// Wet Black Ink // Section 02

School: CalArts Instructor: Douglas Kearney TA: Anna Cruze Sidebar Image by T.S.Ellis

[neverbrushmyteeth]

breastfeeding

[1graphicaday]

[retroanimu]

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Fred Moten response by Nyasia Turner

It seems that he had experience with working with different artists. In the poem he states, "performers feel each other differently," this shows me that he probably worked with many people. For some reason this stuck out to me because I agree with what he is saying. It may not be a big quote that he wrote, but it makes me think that many artist act upon multiple expressions that are being displayed. As a whole I was a little confused on how he wrote his poem, and I was trying to understand it. 1. Why did he write his poem in this specific structure ? 2. I didn't understand why he wrote his poem in so many spaces, what was the reason for it ? 3. I like how he had his poem look like it was a continuation of a story and it seemed that it was never ending .

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Fred Moten- Anna Zanes

Moten's poetry seems unstructured, in that the content neither makes linear or narrative sense, per se, nor does it use formal poetic formatting/ rhyme or diction schemes, but upon second reading, his manner of writing holds great meaning. The literal structure of the poetry on the page correlates quite directly to the words written, "falling", "corrosion", "running", "fleeing"-- juxtaposed with the stanzas and how they are placed (seemingly haphazard) on the page.

1. what does the lack of capitalization stand for in relation to the content?

2. is this a narrative, through metaphor, or more of a stream of consciousness/tangent with purpose?

3.do the metaphors add up to one great overall metaphor, how do they fit together?

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Fred Molten Response -- Mekala Session

Fred Molten doesn't rely on a consistent form or rhyme or a clear POI to unfold his story. All of his lines employ these contrived metaphors to give the reader an idea of what's happening. The poem never feels forced or crude in anyway and I believe this is because of what Molten didn't write. His use of space between "stanzas" allows his poem to breathe and gives his words weight. 1. I found myself drawn to the pages with the least amount of text on them. Page 41 in particular felt like it could have been a minimalist poem by itself. 2. Molten interjects public figures like Sam Cooke and Thematthewprice (The matthew price?) for seemingly random reasons. 3. I can't help but feeling there were rough drafts in the process of writing this poem. I'd love to see what some of these ideas looked like closer to their birth. 

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Ronaldo V. Wilson Response -- Mekala Session

1. Ronaldo V. Wilson really does seem especially interested in the body and the movement of the body. I notice that, except for the breakers poems and Ariel's freeze , he refers to the body as "the black object". Does this mean that he focuses on particularly the black body or maybe "the black object" refers to his own body? 2. Ariel's freeze, to me, feels like the only poem that is out of place. I recognize the Tempest allusions but have never read or seen the tempest. Perhaps I need to in order to understand? 3. The Black Object gets kinky at home is definitely my favorite poem. I enjoy the imagery of something being rammed and back fat smacking. I was amused by the fork tongue in line 8 and 9. I immediately pictured some sort of reptile.  

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Fred Molten Response Braxton Torres

At first glance Molten seems to be speaking in a metaphoric tone that is completely random, that is one of the main aspects of the reading we were assigned that can be easily overlooked. His use of poetic structure is very lose and not structured with proper rhyme scheme and flow as other writings we have read. His writing style is to put short writings together, whether or not if they work together is left kind of unjustified by the author. It’s all  artistic expression to the readers mind  as much as it is up to interpretation to the artistic culture of today.

What was Molten’s general point in his piece?

Out of all of the authors we have read in class which author most resembles Molten’s style?

What were his main poetic statigies in his writing?

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Fred Moten Response-Henock Lebsekal

Fred Moten's writing is quite hard for me to follow along but there are certain aspects of it that really appeal to me. I had to sort of dig my way through his writing but some lines really stood out to me. In particular the lines, "the residual mirror and the drag/ behind it", as well as, "'bout' putting notices on doors", stood out to me in a strange way. I didn't appreciate them for the particular word usage, but I guess more for the moods I felt whilst reading those specific sections. His writing to me feels disjointed, where I really latch on to a piece here and a piece there, but never back to back or in any sort of order.

1.I wonder how visual a thinker Moten is.

2.I couldn't piece together any narrative that Moten was weaving, or if he was weaving one at all.

3.The line, "juked maniac" has a comedic nature to it, I enjoyed that.

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Fred Moten Response Kat Zommers

Response #1:

1. I think that a synthesis project that I would like to do is based in the first poem, "Performers feel each other differently". I'd like to do a movement piece in which there are multiple performers and artists of different mediums, and they do a collaborative improvisation within each of their mediums. For example, like in line two where he says, "as material things that never happen", a costume designer could be making a piece onstage, however there might be a dancer who explores what it's like to dance with fabrics or to embody the feeling of a fabric in their dance, while the poem is being read. 

Response #2:

1. I really enjoyed the first poem--it spoke to me particularly since I am an actress. The fact that they said "Performers feel each other differently" makes me think that Moten has an in on the performance world itself. 

2. I noticed that the aesthetic of the poem seemed dynamic, almost like a movement piece in it of itself. 

3. In "2" I particularly appreciated the lines after the large blank space in the page, "I pay attention so I won't appear,/bottle-necked, wachovia-tracked,//with a notice on my door/'bout putting notices on doors". I found the lines to provoke a lot of really strong imagery for me. 

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Ronaldo V Wilson Response Kat Zommers

Observations:

1. One of the things that I noticed in the very first poem, "The Breaker's Pose", was that Wilson included a quote from Caliban in the Tempest. I wonder why he likened Caliban to breakdancing. I kind of felt like that particular analogy didn't really make much sense to me in the "Breaking Black" series. 

2. That allusion continues into "Ariel's Freeze". In looking at both of the poems, though, I think I realize what it was--these two characters are slaves of Prospero's, who are both products of the witch Sycorax. Ariel, though she is on a "higher level" than Caliban, she is still enslaved by Prospero, who is the patriarch of the island. This plays into the literal and figurative prejudice against African Americans in the United States. Prospero represents "the man", and Ariel and Caliban are two ways of responding to the enslavement by the man.

3.  I really appreciated the enjambment in "The Black Object Gets Kinky at Home", particularly lines one and two. The double entendre was really satisfying. 

[cyclpsrock-blog]

Audio glossary from Tape Op #88

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A. Van Jordans Response by Nyasia Turner

When I read his poems it seemed very relatable and it was a great way for him to use his literature through different movies. My métier is dance and if I  were to use another art form to put together, it would be visual art or portraits. This would be very abstract and I can picture a dancer using its body to express the art that is being painted. Many drawings come out different in so many angles and it would be great to use your body to demonstrate what is being drawn.

  I like the fact that he used Spike Lees movie "do the right thing" , it told the story and the struggles through his poem.

His style of writing is different because he incorporates movies through his poems to get his point across, which I think is very unique

Why does he use movies in his poems to get his point across, what is the legitimate reason for it ?

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A. Van Jordan Response - Paige Mcghee

In A. Van Jordan’s poetry he uses his literature for reactions with films. My métier acting could be a reflection on the work form art. In my hometown Miami, I find a lot of inspiration from one Saturday night every month called Wynwood Artwalk. At this event “thousands of people crowd the streets to have a great night out to enjoy the Miami Art Scene”(Wynwoodmiami.com). At the event they have many galleries along the street filled with many types of art. I love to get inspiration from the art on the wall by many different artists in the area! I believe it is helpful to use art while creating emotions, characters, monologues, plays, etc. Also many forms of art produce a visual story for me to follow. I would like to use these pieces of art I saw in galleries for my own métier. I think an amazing project would be a performance art piece with a group of actors. We would go through a process of creating characters, text, movement, etc. off of only theses two art pieces making something creative to show at a gallery at Wynwood Artwalk.

I loved the integration of the films in his poems. Even though I had to look up some of the films.

I think it would’ve been helpful if Jordan might’ve put a short synopsis or something to make me remember the movie. I bad with names and titles.

In “Do the Right Thing” I realized when seeing (Spike Lee, 1989) this was going to be about the movie. All I could think about was that long ass intro to the song “Fight the power” and about being black and strong. When Jordan mentions “Sal, why ain’t no brothers up on your wall?” (line 29) I remember in the movie it hurt because everything he said about how black people eat here more than Italian Americans do and why don’t we get a say was so true. 

[latashadiggs]

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A. Van Jordan Response -- Mekala Session

As a jazz drummer, I'm subject to my share of drum solos. One of my favorite things to do in a solo, is play the theme song from a cartoon. I like to think that even though it's likely none of the listeners will recognize what I'm doing, I can still communicate the same idea or feeling that the original theme did. More than that, the rhythms are usually really simple and great to build a solo with. 1. I only realized that "Do the Right Thing" was about the movie at the end with the mention of mookie and tina. 2. I didn't know what nosferatu was. I searched it and ended up watching the whole thing online. I enjoy old monster movies. 3. Did A. Van Jordan only write poems inspired by movies? 

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A. Van Jordan poem response

I have often thought about integrating different arts and putting them together in a performance setting. Attempting to create this sort of polyphonic performing art I would imagine would take a great deal of time invested in studying other art forms. Personally myself being a musician I have been interested in incorporating speed painting and art with the music that I produce. What first inspired me to think about polyphonic performance was the fact that I was feeling emotions from other art forms such as painting. This emotion was added to my music and it would show every time I would play. I feel like I relate to A. Van Jordan because we have been in situations in which we have a desire to take our art forms from a different approach.

Is it possible for different fields of art to cross each other or are they to different from one another?

What are some opinions of crossing different arts together?

Which is more common in todays culture, art as a solo act or art as a group act?