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This is a note of thanks by way of tangents.
Last night I hosted a dinner party for people who live in my neighborhood. My friend Jeff brought up the term negative capability. I immediately fell in love with the phrase bc what it means and what I initially thought it meant, were in opposition.
According to wiki, Keats explained to his brothers in 1817, "I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason". Without irritable reaching?!
Engaged w the micro/macro colony concept of View, I had over-engineered my bench w 6-legs. When I made it to phase II of FLOW, and I sat back and really looked at it as an object – it looked clunky. I complained to my friend David, who in a matter of seconds ripped it down to 2 legs w concrete footings. Not wanting concrete footings, I showed it to a different Jeff who suggested the current foot design so it could stand alone. In February, I had signed up for a slot in the welding studio at the wonderful Art Students League, an incredible NYC resource for anyone that wants to develop a craft. However welding space is limited so I am still #17 on the waiting list, time is running short, and I realize what I am fabricating is heavy and awkward. So to communicate to potential welders what I had detailed in my head, I had to learn how to use Google Sketch-up – a fantastic and free 3-d drawing program. After an initial etch-a-sketch joyride of clicking and pulling all kinds of abstractions, I became entirely frustrated w making something specific -namely my bench with precise measurements- with a ticking deadline. I became negatively capable until I surrendered and watched the very rudimentary but helpful 10-minute intro video. Below is an image I showed to a few welders last week. I'm waiting to hear back.
While I think my bacteria are endowed with profound negative capability, I don't think I am. I just know how to ask questions and I love and appreciate my friends (including the thinkers I've never met) for all that has been shared.
