“Illumination” Exercise

put into Epiphany form a scene or memory from personal experience

I like the concept of going back to a scene or memory from personal experience and carrying into that moment something I’ve learned since that point. This appeals to me because I have a terrible memory and therefore the idea of an epiphany (whether major or minor) is terrifying in ways. What if I did have a moment of clarity as a child and now that I’m older, I’ve simply forgotten it? If a “eureka!” moment happens and no one is around to remember it, is it still a “eureka!” moment?

So, going back to a past moment in my life and bringing new information to the table. This would be a prime opportunity to pop back into my old Sunday school classroom and drop a few knowledge bombs onto my unsuspecting younger self, but I feel like that’s another exercise alltogether. Instead, I want to go back to a moment in a library. I spent almost as much time in my small town’s local library as I did in my aforementioned Sunday school classroom. Imagine a figure curled up in one of those horribly designed library chairs with no discernible support whatsoever, surrounded by stacks of books, and you’re at the scene.

The insight I wish to bring to this recast event is fairly simple: enjoy the discomfort of the library chair. A clearer sentiment would detail how time flies. How girls surrounded by stacks of books will grow into young women surrounded by stacks of textbooks. That reading for pleasure is upgraded into reading for education, a sacrifice that is accepted and promoted in society. The concept of time was not entirely unfamiliar to me as an optimistic 8-9-10-11 (fill in the blank) year old, but I thought it dragged on more than it really does.

“Haiku Design” Exercise

As I understand it, the purpose of this exercise is meant to focus writing. Ulmer dictates: “Think in terms of the ‘survival’ of your words in the flood of language circulating in cyberspace.” Twitter immediately comes to mind. Users (myself included) are forced to utilize brevity and conciseness in sharing their thoughts. I am certain this exercise is meant to be used throughout the assigned exercises and not solely for this blog entry.

In summary:

“Obtuse Meanings” Exercise

I think this photo is a wonderful example of the “studium” and “punctum” meaning one can derive from an image. The nameable meaning to this image is easy: a sunrise in a small town. As I was the photographer of this image, I also derive a certain degree of obtuse meaning from this photograph. The obtuse meaning of this image has a number of layers for me. I distinctly recall that this photo was taken on January 1st of this year. The significance of the date coupled with the optimism associated with sunrises creates an emotional response for me because I associate my optimism going into the new year with this photo. Additionally, this was taken in my home town. I can clearly make out every barely visible business and street sign solely because the surroundings are familiar to me. On one hand this photograph represents a future, a sunrise for a year just beginning… on the other, it represents a lifetime of memories contained within the city limits.

 

I took an Art Appreciation course a few years ago, and we briefly touched on the artistry and methods Jackson Pollock used when creating his numbered paintings. I remember falling in love when I looked at the featured “No. 5“ in my textbook; that feeling of total jealousy and admiration I experienced when I visited the High two Decembers ago and was able to look squarely in the face of his “1A”. For some reason, Pollock’s frenzied paint splatter has always struck a chord within me. Some might look at this picture and idly scroll by, identifying it as a painting and nothing more. Some might not even consider Pollock’s work art by any means, which is again representative of the “studium” and “punctum” meanings one can draw from images. This particular photograph stirs up fond memories of my visit to the High museum in addition to memories of my Art Appreciation course and the fondness I cultivated for Pollock’s work while in that class.

 

 

 

“Term Extensions” Exercise

For this exercise I have chosen the textile art of sewing. I believe this craft serves as an excellent metaphor for developing knowledge in my career field (English) not only because it is heavily reliant on text, which is a derivative term from “textile”, but also because I believe the processes involved in sewing are easily transferred onto the term “culture” as we know it.

Not unlike agriculture, the craft of sewing has several branches and aspects to it: embroidery, knitting, weaving, and quilting all relate back to sewing in some form or fashion. Incidentally, just as agriculture can be used to extend the scope of the original transformation (of the Latin term cultura) and establish a chain of equivalences… so can sewing.

I decided to create a rudimentary image representative of the chain of equivalences that occurs when adopting the textile art of sewing to the term “culture”:

As previously stated, I believe that viewing sewing in this way also aids my understanding of the “culture” of my career field. Just as sewing began with a primitive need to tell stories and share myths, my purpose in choosing English as a career path is grounded in my love for storytelling. Additionally, I chose to use the “social” box to outline sewing as it was most widely used in the Middle Ages up to the 19th century because I believe this is the best word to describe the intention behind the craft during this period. Young women were expected to be accomplished in several crafts (including embroidery), and these accomplishments served as support for their standing within high society. In the same vein, quilting in this period was used both to tell stories, just as weaving was used in the past, and also to create a social event where women could meet and freely talk. In many circles, acts of sewing were used in this manner: groups of women would work on their craft together, both creating a discourse in their art as well as a spoken discourse with each other. The social “culture” of my chosen field has evolved over time as well. I believe English as a field has evolved from the constricted academic structure it started with into a more open, social environment. As we discussed in class, writing has undergone an evolution as well, and in the digital age writing has become an infinitely less individual-based process than it was in the past. Finally, the modern aspects of sewing can be used as an extension of the term “culture” because it represents a more corporate, industrialized focus and in considering the history of “culture”, modern interpretations have a similar focus.