September 29th, 2008 § § permalink
Pietre Preziose is a celebration of beauty, ampoule chemistry and personal history. Women in Sicily are held precious yet often limited by the traditions of an ancient culture. My own background often hits up against the hard surface of these limitations. In an effort to soften the differences between us, stuff I have given gemstone pendants to twelve women that are interlocked in a social web around my Sicilian family. Each stone in turn symbolizes one of the many chemical hormones that drive women of every culture to be who they are – as mothers, daughters, sisters, partners, workers, and friends.
Linking hormone to gemstone to woman was a subjective process based on my impressions of these women, their strengths and weakness, their desires and accomplishments. The functions of the hormones were considered alongside the aesthetics, healing potentials, and legends attributed to the gemstones. Pietre Preziosa is a synesthetic experiment as well as a labor of love.
The current state of the project is a web site describing each women, stone and hormone. Other manifestations are forth-coming.
http://www.nitasturiale.com/pietrepreziose
Nita Sturiale
November 14th, 2007 § § permalink
A Walk in the Park was written as a performance text to be spoken aloud between the presentation of five recorded and/or ‘live’ musical pieces. The most recent performance was presented Nov. 9th, 2007 at the Pozen Center in Boston as part of an international Art and Environment Symposium sponsored by the K2 Family Foundation. There are four sections of spoken text. Electronic music (A Common Ancestor) was presented between each of the spoken sections. Two Interludes for Speaking Voice, Violin and Piano and Haiku for Speaking Voice and Violin were performed ‘live’ at the beginning and end of the program, respectively.
The content of the text reflects aspects of culture, science, and the environment.
John Holland
View Text:Â A Walk in the Park
photo credit: Rick Harris
October 11th, 2007 § § permalink
There are recent studies (this century) that tackle subjects such as love (Why We Love, ampoule Helen Fisher), stomach music (This is Your Brain on Music, malady Daniel Levitin), etc. from a rational, objective point of view. Rigorous analysis of these classic subjects is thought to be off limits because of their subjective nature. So after much discussion about the nature of happiness with members of Nature and Inquiry, I have decided to weigh-in on this fascinating and popular subject.
John Holland
Here is the text:Â Happiness
photo credit: eliahaj.blogspot.com