Metaphors on vision (1963)

. o P. Adams Sitney, June 19, 1963 To Brace Frier, Late August 1963 To Jonas Mekas, July 1 7, 1963 OF NECESSITY I BECOME INSTRUMENT FOR THE PASSAGE OF INNER VISION, THRU ALL MY SENSIBILITIES, INTO ITS EXTERNAL FORM. My most active part in this process is to increase all my sensibilities (so that all films arise out of some total area of being or full life) AND, at the given moment of possible creation to act only out of necessity. In other words, I am principally concerned with revelation. My sensibilities are art-oriented to the extent that revelation takes place, naturally, within the given historical context of specifically Western aesthetics. If my sensibilities were otherwise oriented, revelation would take an other external form — perhaps a purely personal one. As most of what is revealed, thru my given sensibilities clarifies itself in relationship to previous (and future, possible) works of art, I offer the given external form WHEN COMPLETED for public viewing. As you should very well know, even when I lecture at showing of past Brakhage. films I emphasize the fact that I am not artist except when involved in the creative process AND that I speak as viewer of my own (NO — DAMN that "my own" which is JUST what I'm trying, DO try in all lectures, letters, self-senses-of, etc, to weed out) — I speak (when speaking, writing, well — that is with respect to deep considerations) as viewer of The Work (NOT oLJbut By-Way-Of Art, and I speak specifically to the point of What has been revealed to me AND, by way of describing the work-process, what I, as artist-viewer, understand of Revelation — that is: how to be revealed and how to be revealed TO (or 2, step 2 and/or— the viewing process.) « "The twentieth century and all its works" constitute, as a matter of course, the natural tomb of living man, or life itself, which approximately 20 centuries of steadily increasing (not to count previous sporadic instances) monotheistic thinking has created: a gigantic Grave Yard which by this time has no boundaries .on this earth and is manifest everywhere, built for the dead at the expense of the living. It seems likely that the first grave stone was, in fact, laid when Pandora's box, which might actually have been a coffin, was opened and the truth, mortality of man, was known. And it seems quite natural that Man, or any man, or woman (from Pandora herself to Bluebeard's wife opening the one forbidden door — the latter myth still sufficient to stand for the whole Western sex complexity of 20th century realization) having released the potential of all evil (that is: insufficiency and/or the irreconcilable: that which neither he nor she could hope to more than "come to terms" with) the natural tendency would be to climb into the very box wherefrom all evil came and therefore, presumably, was not. (Or if you prefer Eden: once having tasted of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, become then that fruit, even food for serpent, later, rather than be subject to more temptation — or to find opposite of Bluebeard version, take earlier Eden myth where we find Adam disobeys Eve, Earth Mother, in tasting and is, therefore, driven from Eden, Nature.) However it happened and at whatever rate, its works are the monoliths of entomb-meant of life-force in man, the Tree of knowledge a gallows for living sensibility, made manifest by quest-shun-an -swear, rather than a source of nourishment for growing sensibility, a course of man, chorus sing in harmony, each one in inter relationship to every other, coursing altogether of necessity whenever narrow passage (if ever), dissimilarity the measure of individual core, co only re: Pan, for companionship... or, as Olson sez: And now let ail the ships come in. Pity and Love The Return The Flower The Gift & The Alligator catches . and the mind go forth to the end of the world. Which brings us, if you follow me as graciously as you lent me your support, to "The Twentieth Century and all its workings;"! mean that which is really moving in this time, each move meant and of aThythm more ancient than all history, each in time only to the life-force being listened to as it hasn't been in at least 2000 years, all underground, of necessity — only statues on mon-u-meants above the ground — all messages rapped out secretly along the drain-pipes of civilization, difficult to <iecipher amidst the roar of shit— only epHaphal mono-thesis disgracing the mor; muddy than underground air of the surface. But nothing moves up there (if s all in the; works") arid down here, where at least }_ am (and I hope you'll join me) there's suck a ruman burrowing as the world hasn't known since Pleistocene man. Even tho' you said it was a joke, I coukl not help b-'4 be bothered by your referring to the Co-Op as a "monastery of fools." My thoughts, to-j:hed off by this phrase, ranged as far back in human history as 75,000 years ago, asrtered around that skeleton found m