“The Anthropology of
Turquoise”, Ellen Meloy, pp. 3-17
I remember this book from years
ago. I was in a book store. The title and
colored picture of the tube of
turquoise paint drew me in. At one
point, I
considered purchasing it. After
skimming through the chapters, I ended up
putting the book back because I was
disappointed.
Even though the
book was up for a Pulitzer Prize, I felt it was a persistent
rambling of facts
and feelings, mixed with random memories of family,
ancestry, personal events, and
geography. The book contained fluid
descriptions using color as a reference, which was good. However, Maloy’s
writing style reminds me of
a person with 6-12 months of life left, who has to
soak in every second of
every day, and remember vividly every moment of
his or her past life, because
it is slipping away. I believe her
thought process
is too fast paced and frantic. One thought blurs into the next without
respite.
She once stated that, “I
thought I would never survive my imagination”.
Even she was aware of that. I know she is a naturalist and her intent was
to
be one of “exploitation of the connection between human perception and
geography-landscape, and nature, spirit and art”, but it’s too much of an
“intense study of details”.
After skimming
through the chapters, I ended up putting the book back
because I was
disappointed.
Side Note: “The Anthology
of Turquoise” was published in 2002. In
2004
Ellen Meloy died at home, in her sleep, of a possible heart attack or
aneurysm.
She was 58.
Ellen, your response is very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read “The Anthropology of Turquoise” I found myself detached from her sensuous description on her every day colors because of my language barrier and my chromophobic tendency, I guess. I have grown in the country where white has been worshiped as the color symbolizing the national identity. Even when vivid colors were used in architecture, furniture, garments, and food, they were controlled by the traditional and philosophical references. This cultural background has blurred my direct and emotional response to them. The occasional uncertainty of glaze colors at firing also makes me nervous rather than excited. For me, color still remains in conceptual area to facilitate a certain purpose. So, this color project would be an opportunity to extend my boundary.