OK. This is where I fess up my own vanity: I have a blog. I do write on it. Not daily, but often. Yes, you can search for it if you want to. The topics are sporadic — there is very little theme other than life itself. Welcome to the next new style of writing: the Artistic Blogger. The Artistic Blogger comments on life as it arrives. She has her own voice, and augments it with illustrations, links, music and photos. Maira Kalman is an Artistic Blogger.
“The Principles of Uncertainty” by Maira Kalman is a blog in book form. This book suited my own fanciful sensibilities. It illustrates and illuminates the world through the eyes of a middle-aged Jewish woman living in New York. It is a picture book for adults, juxtaposing adult themes and colorful drawings. This book makes me want to discover everything that she sees (through frantic Googling of course) and make my own opinions.
The whole concept of this book is to shock the reader and make them visualize the themes. This reminded me of the poetry of Emily Dickenson, who took harsh themes and juxtaposed them with a very simple poetic structure. Indeed, most of the pages in this book have fewer than three sentences on them, and use language that any self-respecting fifth grader would be able to understand.
She documents her own trip to Israel and without mentioning any of the politics directly is able to give the situation a uniquely personal viewpoint. She also explores her own city and meets people that have influenced her in some way or another. Some names I knew (Louise Bourgeois) and some I learned for the first time.
Then, because this is what our generation does, I decided to Google her. It turns out that she has also written another blog recently, in the same style as “The Principles of Uncertainty.” This new blog, called “The Pursuit of Happiness,” attempts to record Kalman’s journey across America to discover the eternal essence of this country that we live in. Why do we eat so much? Who was Benjamin Franklin? What is the democratic system? It is her personal journey, however, that gives its own unique light on the trials and tribulations of living in this great democracy of ours.
I try not to claim that I know too much about our political system, and the great thing is that neither does she. Neither do most of us for that matter. Of course we should educate ourselves on this matter; however, we all have limited amounts of time. In this blog, Kalman takes a look at our current society in light of the inauguration of President Barack Obama and, whatever your politics are, you cannot argue with her verdict that hope was definitely in the air. So why didn’t it work out as well as we thought it could?
It’s really interesting to read the material in its original format. Some of us in this generation like scrolling on a computer screen, but I much prefer the feeling of having a book in my hands. The pictures and colors in “The Principles of Uncertainty” were much clearer and sharper than they were on my computer screen. Plus after a while, all that brightness gives you a headache.
One of the definite pluses of the blog is being able to read comments. It is refreshing to see how many people agree with the principles set down; at the same time there are some incredible debates. This is published on the New York Times, mind you; these are not unintelligent people commenting. It’s like a book club, but a blog club with people you don’t know.
Do I think my blog will get turned into a book that is this much of a sensation? Probably not. Am I writing it for that purpose? Not really. And I think that is why Kalman wrote her blog as well. Of course she knew that people would read it, but blogs are very introspective. You don’t usually have characters in a blog story. You simply have yourself and your own artistic voice. That is why I liked both “The Principles of Uncertainty” and “The Pursuit of Happiness.” These book/blogs give you the sense that you are inside Kalman’s head. We may not agree with what her voice is saying, but the beauty of Internet publishing is that we don’t need to.
You can reach this columnist at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
