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| when a man is smitten by a woman, he sees her everywhere, no? |
I found the words for this week really intriguing in their connection to romanza, so I guess it kind of makes sense that I had a hard time coming up with my concept. But after finding my materials, it became easier to come up with the ideas.
I focused on the word trovador. The expression of love in those times was so different from now...there's something very delicate yet passionate about it, a beauty that comes from the restraint and chivalry that is expressed through poetry. I was reminded of other ways in which revealing little can mean so much more, and I thought of the way a geisha physically reveals so little that every glimpse of skin that she gives is supposed to be almost tantalizing. 
And so geishas will paint their entire faces and necks white, sometimes leaving a patch of skin with a few tips left bare. I saw this as a version of the relationship that a trovador has with his lover...expressed completely, but still controlled, in small private doses that makes it all the more concentrated.
I feel like there is an aspect of distance, of being unable to cross it at least for the time being. He loves from afar, but still drawn by her essence, which I tried to convey with the grain of the wood, the way it traverses this particular side.
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| her handkerchief, his shadow |
Peony--these are really beautiful thoughts--your understanding of reticence--and how you connect it with the geisha culture--that's a very good leap. I think you're using this notebook "medium" really well. Also, I saw in your piece a lot of what you've said here--it was there in the feeling of the work, without the words...but then reading the words only reaffirms the feeling!
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