(Untitled)

[flippanti]

a long passage from proust, the 6th volume of la recherche du temps perdu (i'm sure that french is entirely wrong, but whatever). if you're really bored you can read it, and then you can tell everyone that you've read proust because you're all intellectual and french like that

Comments

[sexanalities]

does quickly scrolling my mouse down the whole page without reading a single word, mean that I could possibly still tell my emo friends that "I'm all intellectual and french like that" for uhm.. reading, Bukowski? naw.. what was it?..hmm.. oh yeah, proust?

[flippanti]

lol, yeah, totally counts

[chet_lemon]

I'm an ADD monkey and those are long words.

I did read about 2 sentences though, so I guess technically I have read "some Proust back in my law school days."

[berkborn]

Yeah, uhhmm, sorry I just skimmed it too like these other two losers. (just kidding)
I've been hanging out with an NYU sophomore at work lately... she's the boss' daughter and is very cool.
Reading some of your past entries- Alexa is getting a divorce? Wow. I'll just decline to say anything more.
I don't think I said it clearly enough in my last e-mail to you: I am so, so sorry. About everything, especially your grandfather. And as stupid and trite as it sounds, I hope that you and your sister will grow closer... sometimes it takes a while to happen.

[sutelae]

I know you! ;)

[berkborn]

Yes, I know you too, Sandra. :)

[aiwritingfic]

Sorry ... but if you liked Proust, I have to say, that bored me ... :(

[oslo]

*laughs* Is this a posthumous work? Wouldn't the term be up, since Proust died in 1922, if it weren't? And are *we* doing anything illegal by downloading a copy of this excerpt -- when *you* are the one distributing it?

*giggles strangely*

Anyway, I've gotten through most of this, and I might finish it, but I'm curious, in reference to the comment you left in my journal, what this passage represents for you? You said there are ideas in it which represent what you think about art -- can you be more *ahem* specific?

Personally I find in this passage the construction of an artistic "subject" more than its description. I'm not sure I buy the "art provides windows into multiple subjective realities" bit. But I suppose you might have expected that?

[flippanti]

haha, i knew i'd posted wayyy too much of this passage, but i didn't feel like reading it through

[oslo]

It seems there are two claims about art being made here, the first being that 1) Art allows us access to the subjective worlds constructed by others, specifically, artists, more specifically, artists who are geniuses, and 2) Art allows us access to something which transcends or underlies all... thought... or something. Were I to formulate the second claim semiotically, that is, if we were to restate Proust's claim as: Art allows us access to a pre- or post-semiotic sense reality, a reality which is cognized without the use of signs, we would get, I think, at Proust's idea, while at the same time, setting up a strawman (because it is fairly easy to demonstrate that if art is meant to point us in the direction of any version of reality, it is necessarily signifying, even if it fails to do so in an explicit or direct way, which is basically a technical way of exposing Proust's own conceit, where he disclaims the ability of critics and commentators to understand or comprehend the true nature of art, even while using the artisitc moment to

[flippanti]

no, this is interesting to me... i'm not exactly defending his point, just trying to understand what it is he means, and what exactly my own understanding of the issues are. i *want* to have a "theory" or opinion of my own about this that backs up my gut feelings which i (as of yet) am unable to organize into a coherent argument... i found what P. has to say attractive, but its not exactly relevant to my own life since i'm pretty far from being a celibate of art or an artist or whatnot, which is why your perspective interests me (even if you shy away from labeling yourself as an artist, you obviously have thought about these kinds of things more than i have).

ok, so no more of my difficult diversions for awhile, i'll get back to my wills and trusts, bleh.