{"id":2217,"date":"2020-12-20T09:41:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-19T21:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/?p=2217"},"modified":"2021-02-19T09:42:37","modified_gmt":"2021-02-18T21:42:37","slug":"a-history-of-longing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/archives\/2217","title":{"rendered":"A history of longing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Here\u2019s a great lecture on the \u2018American Sublime\u2019 by one Jackson Lears. What we long for feels like some essential part of ourselves, but it might be the leftovers of some dude\u2019s overcooked ponderings a couple of hundred years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jackson Lears - Cultural and Intellectual Historian\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HmGdJmCgFvo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Featuring such artworks as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6eb2aa44-4601-4040-9a03-1138d328aabe_800x444.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6eb2aa44-4601-4040-9a03-1138d328aabe_800x444.jpeg\" alt=\"Singing Beach, Manchester, Massachusetts\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Singing Beach, Manchester, Massachusetts<\/em> (1863) Martin Johnson Heade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f512f03-4a1f-41b7-9b5d-9532adb478a3_800x480.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f512f03-4a1f-41b7-9b5d-9532adb478a3_800x480.jpeg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Among the Sierra Nevada, California <\/em>(1868), Albert Bierstadt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F22dd6eb8-4d7d-476b-b516-bfa4ebd32fa8_800x509.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F22dd6eb8-4d7d-476b-b516-bfa4ebd32fa8_800x509.jpeg\" alt=\"File:Frederic Edwin Church, El Rio de Luz, 1877.jpg\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>El Rio de Luz (The River of Light)<\/em> (1877), Frederic Edwin Church<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32c54e52-c581-4bfd-99a2-2266fbda78e9_1600x990.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32c54e52-c581-4bfd-99a2-2266fbda78e9_1600x990.jpeg\" alt=\"Icebergs floating in an ocean\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Twilight in the Wilderness<\/em> (1860), Frederic Edwin Church<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dceef42-e0e7-4539-a1d3-9df072478a62_800x497.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dceef42-e0e7-4539-a1d3-9df072478a62_800x497.jpeg\" alt=\"File:Winslow Homer West Point, Prouts Neck.jpg\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>West Point, Prout&#8217;s Neck<\/em> (1900), Winslow Homer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa21d2f9d-1541-4f44-8f83-9813508d38ab_442x600.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa21d2f9d-1541-4f44-8f83-9813508d38ab_442x600.jpeg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Monolith<\/em>, the Face of Half Dome, Ansel Adams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F50eeb281-b988-4f6f-b1a1-bed5890a0405_2560x1482.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F50eeb281-b988-4f6f-b1a1-bed5890a0405_2560x1482.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>The Flatiron<\/em> (1903), Alfred Stieglitz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1faca61e-4b07-4459-b6e3-4e831b85c637_300x381.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1faca61e-4b07-4459-b6e3-4e831b85c637_300x381.jpeg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption>Lillian Glish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F56b02e39-e760-456b-a590-696c456e508f_1090x892.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F56b02e39-e760-456b-a590-696c456e508f_1090x892.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption>Teddy Roosevelt in Kenya, 1909<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F800306f5-a48c-4d84-aff0-4ad0177a4023_439x600\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F800306f5-a48c-4d84-aff0-4ad0177a4023_439x600\" alt=\"Dionysius, 1949 - Barnett Newman\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Dionysus<\/em> (1949), Barnett Newman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F216504b5-398d-4fc3-8df1-49b885d34379_372x480.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F216504b5-398d-4fc3-8df1-49b885d34379_372x480.jpeg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Lichen on Round Stones near Flaajokull, South Coast, Iceland<\/em> (1972), Elliot Porter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535a0bf2-b4fc-44b7-afa6-cd2118881e8e_372x480.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.substack.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535a0bf2-b4fc-44b7-afa6-cd2118881e8e_372x480.jpeg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Dungeon Canyon, Glen Canyon, Utah * Cliff, Moonlight Creek, San Juan River, Utah<\/em> (c1961\/62) Eliot Porter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Lears warns that the sublime is coming back, ending with a bit of TS Eliot\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.davidgorman.com\/4quartets\/3-salvages.htm\">Four Quartets<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>I do not know much about gods; but I think that the river<br \/>Is a strong brown god\u2014sullen, untamed and intractable,<br \/>Patient to some degree, at first recognised as a frontier;<br \/>Useful, untrustworthy, as a conveyor of commerce;<br \/>Then only a problem confronting the builder of bridges.<br \/>The problem once solved, the brown god is almost forgotten<br \/>By the dwellers in cities\u2014ever, however, implacable.<br \/>Keeping his seasons and rages, destroyer, reminder<br \/>Of what men choose to forget. Unhonoured, unpropitiated<br \/>By worshippers of the machine, but waiting, watching and waiting.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a great lecture on the \u2018American Sublime\u2019 by one Jackson Lears. What we long for feels like some essential part of ourselves, but it might be the leftovers of some dude\u2019s overcooked ponderings a couple of hundred years ago. Featuring such artworks as: Lears warns that the sublime is coming back, ending with a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2218,"href":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217\/revisions\/2218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mhjb.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}