{"id":413,"date":"2015-03-13T23:56:22","date_gmt":"2015-03-14T06:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/?p=413"},"modified":"2015-03-13T23:58:40","modified_gmt":"2015-03-14T06:58:40","slug":"remember-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/2015\/03\/13\/remember-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"Remember Reading \u2013 \u201cLili and the Migratory Influences\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“The books are my point of entry and immediate connection” \u2013 <\/em>Bernadette Phan<\/p>\n

\u201cLili and the Migratory Influences\u201d on display at Bob Prittie library features graphite sketches by Bernadette Phan. The drawings show Phan\u2019s tribute to her aunt Lili through an exploration of Lili\u2019s reading material. Unlike arts shows that viewers may typically be accustomed to, this display is not in a special room but rather arranged in a circle around the second floor balcony of the library. Phan\u2019s drawings are paper-clipped four to frame with each individual sketch depicting one book from Lili\u2019s collection. Logically, walking counter-clockwise starting from the frame containing the title of the exhibit would appear to be the correct method of observation for these frames. Because the drawings are displayed over regularly used seating, part of the viewing experience involves looking over the heads of library patrons. Thus, the act of observing Phan\u2019s art can be an intrusive experience.<\/p>\n

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The display itself is a balancing act between the familiar and the unfamiliar. In addition to the aforementioned discomfort of viewing the pictures at times, the books depicted in Phan\u2019s drawings contain either titles in French or no titles at all. Unless one is versed in the second language or recognizes the artwork on the books, a barrier of communication exists between the details and the viewer. However, on perusing the exhibit, certain titles may transcend language barriers and become recognizable to native English speakers. The names of texts such as Louis-Ferdinand C\u00e9line\u2019s Journey into the Night <\/em>and Cao Xueqin\u2019s Dream of the Red Chamber<\/em> (both works that have been translated into English) become apparent in spite of their French editions that Phan portrays. This recognition of familiar texts suggests that literature often acts a common ground across different cultures and peoples. Though details may be lost in translation (both the translation of language and the translation of meaning from mind to paper), the very act of translation is a compromise where losses are hopefully justified by the ability to reach a larger audience.<\/p>\n

Phan\u2019s drawings call into question the knowledge that is shared and retained upon reading works of literature. On the most basic level, a one retains the knowledge imparted through a reading but not all of the individual words that have been read. Phan\u2019s aunt Lili may have passed away and an archive that captures the entirety of her life may be impossible. However some fragment of her life remains in her book collection and this specific arrangement of her books in particular. The knowledge that Lili received from reading led to Lili\u2019s influence on Phan and it is through this chain of events that Phan has come to use her talents for such a display. Lili\u2019s life cannot be contained in the works of another but her existence forever remains in these drawings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The books are my point of entry and immediate connection” \u2013 Bernadette Phan \u201cLili and the Migratory Influences\u201d on display at Bob Prittie library features graphite sketches by Bernadette Phan. The drawings show Phan\u2019s tribute to her aunt Lili through an exploration of Lili\u2019s reading material. Unlike arts shows that viewers may typically be accustomed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24599,"featured_media":424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24599"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":427,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413\/revisions\/427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/engl464k\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}