…He [Sonny Blount a.k.a. Sun Ra] had developed insomnia, and seemed to never sleep except for brief moments of napping, usually at the keyboard in the middle of rehearsal. Instead of handicap, he saw it as a sign of potential greatness, and cited Napoleon and Thomas Edison as fellow nonsleepers. Sleep took too much energy, he said, it was a waste of creativity. His short moments of sleep-especially when others around him were awake-put special emphasis on the waking state, and deepened the mystery of sleep with a suggestion of death. “To be asleep” was a figure of speech by which he represented the state of somnambulism which plagued humanity, an unnatural state, an early death. For the rest of his life he was notorious among musicians for calling at all hours of night with new musical ideas or solutions to musical problems, and he sought musicians who could be free to rehearse and try out new compositions as fast as he wrote them, no matter the time. … [1]
Resorting to Sun Ra’s sleeping [?] habits seem to be one-way solution for keeping up with all the interesting stuff. This was quite an introduction in order to make a statement regarding TV watching, magazine reading and similar activities with the tendency to consume time that could as well have been spent on doing, seeing or hearing something really interesting. Of course the above applies to the vast majority of cases and [thankfully] not to the entirety of them. Magazines is the talk of this post and before everything else I feel obliged to point everyone reading this to the direction of FMR and The Wire [2] [dmtls being proud subscriber of both] which happen to be the only magazines, currently, that successfully claim dmtls’ time on a regular basis and there are much more than a couple of good reasons for this.
[There will be a post probably in the future referring extensively to defunct magazines, many of them short-lived but of great value]
This post’s spotlights are on a Russian magazine that caught my attention. It is called DE I / DESILLUSIONIST and with a wide range of subjects lying far beyond what is generally conceived as interesting it can easily classify as ‘anti-pop’ and most certainly live up to its claim-subtitle A magazine for those who want to go further. Unfortunately apart from the bilingual site [containing many summaries and teasers from past issues] there is no English/International version available [the about page though informs us that: In Switzerland, the European version of our magazine is in development.]
The DESILLUSIONIST manifesto reads:
A world of illusions surrounds us. Alas! It is not only tradition, but also discoveries that impose more and more new illusions to replace the old. Once you start to rejoice in the Truth, that which cuts through the imprint of broken stereotypes towards freedom, lo and behold pillars of a new Dogma spring up to obscure the sky. Everything falls back into place, and once again Maya’s veil is hiding the world of true Being from us. Furthermore, even to state the question of the truth of Being seems itself almost impossible in a modern informational society, where terrorism and genetics have become our everyday concerns. But, just as before when Buddha tore away the veil of Maya under the Bodhi Tree, when Jesus made naked the essence of Being on his wooden cross, when Columbus beheld the New World holding onto a wooden mast, here now a new Pinocchio appears (God knows from where) piercing the picture of a fireplace with his wooden nose. Always though, even during the most radiant state of affairs, there will be somebody found who will point out a mistake in the formulation of the equation, or an imprecision crept in at the beginning of the problem, or an incorrect conclusion drawn from the root. Somebody, in full confusion, will suggest a solution to the situation, that which arises from illusory preconditions, thereby sewing the ground of Truth with seeds of illusion. In any dead end there is always someone to be found who will posit lack of clarity in the past as the cause of the impasse in the present and the problematical nature of the future. What can doffing masks and searching for a treasure have in common? What is the similarity between a mine detector and an auditor? What subject for conversation might an inspector share with an interpreter of dreams? The Philosopher, the Psychoanalyst and the Detective hand in hand, are standing in the way of disillusionism. They are heaping up unnecessary constructions. After having grasped an illusion, they behave like the Swan, the Crayfish and the Pike, they pull the cart in different directions - and the load is right back where it started. Only The Master of Illusion who thoroughly knows its essence, is capable of being a disillusionist. A true disillusionist is an illusionist. A disillusionist is not subject to fears and charms; in fact he holds the keys from all locks on the chain of attention. As far as style is concerned, a disillusionist is a real vip-ster*. Just like all vippies, he is always busy with the “not doing” of different activities. However, this is the only way to somehow cope with the spiraling of illusion and the endlessness of the Virtual. He is always emptying out empty cylinders, arranging bagel holes and trying sleeves on vests. Sometimes he compares calendars, looks under the table and behind the wardrobe, and observes the far side of the Moon or flip side of a medal. A disillusionist meets the mind in clothes, and sees it off in underwear. He could hardly fit the role of a guide, except maybe a la Susanin. Deillusionism is Zen sharpened like a razor. It cannot be used to weave the fabric of illusion. It cuts the snow-white desert of paper, leaving black tunnels of signs behind, and then melts without a trace. And only pupils remain observing the flight of thoughts and the feeble effort of action, to pinpoint a path beyond the known and the understood.
Sergey Anufriev, Moscow, 2005
Needless to say that the DE I site much whetted dmtls’ appetite. Presuming that it is not available outside Russia I would like to hear from any of merzbau Russian friends [hi Tikhon!] on this publication [especially owners of issue No.3 please come in contact]. Also anyone with any info on an international edition of DE I is more than welcome to contribute.
[1].Excerpt from the excellent biography of Sun Ra, Space is the Place: The life and times of Sun Ra, by John F. Szwed. Anyone with the smallest interest in or curiosity about the musical monolith called Sun Ra must read this.
[2].The Wire most probably needs no introduction. FMR is an Italian publishing house that puts out publications of immaculate beauty along with the FMR magazine, work of the highest aesthetic value. An interesting interview with the man behind all these, Franco Maria Ricci himself, can be found here.
No blogging for quite some time. University exams and almost unbearable summer heat prevented all activity. Merzbau officially now slips into summer hiatus. Back in full by Fall with some interesting collaborations. There will be a couple of more posts in a about a weeks time mostly concerning shares to last you through summer.
