Many thanks for forwarding the sad news concerning Gennie De Weese. She was
one of the more enlightened people we met on last year's trip (definitely
someone who had mastered the "art of life"). I am just so glad that we had the
pleasure of meeting her (and her family) that one time. I will be toasting
Gennie's memory with a strong drink (probably a large whisky) at the weekend,
Best wishes, Anthony> Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:59:11 +0000> From: [EMAIL
PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [MD] Sad news re Gennie DeWeese> >
---------- Forwarded message ----------> From: Henry Gurr> ************> >
http://hearingvoices.com/news/> By Barrett Golding 2007.11.27> > Artist Gennie
DeWeese died yesterday. Anyone in the arts who ever> crept thru our community
(s.w. MT) was affected by her aesthetics. Her> scrolls (like "Montana May" to
the right; (c) Gennie DeWeese) were> inspired. As was the period she put away
her paintbrushes and painted> instead with cattle markers, bought at ranch
supply stores.> > Her and husband Bob were immortalized in Zen and the Art of
Motorcycle> Maintenance which Pirsig wrote after he, like the DeWesses, taught>
here at Montana State U. Some excerpts from the book:> > > >From where the deck
disappears around the corner of the house,> suddenly comes Gennie DeWeese with
a tray of beer cans. She is a> painter too and, I'm suddenly aware, a quick
comprehender and already> there's a shared smile over the artistic economy of
grabbing a can of> beer instead of her hand, while she says, "Some neighbors
just came> over with a mess of trout for dinner. I'm so pleased."> > [and from
a later conversation at the DeWeeses …]> > "Did I ever talk about an individual
named Phædrus?"> > "No."> > "Who was he?" Gennie asks.> > "He was an ancient
Greek — a rhetorician — a `composition major' of> his time. He was one of those
present when reason was being invented."> > "You never talked about that, I
don't think."> > "That must have come later. The rhetoricians of ancient Greece
were> the first teachers in the history of the Western world. Plato vilified>
them in all his works to grind an axe of his own and since what we> know about
them is almost entirely from Plato they're unique in that> they've stood
condemned throughout history without ever having their> side of the story told.
The Church of Reason that I talked about was> founded on their graves. It's
supported today by their graves. And> when you dig deep into its foundations
you come across ghosts."> > I look at my watch. It's after two. "It's a long
story," I say.> > "You should write all this down," Gennie says.> > I nod in
agreement. "I'm thinking about a series of lecture-essays…a> sort of
Chautauqua. I've been trying to work them out in my mind as we> rode out here —
which is probably why I sound so primed on all this> stuff. It's all so huge
and difficult. Like trying to travel through> these mountains on foot.> > "The
trouble is that essays always have to sound like God talking for> eternity, and
that isn't the way it ever is. People should see that> it's never anything
other than just one person talking from one place> in time and space and
circumstance. It's never been anything else,> ever, but you can't get that
across in an essay."> > "You should do it anyway," Gennie says. "Without trying
to get it perfect."> > "I suppose," I say.> > [more conversation…]> > "Well, it
isn't just art and technology. It's a kind of a> noncoalescence between reason
and feeling. What's wrong with> technology is that it's not connected in any
real way with matters of> the spirit and of the heart. And so it does blind,
ugly things quite> by accident and gets hated for that. People haven't paid
much> attention to this before because the big concern has been with food,>
clothing and shelter for everyone and technology has provided these.> > "But
now where these are assured, the ugliness is being noticed more> and more and
people are asking if we must always suffer spiritually> and esthetically in
order to satisfy material needs. Lately it's> become almost a national
crisis…antipollution drives,> antitechnological communes and styles of life,
and all that."> > Both [Bob] DeWeese and Gennie have understood all this for so
long> there's no need for comment.> –(c) Robert M. Pirsig Zen and the Art of
Motorcycle Maintenance> > Many of us remember the DeWesse gallery which
showcased dozens of> Montana's finest artists. Best wishes to Gen & Bob's
ridiculously> talented family. Boatloads of us here in Bozeman are gonna miss
ya,> Gen.> >
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