The Transformations of Mr. Hadliz

by Ladislav Novák

Poetry. Art. MR. HADLIZ is a combination of poetry, prose, and art. The twelve pictures that form the cycle were created by "froissage," a method invented by Novak of interpreting crumpled paper. This work by the deceased Czech Surrealist is evidence of his remarkable versatility in phonetic and visual poetry. "Novak ranks among the great solitary figures of Czech art"--Jiri Valoch. "Among these lines the artist hunts down hidden images"--Jo Ann Lewis. "It is clear to the poet's eyes that it's impossible to separate imagination from reality, because the former is just a more beautiful side of the other, its hidden projection behind the external shape of things... Novak] removes all that is superfluous...to let out the shining miracle trapped inside"--Edouard Jaguer.

Genres: Poetry

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Emilie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’d love to crumple up these pages but I’m scared that Novák would try to analyse them.

One of the best-known Czech surrealists, and inspired by automatism, Novák invented froissage - a technique whereby one pours ink on a crumpled piece of paper and interprets it. This is how Mr Hadlíz is born, first as eiderdown, then ‘as plaything for those condemned to death’, then ‘missing a leg, but an expert seducer nonetheless’, but my favourite, ‘as a badger (as a ventriloquist observing a struggle in his belly)’. This last one reads: “He has taken on the likeness of a badger because badgers dwell in dark burrows (in the dark burrows of themselves).” Surely impossible to dispute the value of automatism when met with these lines.

I struggled to rate this. The inside cover suggests it as a pioneering work of art but I prefer it as a piss-take of contemporary art descriptions. Like the time where Bas and I put one of our toys on an empty display stand in a modern art museum and watched some Americans discuss it enthusiastically. Maybe that too was Mr Hadlíz…

[Raven]

"The wild herbs in the field (I cannot give their exact types; botany was never my strong point), continue to give off a narcotizing fragrance, a sweetly narcotic fragrance, though destruction is imminent. (Threat is enduring. What sort of age have we lived in, do we still live in? Or is the threat only within us?)"

"I know for certain that I will never again see any of those who have died so I can tell them how much I miss them. If that glorious resurrection ever does occur, there will be a blare of trumpeting angels and a flood of light, but it won't have the magnificently bittersweet taste of our mundane lives."

[All My Friends Are Fictional · Rating 3 out of 5]

“But where am I at home, really? In Prague? In Venice? Anywhere where I have a table to work on, maybe only a piece of foam for a bed and a blanket, good light, a hot shower, peace and quiet for work, and someone to have an intelligent conversation with once and a while ... I fear I'm being too demanding.”

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

"When the leaves would start turning yellow I used to like taking a walk to the pheasant preserve. Once I was wandering around there along the deserted paths when I suddenly realized that it was getting late and I could miss the last bus into town. So I took a shortcut and had to wade through tall grass. It was pretty rough going. I made the bus all right, but my pants legs were full of burs and all kinds of thistles. Just like those burs got stuck on me, ironic stories such as these stick to you on your way through life, particularly if you take the way less trodden. What's the point? Does everything have to have a point?" he asked, and he fixed his faded eyes on me. "Of course not," I replied, " but life, the whole of our life, doesn't that have a point?"
"Sure it does," Mr Hadliz stated flatly, and he fell silent.

So concludes (almost) Novak's "Transformations", a series of prose poems about the "froissages", also by Novak that appear on the facing pages. A froissage is a visual art technique interpreting crumpled paper. The term was coined by Novak. Mr. Hadliz is acknowledged as a sort of alter-ego of the author. This is an imaginative, though slight, work.

The volume includes a short essay on the author and his works.

[bill greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

there are not enough stars in the sky to rate this little gem.

"I know for certain that i will never again see any of those who have died so I can tell them how much I miss them. If that glorious resurrection ever does occur, there will be a blare of trumpeting angels & a flood of light, but it won't have the magnificently bittersweet taste of our mundane lives."

[K's Bognoter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Læs anmeldelsen på Ks bognoter:
http://bognoter.dk/2015/03/08/ladisla...