Let's try getting back to this one more time. I'm going to wait until I've got 8 - 10 of these written before I start posting them. At least it'll be bi-weekly for a little while then.
I'm fascinated by Thoreau's ideas on civil disobedience, so much so that, having started reading this book, I talked about my Lougheed House exhibition (on the queer history of Calgary) as such an act in Alberta's current political climate in my introductory remarks to the exhibit. He's on my list of Transcendentalists to read, and, inspired by this book, I've just picked up a collection of their writings that I'm thoroughly enjoying.
Artist John Porcellino comments in the introduction to the book that in part he wanted to try to capture some of the atmosphere of Thoreau's time at Walden Pond, the quiet moments of doing the tings of everyday life. He succeeds rather spectacularly. The juxtaposition of Thoreau's words with the often stark and just as often lush depictions of the philosopher in nature add much insight into the process of Thoreau's work. Only in such a setting could these kinds of thoughts occur in such primal form. That's the feeling I get from reading some of Thoreau's work - there's a primalness there.
If you like a bit of 19th century philosophy paired with some deceptively simple art, you'll probably like this book.
Onward.
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