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Re: Abstractist Bric-A-Brac (PF,the poem)
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Dear Matt,
Braque's a cubist, who broke up and rearranged space, but was still
representational, still painted things.
Abstractionists are, I think, by definition, non-representational. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_expressionism
>
This doesn't altogether negate what you say though.
Nevertheless you seem to assume that VN would maintain a strict and
single value semantics between these two occurrences,
instead of a freer, plastic, developmental kind of semantics, which I
think makes more sense for VN's overall creative enterprise.
But what really tends to convince is, simply, that Shade is a poet,
associated with Frost in the context of the work, and similar to him
in possessing a pretty strict traditional poetics, i.e. meter,
rhyme(often), and generally unambiguous subject matter.
Things that Stevens was not, or only on occasions (e.g. Postcard, Key
West).
The Frost/Stevens exchange embodies these aesthetic differences.
It's seems entirely natural to me that Shade should share Frost's
attitude and allude to his words.
That said, I have no doubt that VN is alluding to this line in Pale
Fire in the passage that you quote from Ada.
Nonetheless, I appreciate your thoughts,
Gary L
On Feb 1, 2010, at 9:35 AM, Matthew Roth wrote:
> Gary,
> Interesting note about Frost and Stevens. My own feeling is that
> Shade/VN had the abstract expressionist painters in mind, rather
> than Stevens. In Ada, chapter 3, we find: "the mere geographic
> aspect of the affair possesses its redeeming comic side, like those
> patterns of brass marquetry, and bric-a-Braques, and the ormolu
> horrors that meant "art" to our humorless forefathers" (17). Vivian
> Darkbloom glosses this as "Braques: allusion to a bric-a-brac
> painter."
>
> Best,
> Matt Roth
> Search the archive Contact the Editors Visit "Nabokov Online Journal"
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> both co-editors.
>
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Braque's a cubist, who broke up and rearranged space, but was still
representational, still painted things.
Abstractionists are, I think, by definition, non-representational. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_expressionism
>
This doesn't altogether negate what you say though.
Nevertheless you seem to assume that VN would maintain a strict and
single value semantics between these two occurrences,
instead of a freer, plastic, developmental kind of semantics, which I
think makes more sense for VN's overall creative enterprise.
But what really tends to convince is, simply, that Shade is a poet,
associated with Frost in the context of the work, and similar to him
in possessing a pretty strict traditional poetics, i.e. meter,
rhyme(often), and generally unambiguous subject matter.
Things that Stevens was not, or only on occasions (e.g. Postcard, Key
West).
The Frost/Stevens exchange embodies these aesthetic differences.
It's seems entirely natural to me that Shade should share Frost's
attitude and allude to his words.
That said, I have no doubt that VN is alluding to this line in Pale
Fire in the passage that you quote from Ada.
Nonetheless, I appreciate your thoughts,
Gary L
On Feb 1, 2010, at 9:35 AM, Matthew Roth wrote:
> Gary,
> Interesting note about Frost and Stevens. My own feeling is that
> Shade/VN had the abstract expressionist painters in mind, rather
> than Stevens. In Ada, chapter 3, we find: "the mere geographic
> aspect of the affair possesses its redeeming comic side, like those
> patterns of brass marquetry, and bric-a-Braques, and the ormolu
> horrors that meant "art" to our humorless forefathers" (17). Vivian
> Darkbloom glosses this as "Braques: allusion to a bric-a-brac
> painter."
>
> Best,
> Matt Roth
> Search the archive Contact the Editors Visit "Nabokov Online Journal"
> Visit Zembla View Nabokv-L Policies Manage subscription options
> All private editorial communications, without exception, are read by
> both co-editors.
>
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/