for woolgatherers only

Patti Smith.

Singer-songwriter + poet + visual artist.

a remarkable influence on NYC punk rock movement with her "Horses".


Apart from her musical career -her : being called as the "Godmother of Punk" - ,
I would like to write about her success in literature.

Her National Book Award Winner(2010) book "Just Kids" , which was published as a memoir; was a triumph. It was mostly focused on her relationship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe. " a quirky tour of New York's underground music and art scenes of the late 60's and 70's/ a love letter to M." as Asbury Park described it . The greatest influence of this memoir on me was getting to know "The Beat Generation" better, and from a whole different point of view/ from an insider's view :)


As a reader's advice I must add:

Patti's 1992 " Woolgathering" is for "woolgatherers " only !

That means you should have this utopic / unrealistic imaginative power + ability to dream ( even to dream of impossible things) . Only then will you be able to internalize the book's main content. The story ( can also be seen as a memoir) leads us to the middle of nowhere , in which Patti -as a little girl - waits for us. She tries to give hints to make us understand how it feels to be in her shoes even just for ca. 100 pages.

Having a look at the etymological definiton of "wool+ gathering" :

1. indulgence in idle fancies and in daydreaming
2. gathering of the tufts of wool shed by sheep and caught on bushes.

The writer makes reference to the both meanings.

When she was a kid, she knew some people , who did Woolgathering for a living. And somehow she has always admired them, as if this was the greatest profession in the world.

She uses the other meaning "the absentmindedness" to describe her "moments". As she gets older she always makes herself remember of those childhood days ; so that she sticks to the past whenever she feels discomfort in present. It is like a little trick of hers for survival. Don't we all need those tricks? The ones, that snatch us away from our present moment and make us little kids again. No worries,No responsibilities, no connection to elderliness. In that very moment we forget about being responsible and grumpy; and we quit being overwhelmed by the tension,which surrounds us all over. All we need is to be a child again and dream dream dream...


But still. I guess such a point of view is for "real woolgatherers" only?!

Eine literarische Auflösung

Für mich waren die Romans immer im Vordergrund. Die Novelle,Maerchen,Legende,Kurzgeschichten waren ja auch unterhaltsam. Aber ein Roman konnte keiner von denen sein. Ich fand immer , es sei keine bessere literarische  Gattung .. Aber genau in diesem Zeitpunkt veraendere ich meine Meinung: die Biographien sind die besten! Diese radikale Auflösung von mir ist dadurch entstanden; dass ich meine Perspektive zur Literatur-Welt auch geaendert habe. Was kann interessanter/ aufschlussreicher/ wirkungsvoller als eine Biographie sein? Nichts, UBERHAUPT nichts! Die Menschen, die die Welt geaendert haben und sogar die jenigen,die eine winzige Spur auf der Welt ausgesetzt haben... Wir können ihre Beitraege niemals  viel genüg abdienen. Und jeder von uns entwickelt sich mit der "wirklichen" Wahrnehmung von "gestern" (sozusagen: die Geschichte) und verwirklicht es nochmal ( und am besten eine korrigierte Version:)) im Gegenwart. Der kann nur eine bessere Zukunft für sich bilden,wenn er diesen Prozess verinnerlicht. " Verinnerlichung" ist der Schlüssel. Eine Verinnerlichung durch die Biographien -die lebendigen Schreibwerke- ist der beste Weg zum entgültigen Glück ; sowohl in der Literaturwelt als auch in der realen Welt.


Meine Lieblingsbiographien:

Camille Claudel( Anne Delbee)
Mata Hari ( Jean Rene Pallas)

( beide sind von der selben "Frauen" Serie)


Drei Meister ( Stefan Zweig)

Marie Antoinette (Stefan Zweig)

Bowie's sci-fi

Yesterday I saw a movie of great taste.

It was Nicolas Roeg's science-fiction(1976). This British sci-fi has a special meaning to me for 2 reasons: firstly, David Bowie stars in the movie as our "one and only" extraterrestrial(alien) who crash lands on Earth. He has one main aim of seeking water for his unique planet, which is suffering from drought. I must also mention that ; it is Bowie's first starring film role. The other reason ,which is also very important to me , is that : this movie made me love the genre of science-fiction! Until now, I always had a distance to this genre. And if you were to ask ... Well I don't know why ... Maybe I was just not into it. The difference in this one comes from the surreal imagery and the fact that it is a cult ! The film is based on the  novel of the same name by Walter Tevis.

Here are some facts,which prove that the film effected popular culture in many different ways and branches:

- The cover art for Bowie's 1977 album "Low" is based on the film's poster. His 1976 album " Station to Station"  features another still from the film.

- The Music Video to Guns N' Roses's 1987 " Welcome to The Jungle" was partially based on The Man Who Fell to Earth.

- Michael Fassbender has said he used Bowie's performance as an inspiration for The android David in Ridley Scott's 2012 science fiction film " Prometheus" .

- The television series "Fringe" features a recurring character who uses the alias Thomas Jerome Newton. The series had previously used a character named David Robert Jones , which is Bowie's birth name.

- A poster for The Men Who Fell to Earth can be seen in The 2011 film "Green Lantern" .

After 134 minutes , you will end up having a little crush on Bowie. With his red/orange hair,pale skin, bony figure and elegant weird clothes you will get the idea , that this man should have been an absolute trend setter! I especially suggest the movie to fashion designers and cult lovers/followers. It is worth the time !

PS:  It might seem a little "non sequitur" , but a  resemblance to Johnny Depp is also possible :)

achteinhalb

Heute habe ich Fellinis achteinhalb für das zweite Mal gesehen. Mir ist es erst nach 4-5 Jahren eingefallen,dass 2009 Daniel-Day Lewis im ,,Nine" in den Schuhen von Marcello Mastroianni ist.

8 1/2 und dann 9. Macht auch Sinn.

Das Thema bei den beiden Filmen ist selbstverstandlich das Selbe: der Direkor Guido Contini versucht den idealen Kunstfilm zu drehen. Aber er verirrt sich zwischen seinen Traumen und der Wirklichkeit. Seine Anstrengung wird eventuell zur Qualerei , die ihm sehr unter Druck bringt.

Für mich steht ,,achteinhalb " auf der Liste der besten Filme , in der ersten Reihe.
Eine der Gründe davon ist,dass der Film die innere Welt der Frauen so perfekt reflektiert. Eigentlich habe ich keine bessere Version von der Tatsache getroffen. Guido ist immer im Gesprach mit veranderlichen Frauen,zu denen er eigentlich sehr nahe Beziehungen hatte. Beispielsweise: seine Mutter, seine ehemalige Frau, seine heutige Frau,seine Lieblinge und natürlich die jenigen,die er für ,,ideale Seelefiguren " halt.

Andererseits ist er sehr nachlassig. Er ist ja gutaussehend und liebreizend und die Frauen können ihm nicht widerstehen. Aus dem selben Grund besitzt er diese Arroganz.

Wahrend ich den Film sah, habe ich dauernd die Gesprache - und inneren Monolog/Szenen wiederspielt,weil für mich diese die hauptsachliche Zauberei im ,,8 1/2 "waren .

Fellinis 8 1/2 ist ohne Zweifel ein der BESTEN Filme in der Industrie. Die Tatsache ,dass der Film in den 60er Jahren gedreht wurde, macht es nur wundervoller. Je altmodischer,desto besser ! ( mein neues Motto für die heutige Kunst; meiner Meinung nach ist die PopArt nicht mehr so cool und beliebt)

Da die Pop-Art Werke immer mehr von Wiederholungen der klassischen Wesentlichen geschöpft werden , vermehren sich jeden Tag die ahnliche Werke. Aber die Kunst muss nicht von Wiederholungen , sondern von Neuigkeiten und erneute Schöpfungen erstellt sein . (Natürlich gibt es auch Aussnahmen bei dieser Pop-Kultur) Deswegen bevorzuge ich natürlich 8 1/2 im Verglich zu ,,Nine" .( obwohl Sophia Loren in Nine uns alle bezaubert hatte)

Nobody Walks

I am back with my brand New post which includes -not a brand new movie-
It is called "Nobody Walks" and I highly recommend it.

It has been waiting for me on my movie list since !f Istanbul movie festival. The theme may seem not extremely unique at first sight , but believe me this movie is definitely worth your time !

It starts with the arrival of the young , talented artist to a small town from NYC. As soon as the audience gets the chance to observe her ( you know like her hair cut , her stylish but also very simple clothing etc) , it becomes clear that she lives the life ,which we have always dreamed of. Studying art, having the charm of intellectuality and caring no one&nothing in the world .

She leaves New York for her very first art movie,which is mainly about the controversy between nature and human being. For instance ; she shows sections from a bug's daytime and vocalizes it. How would it feel,to be a bug just for one day? What would a "bug couple" conversation be like? For the sounds of her art work she cooperates with another young artist. She decides to stay with them until the work is complete. Even in the very beginning, we predict that these two have a special chemistry and attraction to eachother. But the problem is our guy is married and has two kids. For our girl it doesn't matter at all because she doesn't mind. Her philosophy is to enjoy life as much as she can. On the other side,the couple goes through a betrayal-loyalty dilemma on both sides. The wife is a psychologist and she apparently has a crush on one of her patients. To sum up, I can say that the movie is mainly about a very simple point of human nature:

Even though things seem completely smooth and superb, a little change in our everyday-lives can lead to inevitable and unimprovable consequences. But at the end of the day, we all return to our settled and regular harmony. It has two main reasons: first one is that we are probably too afraid to make such a major change in our lives;because then our order will be irrecoverably get out of hand and we can end up regretting our move. Second reason is that we are perfectly pleased with our current situation and our fluctuation is temporary . So it is our own sass which caused this change of mood.

We all resist the truth at times or deny it . But denial is useless . The only helpful thing is to face our human nature and accept it just the way it is. Only then we will find our inner peace.

And peace , is all that matters.