< third from the left >

[rayheinrich]

                  < third from the left >*

                this
                picture in today's news
                another informational announcement
                from our government:

                "new humane methods of execution"

                this
                picture of padded chairs
                headrests curving up
                heads
                already strapped in
                colored tubes
                sewn to their mouths
                which
                (the article goes on to say)
                makes it all quite painless

                all this
                from reading today's news
                from recognizing you
                third from the left

                        - - -






*Found poetry (with a fair bit of editing, reformatting,
paraphrasing, and additional text) stolen from the play
'The Designated Mourner' by Wallace Shawn but strictly
adhering to copyright fair use doctrine.



(Pen&ink drawing filled in with graphite and watercolor and (for all I remember) finger-paint and mud and toaster
crumbs and burnt marsh-mellows and toe-nail clippings and a ground-up copy of page 213 of some unknown
edition of War&Peace or was it page 42 of Kesey's Demon Box but it really doesn't matter what media was used
to make the damned thing because I scanned and photo-shopped the fucker and multiplied it by five.)

[Jeffrey Gibson]

You are going to have to explain this one to me. It makes no sense -- and not only because of your lack of punctuation (see below). It's disjointed and far too insular to be understood.

[font=Courier]
                this
                picture in today's news
                another informational announcement
                from our government:

                "new humane methods of execution"

                this
                picture of padded chairs
                headrests curving up
                heads
                already strapped in
                colored tubes
                sewn to their mouths

Are you saying that the heads supposedly shown here were "strapped in" by/with colored tubes that were sown to "their" (whose?) mouths? Or are you saying that heads (but not bodies?) were strapped in (where?) AND that in addition to this fact, there were also colored tubes sewn to the mouths of these heads?

In any case, what experience are you trying to get a reader to enter into with this piece?

Jeffrey

[Apophrades]

I enjoyed this piece! and the accompanying painting. makes me think of what it would be like if a loved one's death was described in a newspaper, deindividualised, almost nonchalant because we hear these things on the news everyday.

[rayheinrich]

You are going to have to explain this one to me.

This is found poetry (with a fair bit of editing
and reformatting) taken from the play 'The
Designated Mourner' by Wallace Shawn which I
multiple-media'ed with a drawing of mine
(multiplied by five). Because of this (though
I've interpreted it for myself), I really don't know
what the author had in mind. If you want to take
the time, you could Google "Designated Mourner
Wallace Shawn" and find a synopsis of it.

---

I enjoyed this piece! and the accompanying painting. makes me think of what it would be like if a loved one's death was described in a newspaper, deindividualised, almost nonchalant because we hear these things on the news everyday.

Yes, pretty much what I thought. Though I'd throw a repressive government
into the mix as well.

[milo]

You are going to have to explain this one to me.

This is found poetry (with a fair bit of editing
and reformatting) taken from the play 'The
Designated Mourner' by Wallace Shawn which I
multiple-media'ed with a drawing of mine
(multiplied by five). Because of this (though
I've interpreted it for myself), I really don't know
what the author had in mind. If you want to take
the time, you could Google "Designated Mourner
Wallace Shawn" and find a synopsis of it.

And your responsibilities regarding attribution are . . .?

[rayheinrich]

You are going to have to explain this one to me.

This is which I
multiple-media'ed with a drawing of mine
(multiplied by five). Because of this (though
I've interpreted it for myself), I really don't know
what the author had in mind. If you want to take
the time, you could Google "Designated Mourner
Wallace Shawn" and find a synopsis of it.
[/font]

And your responsibilities regarding attribution are . . .?

When I constructed it, it was for an audience that knew
the play well; but out in the wild world it should indeed
be credited. So I did.

[milo]

This is which I
multiple-media'ed with a drawing of mine
(multiplied by five). Because of this (though
I've interpreted it for myself), I really don't know
what the author had in mind. If you want to take
the time, you could Google "Designated Mourner
Wallace Shawn" and find a synopsis of it.
[/font]

And your responsibilities regarding attribution are . . .?

When I constructed it, it was for an audience that knew
the play well; but out in the wild world it should indeed
be credited. So I did.

Why the change in the picture and title?

[rayheinrich]

Why the change in the picture and title?

Originally the image was presented vertically and contained
four copies of the drawing with the one that was third from
the top differentiated by a bit of added skin color. When I
turned it horizontal the pinkish one was second from the right
so I re-named it that. Tired of this happening I made an image
with five copies of the drawing with the pinkish one in the middle
so it would be third either way.

Then I decided that a truly repressive state would seek to dehumanize
these 'enemies' it was executing by making them appear identical,
by erasing any sign of their individuality; so I took the pinkish
one out and made them all identical.

Aren't you glad you asked?