thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (Full Version)

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techne -> thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (9/7/2008 11:53:04 AM)

i'm generating some lists/ ideas for an upcoming exhibition. if you'd like to participate, please respond to the following:

what does the phrase "recipes for kneeling" bring to your mind? what thoughts? what feelings?

your response(s) can be as generic or specific as you wish.

thank you for participating



Locke -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (9/7/2008 2:04:42 PM)

Actions
1. a formula for how and when to kneel before God
2. food recipes that taste so good, you'll kneel in respect for the chef [:D]

Thoughts & Feelings
1. formulaic
2. cliche title (sorry, you asked!)
3. how many can there be?

I hope that helps. What all are you doing with this?



techne -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (9/7/2008 2:21:03 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Locke
Actions
1. a formula for how and when to kneel before God

of course, this context immediately guarantees that it's a question that is spiritual in nature, and the idea is about pointing people towards that idea...but this response is perhaps a step after where i'm going. after all, the project is for an artist-run centre/ gallery, so the G-d aspect might not be first and foremost. but everyone kneels at some point. and my question is, why? that is the door for further conversation and contemplation.

quote:

ORIGINAL: LockeThoughts & Feelings
1. formulaic

do you mean formulas for kneeling? recipes could refer to preparation as much as procedures...or causes, reasons, inspirations, etc.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Locke
2. cliche title (sorry, you asked!)

how so?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Locke
3. how many can there be?

well, that is the question, isn't it?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Locke
I hope that helps. What all are you doing with this?

anything "helps" - it's all grist for the mill. the question is to generate some ideas for an art installation i'm working on. books, lights, pillows/ prayer mats, olfactory components, perhaps some sound...



Zhi -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (9/7/2008 11:59:09 PM)

Well, my first thought was "by choice or not?"

People can be forced to kneel, either by physical force, threats, deep anguish, injuries...
People can choose to kneel, whether to a ruler/authority figure of some sort, or to a deity, or even to speak to a small child face to face.

One is beautiful, one is not.

The Bible DOES say that "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess", but from what I understand, some will kneel by choice, and some will not.



Nocturnalux -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (9/8/2008 2:29:24 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: techne
what does the phrase "recipes for kneeling" bring to your mind? what thoughts? what feelings?

your response(s) can be as generic or specific as you wish.

thank you for participating


I will give it a go although I suspect I am not the intended audience.
First things that come to mind: cold, stone, fear, dark, alone.
Rather dreary, I know. But I remember that back in grade school we all had to spend a lot of time on our knees in a gloomy chapel. My country is quite warm but the stone was always cold and it hurt. Most of the time our eyes were closed so it all seemed hushed in darkness and I was terrified more often than not.

Stepping out of my own personal box, I quite enjoy the title. It seems to express the idea that there are many ingredients to kneeling, as if it were a combination of factors that give it a meaning.



techne -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (9/8/2008 10:29:27 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nocturnalux
I will give it a go although I suspect I am not the intended audience.

what do you mean? if you like to think about art or ideas, you are my intended audience. ultimately, the piece is meant to be contemplative -- i might have to find some way to post photos (elsewhere, of course) after the piece is done...

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nocturnalux
Stepping out of my own personal box, I quite enjoy the title. It seems to express the idea that there are many ingredients to kneeling, as if it were a combination of factors that give it a meaning.

thanks - so far only one person has responded negatively to the title. they said it was "silly". i think the juxtaposition of recipes (with its fairly immediate association with cooking and therefore domesticity and even femininity) and kneeling (with its association with serious issues of prayer, submission and even violence) was really what they were having issue with - the terms are intended to undercut each other and create 'static', as it were - but oh well....

thanks for the thoughts



Locke -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (9/8/2008 2:13:17 PM)

quote:

do you mean formulas for kneeling? recipes could refer to preparation as much as procedures...or causes, reasons, inspirations, etc.


Yes - formulas, as in rules, religion - a predetermined guide that should or must be followed.

quote:

quote:

ORIGINAL: Locke
2. cliche title (sorry, you asked!)

how so?


It's just exactly the title that I would expect to see featured at my local Christian book store, written to help average people, written by someone who's life is no better off than my own. Kind of like the "100 Devotions for the Aching Heart"-type books.

"Recipes for _____" is an overused title IMO. The last word doesn't have the intended meaning because it is being subverted by the first two, if you get me.

I could be wrong, but that's my feeling of it.



Zhi -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (9/8/2008 5:10:26 PM)

If you want an opinion on the title...

I find "recipe for kneeling" to be somewhat mentally discordant. Given the nature of kneeling in all its various forms, it seems at best difficult to comprehend, or at worst trite, to think one could make a "recipe" for it.

This may, of course, be the intended effect, given that it's an art exhibit. I must admit that either way, it *has* piqued my interest.



techne -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (9/8/2008 8:58:31 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Locke
It's just exactly the title that I would expect to see featured at my local Christian book store, written to help average people, written by someone who's life is no better off than my own. Kind of like the "100 Devotions for the Aching Heart"-type books.

then again, this is an art exhibit in an artist-run agllery (read: non-christian). also, i like the 'self-help' tone -- the installation will intentionally complicate the idea of kneeling and, hopefully, open some discussions around kneeling and why we kneel, and what it signifies.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Locke
"Recipes for _____" is an overused title IMO. The last word doesn't have the intended meaning because it is being subverted by the first two, if you get me.

i do. of course, the recipe for kneeling is simply to bend your knees. but i'm okay with subversion - it's similar to irony, or paradox, or even metaphor. exactly how i'll shiftthe texts will depend on th eremainder of images i generate.

thanks though...



Elena1030 -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (10/7/2008 4:53:45 PM)

techne, I love this idea!!

the juxtaposition of what elicits the kneeling response and what forces a kneeling action.... that would tangle the components: the ingredients of the recipe.

1. what elicits kneeling: that which is beautiful, awe-inspiring, greater than what we are.
pure light.
towering trees. (i have visions of Galadriel and Lothlorien here.)
a king standing to his full height, crown on his head.

2. what usually forces kneeling: that which vaults to be seen as worthy of kneeling... but might not be.
a scepter of iron pushing on the back of a cowering inferior.

3. what compels kneeling that really is deserved but is refused to be given of the inferior's own free will: truth.


if i were a visual artist, for category 2 i'd use layers of material to show a veneer of worthiness over the true essence: gold painted layer over a layer of rusting iron, for example.

probably would use a lot of twisting metal rods. not sure why... but those seem to resonate with me... to create the images.

then again... no matter what medium --- be it tangible like paint or clay or beads... or intangible like words --- i tend to be rather symbolic in my art, as you can well remember.



let us know how the installation and exhibit go! =)



techne -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (10/7/2008 10:56:49 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Elena1030
techne, I love this idea!!

the juxtaposition of what elicits the kneeling response and what forces a kneeling action.... that would tangle the components: the ingredients of the recipe.

let us know how the installation and exhibit go! =)

i will -- as soon as i figure out where i want to post them from. the exhibition opened on saturday, october 4th and is up until the 31st. in the meantime, here is the artist statement:

recipes for kneeling

Books have always been the main raw material for my work. Richly metaphorical objects, they symbolize knowledge, story and communication. Books are objects with cultural value, with a human scale and dimension. We all share the experience of holding and even cherishing them.

Light is associated with knowledge, revelation, unveiling. We may seek it, or run from it.

In recipes for kneeling, the symbolic weight of light (as well as its absence) is combined with the metaphorical richness of books. Images and text suggest connections between the books as well as between the books and viewer.

The title for this installation, recipes for kneeling, evokes questions. What is meant by “recipes”? What is meant by “kneeling”? How are they connected, if at all? This questioning is a way to open up ideas for the viewer to explore and to find their own place in the work.

This is a contemplative space. The room is dark and quiet – take time to wait.



nettiel -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (10/8/2008 11:29:51 AM)

knelling, is to really talk to god,sometimes its hard for me to kneel because of my back. but i do like to kneel and pray



techne -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (10/13/2008 6:47:17 PM)

if you're interested, images and explanation can be found here

yes, that's right - it's my [new] blog



Elena1030 -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (10/15/2008 7:06:01 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: techne

if you're interested, images and explanation can be found here

yes, that's right - it's my [new] blog


wow. very, very cool! {wonder how many times i can type "very" before it ceases to have any weight as a word.}

congrats on the new blog. welcome to the blogosphere. [sm=hug.gif]



techne -> RE: thoughts on kneeling (an art project) (10/16/2008 12:04:29 AM)

thanks elena. and thanks for posting a comment.

care to write something creative (poem, essay, short story, proem, haibun) in response?

think of it as a collaboration, or as ekphrastic writing. whichever.



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