Viggo's art and poetry

[salixbabylon]

Have been listening to Viggo's poetry disks (courtesy of the wonderful and generous willowwing). I love his poetry, the way he plays with words, the emphasis on the sound and rhythm of them. But I'm such a visual person that it is very odd for me to hear poems rather than hear/see them. And no, I don't like all of his poems, but even better than liking them, they make me want to write. To go to a cafe and sit in the semi-shade and just scribblescribblescribble until my hand cramps. These days I "like" what inspires me so much more than something that is simply beautiful but doesn't nudge me to bring something of my own into creation.

BUT

The music and singing. Well. (I'm probably going to mangle this, but I'm lazy and don't want to go look it up.) I know I read somewhere about when Viggo first met Exene; I believe he was asked if he liked her music or what he thought of X or something, and he replied along the lines of "I love her lyrics," with the notable-by-it's-absence implication that he wasn't overly fond of the punk music accompanying said music.

And that's exactly how I feel about the music he has with his poems.

Now, I fully admit that part of the problem is that I live in a university town with a rich hippie tradition and I used to be a hangers-on to the local avant-garde art/literary scene, and HOO BOY! do I LOATHE avant-garde "art" and "music" and "poems" that are just a bunch of crap thrown together to jar the senses and give you cognitive dissonance. I see its value. I just hate it. Vehemently.

Which means, that despite the fact that saying this may get me lynched, I really dislike all of the "music" that's with Viggo's poems. (But I still love the poems so that should get me some credit, yes?)

I love his photography - I think he has an unbelievable eye for the ordinary little things we don't see, and bringing them into focus. His painitngs... I dunno. I'd like to see them in person - it's so hard to judge them from the books, without the depth and ... *realness* of 3-d.

Anyone else what to share what they think of Viggo's artistic work? Music/poetry/paintings/photography? From visceral feelings to highbrow art critic language – all thoughts welcome, positive and negative. I'm really interested in hearing your honest thoughts about them.

Comments

[mellacita.livejournal.com]

Some of Viggo's poems are indcredibly personal and make me feel like a voyeur. Some of them inspire a real gut connection--like they were inkected into my veins or something. Others seem like they are trying too hard to be deep and meaningful and esoteric.

His photos--depends. His portraits I tend to find really cool. The black and whites of Elijah and Dom in Te Anau are particularly good, IMO. Of objects and places, its hit or miss for me.

His paintings I find interesting, because I love multiple media art--using different materials and textures and I love the fact that he integrates words into many of them. I can't critique them from a visual artist's pov because I don't know jack about art. I try, but I just don't get it when it comes to painting or drawing or whatever. Basically, I like a lot of them, and some of them I don't. That's as high brow as I get ;)

His music makes my ears bleed, and his voice is a little too thin for my tastes. I do love his speaking voice though.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

I like Viggo's portraits the best of his photography also... The picture of Elijah in the snow and Orlando putting in his contacts really speaks to me, and not just because the subjects are famous, I think.

*giggle* Another vote for ear-bleeding music but a sexy rumbling speaking voice. The cd where he reads about 40 poems just makes me melt...

[alicedebeton.livejournal.com]

Well I love his poems there unique... but what I love most about his art is his picture...I know people who believe that photos can't be art because it does not take any talent to take a picture. I disagree I think the talent is not only in taking the picture itself but finding the perfect subject. The artist has to find beauty in reality, not in his imagination where everything is possible. So I'm a big fan of the pool pics...who could believe that old pools could be a work of art.I should buy the book (Holes in the Sun) when I find the money. (the book is not too expensive however the shipping fees to Canada are just fucking unbelievable)

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

I agree that his photography talent is his greatest strength...

I don't have "Holes in the Sun" either - I'll have to check it out!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[chaosmanor.livejournal.com]

I think his poetry is competent on the whole, but if he wasn't using his celebrity to sell them, his work would be lost in the tidal wave of merely adequate poetry that gets published by university presses and the like.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I am a visual artist, and his paintings are lacklustre. They don't engage me at all. As attempts to capture a moment of feeling, I'm left puzzled by what that feeling is. As narratives, they aren't. I would like to see them in person, because as salix says, paintings always lose something in the translation to 2D.

I find his music unlistenable, but I have incredibly conservative tastes in music so didn't really expect to like it. However, I have Exene's Original Sinners CD and love that.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

if he wasn't using his celebrity to sell them, his work would be lost in the tidal wave of merely adequate poetry that gets published by university presses and the like.

I think I agree with this. Although I do think it's a bit of a shame that poetry gets so little attention these days. Makes it difficult to find fantastic contemporary poets at all.

Someone should organize a slash writers Viggo Art Gallery showing so we can all see it "for reals"...

Yay, another X fan! :)

And thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[heartofslash.livejournal.com]

Can't stand his singing. Smacks of vanity production, and he sings in a 'throat voice', not a 'chest voice' or 'belly voice'. (And man, does he do a bad Montreal accent - he sounded like a whiney cross between Pepe LePew and Maurice Chevalier in Albino Alligator, and not from Montreal, or even Quebec - and I know because I'm from Montreal originally.)

Some of his poetry is good, some okay, but I wouldn't have bothered with it if he weren't Aragorn.

I liked his paintings better in "A Perfect Murder" than I have in any other reproduction - I think the size of them has a lot to do with the impact. I'd have to go to a show to really look at them before deciding if I liked them. Some of his photography is great, some of it looks like student experiments to me.

I am one of those people who actually knew who Viggo was before Lord of the Rings. And I thought he must be sort of cool since he'd Xene bothered to marry him. But then, I was an X fan when before he ever met her... if he didn't like X but does like what he does for music, then I think he might have bad taste in music. Sigh.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Hm, I don't think I noticed a "Montreal" accent, but I personally find his accent very flat and mostly reminiscent of Colorado/Idaho/the western US but not coastal or southwest. But I haven't been to Montreal, so maybe that's what it is. :)

I wouldn't have bothered with it if he weren't Aragorn. That's pretty much how I feel about almost everyone in LOTR's other work. But then it's also been nice to think about art and poetry, and I thank him for the link back into that world as well. See? Smut can lead to socially worthy things. ;)

X! Yay! I learned about him that way first, too -"that guy with the strange name married to the lead singer." And now I write about him boinking elves. *giggle*

[jasmineskie.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... I've never taken a poetry crit course and don't pretend to be able to write it with any success. Because I'm a storyteller, I tend to look first at the stories told in poetry, and it's only later that I start to see metaphors beyond the stark meaning of the words. With Viggo's poetry, I like the ones that tell stories first and foremost. Then I start to think about them and realize how many multiple layers there are to something as simple as "Bedtime Story for Henry."

I remember reading Coincidence of Memory cover to cover the night I got it. I was depressed for days. When something gets to me that deeply, I know I've connected with it on a meaningful level. Whether that's the emotion he meant to convey or not... *shrug* -- that's what I got out of it. When that happens, I don't want to look too closely and dissect the meaning of each individual word or phrase. That kills the emotional impact for me, and that's the last thing I want.

Visual art's pretty much the same way for me. I don't analyze it. I just go with what makes an impact for me, even if it's looking at an everyday thing in a new and different way. Viggo's art does that for me.

As for his music -- some of it I like and some of it I just don't get. I really liked "Moonset" from Please Tomorrow, for instance. Some of his more experimental pieces just sound like the racket a five year old would make with a toy drum and a tambourine. :P

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I think many of the stories you've written have poetic elements - don't sell yourself short. IMO, poetry is in the eye of the reader and writer, not any critic.

I don't have CoM, so I'll have to get that one next. Then again, I don't want to get depressed, either.

I go through spells of reading poetry by various random people... Some I like, some I don't, but like you seem to be saying, if I have an emotional response then I think that's the end goal. I don't like to analyze art of any format too much.

Will have to check out "Moonset" as well. I'm with you on the other stuff. ;)

[redrouged.livejournal.com]

i like his music least. i think the photography from Miyelo is good. I like the order they're arranged in and the colors along with theme etc. i think they're the nicest set of photos. also the b&w one of elijah. some photos from Coincidence of Memory... not so good imo.

i can't say anything about his paintings because for paintings, i'm a person who just has to see it up close and if i'm not in a museum or a strict gallery i like to touch the painting. i like to feel textures and to see all the little details flat reproductions miss out on. i think they say more. all i can say about his paintings are that they look interesting.

music, i don't like it so much. i listen simply because it's Viggo.

his poetry i like. the poetry in CoM left me feeling unsettled and sad. i can't say i understand all his poetry(and definitely not everything he's intended,) but i like it all the same.

http://www.legendgames.net/showstory.asp?page=blognews/stories/PE0000024.txt
that's an article on viggo's art/movies, i like it because i like to read good reviews about anything viggo :) from kinseymill yesterday.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts - it seems most of us agree about his poetry, music, photography, and paintings. Which I find quite reassuring. :)

[redrouged.livejournal.com]

oh and can i add that watching him splatter paint on canvas in APM is WAAAAY HOT.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

I have still not seen that movie... Must add to netflix queue. :)

And thank you for the link - interesting article!

[soar38.livejournal.com]

Sometimes with his paintings I often wonder if they've been turned round the right way. :-)

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Boy, you should be an art critic. ;)

[soar38.livejournal.com]

LOL I don't think a lot of artists would be happy with me. ;-P