Thoughts on Lewis Hyde

The Lewis Hyde lecture that we attended was very thought provoking. It brought to mind questions dealing with ownership, copyright, and originality. Specifically, how should we deal with these issues in the growing digital age?

I was particularly interested in Hyde's mention of Bob Dylan, one of my favorite artists. Until now, I knew nothing of the fact that he apparently "borrowed" many of his melodies and lyrical styles. It turns out that Dylan freely admits to taking melodies from other songs and formulating them into his own. This certainly doesn't change my love for Bob Dylan but it did bring to mind an umber of questions. Where the line is when it comes to borrowing vs. stealing. Why was Bob Dylan allowed to do this? Was it that he changed the songs "enough" or were the rules just different then? People today actually get into lawsuits if their songs sound remotely like another one.
I was watching TV last night and a similar issue came up on a show called The L Word when one character allegedly steals another's idea for a screenplay. After a heated argument, she justifies this by describing how writers gain inspiration from a common "idea well."

“…it’s something called the idea well. There is a well.
All the writers drink from the same fountain. BUT,
it takes genius, talent, craftsmanship to take a kernel
of an idea and turn it into a sellable screenplay.”

This makes me wonder, again, where is the line? Sure, given the same idea or inspiration, we would all have a different interpretation based on our own talent and creativity. But when does borrowing ideas or being inspired by the work of someone else become stealing?

I also wonder about how this ties in to blogging. I'll admit that I am new to blogging and I have no idea what the correct protocol is for using pictures found online. Dr. Rosenbaum mentioned that when using ideas from other websites, it is courteous to provide a link. But are there steadfast rules like there are when writing scholarly papers? If you don't cite something in a paper it's plagiarism. However, it seems that when it comes to the internet, the lines are a little blurry.

Salvation Mountain

I read about Leonard Knight's salvation mountain several years ago in the book Weird U.S. For some reason I have always been strangely fascinated with this piece. Apparently it was originally built on a riverbank with cement, sand, paint and trash found at the dump. The original structure eventually collapsed because too much sand had been mixed with the cement however, Knight worked to build a new and more sturdy Salvation Mountain using adobe clay, straw and donated paint. The mountain has been an ongoing project for 23 years.








Salvation Mountain Official Website.

Unusual life

Sun Tunnels

Our conversation in class about the relationship between science and art made me think of a piece called Sun Tunnels by Nancy Holt. Nancy Holt seems to merge art and science through a number of her installations, many of which are outdoors. Sun Tunnels consists of 4 concrete cylinders placed in an X shape in the middle of the Utah desert. The tunnels feature holes that allow each tunnel to react differently to the summer and winter solstice as well as the sunrise and sunset. Constellations can also be viewed through the holes.

I first heard about this piece in an art history class in which our teacher played an NPR clip of a group of friends visiting the sun tunnels for the first time. They seemed overcome by a since of wonder which I don’t think can felt by simply looking at pictures of the sun Tunnels. Like we mentioned in class, looking at a picture of the Grand Canyon isn’t quite the same as actually seeing it in real life.

The NPR clip also includes a conversation with a man who actually lives in solitude in the middle of the Utah desert near the tunnels. He points out that the Sun Tunnels are captivating for anyone, even if you aren’t particularly interested in art. He notes that the piece blends science, art and even religion.

Nancy Holt has worked on a number of similar outside installations including one in Arlington Virginia called Dark Star Park.

NPR Sun Tunnels