tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post4675351352859498979..comments2023-12-28T13:11:06.666+00:00Comments on Pics and Poems: Here's one I made earlierDave Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-78626797168397662922009-12-08T09:23:06.570+00:002009-12-08T09:23:06.570+00:00James
Welcome and many thanks for the contribution...<b>James</b><br />Welcome and many thanks for the contribution. I absolutely agree with your remarks, though they are normally applied (as I would once have applied them) to representational art. It came as a surprise to me to see that children might have the same abilities when it came to abstract art.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-6966153341124486132009-12-07T06:15:57.864+00:002009-12-07T06:15:57.864+00:00sorry for posting twice!!sorry for posting twice!!Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985031552585982485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-72091032681940245462009-12-07T06:15:36.500+00:002009-12-07T06:15:36.500+00:00You've got to kind of wonder if something gets...You've got to kind of wonder if something gets lost just after the point kids stop becoming kids - I mean, I love Mondrian, and I can hear someone saying (the voice of the perpetual and unreasonable critic), that it's no better than something a kid could do. Maybe like Pollock or Miro or even Calder.<br /><br />But I bet you ask 99 out of 100 adults to do something like that, and they'd fail, badly. And that's what kids have that a lot of people lose just after they stop being kids - the ability to express things simply and perfectly. Which is Mondrian; which is Pollock; which is Miro.<br /><br />I have a short story on the ezine Splash of Red: http://splashofred.squarespace.com/fiction/2009/11/9/excerpt-from-birdcage-melodies.html , which plays on that sense of simplicity in art. I also keep a daily 1000+ word offbeat short story blog at http://jamesbent.com/blogJames Benthttp://jamesbent.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-1424743039069462272009-12-07T06:15:35.212+00:002009-12-07T06:15:35.212+00:00You've got to kind of wonder if something gets...You've got to kind of wonder if something gets lost just after the point kids stop becoming kids - I mean, I love Mondrian, and I can hear someone saying (the voice of the perpetual and unreasonable critic), that it's no better than something a kid could do. Maybe like Pollock or Miro or even Calder.<br /><br />But I bet you ask 99 out of 100 adults to do something like that, and they'd fail, badly. And that's what kids have that a lot of people lose just after they stop being kids - the ability to express things simply and perfectly. Which is Mondrian; which is Pollock; which is Miro.<br /><br />I have a short story on the ezine Splash of Red: http://splashofred.squarespace.com/fiction/2009/11/9/excerpt-from-birdcage-melodies.html , which plays on that sense of simplicity in art. I also keep a daily 1000+ word offbeat short story blog at http://jamesbent.com/blogJames Benthttp://jamesbent.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-49937750148936767412009-12-06T11:44:23.579+00:002009-12-06T11:44:23.579+00:00Jim
I take my hat off to you. I never did get int...<b>Jim </b><br />I take my hat off to you. I never did get into machine code. Didn't even try to! But you're right, I had all but forgotten the work w had to put in in those days to be as frugal as possible with the memory. I have to say, I like the sound of your adventure program.<br /><br />I agree completely with your remarks on Mondrian. I have only fairly recently come to a knowledge, let alone an appreciation, of his early, more naturalistic, work. I do get something out of his writings about nature and spirituality, but, strangely perhaps, I don't relate them to his paintings. I see the two as quite distinct - which, of course, he does not.<br /><br /><b>Madame DeFarge </b><br />Yup, I often feel we all missed out on that. Shame... perhaps next time around?<br /><br /><b>Linda </b><br />You are right about the turtle. I was (am?) thinking in terms of a post about it - but maybe not. It was available for P.Cs. as well as Apples and there was an actual, physical turtle which crawled around on the floor. You could program it to navigate obstacle courses or draw huge designs on sheets spread on the floor. <br /><br /><b>Derrick </b><br />Mm, I'm not sure about that. It would certainly have put me off. I suppose it depends on the particular computer language.<br /><br /><b>Diane</b><br />Cheers. Will do!<br /><br /><b>Conda </b><br />That is so true of so much art. Scale has something to do with it, so do the nuances of colour and texture which do not get reproduced.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-69179548333076244362009-12-05T22:49:55.610+00:002009-12-05T22:49:55.610+00:00Cool. At first I didn't like Mondrian, until I...Cool. At first I didn't like Mondrian, until I saw a real one (not in a book, hanging on the wall in a museum). Then the pattern leapt from the canvas, vibrant and alive.Conda Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12972790965426924941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-11113356928490961082009-12-05T18:42:39.764+00:002009-12-05T18:42:39.764+00:00OK, you can hear enchanted oak and I on this link:...OK, you can hear enchanted oak and I on this link:<br /><br />http://kcbx.org/mp3archive/eoa091202.mp3<br /><br />Winter solstice soon!Diannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18323454057921441274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-25190001314880230512009-12-05T12:34:25.859+00:002009-12-05T12:34:25.859+00:00Hi Dave,
Computer programming and I never gelled!...Hi Dave,<br /><br />Computer programming and I never gelled! I remember a careers adviser saying that translating a page of French prose would be a good comparison. Enough said!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00861397533660827678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-5072639676783438802009-12-04T22:18:48.528+00:002009-12-04T22:18:48.528+00:00In the 80's I think there was an apple compute...In the 80's I think there was an apple computer programme called turtle that let you solve logic problems. I think there were locations on a grid. I remember designing a checkerboard by accurately drawing it and then hooking up with a friend and playing checkers. <br /><br />Mondrian is good art for young students because of the simple shapes and primary colors. The arrangements and neatness are the most difficult aspects. Good for you Dave for designing the software! Teaching has many "side" occupations.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03241402645242821612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-58951342028340040062009-12-04T21:44:59.229+00:002009-12-04T21:44:59.229+00:00Very clever thing to do, very impressed. Never had...Very clever thing to do, very impressed. Never had PCs when I was at school (pre dark ages).This would have been rather fun to do.Madame DeFargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08172239340844485940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-11476692141652043002009-12-04T13:47:23.933+00:002009-12-04T13:47:23.933+00:00My first computer was a Sinclair ZX81 but I moved ...My first computer was a Sinclair ZX81 but I moved quickly onto a Spectrum. I felt the same about these computers as I did about my electronic organ, it wasn't enough to play (or play with) something someone else had written I wanted to compose and program on my own and I devoted an enormous amount of time to it. What I found especially challenging was cramming everything I wanted into its 48K memory. 48K! My current machine has hundreds of gigabytes and is attached to a 1TB hard drive. But my claim to fame was to write a small adventure program set in all places the holy land where you have this guy wandering round sometimes being a saint and sometimes sinning with temple prostitutes. Rather than power, which is what most programs were about, with him it was spirituality – once he had 100% he went to heaven. The real trick was incorporating graphics – still images admittedly but I had to learn machine code to manage that and <i>that</i> was hard.<br /><br />I've always had an affection for Mondrian's art and not simply his grids. I'm sure I had a go at one myself sometime in the dim and distant past. I never really cared for all the theory behind them. As far as I'm concerned the less you need to say about a work of art the better; if you need notes to understand it then it's clearly missing something. I can appreciate works like the ones you have on your site purely as relaxing patterns and they do calm me. Occasionally I'll paste one onto my desktop which is always a black background with some work of art in the middle. At the moment it's the cover to Regina Spektor's new album, <i><a href="http://clipsandphrases.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/far-cover-art.jpg" rel="nofollow">Far</a></i>, which I think is lovely.<br /><br />You should do a post on album art one of these days.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-38871230243768801832009-12-04T11:57:18.996+00:002009-12-04T11:57:18.996+00:00Rachel
Ah, those were the days!
A Cuban in Londo...<b>Rachel </b><br />Ah, those were the days!<br /><br /><b>A Cuban in London </b><br />Thanks for that. The program had not been meant for the pupils, of course. Young and very young special needs children like them were not supposed to be able to get anything out of abstract images!<br /><br /><b>enchanted oak </b><br />Yes, you have understood Mondrians words as I understood them. I think maybe you understand his work more than you realise. Thanks for the feedback.<br /><br /><b>Barry </b><br />Don't worry, so far as I know, Mondrian never produced a Barry.<br /><br /><b>David </b><br />Thanks for that.<br /><br /><b>Kass </b><br />Two digits, of course: nought and one - and, yes, I guess it can. There's an opening now, for philosophical or theological speculation!<br /><br /><b>Dianne </b><br />Thanks for that and, yes, I will certainly try logging on to the archive.<br /><br /><b>Weaver of Grass </b><br />We certainly were running in parallel: my first teaching program was for my infants department. The teacher wanted something to help with size estimation. My program showed a house, random size, with no roof. A series of roof appeared one at a time and they had to select the one that would fit. If they got it right the lights in the house would come on and a puff of smoke would come from the chimney.<br /><br /><b>Kay </b><br />To my mind the one unfilled promise of those years lies in the field of virtual reality.<br /><br /><b>Stephen </b><br />Many thanks for that. It's actually some time since I saw an original Mondrian. I must do something about that...<br /><br /><b>Jeanne </b><br />Thanks for that, but I had a lot of folk giving me a helping hand.<br /><br /><b>Tabor </b><br />I remember Pac-man. Actually, he's still around, I believe.<br /><br /><b>Dick</b><br />I was just a few years into my headship. As a deputy my head had got me interested in teaching machines. It seemed a logical development, so far suprior to any of the existing machines.<br /><br /><b>lakeviewer </b><br />That's because they are so far ahead of the adults. It began to happen from the first: pupils showing teachers how to operate the equipment...<br /><br /><b>Karen </b><br />Alas, alas, I have never experienced the joys of using an Apple. I envy you that - and the roomful of Mondrians.<br /><br /><b>gleaner </b><br />I quite agree... like imagining the Stone Age!<br /><br /><b>Cloudia </b><br />I've certainly been called worse. Thanks for the compliment.<br /><br /><b>Mariana </b><br />I can relate to what you say. Maybe I can extend it in that I am fascinated by how and why our minds respond to the whole range of physical experiences - I suppose I mean visual, really. What is it about our brains, for example, that responds to a landscape? - and what is it about the landscape?<br /><br /><b>Shadow </b><br />That's probably the most encouraging thing that's been said to me in a long while. It's enough to keep me blogging!<br /><br /><b>Rachel </b><br /><br />Well, what can I say? I am just very slightly gobsmacked.. I know: thank you!Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-16863284779908673642009-12-04T09:44:03.124+00:002009-12-04T09:44:03.124+00:00According to my husband (software test analyst) yo...According to my husband (software test analyst) your programming was very advanced - he's impressed! So am I - I like your Mondrian better than the real thing!Rachel Fentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10046917627054462214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-29614359246541477042009-12-04T07:28:05.837+00:002009-12-04T07:28:05.837+00:00well, now i've learnt another thing about art ...well, now i've learnt another thing about art forms... i've seen this before but didn't know anything about it.Shadowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999801833389058410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-14053062987212358422009-12-04T07:10:11.449+00:002009-12-04T07:10:11.449+00:00I found this post super interesting, you know I li...I found this post super interesting, you know I like art myself aswell, you can check my past blog entries and have an idea about what I think <br />regarding it. Altough I never specially focused on abstract art, which your post made me wanna dig deeper into (i love the phrase about the universal<br />and the particular, that is amazing). I am kind of obsessed in discovering why art produces what it does in humans emotionally, for example I can think about<br />pollock and math, and I know that his paintings follow fractal patterns, which might be something that pulls a special string in us. well tons more of things to say, well continue soon.<br />Take lots of care<br />MMariana Sofferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13351209522681966230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-72918321518255519372009-12-04T04:52:56.547+00:002009-12-04T04:52:56.547+00:00I'll just call you "Piet"
Aloha, ...I'll just call you "Piet"<br /><br /><br /><br />Aloha, Friend!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://comfortspiral.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Comfort Spiral</a>Cloudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05853753108637831069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-9246622646445995212009-12-04T00:02:41.499+00:002009-12-04T00:02:41.499+00:00I like these quotes of Mondrian. Your story remind...I like these quotes of Mondrian. Your story reminds me of my first school lessons into computers - what a struggle it was to learn the meaning of foreign words like RAM ...its incredible to see the huge progress over the last 20 years and imagine a world without computers and mobile phones etc..gleanerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11826401785165112918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-60927763472804717932009-12-03T23:41:05.524+00:002009-12-03T23:41:05.524+00:00I remember the Apple IIe - our first computers tha...I remember the Apple IIe - our first computers that were right on the heels of Pong. Does anyone remember that? Fortunately, schools these days are filled with technology; unfortunately, the technology changes faster than the schools are able to keep up with. What a different world from those first machines!<br /><br />Love the Mondrians and the quotes that help understand his work a little better. I saw a roomful of his work in Vienna. Beautiful.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12003379181294550035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-30421421274369849802009-12-03T23:26:20.120+00:002009-12-03T23:26:20.120+00:00I love this story about computers, simple programs...I love this story about computers, simple programs and Mondrian. Now, kids plug into all kinds of games without any help from adults.Rosaria Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03133147851332084180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-35309867918777660162009-12-03T22:49:13.439+00:002009-12-03T22:49:13.439+00:00I wish I'd been as ready to embrace practicall...I wish I'd been as ready to embrace practically that strange new world at the beginning of the '80s. Sadly, I remained a smug Luddite into the early '90s. A not untypical stance for arts teachers to take!<br /><br />A very interesting account, Dave. And a pair of splendid Mondrians.Dickhttp://patteran.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-724326786351777492009-12-03T21:52:51.120+00:002009-12-03T21:52:51.120+00:00Fascinating. Not a side of you I would expect. M...Fascinating. Not a side of you I would expect. My first computer was in Indonesia and I took a class at the University of Jogjakarta just to learn how to use it. By that time there was actual software...I think Pac-man was the one I used the most...!Taborhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15257045780724471840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-74215951943581202102009-12-03T21:31:19.511+00:002009-12-03T21:31:19.511+00:00I think you were completely brilliant to figure ou...I think you were completely brilliant to figure out how to do this. What a wonderful tool for working with kids.Jeanne Estridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13096521122802823385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-87553047728671337542009-12-03T19:57:15.844+00:002009-12-03T19:57:15.844+00:00Interesting post and what a beautiful Mondrian you...Interesting post and what a beautiful Mondrian you chose to post. I love his paintings. I go pay homage to one in the National Gallery in D.C. all the time. I like your computer one too.Stephen Dell'Ariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01172035879922310079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-21263567167946872852009-12-03T18:07:08.615+00:002009-12-03T18:07:08.615+00:00Amazing the difference of today...i relate this to...Amazing the difference of today...i relate this to a book by Malcolm Gladwell's 'Outliers' example of success.Kayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17353317664100788614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-3681049174667395452009-12-03T17:59:20.238+00:002009-12-03T17:59:20.238+00:00This made me smile Dave as I was teaching special ...This made me smile Dave as I was teaching special needs at that time too and we had one computer in the classroom and absolutely no software. I tried to teach myself programming to some extent and spent weeks on perfecting a programme which, if I remember correctly was to ascertain whether I needed a large or a small removal van when I moved the contents of an imaginary house. It was a brilliant exercise in logical thinking I found, but of no use in the classroom. I took early retirement before any exciting stuff came into school. Thanks for the reminder - oh and BTW - like the Mondrian!The Weaver of Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.com