Views and Interviews - Online Journal

Film - Rivers & Tides

I saw "Rivers & Tides" tonight.  We rented it from netflix.  It is a documentary about the works of Scottish sculptor Andy Goldsworthy.  I did not know what to expect, but it looked interesting.  It was. 

It was beautiful, and, ultimately, indescribable.   

Goldsworthy's entry in Wikipedia says that he "produces site specific sculpture and land art situated in natural settings."  It mentions that his works are, some of them, anyhow, quite ephemeral.  He has done works in ice, made long chains of leaves and floated them down a brook, but he has also done works in stone that will probably last for years.  But a quality that all his works have, even the most solid and unmoving, is that they are not static.  Even the most imperishable interacts with its surroundings, with the sun and light, with wind and rain, changing sometimes profoundly as these change. 

Because of this dynamic aspect of Goldsworthy's work, the film was a wonderful introduction - far better than a series of static photographs could have been.  I got to see the dynamic qualities of many pieces, watch their creation, watch their evolution as gravity or tides or time undid them again.

Throughout it all  I saw and felt, at least to some small extent, the artist's way of working, beyond what words could really describe.  He seems to have a profound connection to the world about him, a direct interaction that is expressed in his creations. Nothing I have encountered before let me understand so well what shamans must have felt - though the shamanic intention to control and influence is absent.  Goldsworthy seems to be instead a collaborator and co-creator, working with the flow of reality around him.  His work is marked by this innocence and wonder. 

This film is very much worth experiencing.   

References: 
Diary - Diary entries by Goldsworthy while working in Digne, France.  Includes some photos.

For images of work, just do an image search in Google on Andy Goldsworthy.

ER Again

Last Tuesday night (a week ago) - really Wednesday morning, since it was 2:00AM by the time I took action - I had another attack of belly pain.  I rousted Marlene and we drove off to the Emergency Room.  Again.

The doctor who treated me saw that it was exactly like the previous episode of diverticulitis back in June that resulted in my knee surgery being canceled.  However, he decided he should check me out thoroughly even so, and ordered a CAT scan.  He also gave me intravenous Demerol for pain - and it made me truly miserable.  My blood-pressure dropped and I was left so nauseated that I could barely drink the CAT scan contrast liquid (not a pleasant business at the best of times) and I went very slowly with what I did choke down. 

That dragged the process out.  But finally the CAT scan was done, and to my surprise, the doctor said my appendix looked a bit iffy.  A surgeon (Dr. Mahdavian) was called in, and I was admitted to the hospital.  Dr. Mahdavian saw me around 11:00AM and discussed my options - seems that nothing was really clear.  It might be appendicitis or it might not; surgery might resolve the situation or it might not. 

I ended up opting for surgery, that is, laparoscopic removal of my appendix and examination of my innards in that general area.  It would mean at the least that I wouldn't have to be concerned about my appendix again, and if that wasn't the problem, the doctor might be able to see what was.  So - at about 1:00PM I had the surgery. 

Fortunately, intelligently, the surgeon told Marlene the results - rather than me.  And when I woke up enough, she told me.  It seems my appendix was just starting to get infected.  So that was it - surgery was a good choice. 

That was Wednesday, and Friday I came home.  Now I'm busy recovering.  Tomorrow the stitches come out. 

Retreat

The final week in July Marlene and I went on a retreat with the Khenpos.  Sunday the 24th we drove to Walton where we'd reserved a motel suite for the week.  The drive was lovely - much of it following a route along the Pepacton Reservoir on which there is almost no traffic.  We were excited and happy to be attending the Khenpo's teaching.

We found the motel easily - it looked decent from the outside but we damn near fainted when the manager showed us our suite.  It had plenty of space, two good-sized beds, and a kitchen nook.  But it reeked of old cigarette smoke - and all the furniture was old, dark wood, some of it broken.  The screens in the windows were ripped, the mattresses stained.   After standing around for awhile, poking a few things to see if they were as bad as they looked (and they were) Marlene found the manager and told her we were leaving.  While she negotiated to get our money back, I made notes on other places to stay.  We even considered driving back and forth each day. 

The nearest alternative was another motel one town away - Downsville.  It was late by the time we got there, but the owner showed us what he had available - the rooms were new and pleasant and significantly cheaper than our original choice.  So we stayed there. 

The retreat itself was wonderful and intense.  We ended up leaving early, exhausted, but feeling very much enriched.