The Henry Art Gallery

This last week I went to the Ann Hamilton exhibit at the Henry Art Gallery (at the University of Washington). Hamilton has become one of my favorite living artists. She does not soothe my soul, but she does deepen it.

This particular exhibit, the common sense, explores the boundaries between life and death, cataloging and knowing, playing and feeling, children's stories and life, cosy afternoons and blankets, light and air. After seeing/experiencing this exhibit I'm a bit in awe yet bewildered. I need to go back. I want to go back. There was too much. There was enough that I began to ask new questions and wonder about life, collecting, reading, saying, proclaiming, precision of language, images, the evoking of the soul, weariness at the end of a long term....

One of the themes was that of collecting. I love that you can take quotes and images away (well, only one image, but lots of quotes). People have submitted quotes to be used, and those are scattered around the gallery. One can wander and collect for hours, if one is so inclined as I am.

My grandmother was a collector of quotes and poems and puzzles. She had a little book with her favorite quotes in it (well, a collection of notebooks). I used these books as I organized and planned her funeral when I was in my late 20's. Until this exhibit, I had forgotten her books. Her love of quirky and moralistic verse, of fanciful images of heaven, of awful puns. I am her granddaughter in so many ways. My visit to Ann Hamilton's wide ranging and evocative exhibit made me miss her in ways that I didn't know I should miss her. Her inner life was hidden away in her books. I realize now that my scavenging through her collections of "common sense" was immature. I didn't know what she was offering to me. I wonder where those books have gone...

Before I end, I should say a few things. Students get in free, so go. Even if you are not a student, it is not that expensive, so go. I'm going to go at least once a month until it closes in April... I always appreciate company...

AND make it all the way downstairs. It is worth the walk...........  

In Honor of P. D. James

OK, I will admit it, I am addicted to murder mysteries. I love all varieties of these stories, but find the british to be foremost at this craft. Agatha Christy, Dorothy Sayers, John le Carré, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ellis Peters, etc. I read the books and watch the adaptations. I can't seem to get enough.

When I lived in the UK I discovered the joys of P. D. James's intricate plots, delightful prose, and complicated detectives. The first of her novels that I read was about Detective Cordelia Gray in An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. I enjoyed how James detailed the inner life of this young woman who finds herself as the sole owner of a detective agency after her boss kills himself. I read this while I was working on my PhD dissertation, and found a good friend in Cordelia Gray. She was highly competent, but in her inner life, she revealed that she didn't believe that she was up to the task at hand. This so mirrored my own inner life at the time that I found myself drawn to this strong, intelligent, and vulnerable detective. A similar complexity is found in James's favorite detective, Adam Dalgliesh, who is a poet and a detective inspector for Scotland Yard. All in all, her novels draw one deep into the human story through the eyes of intuitive and pensive detectives.

Sadly, P. D. James died on November 27, 2014 at the age of 94. It is times like these that I realize that we need to stop and give thanks for such amazing talent in telling stories that capture the imagination. In a strange sort of way, she helped me finish my dissertation. Everyone needs stories that pull us out of ourselves while simultaneously helping us to understand our inner lives.

Masterpiece Theater on PBS online is currently re-running a two-part adaptation of James's final novel, Death Comes to Pemberley. The book was an indulgence for me as it combined my love of Pride and Prejudice with an intricate murder mystery, and I really enjoyed the adaptation. I highly recommend watching this in honor of P. D. James.  

P. D. James, thank you so much for sharing your stories with the world.

Obituaries:

BBC News
NPR
New York Times
The Economist