Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed Shacklee
If you could show me why that part of the sandbox is such a hoot, I'd be obliged.
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Ed,
Nemo's right on this one, I'm afraid. Yes, I get it, it's fun to mock, and one always expects a certain amount of that from certain quarters. But I think you'd be doing yourself a disservice by aligning yourself with one of those quarters in this case. Goldsmith, after all, is an
accomplished guy, and most people here would lose an argument about poetics or aesthetics to him in under five minutes flat. In an embarrassing way.
That's not to say that what he does is my cup of tea. It's not. But even his critics should respect what he's done at PennSound, laugh at the joke he pulled on Poetry, appreciate what it takes to keep a radio show going for 15 years, and admire the work of compendia at
ubuweb. On that last one, especially, I say
Vive le Père Ubu.
And while I'm not shocked that this thread happened, I am a little surprised Rick joined in. After all, he just persuaded us about the virtues of Soutine. I do agree with his estimation, but we should also remember that casual observers know Soutine best for his meat series. Heard of that one? The artist bought a whole side of beef (or at least a big old chuck), had it ported up to his rooms, and painted it as it, um, decomposed. Got several paintings out of it, too. Good ones. But it stank to high heaven. When it got so bad the neighbors started complaining, and eventually decided to call the police, he's reputed to have asked them 'What do they want? Good smells, or great art?'
I'm certain that's not a direct quote, and maybe the story's apocryphal. I'm sure Rick can tell us. But I'm also sure the conversation in the stairwells at Soutine's apartment building in those weeks pretty much sounded like this thread...
Thanks,
Bill