Chat introducing Jimmie Durham

[abknight@zzzzzz]

I would like to introduce Jimmie Durham to those on the
list who do not know of his thoughts and work.  The first
paragraph is quoted from a talk.  I offer links and the
suggestion to do a goole image seach afterwards or before!

I like the story of Moses so much I think it should be a
separate book all on its own. But the story of Moses is
really not paraphrasable because it's so complex. Do you
remember why Moses wasn't allowed into the promised land?
I even like the idea that he wasn't allowed in because the
whole story is about him leading his people to the
promised land and in the end he doesn't get to go. But one
of the complexities of this Moses story as he's leading
his people - sometimes leading, sometimes fighting -
through the wilderness into wherever, a stone is following
them. The reason Moses couldn't go into the promised land
is because he struck that stone. At different times when
the Hebrews were in trouble, Moses could go to this stone
and say, "Stone, give us some water, we're thirsty". And
the stone would give them some water. And God had told him
to do that, he said, "You know, whenever you're thirsty,
just go to this stone, say 'we need some water'"... So
then, over years and years, Moses had had a lot of
trouble, and having trouble he had to show to himself as
well as to everyone else that God's spirit was with him.
So right up at the moment when they were all about to go
in they needed some water and Moses said, "Look, I can get
water out of this stone". And he went up to the stone and
hit it with his stick. I think he got some water anyway, I
don't remember, but then when it came time to go into the
promised land, God said, "Not you, Moses. Everyone else
can go in but you stay here, because I told you, 'Don't
hit it with the stick' and you hit it with the stick".

One other Durham
When I try to make art I don't want to be in a studio and
think about a piece of art I want to make, I want to be
with a group of people not knowing what I might make. I
want a discourse, not an invention.

The Moses thing comes from a talk:
http://www.undo.net/cgi-bin/openframe.pl?x=/Pinto/gene4/durham_eng.htm
Another fun Durham work, click on the map:
http://uinic.de/alex/en/durham/sie-sind-hier.html
[URL now obsolete]

And of course do a goolge image search for "jimmie durham".