La música de Suzanne Ciani

Figuras de indeterminación: La sociedad adolescente

Sandino Núñez

1.lugar vacío   En una contratapa de Tiempo de crítica (TdC) hice algunos apuntes breves sobre cierto sujeto maravilloso de la cultura contemporánea: el adolescente. Anotaba que la psicología de las edades o los empiristas evolutivos describen al adolescente objetivamente, tal como lo hace un profiler del FBI: labilidad del yo oculta tras una paradójica exacerbación del yo, tendencias gregarias y tribales, carácter imitativo o mimético, ritual o disciplinario, actings pasionales explosivos en formas extremas de amor-odio, extrañamiento histérico narcisista (vergonzoso o exhibicionista) del cuerpo mutante, sumisión absoluta tras una máscara arrogante de rebeldía reactiva, cierta dolorosa pragmática individualista y hasta hedonista, tentación adictiva con los juegos de desafío y competitividad, con los de experimentación, con los de vértigo y los estados alterados. En fin. También decía que al adolescente no se lo descubre ni se lo describe: se lo produce como una forma fantástica, hiperrealista e hipertrófica (toda forma en la cultura de masas tiene esas características fundamentales), vehículo puro de trasmisión de todas las demás formas fantásticas, hiperrealistas e hipertróficas. Y esta producción es más bien compleja: no se trata simplemente de producirlo en el sentido clásico de agregar un objeto nuevo a un mundo viejo. La operación tiene algo de aleatoria y paradojal: comienza a aparecer, quién sabe cuánto tiempo atrás y en qué estructura simbólico-cultural, un lugar práctico o práxico para el sujeto adolescente que luego es llenado con un objeto empírico-positivo que se describe y se mide. La cultura occidental ya esperaba al adolescente. Y él llega, puntualmente, a situarse bajo las luces del espectáculo o de la ciencia descriptiva —y eso no debería asombrarnos en absoluto. Luego se lo celebra o se lo aborrece. Cualquiera es adolescente, no importa la edad biológica o histórica, y por lo tanto el tema no es el adolescente, sino la generalización funcional de su figura y su concepto.   2. indeterminación   La modernidad clásica sostenía que el niño era un proyecto del adulto y el adulto era un proyecto de sí mismo, determinado por el niño —y ahí se levantaba la historia como drama y organización narrativa del tiempo colectivo. El adolescente, en cambio, es un paréntesis en el que se es nada y se es todo. Es una tragedia absoluta en la que no hay origen ni destino y por lo tanto tampoco historia. El adolescente es una abolición de la edad. Es un desdibujamiento o un desfondamiento de la dialéctica infancia-madurez o infancia-sujeto alrededor de la cual ha girado la historia y la metafísica moderna del sujeto político desde Descartes a Kant y Hegel, incluyendo a Marx y al psicoanálisis. Una dialéctica inclusiva de la alteridad en la que infancia no es algo dado objetivamente sino que es infancia del sujeto, y por lo tanto, un necesario desdoblamiento après-coup del sujeto, una alteridad que es subjetivable porque ya contiene, embrionariamente, al propio sujeto. Así, el paradigma inmadurez-madurez manejado por Descartes en las Meditaciones, o la famosísima definición de Ilustración dada por Kant como “arribo a la mayoría de edad”, se apoyan en ese antagonismo un poco desconcertante en el que la madurez no es sino (negativamente) cierta capacidad de darnos cuenta de que ayer éramos inmaduros o “menores de edad”, es decir que madurez, además de uno de los polos de la oposición, es el tercer punto que permite plantear el propio antagonismo. Solamente podemos ser maduros a condición de reconocer que algo en nosotros sigue siendo inmaduro. O, lo que es lo mismo, solamente podemos pensar o ser sujetos a condición de reconocer que algo en nosotros todavía no piensa o no es sujeto (el cuerpo, la infancia). Esta lógica paradojal funda la historia y la organización narrativa del tiempo como dialéctica de superación. Acá llamemos adolescencia a eso que irrumpe como la catástrofe de esta dialéctica: un simple punto intermedio de indeterminación, una singularidad absoluta, clavada en sí misma, sin idea, sin memoria y sin porvenir. La adolescencia es un punto de mutación y tránsito entre la infancia y la madurez que tiene la propiedad de absorber y disipar toda la lógica temporal de la contradicción infancia-madurez, de estropear en lo real del goce  el grano dramático de la historia y del sujeto. Me va a resultar útil aquí tomar los giros expresivos de Deleuze y Guattari e imprimirles un sentido opuesto. La adolescencia corona ese campo ilimitado de un perpetuo devenir adulto del infante o de un perpetuo devenir infante del adulto. Así como el intergénero corona un perpetuo devenir hombre de la mujer y un perpetuo devenir mujer del hombre. O más allá, más cerca del delirio voluptuoso y de la psicodelia: un perpetuo devenir animal-estrella-árbol-máquina-dios del hombre. La adolescencia o el intergénero es la coronación de una utopía y de una libertad real: ¿por qué ser rehenes de este pobre esquema binario infancia-sujeto u hombre-mujer que encadena en la miseria de su estructura rígida a toda la compleja vitalidad diversa de las energías, donde no hay ser ni idea sino solamente la fluidez de los devenires sin origen ni destino ni organización del tiempo? Pero este tonto argumento empirista potencia el error que pretende combatir: no existe el hombre y no existe la mujer excepto como convenciones categoriales que empobrecen la complejísima polifonía de lo existente. En realidad ya sabíamos eso, y sabíamos, también, un poco más: hombre o mujer, niño o sujeto, no designan nada del orden de lo realmente existente o de lo en-sí: están ahí como operadores de un antagonismo, una dialéctica y una lógica de la alteridad. Y sin esa dialéctica negativa no podríamos pensar que hay una “complejísima polifonía de lo existente” que escapa a la estructura de nuestro pensamiento. ¿Cómo decir devenires mujer del hombre si no me apoyo en el punto ciego de un lenguaje que presupone el antagonismo hombre/mujer?: el argumento se hunde en la locura, víctima del desengaño, que no es sino una confirmación definitiva del engaño. El argumento heraclitano (por así llamarlo) de que todo es ser en el devenir rigurosamente debería enfrentarse a la angustiante aporía de que no tiene un lenguaje para decir devenir o para decir ser. En “la tranquila simplicidad del devenir” (Hegel) no hay ser ni hay no ser, no hay devenir y no hay tiempo, no hay vida y no hay muerte, hay todo y no hay nada. El argumento por la adolescencia es un argumento adolescente. La indeterminación de la figura del adolescente tiene una impensable potencia energética. Si en el pasaje infancia-madurez lo que hay es, precisamente, una organización o una administración social de la energía, la adolescencia, la última energía del motor del mercado liberal, es una energía incomparablemente loca y vistosa: circulación, derroche, explosiones, recaídas, dispersiones y reagrupamientos súbitos. El adolescente mantiene viva la fuerza misma del mercado: la circulación incesante de todo. Y dice Badiou que dice Platón que un viejo avaro es quien cobra los beneficios de la máquina energética del adolescente. Por tanto, el “sujeto democrático” es un viejo amarrete injertado en el cuerpo de un adolescente pródigo. Su paradigma, dice, es la vieja estrella rockera, millonaria y decadente, que le sigue gritando al micrófono, mientras su cuerpo trasnochado se retuerce.   3. inmortales y célibes   El adolescente generalizado es una figura eterna: no conoce la historia y no conoce la muerte. “Ser inmortal es baladí”, dice Borges, “excepto el hombre todos los animales lo son, pues ignoran la muerte”. El asunto, claramente, no es la muerte, la muerte literal, asimbólica, indialéctica (ese momento inefable y real en el que la máquina, el cuerpo, simplemente se apaga), o la inmortalidad, siempre “baladí”. El asunto es un significante de la muerte, significante alrededor de cuya aceptación (o conciencia) se levanta el lenguaje. Soy mortal, soy finito, histórico, vulnerable y limitado a mi circunstancia —pero ese enunciado dice forzosamente algo más, un algo más que termina por ser lo contrario a lo que se quiere decir: me sé mortal, puedo pensar mi finitud, puedo situarme “por encima” de mi vulnerabilidad y de mi circunstancia: y ahí, precisamente, por un momento soy, por así decirlo, inmortal, participo de la eternidad desde mi historicidad (un inmortal no podría tener esa conciencia, de ahí el carácter trivial o insignificante de la inmortalidad). Soy libre de pensar mi circunstancia y mi limitación (mi alienación): soy (determinado por) el que fui, soy (proyectado en) el que seré, pero nunca soy (simple y plenamente) el que soy. Ese desequilibrio, esa no plenitud es lo que permite el pensamiento y la conciencia. Y el Otro (mi alteridad antagónica, que de algún modo soy yo mismo), mi relación siempre problemática y dañada con esa alteridad, es precisamente lo que me mete en la historia y por tanto en lo social: el Otro es el nombre que le doy a eso que me empuja o me obliga a ser Sujeto. No es raro que una cultura fascinada con el adolescente esté fascinada también con el andrógino y el gender bender. Todas son imágenes menos de rebeldía o excentricidad que de indeterminación, figuras de una suspensión narcisista del lenguaje que ignoran la alteridad y se entregan a un amor gemelar, célibe, incestuoso. No hace mucho vi a una joven pareja gay de varones: discreta, correcta, distraída en todo caso en la burbuja de sus silenciosos juegos internos, sin ocultarse pero sin exhibirse. Sólo un rasgo llamaba la atención: eran idénticos. Uno más alto, pero ambos uniformados por el mismo corte de pelo (muy corto en sienes y nuca, con un penacho superior), el mismo mechón decolorado en el mismo sitio, las cejas dibujadas de la misma forma, el mismo aro en el lóbulo de la oreja, la misma tobillera en la pierna izquierda. La perfecta máquina célibe de un amor especular, sin riesgo y sin intercambio. No es necesario salir a respirar el aire peligroso del Otro, no es necesario el impacto traumático de un encuentro, de una confrontación con mi alteridad y por lo tanto con mi propia muerte. Esa figura gemelar incestuosa, esa máquina narcisista especular no es el antagonista del acoso, de la (in)tolerancia y de la irrupción monstruosa de un otro extranjero: es su correlato más íntimo, su forma más solidaria y próxima. Si forcluyo al Otro y construyo la máquina narcisista radical en su ausencia más completa, ese otro solamente puede volver como un real aterrorizante. El adolescente, fetiche contemporáneo, figura de permanente tránsito, mutación y devenir, y, por lo tanto, paradójica congelación de una identidad absoluta, inmortal y eterna, no puede tener historia ni puede tener Otro. El adolescente es la imagen perfecta de una cultura aterrorizada con la muerte y aterrorizada con el Otro. Ya hace tiempo que no tenemos edad ni generación: nos hemos igualado a nuestros hijos. Tecnología masiva, ansiedad comunicativa o expresiva, flotación libre de los gustos y los hábitos y las identidades, rejuvenecimientos químicos o quirúrgicos. Y ya hace tiempo que no tenemos Otro: o bien proyectamos nuestra imagen gemelar (la forma extrema de la comunidad como máquina célibe), o bien vivimos bajo la modalidad paranoica del acoso o de la víctima (el otro como extranjero, objeto parcial real monstruoso). Seguridad, protección, amparo, y ya no liberación.   4. descreimiento Nuestra cultura también es adolescente en tanto no parece creer en nada: vivimos aterrorizados o extasiados el momento congelado de la desmentida: los reyes son los padres, los padres son idiotas, no existe el bien ni la justicia ni las ideas y todo es un invento de viejos nihilistas, autoritarios y conservadores, para someter y manipular la energía adolescente de la vida. Solamente existo yo, mi cuerpo, mi libertad. La imagen publicitaria adolescente es la ética del superhombre. Si Descartes, Kant o Hegel son adultos, Nietzsche (Dios me perdone) es adolescente. Por eso la pasión antimetafísica y antifilosófica por Nietzsche de las últimas décadas es un síntoma intelectual de algo: la miseria de la trascendencia, al ser entendida como mera superchería teológica o religiosa. Y en tanto no creemos en nada podemos jugar con todo. Pasemos por alto el conocido argumento de que el descreimiento es precisamente la modalidad más fuerte y fundamentalista de la creencia: solamente porque creemos, y porque creemos furiosamente, es que preferimos evitar el riesgo dañino de la seriedad, de la gravedad de la creencia, situándonos livianamente en la inofensividad de un mundo de juegos, de citas y de comillas. Un mundo en el que todos juegan (con los cuerpos, las identidades, los objetos, los lenguajes, las ficciones, las realidades virtuales) es, por aquello del no-todo, un mundo en el que nadie juega. La realidad es una mera ficción de la hegemonía adulta que se disuelve por completo en el gesto adolescente de la desmentida (no hay tal realidad), y en ese sentido ya no cumple el papel dialéctico de un lugar conceptual que nos permite salir del juego en tanto pensar el juego y pensarnos en el juego. La mecánica puede resumirse en el chiste de Umberto Eco: antes el enamorado decía a su amada “yo te amo”; ahora dice: “como dice Corín Tellado: ‘yo te amo’”. Este doble juego perifrástico le permite separarse y aislarse completamente de la situación riesgosa o dolorosa de amar. Así, podemos jugar a ser otros, podemos jugar al fanatismo, jugar a matarnos, jugar a amar o a odiar desesperadamente, jugar a la locura y al vértigo, porque aún sabiendo que son juegos (y hasta cierto punto, porque sabemos que son juegos, entrecomillamientos sin consecuencia ni responsabilidad alguna) no podemos salir de ellos, no podemos pensarnos en ellos, no nos sentimos (debido a la magia cínica sin fallas del simulacro) algo más que los juegos que jugamos. Así, los asuntos clásicos de la alienación y de la liberación ya no cuentan en absoluto en la sociedad adolescente de los juegos, los simulacros y los rituales. Ya no vivimos en el drama histórico de la alienación sino en la tragedia eterna de la urgencia del goce.   5. lo asocial   Las culturas comunitarias, esas utopías célibes inquietantes que Hollywood muestra incesantemente, comunidades imaginarias horizontales con fobia al Estado o a las instituciones, hechas de vecindad, proximidad y vínculos de apego o de raigambre (el barrio, las residencias, las familias, las hermandades, el club de retirados militares, los grupos de ayuda o apoyo, la fraternidad de estudiantes, la comunidad religiosa, la minoría cultural, sexual, étnica, etc.), sólo logran estabilidad en ese estado de inestabilidad permanente entre la sumisión o el horror a la brutalidad mecánica del poder, a la disciplina o a la amenaza real externa, y la libertad abstracta absoluta de la psicosis, encarnada en una especie de fusión incestuosa de sus partículas. Esas comunidades son siempre adolescentes y el adolescente es su gran estrella, la metonimia terminal que todo lo resume. Un lugar común en las ficciones cinematográficas o televisivas: el adolescente incomprendido deserta de su comunidad original (la familia, el barrio, etc.), esa comunidad que lo ha construido y contra la cual él reacciona (esta comunidad se ha vuelto demasiado estricta o exigente, o muestra rastros de una hipocresía o una falsedad que a él le resultan dañosas e intolerables, etc.); afuera encuentra entonces la verdadera comunidad, la verdadera familia y la verdadera utopía uterina de un grupo, una secta o una manada que lo anexa o lo incorpora en condiciones de hermandad absoluta: una comunidad de elección (que él ha elegido y que lo ha elegido a él), a la cual él siempre había pertenecido aunque no lo supiera (podemos esparcir algunos indicios previos para subrayar el tema del elegido, del marcado, de la excepcionalidad, etc.). A partir de aquí se pueden ensayar variantes argumentativas: la nueva comunidad adoptiva es una estafa, es una secta satánica que pretende sacrificarlo o que lo somete a rituales iniciáticos cada vez más siniestros y crueles —y él termina volviendo a la casita de los viejos y a su noviecita de barrio, no sin antes prender fuego a todos los demonios impostores que jugaron con su vulnerabilidad y su buena fe. Otro asunto mediático recurrente de la cultura comunitaria. Si el drama fundacional de lo social moderno ocurría, freudianamente, en la infancia (el trauma, la socialización, la sexuación, etc.), las grandes tragedias asociales contemporáneas ocurren en el adolescente. Conflictos territoriales de pertenencia o rechazo, de inclusión o reyección, la despiadada competitividad que suele terminar en la muerte, el comportamiento de manada con su macho alfa y sus adulones y vasallos, las típicas instituciones americanas como las fraternidades de college o de campus, el baile de graduación, el insoportable momento de vergüenza o de rechazo al que someten al nerd o al freaky al dejarlo en bolas frente a la multitud porque es flaco o gordo o puto o rengo o tiene lentes o prótesis dentales (todos esos rasgos son marcas en lo real). Todo ese ritual estúpido destinado a germinar en algo parejamente estúpido: un tiroteo de represalia o venganza, un suicidio colectivo, la lenta maduración de un asesino en serie. Lo asocial más radical, monstruoso y dañino. El adolescente es la verdad asocial de lo postsocial del capitalismo contemporáneo. Por eso los viejos siempre los quieren matar: hablan de seguridad, bajan la edad de imputabilidad o los hacen víctimas de películas slasher: toda la alegre energía superficial del adolescente, de la que el viejo extrae una impensada plusvalía, va muriendo descuartizada por un gigante con armas blancas. A la idiotez del mercado y la publicidad le seguirá un crimen violento.

Sandino Núñez
Nacido en 1961. Filósofo, docente, ensayista, escritor, músico, dibujante. No ejerce. Editor general de Tiempo de crítica, suplemento de la revista Caras y Caretas. Contacto electrónico: sandino@montevideo.com.uy

Piaf: a 50 años de su muerte

Se cumplieron 50 años de la muerte de "el ruiseñor de Francia". En Cuervo TV la recordamos con cuatro de sus grandes e inmortales interpretaciones www.worldtv.com/cuervo_tv 

Estudiantes de Xavier University comentan conferencia de Eva Feld

News, Arts, and Me

 The presentation began focusing on journalism, why journalism is important and how it is important in society. Eva then began to talk about how society has changed journalism, and how social media is turning everyone in to their own journalists. Eva talked about how journalism is about answering the big questions, but also the little ones. Eva spoke on the importance of investigating in journalism, and mentioned the 5 w's of Dwight Harold Lasswell. Eva then began to talk to, and sort of interview,  Anne .The presentation shifted focus to the Artist and her life. The Artist talked about where she had lived, what she did for work, and the inspirations.

The presentation showed me that journalism is a bigger part of my life than I had realized. I never stopped to think about how twitter and Facebook are news sources, and my friends are posting information, which I guess technically qualifies as journalism. The presentation also showed me that art can be very different to different people, I liked the style of the rooster the artist had painted, and I don't think that style would be the same had she grown up in the United States due to our cultural views on art. I also thought about how leaving your home country must be hard because there are so many things that you miss that you simply can't do. An example of this is how Anne could not participate in a festival back  so she sent her piece digitally to the town.

Anne did talk about how the United states is drastically different from her home in Venezuela. This makes me wonder if I ever moved to a different country, even someplace that seems like a paradise, would I be unconformable for the simple fact that the place is unfamiliarAll in all I found the presentation enjoyable. I learned a little bit, I saw some really cool art, and I think it helped me get better at picking up on Spanish, maybe. The presenter did a wonderful job informing us about journalism, and the artist did a good job talking about her experience moving as well as her work and the various artistic things she does. 

Connor Mc Ferron

                                                                                     

Cultural Event Reflection

            The cultural event that I attended was the journalism one on October 1^nd.  Eva Feld, a journalist from Venezuela spoke in Spanish about the importance of journalism and how everyone is a journalist in some way because they use sites like twitter and facebook.  She also interviewed the artist Anne-Marie Herrera Nalsen about her artwork and life as an immigrant from Venezuela. 

            Eva talked about the different forms of journalism like reporters and columnists and even social media.  She mentioned the characteristics of journalists and the goal of journalism as a whole.  The goal is to bring news about everything that happens to people.  They talk about the who, what, when, where, and why of events and news.  Journalists have to have a strong intuition and be very intelligent because it is easy for someone to take an article and start rumors due to one misused word or one incorrect fact.  There are many characteristics that all journalists should share.  They are passionate about transmitting messages to their audience, they have to avoid rumors, and they have an authenticity to their writing, they want to give as accurate version of the newest happenings. 

            Eva also interviewed Anne-Marie who is an artist from Venezuela who is also a biologist and now lives in Ohio.  She talked about the inspirations for her art and about being an immigrant in the United States.  Anne-Marie experiments with a lot of different art forms like painting, sculptures, and digital art.  She is influenced by nature and loves to depict trees in her artwork. 

            I really enjoyed the cultural event because I thought I could relate to it in many different ways.  I really liked how Eva mentioned social media.  I think it’s important to remember that what we post online becomes public and people can take those posts and interpret them in many different ways so we have to be careful about how we word things and what we post.  We don’t want to accidently start rumors by a vague post or an angry tweet.  I also thought that Eva’s presentation related a lot to my Rhetoric English class.  We are talking about the importance of directing your writing to your audience and I think it relates to journalism in many ways.  Journalists have to be aware of who their audience is and what type of person will be reading or responding to their message.  They have to make sure they appeal to their readers.  Reporters, columnists and people on social media are going to approach their audience in very different ways and I think it’s good to keep in mind when thinking about journalism.

I was personally impacted when Anne-Marie was talking about being an immigrant.  I feel like being an immigrant has a lot in common with being a freshman college student.  Sometimes I feel lost and confused because it takes a while to adjust to something I’m not used to.  It’s like a fish out of water because I learn as I go and I don’t really know what I’m doing, which is similar to how Anne-Marie felt moving here.  She also talked a lot about missing Venezuela and I feel the same way about my hometown.  Granted, I only live two hours away, but I could relate in a way to what she was talking about.  I thought it was really cool how she takes her emotions and experiences and puts them into her artwork.  It’s like a memoir of her life and the transition from Venezuela.  It was particularly intriguing to me because I have no creative abilities whatsoever so I found it very interesting how she could put her emotions into art like that. 

            I took a lot from the presentation, mainly because journalism wasn’t something I ever gave much thought to before.  It gave me a whole different perspective on journalism and social media and reporters.  It made me step back and think about what I’m reading on the internet and to think about the writer behind every article.  It was really interesting to hear about journalism from someone who is really passionate about it and it was neat to see her in action, interviewing Anne-Marie who also had a great story to tell.  It makes me think about how much work journalists put into every piece in order to avoid starting rumors and to have an objective viewpoint and stick strictly to the facts.  I never really thought of social media being an avenue for journalism but it makes sense after hearing the presentation.  It definitely made me more aware of the abundance of journalism in my life and how it has a huge impact on the way that everyone views the news because that’s where they hear it first. 

Kelsey Obendorfer

                                                                                           

A Cultured Experience: Journalism, Immigration, and Artistry

An eccentric event took place on October 1^st, 2013 in the Kennedy Auditorium at Xavier University. It was a refreshing cultural event where Eva Feld shared her experiences and thoughts about journalism and picked apart the artistic mind of a Venezuelan artist, Anne-Marie Herrera Nalsen. The entirety of the presentation was in a high-level of Spanish, yet the main points were relatively understood.

Eva Feld, a Venezuelan journalist, writer, and editor, has encompassed the bulk of what writing constitutes, as she is able to talk, read, think, and tell stories in Castellan, English, French, and Hungarian. She maintains a literary blog, aladecuervo-vocablos.blogspot.com, with the intellectual, Venezuelan Teódulo López Meléndez and has her own personal blog, evafeld.blogspot.com, where one is able to find her numerous works. Eva has written a book, Mujeres y Escritores más crímen, three novels: Los vocablos se amaron por última vez, La transparencia del reflejo, and La senda de las flores oblicuas and even a travel book, Membretes del pasaje.

Journalism will subsist forever as it is something people will continue to seek out for information. The purpose of journalism is to inform the public about the events occurring in the world around them. Today, in the 21^st century, it seems as if everyone is informing the world about theirs or others actions, whereabouts, thoughts, and anything else deemed important enough to share.  We have become a society where technology allows us to accomplish tasks in the matter of seconds, yet we forget the impact these things can have on others. On one hand, we take the simplicity of life for granted because we are a society where we want instant gratification and then are unsettled by having to do things the unconventional and more time-consuming way. On the other hand, society publishes information on the daily lives of others but who’s to say that it’s even important or necessary. Do we really need to know what everyone else did today? In most cases you are only concerned with major events or the lives of those close to you, but then you most likely already know what is occurring in their lives. This is why journalism has become a major part of our informational-seeking society because it is the job of journalists to: find the news, translate it into an understandable language, and then sort out only what is important. Although not everything that you read or hear is fact, for which this was the case even when journalism originated from the main sources of media, the newspaper and radio. In the beginning, yellow journalism occurred quite often as the truth was changed into science-fictional ideas to “hook” the readers. A great example of this is the telephone game because as the message is relayed down the line it continually changes from person to person, as details are left out and also changed. For this reason, when transmitting information the five W’s (who, what, when, where, and why) should always be illustrated so that a reader can learn the important details. As a result, we have become a journalistic society but one where the facts are still embellished to help grab the attention of readers; which is why, the moral issues of journalism still remain.

After her presentation, Eva went on to interview a captivating artist, Anne-Marie Herrera Nalsen. Nalsen was actually born in Ithaca, New York but lived most of her life in Venezuela, and parts in England and Sweden, yet now she resides in Loveland, Ohio. Anne-Marie is a jack of all trades as she graduated with a degree in biology from the Central University of Venezuela, is an artist, illustrator, poet, and a dreamer for conviction. Nalsen was the owner of her own workshop and gallery for eighteen years in Venezuela after being a professor at the Central University of Venezuela for more than three years. For this reason, she has participated in a variety of national and international expositions and has written various books, like Donde vive el agua, La historia de Narcisa, La mariposa elevada, and Historias pequeñitas – haiku para dormir, and a poem called Ser Mujer.

The interview between Feld and Nalsen was captivating as we were able to understand the artistic process behind Nalsen’s works of art and the experiences in her life that fuel her imagination. First off, it was interesting to learn that Nalsen was actually born in the United States but the majority of her life was spent in Venezuela. For this reason, I enjoyed being able to listen to an actual immigrant from Venezuela, as I have learned that Venezuela is in a state of down-turn but haven’t been able to fully comprehend the reality that those problems are causing for Venezuelans. Not only has her immigration played a role on her art but also her love for nature, as Nalsen was a biology professor for some time. Both experiences have played a key role in her art as she combines her love of nature with other themes, like love, connection, and opportunity. The majority of Anne-Marie Herrera Nalsen’s art is composed of trees in different settings or media as she embodies a continual effort to be connected with the environment around herself. Although, most people wouldn’t know that a great deal of her current work is digital media, as she is able to shed her own light on past images. Digital media is definitely a newer media for most artists yet the possibilities are even more endless for the works of art that can be created through this process. I loved being able to understand and look at the works of art created by an artist as I’m always intrigued by the inspirations for other works of art.

This unusual event detailed the importance of journalism in our society, the difficulties of being an immigrant, and gave insight on an artist’s inspirations and her struggle for resilience. While it was something unknown to most I’m glad I was able to attend as it shed new light on the moral issues we face every day as a society and on the inspirations of a cultured artist. Hopefully, I will be able to attend other cultural events in the future as this was definitely a positive experience and one that I would recommend others attend. Remember, shedding new light on topic not only combats ignorance but it creates a more cultured and open-minded individual. 

Kyle Madoni

                                                                                            

Evento Cultural

            I recently attended a presentation by Eva Feld about the field of journalism and contained an interview with a Venezuelan artist, Anne Marie. This presentation was completely in Spanish, and while I tried to keep up with the pace of speaking, I only understood a small portion of the presentation. From what I could understand I was intrigued by the topic and the interview as well. The visuals were a great help in keeping up with the presentation, and the conversation and questions with the artist made me think about art and expression in new ways.

            First, Eva Feld spoke about the history of journalism, and how it progressed throughout the years to become a more refined skill. She spoke about how important of a role a journalist plays in keeping the public informed. Without journalism and reporting, our world would be inefficient and uninformed. Crisis and events of all kinds need to be reported, and journalists are those that bring us this news. One may believe that the role of a journalist is no longer relevant with social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram acting as a constant way of humans informing one another about their whereabouts and actions, but journalists are as vital today as any other point in history. Journalists take this vast amount of information, dissect the important or interesting facts, and attempt to portray the facts to the public in the most informative and simple way possible.

            There is so much information, and so many different ways of interpreting said data and the journalist’s task is to remove that unneeded information and present their content in the best and most persuasive way possible. There are countless genres of journalism and even more for writing in general, and so journalists often specialize in one genre or another to be most efficient. Journalists act as the medium between the events of the world, and their significance to the public. This puts the journalists in a position of some power, and journalists often faces moral dilemmas on how to and which information to present, so they accurately portray the events that occurred. Eva spoke about the questions that a journalist has to ask themselves while writing an article, in order to most accurately portray the information to the reader.

            Eva then had an interview with a Venezuelan artist, Anne-Marie Herrera Nelsen. Eva started by asking Anne simple questions about her personal history. She then inquired about her art, her inspirations, and her future. Eva asked how and why Anne migrated to the United States from Venezuela. Her questions also revealed that Anne was also a biology professor and a current mother of two, along with being an artist. Anne spoke about how she visualizes her art and the process to making it a reality. It was interesting to watch Eva put into practice the process which she was just talking about. I watched as she asked intriguing questions to get the most pertinent information out of her interviewee. She was able to inform her audience about her guest with her informative questions. 

            The questions that followed the interviewed allowed the crowd to put into practice some of the journalism skills discussed in the former part of the presentation. The audience inquired about Anne’s inspiration for her pieces, which often contained aspects of nature, and trees in particular. I liked hearing about the inspiration behind each piece of art. Most of the pieces had a story behind them, and hearing about the background allowed me to have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the work.

Jack Hughes

                                                  Reflection

       Due to not being a fluent Spanish speaker, it was very difficult to understand Eva Feld in her discussion on journalism and her interview with artist Anne-Marie Herrera Nalsen.  However, I was able to pick up on key components of the presentation.  Eva discussed the importance of journalism in our society and how it will never cease.  It is how we know what is going on in different parts of the country and the world.  She also discussed social media and its influence on journalism.  This has become a major way of communication for people in the modern world.  So it is natural for journalism to exist there.  Then she went on to talk about influential people in journalism.  Some of them were of Hispanic decent as well.  Eva included a power point presentation with her speech.  This made it a little easier to understand what she was talking about.   Her power point included pictures and illustrations that went along with her presentation.

            Then she interviewed artist Anne-Marie Herrera Nalsen.  This was very interesting and easy to understand.  One particularly interesting exercise Eva did with Anne-Marie was Eva would say a word and asked Anne-Marie to respond with the first thing that came to mind.  Some of these words were love, nature, music, etc.  Through this exercise we learn that Anne-Marie is native to Venezuela.  She misses her home country very much and the United States is very different for her.  Anne-Marie is primarily a painter.  She loves nature and draws inspiration from it.  Her favorite thing to paint are trees or arboles.  This was a very deep exercise as we learned much about Anne-Marie and how she is dedicated to her art.  Throughout the interview, a slide show of Anne-Marie’s works were being displayed in the background.  This was very interesting to see what her art really looks like.  She did include many pictures of trees.  Some of her other works included people and faces.  Anne-Marie included a lot of digital art as well.  This is a new form of art that I was not familiar with so it was interesting to see.  During the interview, Anne-Marie was painting a large gold ball.  I am unsure of what that signifies. 

             This event was very difficult to understand, but it was a realistic Spanish culture experience.  I am now aware of the pace native speakers converse at and that there are many different accents to be aware of as well.  Learning about journalism’s importance was very relatable.  Anne-Marie’s art was also very beautiful and interesting to be exposed to.  Overall, this was a good experience and opened my eyes to the Spanish language.

  Paige Rimer

Cultural Event Reflection

            I have always found it interesting to listen to others speaking a conversation that contains only Spanish. When we were given the opportunity to attend the Cultural Event featuring Eva Feld and Anne-Marie Herrera Nalsen, I was very excited, but also nervous that I wouldn’t be able to understand their swift speaking. The event was conducted on October 1 in the CLC Kennedy Auditorium with both of the speakers being from Venezuela.

            The event began with Eva Feld speaking about her career in journalism and why she believes that it is an important part of society and should continue to grow within our culture. Ms. Feld is not only a journalist, she is also a Venezuelan writer and editor; she is able to speak, read, think and count in English, French, and Hungarian.

In Ms. Feld’s opinion, journalism is important because it allows information to travel among the world and create knowledge within our society. Ms. Feld spoke on the different kinds of journalism and moral issues journalists face in their career. Lastly, Ms. Feld interviewed Anne-Marie Herrera Nalsen who is a Venezuelan painter that immigrated to the United States. As an immigrant she faces economic and political topics that she must overcome, she is also a mother and a biologist.

            I found the entire interview to be very difficult to understand especially the first part since it was the story of Ms. Feld and her writing career. She discussed things like how today we are all writers which we are. Many people take the advantage to post onto social media sites such as “Facebook” and “Twitter,” where they write posts and publish themselves onto the internet. Going along with all of us being writers, Ms. Feld discussed plagiarism and how it is very wrong.

            In the conversation between Ms. Feld and Anne-Marie, they also discussed many difficult things for me to understand. One of the first things they discussed was immigration and how difficult it is to leave everything behind. I could never imagine leaving my family, home, town, and friends behind.

            I learned a lot from Ms. Feld that I never thought I would have taken away from her presentation. The most important thing that I learned is that we are all writers. I have never considered myself necessarily a writer besides writing papers for school. When Ms. Feld mentioned social media as a form of writing, I strongly reconsidered everything I began posting. The amount of times I “Tweet” per day isn’t just me putting my thoughts online, others are reading what I post on a daily basis making me a writer too. Learning this from Ms. Feld’s presentation was a “take-away” that I really enjoyed.

            Overall, I really enjoyed listening to Ms. Feld and Anne-Marie speak, I found their native language very intriguing. Listening to them describe journalism and art was very interesting for me since I don’t usually have the chance to study either. I enjoyed hearing both of their stories and am very happy that I have learned about their inspiration and how writers are everywhere. Overall, I am very pleased that I had to opportunity to attend this event and recommend it to others.

 Ellie Thompson