Here, at long last, is my queering cultural memory study. I had a complicated vision for what visuals might go with it, but since it's a little challenging to implement given my current artistic skill-set, I thought it would be better to post something rather than nothing.
QUESTIONS:
(1) What visuals or movement might you imagine to this piece?
(2) What parts of the text are you drawn to and why? Conversely, are there places where your attention falls away or that you would recommend cutting?
(3) What emotions do you experience when listening to this soundtrack? How would you describe the emotional arc of the work?
(4) What light does this study shed on the theoretical concept of cultural queerness?
(5) Other comments?
1. The beginning section was full with evocative and specific descriptions. I imagined with my closed eyes close-ups of ears, earrings, of rumpled undershirts, of armpits, of eyes, of short hair. The second section (for me at 0:33) invoked images of your face expressing the words in abhinaya. The third section (with the questions) felt the most mysterious to me in its possible connection to visuals. Perhaps abstract. Like a light/shadow and texture play of abstract images that are inspired by the words. Perhaps this comes up for me because there is this fleeting, ever-changing, can't quite catch it, can't quite keep up, quality in my reception. Similar to how I experience light and shadow. For example a concrete image: swirling fabric in dramatic lighting. Another example: two women intimate.
ReplyDelete2. I was engaged in the first section (because of the specific descriptions and characters) and second section (juxtaposing imagastic ideas like soul/feet surrendering at the nation-state). The third section was hard to hold on to because the questions felt overwhelming both in number and in scope. I didn't have the space to try to answer. But maybe I wasn't meant to try. As a listener, in this section first there was sadness, then struggle, then struggle to keep up, then attention fell away, then I allowed the words to be like the ocean...where I didn't try to hang on but allowed the words to wash over me. This last state happened when the words are asking "how can we love..." I enjoyed the overall journey! Your writing is beautiful! As always :-) There is no judgement in this experience as being 'good' or 'bad.' Maybe this is intentional?
3. I described my emotions and emotional experience above! The arc goes from setting up tensions, conflicts, and struggles (some examples: between Guru and Shishya, earrings no earrings, feminist-imperialist and Radha), to questioning (example: how can we love across difference?).
4. This is a tough question for me to answer, perhaps because I am still trying to grasp and grapple with this concept. I am intrigued with how the third section (how do we love) creates an image of a queer relationship for me (between two characters I identify as women). Also, there is the gender non-conformity to classical Kathak constructions of woman.
5. You are a beautiful writer. I am interested in your strategy of setting up a queer relationship that moves in between dance, not-dance, metaphorical, two women. I would be interested in exploring this more, perhaps making the queer relationship more visible through film?
QUESTIONS:
ReplyDelete(1) What visuals or movement might you imagine to this piece?
no inspiration comes for visuals, I just enjoyed listening.
(2) What parts of the text are you drawn to and why? Conversely, are there places where your attention falls away or that you would recommend cutting?
The earlier words I appreciated for their poetic feel, but already being familiar with the stories, I feel I was less affected that I might have been if I didn't. I particularly found the end, full of questions, was interesting to me...engaging me in what seem like hopeful questions. I felt an opening to possibility, rather then the sadness of impossibility that I get at the end of rapture rupture or Learning to Walk Like Radha.
(3) What emotions do you experience when listening to this soundtrack? How would you describe the emotional arc of the work?
I'm not sure if I experience any strong emotions, except what I was describing as an opening of possibility at the end, a sort of hopefullness.
The arc, seems to go from an angry and painful moment of misunderstanding to this dream of togetherness beyond the circumstances. A sort of opening up of the borders of cultures and the colonizations of the mind.
(4) What light does this study shed on the theoretical concept of cultural queerness?
It definitely is expanding the idea of love across boundaries in so many multiples of ways: cultural, power roles, etc.
(5) Other comments?
I appreciate this as going to a really different place then rapture rupture and Learning to Walk Like Radha!