Katherine Dunham, Deogratias, Godschtuff
Katherine Dunham died this past Sunday. She was on the cover of a dance magazine last year and I was surprised she was still alive. She was 96.
By all accounts she was a remarkable woman. She comes to my attention because of my interest in the history of Modern Dance. She's one of the pioneers, often overlooked because she was an African American pioneer.
Her genius was in her interest not only in dance, but also in anthropology. She held a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Chicago and her work did much to record and preserve dance and ritual of the Caribbean. Of course, her anthropological studies influenced her choreography.
I won't go on here. Here's a decent article going over her career:
http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2006-05-24-voa54.cfm
What a woman.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I finished Deogratias, the graphic novel from First Second Books. I highly recommend it. It's difficult reading, to be sure. It's reading that requires more of your attention than most work produced in comics form. There are sharp, unexpected turns in time periods--but always clearly marked by how the eponymous character is dressed. He wears the same t-shirt throughout, but there is a marked difference between the later period and the earlier.
And while I hate to say it--the death knell of fine literature--the book has a wealth of educational value. I certainly have a better idea of what the Rwandan genocide was about and how it happened and how ordinary people might have been maneuvering within it.
But it's also an education of what's possible within the comics medium. Film is the only other medium that I can think of that can offer so much information so quickly. Visuals are used to not only show action, but to give you subtle clues about the passage (or backtracking) of time. Even in film, it might be difficult to follow, but because comics is a printed, static medium, you control the speed of the story and you can take in the information as you're able, at your pace. Film controls what you see, how you see it, the speed at which you see it. Comics can jar you--intentionally, I'm supposing--but you can take the time to figure it out. Seriously, I think Stassen (the writer/artist) uses the jarring juxtapositions to brilliant effect.
A beautiful, hard, book.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The book I'm reading currently is called The Phoenix Affirmations. It is, as best as I can describe it, a manifesto for an emerging progressive Christian community. I'm only two chapters into it. Already, I'd like to find a group to read it with.
That's all for today. I'm hard at work on Able to..., of course. Just taking a break from it . . .
-Neil
By all accounts she was a remarkable woman. She comes to my attention because of my interest in the history of Modern Dance. She's one of the pioneers, often overlooked because she was an African American pioneer.
Her genius was in her interest not only in dance, but also in anthropology. She held a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Chicago and her work did much to record and preserve dance and ritual of the Caribbean. Of course, her anthropological studies influenced her choreography.
I won't go on here. Here's a decent article going over her career:
http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2006-05-24-voa54.cfm
What a woman.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I finished Deogratias, the graphic novel from First Second Books. I highly recommend it. It's difficult reading, to be sure. It's reading that requires more of your attention than most work produced in comics form. There are sharp, unexpected turns in time periods--but always clearly marked by how the eponymous character is dressed. He wears the same t-shirt throughout, but there is a marked difference between the later period and the earlier.
And while I hate to say it--the death knell of fine literature--the book has a wealth of educational value. I certainly have a better idea of what the Rwandan genocide was about and how it happened and how ordinary people might have been maneuvering within it.
But it's also an education of what's possible within the comics medium. Film is the only other medium that I can think of that can offer so much information so quickly. Visuals are used to not only show action, but to give you subtle clues about the passage (or backtracking) of time. Even in film, it might be difficult to follow, but because comics is a printed, static medium, you control the speed of the story and you can take in the information as you're able, at your pace. Film controls what you see, how you see it, the speed at which you see it. Comics can jar you--intentionally, I'm supposing--but you can take the time to figure it out. Seriously, I think Stassen (the writer/artist) uses the jarring juxtapositions to brilliant effect.
A beautiful, hard, book.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The book I'm reading currently is called The Phoenix Affirmations. It is, as best as I can describe it, a manifesto for an emerging progressive Christian community. I'm only two chapters into it. Already, I'd like to find a group to read it with.
That's all for today. I'm hard at work on Able to..., of course. Just taking a break from it . . .
-Neil
posted by Neil Ellis Orts at 4:10 PM
2 Comments:
Welcome to the blogosphere, Neil! I've added a link to your blog at my Blog of the Grateful Bear, under "Cyberfriends in the Blogosphere." Many blessings!
~ Darrell
Great article on Katherine Dunham. Thanks for posting that! Welcome to Blogland, Neily!
Smooch-
M
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