I chose to do a creative piece where I combine vignettes describing my own experiences walking in the streets of Colombia with analysis and description of Pablo Neruda's "Walking Around." Originally, I wanted to compare some sort of visual artwork but that, I decided, would take away from the narrative.It would have been interesting to juxtapose the differing styles of these two pieces (Guernica and Mystery and Melancholy of Street) with their similar moods and how they may relate to the surrealist attitudes in "Walking Around."
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Do you get a similar mood from this:
"There are sulphur-colored birds, and hideous intestines
hanging over the doors of houses that I hate,
and there are false teeth forgotten in a coffeepot,
there are mirrors
that ought to have wept from shame and terror,
there are umbrellas everywhere, and venoms, and umbilical
cords."
-- Neruda
I definitely like the idea and think that it would make for a great paper. The excerpt that you chose definitely relates to Guernica. The text's physical violence and gruesome visuals are blatantly manifested in the painting. There is a sort of shame that accompanies both Guernica and Walking Around. A shame that almost turns into anger and disgust.
ReplyDeleteAt first glance, I didn't see how Neruda's poem would correlate to Mystery and Melancholy Street, but after rereading the poem, I can see a connection. The painting carries a sort of deafening boredom. In being almost inactive (since the figure of the little girl seems to be more of a cut out rather than a live, active image), it speaks volumes. It reminds me of waiting for time to pass by, of anxiously watching the hands on the clock move bit-by-bit. This anxiety makes me almost uncomfortable, makes me feel like Neruda in his poem...angry, impatient, bored, frustrated.