Re:"Tricolor gum printers" deconstructed
On Sat, 27 Jan 2007, Katharine Thayer wrote: Okay, let me phrase the question a different way. Who on the list is working in tricolor gum?CUT.... I suppose, no, I don't necessarily suppose, I've HEARD that "fools rush in where angels fear to tread" -- but sometimes it's not perfectly clear who is the fool. So I take the liberty of stating my reaction to this query: Katharine pretends to have wiped Chris Anderson from her mind, although the subtext of her recent messages suggests a near-obsession with Chris. It could be that carbon monoxide meter again, or even the gluteraldehyde still inflicting memory loss. But frankly, viewing this query through the prism of list history, not to mention personal history, I see something more directed. I was Katherine's obsession during one of her earlier forays onto the list, which old timers may recall (and I might even have in the file somewhere) included her assumption that everything I wrote was directed at her. Finally, she contrived to deny something I hadn't said, then added the tag line: "The dogs do bark, but the caravan moves on." So there I was, "the barking dog," and Katharine the marcher moving with the caravan. Only the plan fell through: Too obvious. List reaction was so angry, Katharine could only explode and unsubscribe. Her subsequent return, or returns, have had their ups & downs, but, perhaps due to my preoccupation elsewhere these last two years, or my inconsequence or inadequacy compared to folks like Chris, or some other manifestation (my gray hairs? my sushi bar? my glyoxal?)...I've been spared the obsession. I haven't seen Chris's gum prints since Ed Buffaloe's website a couple of years ago (where they looked terrific as far as I could tell on the monitor -- not my favorite way to see gum prints, but still, when you think about it, a miracle). Yes OF COURSE I'm interested, but my digital demons (who ARE obsessed) unhooked me from browserland. I've only just reconnected (wireless my dears !!! about which more later, tho I can't resist mentioning, hope I'm not repeating myself, the best open terminal in my neighborhood calls itself "Three Big Fags" -- or it worked best for houseguest on her laptop. Daughter's works best for me.) Which is to say, I'm still too discombobulated for anything not obligatory, & even some that is.obligatory, but I get the impression that Chris Anderson is very swift and savvy with color-separated gum and has had suitable, well, "acclaim" is a loaded term, let's say recognition, here and abroad (surely part of the problem). I've also had the impression that Chris does color-separated gum. And it does seem unlikely that Katharine -- or for that matter anyone on the list -- could "forget" that, even if there's something that disqualifies her under the carefully crafted criteria (like using cyanotype for the blue separation, which is possible, even likely, since Chris's mentor, Sam Wang, last I heard, does that). But whether or not, the "survey" strikes me as carefully contoured to, 1. make Katherine the arbiter of *real* gum printing and 2. exclude, downgrade, and/or trump Chris. There have been signs of this campaign for months (eg, the "eating dichromate" claim), but this is so raw (and anti-art, not to mention bad for the list), I'm moved to protest. The tepid list response is a good sign, but history suggests the behavior will continue, even escalate, unless it's, let's say, "deconstructed." (Possibly even if it is, but newcomers might appreciate the heads up.) love & kisses, Judy
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