 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
A NEW AESTHETIC FOR THE NEXT MILLENIUM Article in Response to El Cadaver
de Balzac. Una visión cuántica de la Literatura y el Arte by Gregorio
Morales; Epígono Ediciones, Alicante (Spain). In the analysis of fiction, American scholars tend to use Edgar Allen Poe's
theory of the "unity of effect" as a tool to measure the aesthetic
properties of good fiction. This
"unity of effect" is the extent to which every element of
a story adds up to the ultimate effect of the story: The language, the
symbolism, the setting, the intricacies of character development become
individual parts containing the aesthetic whole, the effect of the story
in its entirety. When we deconstruct
a story in this way, each element seems bound to the outcome of the
story by amazing synchronisities, those curious moments in the plot
where lives are determined, when obstacles of time and space are conquered
just at the right moment to seal the fate of the character. It's our tendency to believe such moments
belong only to fiction, which
is why when such curious synchronisities occur in our "real"
lives, we call them bizarre novel-like moments.
The Czechoslovakian writer, Milan Kundera finds this strange.
He says that these synchronisities in real life are not "novel"
at all, but absolutely normal and it's the role of a writer to tap into
something like a "unity of effect" of our real lives to give
us true fiction, fiction that reveals the wondrous and hidden order
(plegado) of the world we inhabit.
Authors of weight and substance have
always commented on and pursued this "order", and in the past
decade, this has become the subject of some of the most renown scientists
as well. Quantum physicists these days often rely on
the poetry and fiction to illustrate the subatomic nature of the universe;
they use literature whose "unity of effect" we can accept,
to illustrate the Weaving together Jungian ideas of archetypes and collective
unconscious, the first subatomic theories of 1927, and the more recent
work of Bart Kosko on "Fuzzy Thinking", the chapters in Cadaver
create a new context within which we can read literature and understand
the culture of our times. In
this seminal book, Morales explains to us that reality is as mysterious
and surprising as the discoveries of modern science, and that quantum
literature then, gives us a narrative within which to read that unseen
order with surprising clarity. With this book, Morales shows us that
he's much more than a Renaissance Man who understands many fields of
study; he's a visionary whose singular ideas point to an essential truth
at the core of science, art, literature, and history.
Indeed, the breadth of this book shows us that Morales is not
creating a theory based on literary trend or fad. It's a shame this book is not published
in English, as here in America we are ready to embrace such a theory.
With the recent work of Edward O. Wilson, and the new thinkers
in Quantum Physics, the notion of yoking together science and art has
become a fulminating area of much study and discussion.
The Quantum Aesthetic will find fertile ground to thrive when
it arrives in America. Strangely, when Morales first presented
his ideas, it seemed as if they fell on deaf ears.
I first came across the theory in Granada in 1996, coincidentally
the day before I was to interview Luis Garcia Montero, and coincidentally
two days before I was to "accidentally" meet Morales. Excitedly,
(and perhaps naively) I asked Montero what he thought of the Estetica
Cuantica to which he replied, with an air of dismissal, that he didn't
even know what it meant and quickly changed the subject.
Perhaps the name is daunting--sounds like math, conjures ideas
of beakers and test tubes to some, sends official poets running, or
maybe it seems too spiritual. But two years later, on my last visit to Spain, another synchronicity
occurred on the very same day I met with Gregorio. I came across Montero's article in El Pais
about his ideas of the wonderful connection of science and literature. The Quantum Aesthetic making waves,
even in enemy waters, and with the publication of El Cadaver de Balzac,
will gain full momentum in the coming months.
One need not be scientific to understand
Morales's book; each chapter illuminates a different layer of understanding
of the entire concept. He deftly
reveals his theory to us from many perspectives--in relation to film,
poetry, the individualization of the self, life in the city.
In this way, we see that the Quantum Aesthetic is durable, a
theory that belongs to the world, not one that is simply applied to
it. He cites writers such as
Henry James and Antonio Enrique as Quantum writers, explores history
and Ruben Dario to illustrate the more intricate points of his theory.
Anyone can find their ownway into the core of the Quantum Aesthetic
in this book as with each chapter, he opens new windows of discovery.
As readers of literature, we understand the "unity of effect"
that characterizes good fiction. As
occupants of our own bodies, we experience the infinite interconnectedness
that heals us, keeps us breathing, and as participants of our own lives,
we experience daily the amazing synchronisties that lead us from birth
to death. As observers of the sky, of natural wonders, we're witness
to the daily miracles of our universe.
To read and understand Morales is to join all of these mysteries
and surprises as inseparable reflections of each other, as phenomena
as connected as a drop of water to the ocean. The Quantum Aesthetic is not a novel literary trend.
The pursuit of the Quantum Aesthetic was begun, in part, by the
Enlightenment thinkers and has since been buried, only to resurface
as the new millennium approaches. From this side of the Atlantic, it is clear
that Gregorio Morales is on to something, that his work is not in vain,
but rather a part of something that will later be remembered as the
beginnings of a new millennial way of thinking.
Congratulations to Morales, to Spain for supporting something
so revolutionary. Jennifer Wilson, Turia,
Nº 46, noviembre, 1998, pp 304-306 |
|||||
