The "crazy girl on the grass" was Wyeth's neighbor and sometime model who had polio. WC
--- On Thu, 1/22/09, Chris Miller <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Chris Miller <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: The good sort of sentimentality > To: [email protected] > Date: Thursday, January 22, 2009, 11:21 AM > So.... has any progress been made to "carefully and > precisely describe what > you refer to as "sentimentality." " ? > > Has anyone yet named "a certain cluster or nexus of > feelings as > "sentimentality,"" > > I don't think so (though it's not so much a problem > for me -- since I don't > use the word very much) > > All we've got, so far, is "the self pity > part" -- which William says is "not > good because it separates me from reality, not for creative > purposes being > better able to cope with reality -- but only for the sake > of encasing me in > self-pity masked as longing." > > But why can't we consider that as a kind of > self-healing -- like licking your > own wounds ? Can pity ever occur without self-pity ? --- > and isn't it the job > of good tragedy to provoke such a feeling ? (at least, > according to > Aristotle) > > I guess this is why I've got no problem with paintings > of the Lamentation, or > the symphonies of Tchaikovsky, or "The Sound of > Music" or the paintings of > Andrew Wyeth -- at least regarding sentimentality (and BTW > -- regarding Wyeth > -- I've just been looking at some images online -- and > other than than famous > image of the crazy girl crawling > on the grass -- I don't see how his landscapes or > interior views are any more > sentimental than those painted by Van Gogh, Cezanne, or > anyone else. ) > > Perhaps -- it's finally time to retire > "sentimentality" as a critical term -- > inherited from the now-dying ideology of Modernism. > > > ____________________________________________________________ > Get everything you need to hook up your own wireless > network by clicking now! > http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/fc/PnY6rc2XTwQSftWXdxchJy2faesNRu > jSTBTaodXwYcE9PKfaPfOwU/
