User:Chen Junyu/graduation/theise/research notes/Notes for thesis

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list to read : Henry David Thoreau // Emanuel Swedenborg

[English Scripts]Earth, Sea, and Sky: Nature in Western Art: Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Chinese Version

Chapter1: Nature Idealized

Earth, Sea, and Sky begins with artistic visions of nature shaped by powerful ideas. Western culture has a long and rich history of nature imagery derived from literary sources and the imagination rather than from the world before the artist's eyes.

From early times, people struggling to understand powerful natural forces imagined them as human in order to mitigate their fear of the unknown. The tradition of personifying nature continues to this day, for example in the practice of giving personal names to hurricanes. The personification of nature is a form of metaphoric representation that depicts a culturally understood avatar for the idea of a river, season, or time of day

nature personate

Chapter 2: The Human Presence in Nature

A human figure can literally wear nature as a crown of foliage or a rough animal skin, thereby taking on the symbolic attributes of the leaves or the strength and ferocity of the wild beast.

Chapter 3: Animals

The earliest prehistoric cave paintings of primitive man featured animals, and they have remained an important subject for art through the centuries. Many of the creatures seen here embody something more than the zoological species depicted. Pagan gods, for example in ancient Egypt, often assume animal form. Christian art finds symbolism in every species. The challenge for the artist often lies in preserving the true character, energy, and appearance of the animal while also expressing a theological or metaphorical meaning.

Artists try to give every species their own metaphor in works

Chapter 4: Flowers and Gardens flowers sometimes serve as symbols. All flowers have brief moments of perfection, and so their portrayal often implies the idea of transience.


The word "photography" derives from the Greek for "writing with light," and so despite the technology involved, photography is a form of art made of nature.

for the various manifestations of the theme of nature in art are recapitulated in this one medium: idealization, animals, gardens and flowers, and landscape.

<The Great Wave> Its success can be attributed to not only Le Gray's technical tour-de-force, but also to the picture's Romantic evocation of the sublime—the lone ship on a wide expanse of sea suggests our small place in the vast universe.

The Nature And Art of Motion

Introduction

The inescapable attribute of our time is its runaway pace. 我们的时代的固有属性是其失控的速度.

The traffic of the outside world has its inner counterpart. Our interior world is shaped by the restless haste of bad consciences.

Our proudest and most potent possessions, without reliable social guidance, become misused. we live under the terrifying shadow of superinventions, with their much too easy push-button control.As we all know so well, these have brought us to the brink of final disaster.

It seems impossible to look inside ourselves and find renewal of spirit. our privacy, the sanctuary for our imaginative powers, is invaded, not only by such lashing tentacles of this world of motion as the onrushing images of the television screen, but even more by our own frantic restlessness. Motion, in a strict physical sense, is change of position with respect to a reference system(参考系) of space coordinates 空间坐标系. In a broad social sense, motion is change with respect to a reference system of basic human values. --we find ourselves trapped in a gigantic social and emotional traffic jam. just as our cities are strangled by traffic because vehicles overflow our streets, so our vast traffic of new knowledge and power is choking to a standstill.

The last accelerated decades of history span what used to be centuries of technical progress and centuries of economic and social advancement or regression. Unable to correlate the time of the individual's willed puirsoses with the time scale of social directions,others of us blame a hundred different things: events occur absurdly fast....we shift scapegoats without realizing that the real problem is our lack of a coordinating, genuinely contemporary, dynamic scale.

We should understand this dizzying, runaway environment is just the final wild reverberation of a long-evolving change in the foundation of our knowledge and system of values. Not least among its roots is change in our scientific understanding of motion. 我们需要明白,这个令人头晕目眩想要逃离的环境只是我们的知识和价值观体系的长期进化的变化过程里,最后的荒凉的回响。尤其是,它的根基是改变我们对motion的科学理解。

Interpretation of physical motion has had a seminal role in science and technology.(Galileo's study of falling bodies --established-- solid foundation of our scientific understanding of physical nature//Outstanding scientific achievements of the 17th century base on interpretation of planetary motion.//infinitesimal calculus, the mathematical tool was decisive in the shaping of our scientific and technical world,grew out of investigation of change of motion// in 20th century, the constancy of the velocity of light is fundamental to the new physics.)

the stable, solid world of substance which in the past was considered perment and preordained, is understood as widely dispersed fields of dynamic energies.--matter: the tangible, visible, stable substance in the old image of the physical world--is recast today as an invisible web of nuclear events with orbiting electrons jumping from orbit to orbit.原因:固定的,有形的,稳固的 对这个物理世界的旧印象中--现在正在重铸为一个不可见的核事件网络在不同的电子轨道上切换。

Paralleling the dissolution of the old notion of matter is a fundamental transformation of our ideas about men and society.

In spite of all this mobility (the function of our eyes), the essential characteristic of the world as we perceive it is , in fact , constancy and stability. The world as we perceive it is made up of things with persisting identity, existing in a frame of reference of stationary space. Motionless objects, as we have said, are perceived as though flat, and only when the eye receives a successive flow of light patterns reflected from an object can we recognize depth and detect the object's three-dimensional extension. The changing position of our eyes relative to an object reveals its characteristic three-dimensional "thingness".

This paradox has its inversion. (e.g. 一个移动物体的连续场景的照片以被拍摄的速度投映会被感知为那个物体正在运动。改变连续静止视网膜刺激引起了对于motion(移动)的体验)

Futher implications of motion as a generator of vision and insight.心理学家观察到这样的概念常数--机械式因果关系,是基于我们儿时具体的motion experience的。当一个孩子他自己通过推动物体造成物体移动的同时,他第一次体验到 因果关系 这个概念。然后孩子开始理解和探索这个可能性,并且基于对因果关联的了解进行跟进一步的改变。


the botany of desire

植物的欲望
译者序
植物与人类角色的对换,或者说,其本来就无本客体之说。例如花与蜜蜂的关系,花依靠蜜蜂传播花粉,达到繁衍子息的目的,蜜蜂则从花朵中提取蜂蜜供以食用。

然而植物古老的逻辑--无线地自由繁殖自己,既是作为食物,又是作为未来制造更多食物的手段,已经让位于资本主义的现代逻辑了。{波伦}(例子:孟山都等大型食品公司通过更改植物的基因序列,迫使农民年复一年购买其公司不带有繁殖能力的植物种子,从而达到垄断市场的目的) 对于麦当劳这类全球性垄断连锁企业来说,必然要选定一个品种才能达到它那种工业化的标准。全球性的单一种植,培育着一种全球性的欲望,而全球性的单一种植现在又依赖于像基因工程这样的技术。 从根本上来说,为了满足便利和欲望,人类的一个基本思路就是以“简化”来对付自然界的野性和多样性,把自然界中理解难以理解的复杂性简化为某种人类能够管理的东西。农业产业使得单一种植和规模经济出现。单一种植是现代农业唯一的最有力量的简化吧自然界重新改造为一部机器的关键一步。


正文
蜜蜂与花朵之间的古老关系,即为“共同进化”的一个经典性例证。 所有这些植物关心的也就是每一种生命在最基本的遗传层面上都关心的东西:更多地复制它们自己。 植物同时也在进行着对我们的重新创造 描述植物进化唤醒和的到满足的四种人类欲望的自然史。 人类的想象,人类美的观念,人类的宗教,或许还有人类的哲学,都有一部自然史。 "驯化"暗示这些物种进入了文明,或者是在文明的屋顶下被带大。但是“驯化”的暗喻鼓励我们这样“理解:它们就如同我们,已经多少脱离了自然界,似乎自然界只是一种在外面发生的东西。 这又是一个想象的错误。自然界并不只在“”外边“被发现,它也,就在这里。 在今天这样一个全球变暖/臭氧层空洞和各种技术已经允许我们在遗传的层面上--这是荒野最后的退避之处之一--更改生命的时代,也很难维持了。部分是由于默认,部分是由于设计,所有的自然物现在都处在被驯化的过程之中,都在文明的屋顶之下(这屋顶有点漏)纷纷前来,或者是找到了它们自己。的确,即使是荒野现在也要依赖于文明才能留存了。

第一章 苹果佬约翰。约翰 查普曼 亨利 大卫 梭罗: 苹果树的历史与人类的历史两者关系之密切是引人注意的。 “甜得没有了方向” 一位果树栽培学对“蛇果”的著名批判。约翰成为美国边疆仁慈的圣弗朗西斯 苹果成为了没有瑕疵修正过的甜蜜蜜的圆果。就沃尔特迪斯尼和美国几代连环画作者对苹果佬约翰尼的传播而言,这两种情况中,一种廉价而虚假的美化已经替代了事情的真相。真相是:强烈的欲望使得他们互相联结到了一起,并且把接纳了他们的乡村也联结了起来。 它们是硬币的两面,都擦拭到了一种不可能的光洁程度,是涂了粉的无害和好看,被置于严密的控制之下。两者声称都要告诉我们一些关于自然的事情,但事实上两者都代表了从自然到感情的升腾

每一个苹果有五个以上的种子,而每一个种子,都含有一个全新的/完全不同的苹果树的遗传结构。对于这种可变性,植物学使用的术语是“杂合性”,这种倾向在苹果身上发展到了极致,他不可避免地野化,--导致它有一种能力,可以随遇而安地生活在非常不同的地方。不管苹果树到了什么地方,它的后代可以算是在苹果的基础傻姑娘产生了那么多的不同品种。

真正的驯化是等到中国人发明了嫁接之后。公元前2000年。

1801年 鲁弗斯 普特奈姆出售的苹果通常是选择出来的东部品种:嫁接出的树苗。约翰对此的回应是:用这种方法,他们可以改良苹果。但是这只是人的一种把戏,用这种办法来斫砍树木是不道德的。正确的方法是挑选好的,把它们种在好地理,只有上帝才能去改良苹果。

俄亥俄州的法律要求,西北边疆的土地许可特别要求定居者要种植至少50棵苹果树或者梨树,这是写在契约上的一个条件。一个果园也是一片理想的或者是驯服的森林的模样。阴森的荒野转变为整齐的,几何形的苹果树行,提供了一个看得见的,甚至是激动人心的证据--证明一位开拓者已经征服了那片原始森林。与早期定居者们所遇到的那种可怕的伟岸的老树相比,苹果树的温顺,它接纳了我们赋予它的那种形式。

甘甜在十八世纪仍然是奢侈品。大部分的美国人通过水果汲取甘甜。

甘甜,是欲望的原型吗?

甘甜是进化中的一种强大力量。靠着把自己的种子包裹在甜的,有营养的果肉里,那些结果的植物如苹果就找到一条创造性地方式来开启哺乳动物喜好甘甜的牙齿。为了得到果糖,动物就得给这些种子提供运送,允许植物扩大它们的范围。作为这种伟大的共同进化关系中当事人的一方,动物有着对于甘甜最强烈的爱好,而植物则以提供最大最甜而昌盛起来,繁殖开来,进化成我们今天所看到的它们现在的这些品种。

苹果对于人类的吸引力,还要归因于它们的种种喻义。寓意家园。把土地称为甜美,就是一种说它回应了我们的欲望的方式。

苹果被普遍认为是伊甸园中的命运之树。至少从中世纪开始,北欧的人们就假设了这个禁果就是苹果(石榴)。这是又一个例证,说明了苹果的天赋能够把它自己暗示到每一种人类的环境中,甚至是一种明显的《圣经》环境之中。植物学家zelig通过丢勒和克拉纳赫以及无数其他人的绘画,苹果也钻出一条路,进入到我们关于伊甸园的想象之中。葡萄酒被圣经禁止,苹果酒却没有遭到任何批评。

约翰把自己视为边疆的一只蜜蜂,带去了苹果种子和上帝的言语--甘甜和光明。

他的赤脚走遍美国边疆的故事一再被人将火速,强调了人们感觉到查普曼与大自然的联系是奇特的--不那么是属于人的。我们的鞋底在我们与土地之间提供了一种防护的屏障,但这对于查普曼来说却没有用。如果说鞋子是文明生活的一部分和一个包裹的话,那么查普曼则是有一只脚植入了另外一个领域,这点至少是在很大程度上与动物相同。

查普曼这种自由地穿行于其他人认为是锁定的,无法打破的界限之间的能力--穿行于红色世界与白色世界之间,荒野与文明之间,甚至是这个世界也与另一个世界之间是她的性格的一个特点。

斯维登伯格派的哲学中,自然世界与神之间没有裂缝。 查普曼的神秘教诲已经从基督教上转向,变得与泛神论和自然崇拜非常接近。

狄俄尼索斯:流动性的古希腊神,在荒野的领域和文明领域之间,男人与女人的界限之间,人与神的界限之间,动物和人的界限之间出出进进。弗里德里希 尼采把狄俄尼索斯描绘成一个可以化解自然与文化之间 “所有僵硬和敌对的界限”的人物。希腊人把狄俄尼索斯视为阿波罗的对立面。阿波罗代表清晰的种种界限,秩序和光明,以及人对自然的坚定控制,而狄俄尼索斯的狂欢则消融了阿波罗的种种界限,这就正如同尼采所写的“疏离的,敌对的,或者是抑制的自然。。。。庆祝她与自己失去的孩子--人--的和解” 靠着对狄俄尼索斯的崇拜和其饮酒而醉,雅典人就能够暂时地回到大自然,回到一个如古典作家简 哈利写到的那样的时代:人仍然把种种植物和动物理解为自己的兄弟。 对于狄俄尼索斯的临时的,狂欢般的崇拜不需要神庙,总是发生在城市的外面。这使宗教回到了林中,它本来也就从哪里开始。狄俄尼索斯还是负责人与植物之间的婚姻的。除了葡萄藤之外,狄俄尼索斯还是种植,还特地让他去发现了苹果树。他事实上是种植本身置身,““从自然的乳房里带来了智慧””他把野生植物带入了文明的房屋,但是,以这同一标志,他自己那种没有驯化的就提醒着人们那种未驯化的自然。而文明的房屋总是建立在这种自然之上的,总是不那么稳定的。 p59