REPOSE
Dr. Edith Farnsworth in a state of repose at her weekend home in Plano, Illinois
A PHYSICAL FILE CONTAINING PHOTOGRAPHS AND PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE EXISTS. FAME, IS NOT A PART OF THE CRITERIA, IN FACT IT CAN REMOVE ONE FROM THE SYSTEM. INCLUSION IS BASED ON CONTRIBUTION, SOME WOULD CONSIDER IT CULTURAL CAPITAL. IT RANGES FROM A WOMAN WHO DROVE TO HER HOME TO GET A WIRE COAT HANGER WHEN KEYS WERE LOCKED IN A CAR. THE HANGER WAS THE TOOL THAT WOULD OPEN THE LOCK. THE FILE ALSO CONTAINED A LETTER FROM JULIA KRISTEVA AND JOHN CAGE ON ROBINSON CRUSOE. I WENT TO THIS FILE YESTERDAY TO FIND A PHOTOGRAPH OF DR. EDITH FARNSWORTH THAT WAS TAKEN BY MIES WHILE SHE WAS SLEEPING ON HER DAYBED IN HER HOUSE IN PLANO, ILLINOIS. IT IS NOT A PARTICULARLY FLATTERING PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BY MIES, BUT IT GIVES ONE A SENSE OF HOW SHE LIVED IN THE MASTER WORK AND THAT SHE HAD THE INTELLIGENCE AND UNDERSTANDING TO COMMISSION MIES VAN DER ROHE TO DESIGN THAT HOUSE. THE CLIENT WAS AS INSTRUMENTAL AS THE ARCHITECT.
THE DISCUSSION AT PHILIP JOHNSON’S GLASS HOUSE IN AN ANTICIPATED MANNER ARRIVED AT HOW RADICAL PHILIP JOHNSON WAS IN BEING AN OPENLY GAY MAN AND BUILDING A GLASS HOUSE. THAT, IS NOT A POINT TO DISAGREE WITH, ALTHOUGH RADICAL ANYTHING, INCLUDING MEDIA SEEMS A TAD HYPERBOLIC. BUT, I WOULD POSIT THAT BEING A SINGLE WOMAN AND COMMISSIONING A GLASS HOUSE IS EVEN MORE SO. HéLèNE CIXOUS WAS JUST IN NEW YORK AND SHE IS ALSO IN THE FOLDER AND I HAVE MET HER ON A FEW OCCASIONS. I WOULD THINK THAT SHE WOULD CONCUR, BUT WHO WOULD THINK FOR ANYONE, AN IMPROBABLE AND IMPOSSIBLE TASK, ALTHOUGH….
THIS FOLDER IS LABELED PEOPLE AND IS SET IN ALL CAPS IN THE FONT HELVETICA BOLD. AT THE TOP OF THE PILE IN THIS FILE, AS THEY ARE NOT IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER, EXCEPT FOR MY VISUAL SYSTEM, IS AN IMAGE OF JANE JACOBS. NOW THAT IS SOMEONE TO KNOW AND NOT IN A JUST MEET AT A COMMUNITY BOARD MEETING, BUT IN A, LET’S WORK TOGETHER JANE JACOBS.
JACOBS HAD A UNIQUE VOICE AND WAS CONSIDERED A RADICAL, AND STILL IS. THIS IS WHEN THE USE OF RADICAL IS NOT AN OVER-EXAGGERATION. ONE THINKS THEY CAN TELL A GREAT DEAL ABOUT A PERSON BY THEIR VOICE, BUT IT IS ALSO THE EXCEPTION WHEN ONE CANNOT PLACE A VOICE, OR WHEN IT DOES NOT MATCH THE PHYSICAL APPEARANCE. I RECENTLY HAD A LENGTHY DISCUSSION WITH MR. SANTANGELO, A VERY TALENTED DESIGNER WHO UNDERSTANDS A GREAT DEAL ABOUT TIME AS WELL AS SOUND AND ARRANGEMENT. THE CONVERSATION WAS ABOUT WHAT IS HEARD WHEN THE PHONE IS ANSWERED VERSUS BEING PHYSICALLY PRESENT AND SEEING THE PERSON THAT IS SPEAKING. THAT DISSONANCE WILL EVENTUALLY DISAPPEAR, LIKE THE FRENCH MINITEL NETWORK IN THE 80’s — AHEAD OF ITS TIME, THAT IS NOW A COMMONPLACE SYSTEM AND COULD BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL.
The French Minitel 591
WRITING OF TIME AND THE PERFORMANCE THE MEDIA/TIME BASED ARTIST JOAN JONAS COMES TO MIND AND JONAS WAS RECENTLY HONORED BY THE AURORA PICTURE SHOW IN HOUSTON ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2011. JOAN IS OF HER TIME AND AHEAD OF HER TIME. JONAS WAS GRACIOUS AS AN HONOREE, AND EVEN MORE SO WHEN ASKED TO CONDUCT A TOUR OF THE HOME OF THE HOST OF THE EVENT, AND OBLIGED US. IT ALWAYS FEELS A BIT LIKE A REENACTMENT OF THE PERFORMANCE ARTIST SOPHIE CALLE’S PIECE IN VENICE AS THE CHAMBER MAID WHEN WALKING THROUGH THE PRIVATE QUARTERS OF A HOST, BUT NO ONE OPENED ANY DRAWERS. THE TOUR DID END IN THE GUEST BEDROOM OVERLOOKING THE POOL WHERE THERE WAS A LARGE VIDEO SCREEN WITH JONAS’S WORKS PROJECTED THROUGH A STAND OF TREES. TOGETHER WE WATCHED THE CLIPS OF HER FILM FROM THE GUEST BEDROOM AS SHE WATCHED US IN A REQUESTED STATE OF REPOSE, A STATE OF BEING.
Joan Jonas, honoree, The Aurora Picture Show Benefit
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