Comments on: The Stone Breakers http://www.spinozablue.com/2009/01/1500/ An Eclectic Journal of the Arts Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:16:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Robert Mueller http://www.spinozablue.com/2009/01/1500/#comment-336 Robert Mueller Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:17:37 +0000 http://www.spinozablue.com/?p=1500#comment-336 Thanks! He also wrote, for example, <em>Nana</em>, a story of the salon with moral and not obviously political implications. <em>Germinal</em> is better and its subject suits Zola better, in my opinion.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('336','Robert Mueller'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('336','Robert Mueller','Thanks! He also wrote, for example, <em>Nana<\/em>, a story of the salon with moral and not obviously political implications. <em>Germinal<\/em> is better and its subject suits Zola better, in my opinion.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Thanks! He also wrote, for example, Nana, a story of the salon with moral and not obviously political implications. Germinal is better and its subject suits Zola better, in my opinion.
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]]> By: Cuchulain http://www.spinozablue.com/2009/01/1500/#comment-335 Cuchulain Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:41:19 +0000 http://www.spinozablue.com/?p=1500#comment-335 Good points. Courbet was certainly a man of the left, and wanted to highlight the plight of workers and the common man/woman. He had a revolutionary spirit for both politics and the arts. He was also ahead of his time when it came to depictions of the human body, especially women. Scandalizing many in his day. Art should stir the senses, of course. Zola's novels, if they get the blood running, they're just that much more effective and important. Stirring the blood is what most artists, I imagine, hope for. In a sense, that's easily linked with contrast and context too. What was the state of the reader's or listener's or viewer's blood before engaging the work of art? What is it during and afterward?<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('335','Cuchulain'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('335','Cuchulain','Good points. Courbet was certainly a man of the left, and wanted to highlight the plight of workers and the common man\/woman. He had a revolutionary spirit for both politics and the arts. He was also ahead of his time when it came to depictions of the human body, especially women. Scandalizing many in his day. \n\nArt should stir the senses, of course. Zola\'s novels, if they get the blood running, they\'re just that much more effective and important. Stirring the blood is what most artists, I imagine, hope for. In a sense, that\'s easily linked with contrast and context too. What was the state of the reader\'s or listener\'s or viewer\'s blood before engaging the work of art? What is it during and afterward?'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Good points. Courbet was certainly a man of the left, and wanted to highlight the plight of workers and the common man/woman. He had a revolutionary spirit for both politics and the arts. He was also ahead of his time when it came to depictions of the human body, especially women. Scandalizing many in his day.

Art should stir the senses, of course. Zola’s novels, if they get the blood running, they’re just that much more effective and important. Stirring the blood is what most artists, I imagine, hope for. In a sense, that’s easily linked with contrast and context too. What was the state of the reader’s or listener’s or viewer’s blood before engaging the work of art? What is it during and afterward?

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]]> By: Robert Mueller http://www.spinozablue.com/2009/01/1500/#comment-334 Robert Mueller Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:12:50 +0000 http://www.spinozablue.com/?p=1500#comment-334 In light of these questions about subject matter and context, I think of my experience reading what might be the most highly regarded of Emile Zola's novels, "Germinal," depicting the lives of coal miners, the decision to go on strike and the consequences and repercusions thereof to both the working class and individuals and families in management positions. Despite being relentlessly grim, it is a powerful work of literature. Maybe the choice to depict extremely unpleasant and dis-spiriting experiences provides the kind of sharp contrast that you talk about, so that the novel stirs despite the sense of futility that is its overwhelming theme.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('334','Robert Mueller'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('334','Robert Mueller','In light of these questions about subject matter and context, I think of my experience reading what might be the most highly regarded of Emile Zola\'s novels, "Germinal," depicting the lives of coal miners, the decision to go on strike and the consequences and repercusions thereof to both the working class and individuals and families in management positions. Despite being relentlessly grim, it is a powerful work of literature. Maybe the choice to depict extremely unpleasant and dis-spiriting experiences provides the kind of sharp contrast that you talk about, so that the novel stirs despite the sense of futility that is its overwhelming theme.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> In light of these questions about subject matter and context, I think of my experience reading what might be the most highly regarded of Emile Zola’s novels, “Germinal,” depicting the lives of coal miners, the decision to go on strike and the consequences and repercusions thereof to both the working class and individuals and families in management positions. Despite being relentlessly grim, it is a powerful work of literature. Maybe the choice to depict extremely unpleasant and dis-spiriting experiences provides the kind of sharp contrast that you talk about, so that the novel stirs despite the sense of futility that is its overwhelming theme.
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