The Hopeless Chaos Of An Actual Field

If you haven’t seen Pluto before, September offers an exciting opportunity. The distant world performs an elegant loop in northwestern Sagittarius close to an 8th-magnitude star. And this star lies only 2.6º north-northwest of 4th-magnitude Mu (µ) Sagittarii. Pluto’s path normally takes place against a backdrop of faint stars, making it hard to home in on the 14th-magnitude dwarf planet. But Pluto’s current proximity to a relatively bright star makes the task much easier.

“The Sky This Month,” Astronomy magazine, 9/10

If an artist begins to paint a field, say by coating the canvas with a layer of green and then going over it with lighter and darker green, it will be obvious that the lights and darks are resting on top of the original middle green. After a while the different shades might nearly cover the first green, but even if that green shows through in tiny crevices, it may still look as if the meadow was made by floating local colors on top of a uniform background. In Monet as in other very different painters, part of the object is to work until it is no longer possible to tell what paint is on top and what is underneath. When that happens, it is a magical moment because the painting suddenly stops looking like a flat color-by-number with a few added touches, and takes on a rich and confusing aspect. The meadow is no longer a green card scattered with cutout plants, but a rich loam matted with plant life and moving with living shadows. Monet’s texture strokes help that happen by raising glints of light that sparkle randomly among the painted stalks and leaves, confusing the eye and mimicking the hopeless chaos of an actual field.

James Elkins

Pluto is moving away from the Earth,
away from where Berthe Morisot lived,
away from where Berthe Morisot worked,
away from where Berthe Morisot died,
away from this planet where the concept
of “Berthe Morisot” is like a tale
told by a writer of science fiction
or a fantasy that might have dragons
so far is it from our reality.

A woman sitting in a field reading?

The meadow is no longer a green card
scattered with young women reading novels.

Pluto is moving away from the Earth
where hopeless chaos has confused the eye,
where living shadows have confused the brain,
where everything we see is created
by ink-jet printers spraying little dots
of colors and tears. And of screams and death.
So many little dots no one can tell
which dots are on top, which are underneath.
Or so everything looks to the confused.

A woman sitting in a field reading?

Yes. And behind her a flying saucer
is coming to kidnap her to Pluto.

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Pluto In Magic And Alchemy


The New Horizons Spacecraft As Julia Adams


A Spaceship That Sparks




The Bright Lights Of The Finished Show


“A Vaguely Fantastic Truth”


The Landscapes With Figures Of Berthe Morisot #1


The Landscapes With Figures Of Berthe Morisot #2


The Landscapes With Figures Of Berthe Morisot #3


The Landscapes With Figures Of Berthe Morisot #4


The Landscapes With Figures Of Berthe Morisot #5




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Rembrandt, Magic And Substance Becomes Mind


The Deliriously Beautiful World Of Unnamed Substances


Negotiations Between Water And Stone




Ancient Cities Of The Moon