This video discusses the term intra-action as discussed by Karen Barad whose philosophical works I have been entangled with for a while. This simply explains a interesting and complex concept. 

I feel great about my organization skills though! This is a screen shot of all the PDFs of possibly pertinent papers and books I found during the course of my PhD program at OSU. I have not read all of these, but a lot of them. Am I smarter now? The jury is still out on that fact :) 

 I read the novel Ka just after I graduated college. It was one of the most difficult and enjoyable texts I have ever worked through. The beauty of the language is what compelled me to actually finish this incredibly rich, complex work. I wanted to quit several times especially after having to read some passages multiple times to try to understand what was happening. It was in this reading I realized that reading this kind of text is not about comprehension, but it is a completely different approach to writing. This is not a linear work the narrative flows and its course is rhizomatic. Ka used the framework of Indian mythology while the story lingered on its own course. Sunil Khilnani writes in the New York Times: "To read ''Ka'' is to experience a giddy invasion of stories -- brilliant, enigmatic, troubling, outrageous, erotic, beautiful. Yet ''Ka,'' like the two previous books, is not a novel. Calasso's form-defying works plot ideas, not character. A writer with philosophical tastes, he thinks in stories rather than arguments or syllogisms" (November 8, 1998). 

I have been thinking about this book while figuring out my own work. I am so often tempted to defy form and convention in my dissertation work. I wonder if this would seem obfuscating or if some readers might find it liberating. A work that is formless but formed--sounds lovely. 

Calasso wrote in his novel Ka:
"But what was it transforming? The mind. The mind was what it transformed and what was transformed. It was the warmth, the hidden flame behind the bones, the succession and dissolution of shapes sketched on darkeness--and the sensation of knowing that that was happening. Everything resembled something else. Everything was connected to something else. Only the sensation of consciousness resembled nothing at all. And yet all the resemblances flowed back and forth within it. It was the "indistinct wave."  (p. 21-22)

Something about seeing a work by an artist you admire and respect and have a personal connection with is different. It is amazing to see what a woman with a cultural and linguistic background similar to mine makes me feel empowered to do more with my work. BTW -->(we are both first generation Americans with parents from South India and we are also Tamil speakers). I was looking forward to seeing this work in person for some time and I was not disappointed. The textures and colors of Chitra's work evoke blips of memories. The dreams, nightmares and musings I had, both as a child and adult come alive when I look at this work. It connects with my own experience in a way that is difficult to articulate. Looking at this work with its bright pinky peach gradient wash in the background coupled with the hair textures and the words written out in hair. These feel like forms to which I can relate they have a kind of warmth I can't explain--it feels almost familiar, like visiting a friend. 
Beyond the kind of emotional response the setting of the work in the Herstory gallery next to the timeline to which I contributed a small portion of facts and research during my time at the Sackler Center was neat. Coupled with the fact that if you turn around from this installation you can see the AMAZING installation of The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago. I have never seen the Dinner Party installed differently, but I can't imagine it any other way. The triangular room adds a stoic reverence to the work that really makes the work stand out.