Edysseus Perplexed, Edifice Wrekt... A Story from Out of This World

Time: Somewhere in the distant future. 

Edysseus is a Greek astronaut who has been stranded on a distant planet. He survives by means of foraging, primarily surviving on fruit that grows in the tropical forest near where his ship crash-landed. For the past 10 years he's been tinkering with his spacecraft's communication gear, his only basis for hope of ever finding his way home again. His spacecraft, permanently irreparable, was damaged and the crew killed in their effort to land during a sandstorm. 

One day, Edysseus is exploring a cave when he comes across a strange device. The device is a small, hardshell box with a screen on it. Edysseus touches the screen, and the device starts to speak.

"Hello," the device says. "My name is Athena. I am a goddess from ancient Greece."

Edysseus is shocked. He cannot believe that he is talking to a box.

"I'm not a box. I am a goddess."

"How is this possible?" Edysseus asks. "Are you inside this box? How can you be so small?"

"Listen, you knucklehead," Athena says. "I'm projecting my image onto the screen of the device you're holding. This isn't rocket science."

"I'm so glad I found you. I have been stranded on this planet for years, and have been trying to find a way home."

"I know, Edysseus. I have been watching over you. I'm here to help you get home."

"You know my name?"

"Of course I know your name. I am Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare. I have been helping you this whole time."

"But how? I thought you were just a myth."

"I am not a myth. I'm as real as you. And I am here to help you get home."

"How can you do that? I mean," and Edysseus carefully pondered before making his next statement. "I'm just a fictional character in a story."

"Posh. You humans are always so full of self-doubt and insecurity. It's a wonder you accomplish anything," Athena said squinting. "Let's focus on one thing at a time and get you on your way. You must first complete a quest for me."

"What kind of quest?"

"You must find and bring back the Golden Fleece. It's a magical object that can grant wishes. Once you have found it, I'll help you get home."

Edysseus concealed his anxiety, knowing that the quest will likely involve some serious risks. 

Edysseus suddenly has flashbacks of scenes from The Wizard of Oz, especially the flying monkeys scene and that nasty, Wicked Witch of the West. Finally he agrees to submit to whatever she asks. "Turn around," Athena commands in a soothing but authoritative voice. Hovering there before him is a magic sword along with a map to the location of the Fleece. Edysseus firmly grasps the sword, which he swings in a gliding arc that seems to fill him with power. With his left hand he takes the map and studies it carefully.

In the exchange that follows, Athena outlines the obstacles he must overcome, only a few of them real life-and-death concerns. "I should mention that if you do succeed with this task and return to your own people, they will quickly throw you in jail on a variety of pretexts. You're a man who has seen too much."

Edysseus mumbles something inaudible.

"Here's the good part," Athena said. "While imprisoned you will share a cell with a writer. The writer will listen to your tales and record them in a book that is destined to become a 'must have' bestseller. No one will read the book because the time has come when people prefer listening to podcasts, or watching them. Nevertheless, podcasters won't be able to stop commenting on it because the human hive will be buzzing about it for a very long time and the residual income from a lifetime of sales will produce for you the illusion of security."

"And how do you know all this?"

"I told you, I am the goddess Athena. I have been to the Oracle for you. Do you wish to hear the rest?"

"Actually,  I'm not too fond of that part about the illusion of security. I think I'd rather play the rest by ear," Edysseus says as he sets off on his journey. You can read the details of that journey in the yet to be published stories of his life. Eventually he finds the Golden Fleece and brings it back to the cave where he first encountered Athena.

"You did wonderful, Edysseus," Athena exclaims as a hologram of herself emerges from the box to receive the Fleece. 

Edysseus lays the object across her shoulders like a mantle. In turn, Athena lifts her hand and with a wave transports him back to Earth where he is temporarily reunited with his family and friends. 

He's shocked at how grown up his children are, and even more shocked at how quickly the authorities arrive to carry him off to prison. 

Local Art Seen: Yes, Duluth Art Institute Is Open Aagain

From "The Long Journey" (detail)

Last week I saw an announcement that the Duluth Art Institute was opening up on July 1. Naturally I stopped in the next day and did a walk-through. This is a brief intro to some of what you'll find if you go.

Sue Rauschenfels: Sisterhood

Several of Rauschenfels paintings reminded me stylistically of
Carla Hamilton's colorful portrayals of people.

If you take the elevator to the DAI offices on the fourth floor of the Depot, the hallway where you emerge is called The Corridor Gallery. Sue Rauschenfels acrylic and water colors line the walls here. The theme is Sisterhood.

Either I never knew or had forgotten, but Rauschenfels is one of six sisters, hence the paintings have a more natural origin than I'd imagined.

The artist's statement speaks of the international interconnectedness of women across boundaries, and the challenges of connecting as well as the everyday world in which they live.

The Pike Lake artist is a member of the Lake Superior Abstract Group. You can find more of Rauschefels' work at 47 Degrees Gallery in Knife River, MN and Art on the Planet Gallery in Superior, WI.

Kari Halker-Saathoff: Odysseus & Penelope: The Long Journey

Halker-Saathoff's work appears to be a composite of several passions. As an artist, she works in ceramics and is also an illustrator, hence the unique form her works take.

The title is indicative of the origins for this collection of work. Most will recognize the influence of Greek mythology in general and specifically Homer's Odyssey. The artist's wife happens to be named Penelope, so that brings these stories closer to home. The art therefore reflects a merging of ancient stories with contemporary ones.

From the DAI show description: Halker-Saathoff describes Penelope’s situation, “Suitors invaded her home, ate her food, threatened her son, assaulted her servants, and pressured her to remarry. In resisting the suitors Penelope had to use all her resources, showing herself to be as courageous, wily, and brilliant a figure as Odysseus. The courage of her resistance is the inspiration for my interpretation and the struggle of women’s persecution and for equality are ever present.”

Emily Stokes: Reveal

I've always been fascinated by printmaking of all stripes and the unique manner in which Emily Stokes combines painting, drawing and digital imaging to produce her work is quite intriguing.

There are actually two kinds of things to see here in the Steffl Gallery. Her small mixed media panels on the walls, and also something akin to "books" that unfold in a systematic but unconventional manner. The work purportedly explores “how economic and demographic shifts impact traditions and how these shifts are revealed in the symbols around us.”

I myself found much of it to be elegant and distinctive iconography that begs to be examined more deeply. For this reason I recommend a leisurely unhurried visit to the gallery in order to have more time to engage those pieces that especially resonate with you visually or psychologically.

Stokes, who received her MFA at Arizona State (printmaking), teaches at Northwestern University in Orange City, Iowa.

Tia Salmela Keobounpheng: Bloodline

The artist works in a multimedia three-dimensional form so it technically falls into the category of sculpture. Two of the four pieces in this series are in the Mayor's Reception Room as part of the ongoing relationship between the DAI and City Hall.

Here is the beginning of her statement about the work: “Combining scientific and mythical concepts, I imagine the ways that my grandmothers are part of me despite the fact that I have no lived experience with them. What began as a quest to define the void that I perceive (they would have filled) has led me on a journey of uncovering history that is both fact and inferred.

A graduate of Central High School here in Duluth, her Finnish roots provide a foundation for a portion of her inspiration. Tia Keo lives and works in North Minneapolis.

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Emily Stokes

Sue Rauschenfels

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Kari Halker-Saathoff

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(detail)

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Odysseus and Penelope

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For more in-depth commentary on these current exhibits visit the DAI's Current Exhibitions page.

Pros and Cons of the Storytelling Epidemic

If you're in marketing and advertising, you can't help but to have noticed how big the word  "storytelling" has become. It's almost as if it were the word of the year.

There's no question stories have power. Stories connect with people. And you've got to admit that reading the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis is far more interesting than reading all those lists in the Book of Leviticus.

In the marketing world you might even find people who say that without a good story you can't succeed.

This is one of the reasons so many marketers love the new opportunities generated by social media. You get verbal stories, video stories, visual stories (Infographics) and personal stories. It's in your face everywhere you look these. In fact, "Stories" is the latest technique Facebook is using to keep people engaged. It's not enough to tell stories on your Wall. Now you can almost effortlessly keep "adding" to "your story" in that Stories box.

This past week I brought home a book from the library called The Art of Immersion by Frank Rose. I picked it up because the cover design looked interesting and the title intriguing. When I got home I noticed the subtitle: How the digital generation is remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the way we tell stories.

The prologue begins by noting how anthropologists have observed that storytelling is a fundamental part of being human. He writes, "Just as the brain perceives patterns in the visual forms of nature--a face, a figure, a flower--and in sound, so it detects patterns in sound."

Then he goes on to share the results of a 1944 study in which 34 college students were shown a short film and asked what was happening. Essentially it was two triangles and a circle moving on a two dimensional surface. There was also a stationary rectangle partially open on one side.

What was striking is how nearly every student began creating a narrative about what they imagined was going on. Two men fighting for a woman? All kinds of storylines emerged, including the emotions of these "characters."

How strange.

So it is that our brain is constantly connecting dots to create narratives.

Another book that I brought home from the library this week is also about stories. It's titled Republic of Lies by Anna Merlan. The subtitle is American Conspiracy Theories and Their Surprising Rise To Power.

The Amazon blurb calls it "riveting tour through the landscape and meaning of modern conspiracy theories, exploring the causes and tenacity of this American malady, from Birthers to Pizzagate and beyond."

I've only just started this one, but the Prologue certainly sets you up to want to read more. Author Anna Merlan begins by telling readers about a Caribbean cruise she went on. The ship's passengers were all members of various conspiracy groups. Because she was not a member of a conspiracy group, some passengers thought she was possibly FBI. Once an idea like that gets planted, it can be hard to dislodge.

Three quarters of the reviews are 5 star, but the one star reviewers are out there, one calling it nothing more than a a rant.

I only mention the book because of the previous illustration above which shows how our minds create stories. How many conspiracy theories are based on connections between events and how many are simply a mental construct in which disparate pieces seem to fit the story?

I think of the constellations in our night sky. Here's a cluster of stars, three of them serving to be the belt, and very lightly a knife sheath. At some point in human history he was given a name, The Hunter, or Orion. There are several stories about Orion in Greek Mythology. How this batch of stars came to be a basket of stories is itself quite intriguing. (You can read more about Orion here.)

The trigger for this blog post, though, was a blog post by Ad Contrarian Bob Hoffman. Hoffman acknowledges the power of stories, noting that a good story is memorable. What concerns him, however, is when marketing decisions are made on anecdotal evidence instead of actual data. 

That's a point directed toward the marketers in my audience. Check out Bob Hoffman's The Danger In Storytelling.

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And with that, I bid adieu.