dimafleck: the living legend.

In “Les Lieux de Memoireâ€, Pierre Nora explores the differences between history and memory. To him, memory, like life, remains in permanent evolution. History on the other hand, is the reconstruction of what is no longer (Nora, 285). Our modern society is not only perpetually accelerating, but also “hopelessly forgetfulâ€. It is for this reason that we use history to organize the past; without the standardization of history, our past would cease to exist. History, according to Nora, does have one disadvantage. It is unable to evoke a memory and feeling that can define a people. History, is merely a selective, factual reconstruction. A reconstruction that is unable to carry any kind of emotional undertone. Nora calls attention to the importance of places or things he refers to as “sites of memoryâ€. These “sites of memory†are able to evoke in a people social understanding. The kind of memory that is instilled in a culture. The work of Romare Bearden evokes that kind of powerful understanding. Through his process and his final product Bearden has created a site of memory. Using a different medium, August Wilson has also been able to inspire cultural memory. As a poet turned playwright, Wilson was greatly influenced by the art of Bearden. Wilson’s work, much like Bearden, was forged inside him long before his pen was put to paper. By finding inspiration in the black experience, Wilson was also able to create a site of memory in his play writing. By observing Wilson’s Piano Lesson, and two Bearden’s collages, the power of art to evoke shared cultural experience will become apparent. Romare Bearden grew up much like the blues musicians of his generation(Murray, 120). Coming of age during 1914 and 1935, Bearden was raised during what is now considered to be Harlem’s Renaissance. Being born in the south, and growing up in Harlem, Bearden could relate to a crucial African American right of passage; the migration north. Here, we find that he acquired the ability to relate to both southern agrarian culture, and his urban surroundings. This well rounded understanding of the African American experience is fundamental to his process as an artist. The Street is a work from Bearden’s many explorations of city life. It is also a clear example of how Bearden uses his art to communicate black experience. His collage is densely packed and contains a wide array of highly detailed textures. The collage also contains another important theme in Bearden’s work; juxtaposition. Instead of using a narrative structure to give this piece meaning, Bearden has combined the past with the present. In this way, this collage, like Nora’s concept of memory, is “collective, plural and yet individual†(Nora, 286). These are two different times, combined to demonstrate one linier similarity. Furthermore, the medium of collage itself is very intrinsically connected to the black American experience Bearden is trying to communicate. The Street pieces together faces, shapes and various mediums to form one coherent statement spanning multiple generations. In many ways, this is the identical “coming together†of the African peoples to form one singular nation. His use of color in this piece further demonstrates the lively, celebratory common experience within the black community. The choice to put a red rectangle to draw the eye horizontally across the piece allows this work to tell a story. The placing of the old car, juxtaposed to the new car demonstrates a cultural commonality that is passed on from one generation to the next. This kind of technique allows a first time attentive viewer to instantly call upon memories that are within them. Although not necessarily participating, or living in such environments, the viewer is able to relate culturally. Bearden’s work is powerful because it is able to emphasize a common cultural discourse. He empowers this discourse by giving it a physical form. Bearden drew much of his inspiration and influence from jazz musicians that were apart of his social surroundings in Harlem. Influenced by their styling, he would focus on a feeling of a certain image, and would then reciprocate a reaction. Much like his fellow artists in the world of jazz, Bearden would play off his images like musicians would play of their accompaniment. It is not until Bearden begins his work that specific reminiscences come to be (Murray, 118). The subject matter is chosen in advance, but it is more about the feeling of memory, rather than the narrative of history. His prolific involvement in the jazz community also led to his complex study of the players themselves in his artwork. Once again, we see the use of various mediums and the attention to feeling. Uptown Sunday Night Session is not a depiction of any specific group of players or particular hot spot. The painting is more a focus on the moods and sounds of any jazz ensemble playing in any old hot spot. The eye is instantly drawn to the intensity that is exploding out of the horn section. This is downplayed by the smoky, blue tones of the banjo player. The incorporation of a banjo player into a jazz ensemble, is once again another conscious juxtaposing of the agrarian south with the urban north. Bearden fills his work with rich colors that scream off the canvas. A viewer, who has never heard a single note of jazz music is able to hear notes tearing into their ears. This is the kind of memory that Nora describes in his work. Bearden vividly brings to life the music and culture he loves by conveying energy rather than narrative. In jazz, the melody, much like history, is only the beginning. Bearden’s work takes the viewer on an aural journey, much like the musicians he brings to life in his work. Heavily influenced by the work of Bearden, Wilson too refers to his art as “walking down the landscape of the selfâ€. He tells his stories based on historic foundations, but captures their essence by focusing on the rich cultural memories inside him. He notes that this kind of process is not a light road to take. “You find false trails, roads closed for repairs, impregnable fortresses, scouts, armies of memory and impossible cartography†(Wilson, 563). It was only by overcoming these treacherous journeys that Wilson was able to pen the black experience into his masterwork. Much like Bearden, he found his inspiration from the black music surrounding his cultural self. In this instance, it was blues music. After hearing Bessie Smith’s “Nobody in Town Can Bake a Sweet Jellyroll like Mineâ€, Wilson found his inspiration by embracing black musical culture. He writes the blues was a coherent cultural response by a people whose history was based in oral tradition(565). The kind of music that required the listener to relate to the experience, not the story. In Piano Lesson, Wilson focuses on a family conflicted by history and memory. At the heart of the matter, lies a piano. This instrument is Wilson’s physical representation of the black cultural discourse. It is the physical embodiment of the black experience entrenched in him and his black community. At the very core of the Piano Lesson, Wilson asks his viewers if the black experience requires the emphasis of “sites of memoryâ€. The piano is a recollection of the black experience. The kind experience that does not require any kind of factual historical pedagogy. It is a memory that is found in the black experience itself. However, if this memory is in fact entrenched inside the black community, why then does Wilson place such importance on the piano. It is here where Wilson’s family is conflicted. Bernice wants to keep the instrument to keep the heritage and the experience within the family. By selling the piano, Boy Willie would be selling his history. Much like Bearden’s work, it is a “site of memory†where black experience can be witnessed and understood first hand. Wilson’s work educates the viewer as to what the black experience is, but also allows for the viewer to experience it first hand; as does the piano. The carvings and stories that are attached to them paint the family history. More importantly however, the piano carries within it, something that Wilson refers to as “blood memory†(565). This kind of “blood memory†is a theme that Nora and Bearden all touch on. The piano is important for the same reason all sites of memory are important. They perpetuate the shared cultural discourse of one’s heritage. Without these sites of memory, our history would only reside in the black and white text of narrative. Wilson and Bearden turn history into memory by filling them with life, with color and with the essence of the African American experience.

i think we are all missing the gold in this thread here, and thats LIL J's public calling out of her fellow classmates. INTERNET GOLD.

or that time i pooped myself at the gallery? DIMA= gold.

right... 250 words per page X 6= 1500. dima! DIMA! DIMA! DIMA!

thanks! ya'll just haters. "phish is like nothing else man... its like genuine and like everyone just comes together... i'd like bring my children to this enviorment because everyone is like on the same page... you know...its like crazy" this what most of this community is able to say when asked about PHISH. i'll let lil j speak and continue my point on my behalf. --Insert band name and song title here-- --Insert details here--

definitely finished. definitely A. it was an exam... so only one draft. half the people in here are alcoholics from places like Brantford...thats all i have to say about that.

your white hatred is like a summer breeze across my black chest.

and i'd love to see half the people in here even make an attempt in understanding what people like Silverstone, Bahtin or Adorno are talking about. let alone combine the writings of 5 convoluted asshole intellectuals into a 6 page paper about phish in a two hour exam.

Mediated Culture is the course. and its an A paper. bup bup bup.

stupid wordcount.... robbing me of my glory!!!!!

2500 words yo.

it was free topic choice, so i did it on phish just for shits and giggles. Phishheads The Empowering Nature of Subcultures For almost twenty years an American rock band known as Phish was a touring phenomenon. Fuelled by a rabid fan ready to follow them anywhere, the music of this band attracted young music lovers the world over. Travelling from city to city, the followers of the band forged their own subculture. Complete with organizations, trends, fads, and a common language, Phish fans shared more than just a common appreciation for music; they shared a lifestyle. However, Phish culture was not singular in nature. Nor was it cut off from the American culture of which it was apart of. The following that this band created drew directly from American culture through horizontal intertextuality. Incorporating and morphing the American culture and media from which they sprung, “Phisheads†empowered themselves with various communication mediums to thrive and expand. No matter how prolific this subculture might be, much like Bahktin’s idea of the Carnivalesque, members of this subculture live the majority of their lives outside it. Although Phish fandom may be a lifestyle, it is still a leisure activity. Its isolation from, but simultaneous incorporation of, popular culture is why Phish is a perfect candidate for examining Silverstone’s “mechanisms of engagementâ€. By examining Silverstone’s idea of play and performance, we will gain an understanding of the impact this subculture has on its members. Much like Bakhtin notion of the “Carnivalesqueâ€, Phish’s essence required there be no separation between performer and participants (Bakhtin, 250). The concert experience was unlike any other. The gathering would draw tens of thousands of people from all over America. Since everyone was from difference places, they were able to enter with a clean slate. Furthermore, the concert itself was unlike any other touring act at the time. Each show would be a continuation of the other. Rabid fans would keep tabs on performances, sell goods outside shows, and follow the band on full summer tours. The group’s tours, concerts and festivals created the kind of environment described by Bakhtin. People would “live in it†(Bakhtin, 251). Silverstone’s concept of “play†applies, but is enhanced drastically. Unlike a sport or game, the Phish touring lifestyle required an entirely different shift in lifestyle for a substantial amount of time. Therefore, it would call for an altogether new performance. Similarly, Bakhtin refers to this altering of performance as a “new mode of interrelationship between individuals (Bakhtin, 251). Although living within the Phish lifestyle requires that people alter their everyday performance, this performance is limited. Silverstone writes that everyones performance is entrenched with boundaries that shape their day to day engagements (Silverstone, 70). Within Phish culture, these everyday performative boundaries still remain, but are allowed to be pushed to their limit. The kind of environment created at concerts is very attune with escapism. Fans are encouraged to push their limits and briefly escape from their performative boundaries. A kind of group consciousness is achieved where people’s societal reservations are shed. The widespread use of psychedelic drugs only enhanced this process. Brief escape however, does not necessarily mean a change of performance all together. It is for this reason that even the most inclusive, all encompassing kind of games do not posses the power to break performative boundaries. Bahktin’s Carnival is this kind of all encompassing experience, much like the Phish touring lifestyle. He too stipulates that persons within the Carnival are allowed to alter their day to day experience, but never enter the realm of taboo (Bahtin, 251). For an example, we turn to the phenomenon of drug use occurring at Phish gatherings. An individual who’s boundaries allow them to experiment with drugs will no doubt partake in this kind of activity while on tour with Phish. However, if a person’s boundaries do not allow for drug use, this will remain the case. Even in an environment where drug use is widespread, and widely encouraged, the individual will still stick with their own boundary. However, because Phish culture is an all encompassing game where the nature of the game is to shed the boundaries of one’s performance, an interesting phenomenon does occur. An individual who normally would not partake in any kind of drug use, might in fact indulge while inside the world of the game. This break of boundary however, is still within the nature of their own performance. All this boundary simply required was the proper environment until it was pushed to limit of breakage. The same kind of breakage can be seen in other lifestyle altering experiences; University, for example. Furthermore, any kind of break would, in turn, become the performance itself. Bakhtin writes “the laws, prohibition and restriction that determine the structure and order of the ordinary are suspended†(Bakhtin, 251). Phish allows for this phenomenon to occur; it is the ultimate game, it is the Carnivalesque. Only in this kind of world, a world Bahktin refers to as “a world turned inside outâ€, can performance be stretched to the limit and be shaped into something new. This ability to inspire the change of performance is what makes subcultures like Phish such a powerful culture force. In his study of popular culture, MacCabe writes cultural products are most effective when they break the national grid (MacCabe, 9). He backs this theory giving reference to Motown, The Beatles, Joyce’s Ulysses. All of which have all had their own sphere of cultural proliferation. Here, MacCabe suggests that in the study of popular culture, we must look at the “fault-lines opened up by these cultural products†(MacCabe, 9). Phish is a subculture that has clearly broken the national grid. Bringing about people from all walks of life, Phish has not only brought them to one cultural core, but has also implemented various communication mediums to keep them together. Internet message forums truly brought Phish culture to the fore. By staying in touch through various interest groups, then Phish lifestyle no longer became a summer excursion. Daily, members of the community are able to keep in touch, swap ideas, and motivate new trends. If influence is gained by breaking the national grid, then the internet has provided the hardware for doing just that. The Phish community is a prime example of the internet’s ability to empower subcultures to grow and thrive on a national level. At a Phish concert, everyone in attendance is a Phishhead. With the internet, these Phisheads always have a place to remain Phisheads. This ability to escape the popular culture of one’s existence into the realm of subculture is extremely empowering. Adorno theorized that the culture industry had effectively integrated itself with society and created mass consumption to organize “free†time (Bernstein, 4). In this instance, Adonro is presenting popular culture as a negative. Capitalist ideals are fused with mass entertainment within society to create an ever consuming culture. From this point of view, Silverstone’s concept of play is no longer about personal growth or escaping boundaries. It is merely about consumption. As Berstein writes, it provides “easy amusement from the relief from labourâ€. This would once again support the notion that our performance is not altered by our play. However, the play of Phish culture is an inherently different kind of game. It is the all encompassing game of Bakhtin’s “carnival†and therefore has a much deeper power over its participants. The power of subcultures like Phish is they require a different kind of performance. A performance that differentiates itself from Adorno’s culture industry. It is for this reason that subcultures are a significant in their ability to alter one’s existence. Kramer too makes direct reference to musical gatherings and their ability to transcend mass culture. He writes: “These enormous gatherings seemed to create small cities with civic as well as commercial cultures†(Kramer, 149). According to him, mass gatherings of people from various walks of life demanded a new understanding of “public†to develop. Phish culture is not merely a gathering of music fans. Kramer theorizes that it is an associational life in which participants are able to explore the complexities of civil society (Kramer, 150). In this light, Phish culture is able to present a new kind of civic society. Empowered with the ability to tour anywhere in North America and draw tens of thousands of people, this rock band brings this notion of a new public on a national scale. Kramer writes: “As both direct and mediated experience, the festivals suggested that individuals and groups might actively engage in the making of their social worlds, rather than be dominated by authoritative forces such as the state…†Participants in the Phish community engaged in such experiences. They forged their own society and created an alternative lifestyle. The environment that grows around a venue where Phish is playing on a given night is fuelled by the love of music. However, it culminates with cultural togetherness. It is only in these kinds of environments, these kinds of subcultures, that we are able to escape the roles entailed for us in our mass consumption cultures. Only then can we forge and shape our own performance.

not that funny.

sigur ros: () is the best sleep disc EVEr.

just got my tickets. BUP BUP BUP.

SOILENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!

i heard they totally rage it and you can really throw it down. HARD.

i have always hated this show. especially the french version.

this festival needs any of the following: lotus, hot buttered rum string band, pnuma trio, cornmeal, family groove company.

WHAT!!! just when i think i am skipping the roo.... TIESTO!!! huge! i think i'm gonna chillax back at the site all day and listen to chameleon project and drink some busch light... ready myself. TIESTO! TIESTO!!! TIESTO!!!

best. toronto. band. ever.

going to church where the red light was. people that would go to the comfort zone every sunday morning are fucking gross.

<<<<==== so me.

that phil set blew junks.

moe. sucks. its about fucking time.