seems most significant in America; our citizens are united by common thoughts and ideals, rather than an immemorial sense of national identity. Accordingly, as an infant nation in a world of ancients, we are still laboring to define ourselves: who we are, where we are going.

All things are better with humor. In Making a Cake...and Friends, I hoped to turn a playful eye toward both the aura of domestic bliss and the darker, repressive and conformist undertones of the 1940s and 50s. I am always drawn to this era of American history -- for its wholesome aesthetic, values, and perceived simplicity -- but still very grateful for the progress we have made as a nation since that time.

This work and future works, I suspect, will center around a hope that we can combine many of the positive attributes of earlier generations (their work ethic, honesty, loyalty and pride) with the positive attributes of our current generation (open-mindedness, tolerance, and activism). This could only ever be achieved, I'd suggest, by careful collective and personal introspection.

In short, let's not defenestrate the baby with the bathwater. We can be as good as our predecessors, and much better than our predecessors at the same time.

Finally, looping in the portrait series of my brother, which will remain untitled, I'd just briefly observe that the "backlash" trend also plays itself out through the course of our own personal development. Oscillating from one extreme to another -- through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood -- we're all following the same, swaying trajectory as our young nation. Yet, it seems, we retain one steady (if complex) identity throughout.

Making a Cake...and Friends.

Baking instructions, etiquette, emotional volatility - it's all here!