Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Why have art and utility become separated?

It all started with a simple exchange about headstones.

Only a few minutes after I commented to one of my Flickr friends that I was saddened by the fact that art has become a separate compartment in our modern lives, my wife called from the next room, "hey, come see this!" HBO was showing a feature on "The Gates", presented by Christo in Central Park, NYC, in February of 2005.

I think that the piece was very well done, although I only saw less than half of it. It was well under way before my wife managed to discover it. The part I saw showed the emotional impact on a wide variety of people, from local to international. Christo and Jeanne-Claude had aged considerably since I was privileged to see them face to face at Laguna Gloria many (approximately 30) years ago, but then so have I aged, I think. It's harder to see it in my own face.

Throughout history, cultures have been judged by the artistic accomplishments of their everyday lives. It is probably one of the most basic of human deeds. The people who are reputed to have inhabited Seminole Canyon far as long as ten thousand years, left nothing but their art. Only a few fragile remnants of their utilitarian life have been found, but the paintings they did abound! In our harried "modern" life, it appears that art fails to be a part of our everyday lives. I once heard my wife tell of a friend of hers, who was a very talented artist, who claimed that "art is something that has no utilitarian purpose". I abhor the idea that art should be separated from utility.

I suppose it's easy enough to say that "The Gates" had no utilitarian purpose, but for a brief time they stirred the intellect of several thousand people, just as, almost thirty years earlier, the "Running Fence" in California achieved the same purpose.



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7 comments:

Judith Richards Shubert said...

The tombstone is indeed a work of art, Willie, and your viewers comments under the Flickr photo have kept me reading. I, too, have a longing to find out more about the ones who are buried in these little quiet, sometimes, if not more often than not, forgotten cemeteries.

Are you familiar with the Genealogy Bloggers group called "The Graveyard Rabbits?" I think you and the others who've commented here would find the different blogs represented by the group very interesting. I was one of the early members but have since had to withdraw because I felt I couldn't do it justice. Couldn't keep up with the amount of posting I felt needed to be done.

The main website is The Graveyard Rabbit. I do have a couple of Graveyard blogs, however, that I've kept going. Please check them out: Cemeteries with Texas Ties and Cemeteries of the Covered Bridges.

I found your site after reading my cousin's blog Camp Across Texas with Skip & Kay about the rock formations in The Big Bend. I'm glad you were able to "fix" the Anonymous factor!

Willie C said...

So you're Kay?/Linda?'s cousin? I just discovered her blog recently, and was disappointed that she did not have more entries. I hope that I can see some more someday soon!

I think I see a vague family resemblance in your photos. I told you in my Flickr comments that I'm not primarily interested in graveyards, or genealogy, but I try to avoid passing up any opportunity to learn something. So far, I'm still on your "Cemeteries of the Covered Bridges", but I'm a rather slow reader. I'll get to the others soon, I think. Keep your mind working. It's good for you!

Willie C

Willie C said...

Hey, Judith RS.....I just got a hit from Charles Town, West Virginia with your name all over it!!! Thanks for the plug.

Willie C

Judith Richards Shubert said...

Hi Willie! Hope I didn't offend with that "old man" comment! I really appreciate your comments here on Cemeteries with Texas Ties! I think my Twitter followers saw my "tweet" about reading your blog. Glad it brought you a new visitor.

I do feel like you do when I see the stones in the Old Georgetown Cemetery. And in others as well. I was pretty surprised when I saw the Round Rock Cemetery and some of the destruction of the old gravestones that has taken place there.

You said you were surprised to see my post about Tom Allen's grave on Texas Ties. I probably did have it on my other "Bridges" blog, too. I will go and look at the other photos in your Flickr set. I noticed more tombstone pictures in the video on your front page. Have you read my post on Texas Ties about the Aston family and the Thomas West family buried in Tolar? I think they are two of my more interesting tales.

Again, thanks for stopping and leaving your comments. And I'll look forward to reading more from you! And, oh yes, Kay (I call her her Linda Kay) is my first cousin.) She does need to get busy. She takes great pictures and has a great way of writing. Will have to tell her you expect more posts from her adventures in that little camper.

Judy

Willie C said...

I haven't really read too many of your entries yet, but I intend to. I think I'm going to be making a blog entry about my trip up to the Citizens' Memorial Cemetery this morning. I took about 24 photos, and decided I'd go back later for some more.

I think I told you I don't intend to get too heavily involved in genealogy or to specialize in gravestones, but I do enjoy having my imagination stirred up.

Most of my photos make it into Flickr first, and I will probably add my blog entries to the "Those who've gone before" set. I will also probably not do nearly the sort of research that you do, but I'll try to find out more about these once-upon-a-time citizens.

Willie C

Judith Richards Shubert said...

I'm looking forward to your photo essays about the cemeteries you visit, Willie. I must say you have some great posts - I'm enjoying reading them, although I've not been able to read them all yet!

I started using Flickr a while back, and just put enough on to use up the free monthly quota. I've not gone back, but should, I have a lot of photos that I meant to get out there for family members or others looking for a certain family member or friend.

I've put a few on Find-A-Grave, too, but there again, haven't given it my best effort.

We've had a medical crisis here with LK and Skip's oldest son who is 43 (the same as my oldest son). He had a massive heart attack a week and a half ago and is now waiting on open-heart by-pass surgery. We'd appreciate your prayers. He is a father of 3 young daughters and a wife who adores him!

Anyhow, that's one reason LK hasn't gotten back to blogging recently. But I'm sure she'll return in the near future.

Judy

Willie C said...

Thanks for letting me know, Judy. I have both of you listed in my Google Reader, and check in frequently, but sometimes I just look, and don't comment. I'll try to acknowledge more in the future.

Willie C