THE CRITIC'S JOB
is to herald the new; to recognize the real talents of his day-- particularly those who exist outside the walls of the status quo. To always seek a new direction for the art.
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For me, pushing the envelope in any art form means reaching new levels of emotion.
I was thinking this after viewing the classic Western movie "Shane" at a public library several weeks ago. The film is very much art, in that it pushes and pushes to new emotion, right to its very end, with the shadowy climb of a wounded rider matching the risen level of emotion of the audience.
I was thinking later about the difference between talent and genius; how Madonna is supremely talented, much moreso than the Britney wannabes who followed. Yet for all her pop masterpieces like "Beautiful Stranger," another singer exists on an entirely different level: Bjork, creating the undefinable; reaching new levels of what Bjork herself calls "emotional landscapes."
Are there writers doing with stories or poems what Bjork does with songs?
At the peak of the zeen scene in the late 90's, and since, I've read several striking talents whose absence of prescribed craft allowed art and emotion free reign. The underground writers who were brought to light inside and outside the ULA never really fit my needs, my espoused doctrine, but on their own they were busting aesthetic barriers. (What's Jack Saunders if not a new form of Dada?) A few of them at times have approached levels of undefinable genius; writing that can't be controlled or quantified. This is what any new avant-garde has to be about.
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Addendum:
TEN TRANSCENDENT MOVIE PERFORMANCES
1.) Marilyn Monroe: "The Misfits"
2.) James Cagney: "Angels with Dirty Faces"
3.) Marlon Brando: "On the Waterfront"
4.) Audrey Hepburn: "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
5.) Lana Turner: "The Bad and the Beautiful"
6.) Richard Burton: "The Robe"
7.) Al Pacino: "Scarface"
8.) William Holden: "Bridge on the River Kwai"
9.) Winona Ryder: "Girl Interrupted"
10.) Errol Flynn: "The Adventures of Robin Hood"
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3 comments:
Does the "new avante-garde" need an Apollinaire? If so, are we waiting or not recognizing? If not, then what? Perhaps we have to set a trap or an oasis to attract those who exist outside the walls. What compelling reason would make that person accessible. We've seen what can happen to those who break first from the past and present....
New? Whatthefuck is new about you or anything you think or say? You're the tiredest, most wornoutest sadsack in the whole universe. If you had anything new, you'd just go ahead and make it new, instead of spending all your time and energy whining about how somebody needs to make it new. Give up, for fucksache, give up.
Toast: you sound like a lot of fun.
In other news: I'm reading Mankind's book HAVE A NICE DAY right now. I can't put it down. It's amazing.
Outsider literature at its finest. A professional wrestler tells all. It's some of the most unconstrained writing I've ever seen. No ghostwriter. I think he barely had an editor.
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