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HOW LARGE CAN INTERPRETATION BE WITH MINIMALIST ARTWORKS?

YOU CAN SHOW THAT THE ESSENCE OF MINIMALISM RELIES ON HOW WE INTERPRET IT.

MINIMALIST ARTS GIVE WAY TO DIFFERING POINTS OF VIEW

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KEY IDEAS

“Lighght” is something you see rather than read. Look at “lighght” as a poem and you might not get it. Look at it as a kind of photograph, and you’ll be closer. “The difference between “lighght” and another type of poem with more words is that it doesn’t have a reading process,” says Saroyan, who lives in Los Angeles and teaches writing at the University of Southern California. His Complete Minimal Poems was published in June by Ugly Duckling Presse. “Even a five-word poem has a beginning, middle, and end. A one-word poem doesn’t. You can see it all at once. It’s instant.”

The poem also refers to something light, the opposite of heavy, as it is a one-word poem.

It is a piece of provocative art to show that only one word can be brain-racking.

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KEY IDEAS
·        A series of 8 identical cubes lined up against a white wall at the back of a spacious room.

·        The cubes are all alike and symmetrical, proportionate, similar.

·        The space between each box is the same.

·        [the cubes are made of concrete and paint]

·        This is an indoor artwork.

·        The boxes are set on the floor.

·        This is a monochrome, a three – dimension artwork

·        There is some volume, some relief.

·        It insists on perfection, the perfect similarity and geometry of the shapes in space

·        There is the idea of repetition, looking alike, uniformity

·        We could question the use of such boxes indoors ? Mere decoration ? Has it got any usefulness ? What could we use these boxes for ? to take a seat ?

·        These boxes do not invade the whole space as if they did not want to take too much space but paradoxically, they are quite visible and take much space visually

·        Order and simplicity are the most important elements of his work

·        Meaning ? We all behave the same ? Follow rules ? There is no place for originality, newness, craziness in our lives ? We live in housing that look like boxes ? We are trapped in our lives, locked up on our lives ? As if we were imprisoned ?

+ THE PRESENTATION IN GROUPS OF OTHER SCULPTURES FROM MINIMALIST ARTISTS

CARL ANDRE, DAN FLAVIN, ANN TRUITT, ROBERT MORRIS, RONALD BLADEN, TONY SMITH

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It is clearly a call for unity / togetherness.
He wants to involve everyone in his fight to struggle against racism and racial hatred.

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LIEN POUR LA NOUVELLE THE BATH

https://fdocuments.in/reader/full/the-bath-raymond-carver

KEY IDEAS

·  He concentrates our attention on the event of the story.    ·  Little sentimentality or emotion.

·  We observe without being asked to become involved in the story.

·  Bathing: A fairly mundane, every-day aspect of life and A ritualistic, religious cleansing (wash the pain away).

·  A cold bath -- forces one to wake up -- e.g., the parents begin to realize that life is tenuous (life hangs by a thread).

·  Most characters lack compassion and empathy.

BUT  they do not lack compassion so much as they lack the means of expressing it  due to  poor communication skills. When words fail, they use body language

·  The telephone: A symbol and an agent of modern communication (or miscommunication ?)

·  The mother and father :  attempting distance? displacement? -- their speculative observations of others: displacement? seeking connection? making it real? understanding it?

·  The ending -- deliberately ambiguous -- is it the hospital or the baker? -- leaves us hanging on the phone.

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The Bath - Raymond Carver - [PDF Document]

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LIEN PDF /
https://creativewriting.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/files/2012/01/46_2006_carver.pdf

THE LONGER VERSION OF THE BATH ( 1981)

A REALISTIC STYLE VERSUS A MINIMALIST STYLE

THE MAIN DIFFERENCES WITH THE BATH

1 / A Small, Good Thing switches emphasis

from action to emotion.

2/ THE CHARACTERS ARE GIVEN NAMES FROM THE START.They are no longer referred to as mere functions (mother , father, doctor, baker…)

3/ SCOTTY’S FRIENDS / THE NURSES AND DOCTORS  EXHIBIT COMPASSION

4/ THE PARENTS DISPLAY LOVE, WORRY, FEAR, SORROW , ANGER, MISUNDERSTANDING… Their communication is verbal, visual and gestural.

5/ WE ARE EXPLAINED  SPECIFICS OF SCOTTY’S STATE ( Coma,unconsciousness, consequences of a shock, trauma, concussion…)

6 / The story continues much longer after the last line in The Bath ‘ It’s about Scotty, yes.’

-     We witness Scotty’s last breath

-     We are told about the parents’ confusion as the doctors kept saying Scotty would wake up.

-     We have a baker – parents confrontation.

-     We learn about the baker’s life.

-     The baker apologizes and the parents forgive him.

-     The symbols of bread sharing / life goes on.

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KEY IDEAS
·        His editor ( Gordon Lish ) and his publishing house ( Knopf ) opposed the publishing of the original version, made cuts in the story and reshaped it.

·        They wanted to stick to the new popular genre of literature that met success at the time : Minimalism versus realism.

·        Carver did not have his word to say and the collection of short stories ( What we talk about when we talk about love) was published wiithout his consent.

·        They went against Carver’s disapproval and did as they pleased ( all this was surely a money matter…)

·        GORDON LISH WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN CARVER’S REPUTATION. HE WANTED HIM TO USE 5 WORDS INSTEAD OF 15.

·        CARVER NEVER THOUGHT OF HIMSELF AS A MINIMALIST , HE REJECTED CATEGORIES AND GENRE.

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KEY IDEAS
2 / * 59-year-old Daniel Blake has just had a heart attack and his cardiologist has not allowed him to return to work.

* Yet, he met a woman who carried out an assessment (mener une évaluation) for Employment Support Allowance(= allocation chômage) and after a few questions, she concluded he could work again.Thus, Employment and Support Allowance was denied to him.

* His doctor’s conclusion was not taken into account.

* As a result, the Job Center asked him to keep looking for work, and said that he could only hoped for Job Seeker’s Allowance, which is almost nothing.

3/ * Some needy people have to queue up and wait for hours to get some free food from the food bank. There are hundreds of people waiting. They can’t afford buying food.

* Katie is one of them with 2 kids. She is so starving / overcome with hunger that she secretly opens a tin and eats with bare hands.

Then , she felt ashamed and apologized endlessly. She completely breaks down.

* Ken Loach emphasizes on the distress, pain, need,shame, starvation  and extreme precarity of unemployed people in Manchester.

4/* He stands up against unfairness, injustice. He feels people are unfairly punished, sanctioned  for being jobless and poor. He thinks people are trapped and tripped (be tripped on = avoir des bâtons dans les roues) on during the work capability assessment (= évaluation).

Everything seems to be done to prevent them from being paid an allowance. Getting financial support is an obstacle course ( = parcours du combattant). What’s more, they talk them out ( = dissuader de )of appealing ( = faire appel).

5/ * He tagged the wall of the Job Center to draw attention on his harsh, sensitive  situation.

* He would like his appeal to be heard, to go through before the end of his allowance, before he gets nothing anymore.

* Passers-by are puzzled, amazed, astonished, supportive, amused, laughing.

6/ * He is walking past a wall, which must be the one he tagged.

* He is raising his fist to show how determined / srong-willed he is to go all the way (=aller jusqu’au bout), to keep struggling for his rights and for justice.

* He is not standing still but walking which shows he remains active, and he won’t give up.

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THE MAIN FEATURES OF MINIMALIST SCULPTURES

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THE MAIN FEATURES OF MINIMALIST SCULPTURES

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* The art is abstract and geometric.
* It emerged in the 60s in the USA
* It was the rejection of the expressionist genre in the 50s ( a style in which the artist seeks to depict subjective emotions)
* hard-edged, basic shapes, avoided allusion, metaphor and symbolism
* fabricated with new and industrial materials
* The artists wanted to remove expression and emotion. They wanted a new startling realness.
* The forms were repeated and regular

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SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY BY U2, RELEASED IN 1985

I can't believe the news today
Oh, I can't close my eyes and make it go away

How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long? How long?

'Cause tonight
We can be as one
Tonight

Broken bottles under children's feet
Bodies strewn across the dead-end street
But I won't heed the battle call
It puts my back up, puts my back up against the wall

Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Alright, let's go

And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won?
The trenches dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart

Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday

How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long? How long?

'Cause tonight we can be as one, tonight
Tonight, tonight (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Tonight, tonight (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Alright, let's go

Wipe the tears from your eyes
Wipe your tears away
I'll wipe your tears away
I'll wipe your tears away (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
I'll wipe your bloodshot eyes (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)

Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday

And it's true we are immune
When fact is fiction and TV reality
And today the millions cry (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)

The real battle just begun (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
To claim the victory Jesus won (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
On Sunday, Bloody Sunday, yeah
Sunday, Bloody Sunday

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL by Pink Floyd, released in 1979 + the video clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR5ApYxkU-U

When we grew up and went to school
There were certain teachers who would
Hurt the children any way they could
By pouring their derision
Upon anything we did
Exposing every weakness
However carefully hidden by the kids
But in the town it was well known
When they got home at night, their fat and
Psychopathic wives would thrash them
Within inches of their lives

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teacher, leave them kids alone
Hey! Teacher! Leave them kids alone!

All in all, it's just another brick in the wall
All in all, you're just another brick in the wall

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers, leave them kids alone
Hey! Teacher! Leave us kids alone!

All in all, you're just another brick in the wall
All in all, you're just another brick in the wall

Wrong, do it again!
Wrong, do it again!
If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!
(Wrong, do it again!)
How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?
(Wrong, do it again!)
You! Yes! You behind the bike sheds! Stand still, laddie!
(If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!
How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?)
(You! Yes! You behind the bike sheds! Stand still, laddie!)

ZOMBIE BY THE CRANBERRIES, RELEASED IN 1994

Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken

But you see it's not me
It's not my family
In your head, in your head
They are fighting
With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head, in your head
They are cryin'

In your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey
What's in your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey, hey, oh

Dou, dou, dou, dou
Dou, dou, dou, dou
Dou, dou, dou, dou
Dou, dou, dou, dou

Another mother's breakin'
Heart is taking over
When the violence causes silence
We must be mistaken

It's the same old theme
Since nineteen-sixteen
In your head, in your head
They're still fightin'
With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head, in your head
They are dyin'

In your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey
What's in your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey, hey
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hey, oh, ya, ya-

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Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall (HQ)

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KEY IDEAS

SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY

·        “Bloody Sunday” was a term given to an incident, which took place on 30th January 1972 in Derry, Northern Ireland where British Soldiers shot 28 unarmed civilians who were peacefully protesting against Operation Demetrius. Thirteen were killed outright, while another man lost his life four months later due to injuries. Other protesters were injured by rubber bullets or batons, and two were run down by army vehicles.

·        This massacre is reported to have the highest number of people killed in a single shooting incident during the conflict. The first person to have addressed these events musically was John Lennon who composed “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and released it on his third Solo album “Sometime In New York City”. His version of the song directly expresses his anger towards the massacre, which also shows his political viewpoints in the complexity of the longstanding problems that exist between the Irish & British.

·        This massacre is reported to have the highest number of people killed in a single shooting incident during the conflict. The first person to have addressed these events musically was John Lennon who composed “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and released it on his third Solo album “Sometime In New York City”. His version of the song directly expresses his anger towards the massacre, which also shows his political viewpoints in the complexity of the longstanding problems that exist between the Irish & British.

·        U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” version of the song is designed to transport the listener into 1970’s war-torn Ireland where your present watching the horror unfold as an observer. Their version of accounts are instead inspired by their passive-aggressive approach to the situation with verses like “How long must we sing this song?”, which signifies their anger towards the authorities’approach to the situation. However, that verse is immediately followed by ’Cause tonight, we can be as one, Tonight”, which signifies that the door is still open for a peace treaty.

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KEY IDEAS

* Centered on the Second World War era, the narrator describes his childhood as a rather traumatic one in which his father leaves him to go and fight the war. His father never returns since he gets killed, and leaves this little child with nothing but a memory, and an old photo in his family album. This pain of having been abandoned by his father becomes the first brick he builds up to face people as he grows up.

* In the second part, the narrator recalls his schooling days where his ‘evil’ teachers wanted nothing but to control him to do things in a particular way. He describes the teachers in a negative light. He apparently feels they gain some kind of gratification from mentally abusing and punishing children. The chorus urges a protest by kids against this kind of fixed technique which immaturely impedes creativity in young children.

* The narrator also depicts the nature of certain behavioral controls that were introduced in schools during that period. Children were only served the extra pudding attached to their lunch if only they finished their lunch first. This kind of conditioning seems to have had an adverse effect on the singer who eventually qualifies it as another brick in the wall.

* This is the last straw that breaks the camel’s back, and probably the most painful. The narrator can’t deal with his sadness/depression anymore. He now transitions into a defensive state where he does not want to have anything to do with people. Having no arms around signifies denying himself of any sort of comfort. He concludes that he does not need anything at all and justifies his motives for isolating himself with the wall he has built.

* The “wall” itself is a metaphor for the psychological barrier (i.e. isolation) the singer has put around himself. The “brick(s)”, on the other hand, represent the individual traumas which made him withdraw even further.

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KEY IDEAS

* This was inspired by the IRA bombing in Warrington, Cheshire, England on March 20, 1993. Two children, Jonathan Ball and Tim Parry, were killed. The IRA (Irish Republican Army) is a militant group that was determined to remove British troops from Northern Ireland.

* Lead singer Dolores O'Riordan claimed that "Zombie" speaks about "the Irish fight for independence that seems to last forever." The lyrics even say, "It's the same old theme since 1916."

* This song takes the unassailable position that killing young children is tragic, but in venturing into the political fray, it created a great deal of controversy. This didn't surprise O'Riordan. "I knew that would be the angle of the song, because it was controversial," she told Songfacts. "But, I suppose I was kind of taken aback with the success of the song. I didn't know it was going to be that successful."

* The Cranberries claim they wrote "Zombie" to be a "song for peace, peace among England and Ireland."

* Let’s take a look at the historic context of the song :

Irish Republican Army (IRA), also called Provisional Irish Republican Army, republican paramilitary organization seeking the establishment of a republic, the end of British rule in Northern Ireland, and the reunification of Ireland.

In 1993, IRA made two bomb attack in Warrington, England, in the second attact, when two small bombs exploded in litter bins outside shops and businesses on Bridge Street. Two children were killed and dozens of people were injured.

In protesting this event, the irish rock band the Cranberries wrote the song “Zombie” . “This song’s our cry against man’s inhumanity to man; and man’s inhumanity to child” This is the quote from Dolores O’Riordan – both the acoustic guitar of the band and the writer of the song.

The song holds the vision of the artist: the IRA couldn’t speak for the Ireland and she believe it’s a group of people with hatred who live in the past.

So the elements of the song, the melody, the tempo, the timbre, the dynamics of the sounds seems to accompany the context and the lyrics of the song. The song feels heavy, dark and the themes of the song, which are war, violence are in coherence with the elements of the song. The use of the instruments: guitar, bass and drums and the accompanying singer form the overall sounds of the song.