Everything That Rises: A Book of Convergences

by Lawrence Weschler

From a cuneiform tablet to a Chicago prison, from the depths of the cosmos to the text on our T-shirts, Lawrence Weschler finds strange connections wherever he looks. The farther one travels (through geography, through art, through science, through time), the more everything seems to converge — at least, it does if you're looking through Weschler's giddy, brilliant eyes. Weschler combines his keen insights into art, his years of experience as a chronicler of the fall of Communism, and his triumphs and failures as the father of a teenage girl into a series of essays sure to illuminate, educate, and astound.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Essays, Philosophy, Cultural, Photography, Visual Art

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Lawrence Weschler, a graduate of Cowell College of the University of California at Santa Cruz (1974), was for over twenty years (1981-2002) a staff writer at The New Yorker, where his work shuttled between political tragedies and cultural comedies. He is a two-time winner of the George Polk Award (for Cultural Reporting in 1988 and Magazine Reporting in 1992) and was also a recipient of Lannan Literary Award (1998).

His books of political reportage include The Passion of Poland (1984); A Miracle, A Universe: Settling Accounts with Torturers (1990); and Calamities of Exile: Three Nonfiction Novellas (1998).

His “Passions and Wonders” series currently comprises Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: A Life of Contemporary Artist Robert Irwin (1982); David Hockney’s Cameraworks (1984); Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder (1995); A Wanderer in the Perfect City: Selected Passion Pieces (1998) Boggs: A Comedy of Values (1999); Robert Irwin: Getty Garden (2002); Vermeer in Bosnia (2004); and Everything that Rises: A Book of Convergences (February 2006). Mr. Wilson was shortlisted for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award; and Everything that Rises received the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.



Recent books include a considerably expanded edition of Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees, comprising thirty years of conversations with Robert Irwin; a companion volume, True to Life: Twenty Five Years of Conversation with David Hockney; Liza Lou (a monograph out of Rizzoli); Tara Donovan, the catalog for the artist’s recent exhibition at Boston’s Institute for Contemporary Art, and Deborah Butterfield, the catalog for a survey of the artist’s work at the LA Louver Gallery. His latest addition to “Passions and Wonders,” the collection Uncanny Valley: Adventures in the Narrative, came out from Counterpoint in October 2011.

Weschler has taught, variously, at Princeton, Columbia, UCSC, Bard, Vassar, Sarah Lawrence, and NYU, where he is now distinguished writer in residence at the Carter Journalism Institute.

He recently graduated to director emeritus of the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU, where he has been a fellow since 1991 and was director from 2001-2013, and from which base he had tried to start his own semiannual journal of writing and visual culture, Omnivore. He is also the artistic director emeritus, still actively engaged, with the Chicago Humanities Festival, and curator for New York Live Ideas, an annual body-based humanities collaboration with Bill T. Jones and his NY Live Arts. He is a contributing editor to McSweeney’s, the Threepeeny Review, and The Virginia Quarterly Review; curator at large of the DVD quarterly Wholphin; (recently retired) chair of the Sundance (formerly Soros) Documentary Film Fund; and director of the Ernst Toch Society, dedicated to the promulgation of the music of his grandfather, the noted Weimar emigre composer. He recently launched “Pillow of Air,” a monthly “Amble through the worlds of the visual” column in The Believer.

(from www.lawrenceweschler.com)

Reviews

[David Seruyange · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea what I was in for when I borrowed it from the library. I was attracted to the cover and since it was published by McSweeney's I thought it was worth the chance.

What I was delighted to find was a collection of essays fusing art of all forms from several different epochs to the present. The first essay is a conversation and comparison between the author, Lawrence Weschler, and the photographer Joel Meyerowitz whose photographs of the aftermath of 9/11 and the work on the World Trade Center is compared with moments and visuals in art history. A feat like this could be utter triviality: completely sensitive and cartoonish within the context of what happened. Instead it had the opposite; it inculcates the reader with even more sensitivity and perspective on the present.

Most of my exposure to writing concerning art is historical, the stuff of textbooks. This writing opened my eyes to art criticism, to a way of looking at art that was neither pompous nor cemented in the historical context of the work. Of course there were some essays that resonated more than others, but I think this was aside of their being well written or entertaining; it had more to do with my being in a circumstance of understanding and being able to see. I could see myself a decade from now reading the essays again and picking a different set of essays which stood out.

[Andrew]

So I've been a fan of Weschler for some time, but this, not so much.

Sometimes I wonder if the "convergences" count as convergences at all, and whether it's just "a thing that's done," almost as if Weschler lacks even the most basic education in the vocabulary of art. Sometimes, when they do, they just seem like a second, or let's face it third, pressing of Sebald's elegant and complex silkworm paths. It makes sense that this was published with the blessing of McSweeney's. When I was a youngster, they presented a twee and bastardized version of David Foster Wallace. Everything That Rises is a twee and bastardized version of some of the best writing of the 20th Century. F... this S.

[shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a wonderful book. though not really "about" anything, other than serendipitous turns of thought and coincidences of interaction, it covers so much ground and touches upon so many different subjects and concerns that it will please anyone who has a love of trivia or esoteric knowledge. Weschler is the consummate Knowledgeable Conversationalist, and this exploration of convergences
that he has discovered in his research or simply come upon randomly is a real gem.


also, it quoted in full this astounding poem by Wislawa Szymborska, entitled "Maybe All This":


Maybe all this
is happening in some lab?
Under one lamp by day
and billions by night?

Maybe we're experimental generations?
Poured from one vial to the next,
shaken in test tubes,
not scrutinized by eyes alone,
each of us seperately
plucked up by tweezers in the end?

Or maybe it's more like this:
No interference?
The changes occur on their own
according to plan?
The graph's needle slowly etches
its predictable zigzags?

Maybe thus far we aren't of much interest?
The control monitors aren't usually plugged in?
Only for wars, preferably large ones,
for the odd ascent above our clump of Earth,
for major migrations from point A to B?

Maybe just the opposite:
They've got a taste for trivia up there?
Look! on the big screen a little girl
is sewing a button on her sleeve.
The radar shrieks,
the staff comes at a run.
What a darling little being
with its tiny heart beating inside it!
How sweet, its solemn
threading of the needle!
Someone cries enraptured;
Get the Boss,
tell him he's got to see this for himself!

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grazed on this book, which is, I believe, the proper way to read it. I can't imagine reading it straight through. It's a book that you can pick up, flip through at random, and read an insightful, delightful, piece on works of art, media images, or even people. You don't have to be an art historian to appreciate the echoes that Weschler explores, but it certainly helps if you're at interested in art.
A few of the essays were let downs, but only because the images and the references discussed, were so unfamiliar to me. For the most part, I found it eye opening and a delight to read.

[Stephen Dorneman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Culture omnivore Weschler's essays on, well, how some things are like other things, have appeared in McSweeney's, The New Yorker, and other publications. Collected here, they are an exceptional look into how humans form patterns and find commonality in images, words, and ideas across time and cultures. Weschler is incredibly spot-on with images and art, whereas some of his political musings later in the book are less interesting and/or insightful. Spend some time with this book, and you'll start seeing convergences wherever you look - and that's a good thing.

[Tatiany]

I’ve never read him before and I had to read this book for school and I had no idea what I was in for.

This book it’s pretty interesting because does not really have split is just about interactions and thoughts and the relationship between different events through history and modern world.

It’s brilliant

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, inspiring, just simply a wonderful read. Weschler, with a bright curiosity takes us on a tour of visual rhymes he has collected and writes clearly about particular images resonate across time and disciplines with others. Shades of Aby Warburg, Mnemosyne Atlas.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lovely book about a man and his fantastic mind; how over the years he has seen patterns or ways pieces of art and journalism and real life converge in synchronicity, which always interests me. He finds similarities between the photos of 9-11 and Ground Zero with paintings by Bierstadt and Vermeer and Rembrandt; he finds parallels in reporting on nationalism and civil war from Belgrade during the Yugoslav war and digital models of bird behavior in flocks; and other fascinating combinations.

I love this quote from the astronomer Carl Sagan: "in some respects, science has far surpassed religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'this is better than we thought! the universe is much bigger than our prophets said-grander, more subtle, more elegant. God much be even greater than we dreamed'? Instead they say, 'no, no, no. My god is a little god and i want him that way.' A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificance of the universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves and reverence and awe hardly tapped by conventional faiths. sooner or later, such a religion will emerge."

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liking it so far! The 9-11 chapter was the most thought out, and longest. Loved mention of the Oriental Institute and Robie House, kind of like running into some people I knew a long time ago. Well, that's basically what the book is -- noticing connections (usually found in art history, but sometimes just forms or coincidences).

Well, crud. The library wanted this back before I could finish it. I know, I know -- keep renewing, but it's just easier to not pay the entire amount of a levy every time I get a book out, which seems to be my pattern. Anyway, I'm sorry I didn't make it to the Newt Gingrich chapter. That looked like it would be quite entertaining.

Also! I had the phenomenon of things-looking-like-other-things happen to me about a week after I turned it back in. Good grief, the New Yorker had a photo that looked like my friend's wife's drawings. It freaked me out because I thought it WAS her drawing but then I looked at it and it was a photograph. Freeeaaaaakkkyyy!

Well, I never did finish this -- library problem.

[Jeepz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd seen this book advertised at the McSweeney's book store a few years ago and it always intrigued me. Never enough to buy it, though. A few weeks ago I checked it out from the library, to have while I was in recovery mode and needing things to read and DVDs to watch. It really wasn't at all what I thought it would be from reading the McSweeney blurb. It was much more esoteric than I expected, and more than that was very art focused (at least the parts I skimmed). To say I read this isn't true - I read the first section then skimmed it is more apt. Too much art and things I really had no context for, which made it hard to get into. Maybe another place and time I would have liked it more.

[michelle]

This book examines the "coincidences" that occur in our culture sometimes. Collective consciousness? (Like when 2 inventors in different parts of the world invent the same thing unknowingly.) Or something else? (How in 1996 Newt Gingrich and Slobodon Miloselvic were political forefronters and looked almost the same- he calls them "Pillsbury Doughboy Messiahs"). I had a similar coincidence with this book: I got the book for Xmas, last week I went to see a Jenny Holzer projection that includes poetry by Wislawa Szymborska (who I had never heard of), and then I started this book this week and that same poem appears in its pages! Freaky, huh?

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really delighted in reading this book. I got it from the library on a whim and it is a physically large book- similar to an art or photography book. It's a collection of short essays, photographs, art works, and historical events all woven together by the brilliant, funny, and thoughtful Lawrence Weschler, a writer and art critic. One of the reviews called him a "consummate Knowledgeable Conversationalist". That's about right. I seriously recommend taking this book out from the library even just for browsing.

[Perez Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grazed on this book, which is, I believe, the proper way to read it. I can't imagine reading it straight through. It's a book that you can pick up, flip through at random, and read an insightful, delightful, piece on works of art, media images, or even people. You don't have to be an art historian to appreciate the echoes that Weschler explores, but it certainly helps if you're at interested in art.
A few of the essays were let downs, but only because the images and the references discussed, were so unfamiliar to me. For the most part, I found it eye opening and a delight to read.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't get very far into this book, but I liked what I read. It's a compendium of Believer columns about convergences in art. What I read, I liked, but I didn't feel compelled to sit down and read the book through. It's meant to be a coffee table book, I surmise, and is that sort of bits-and-chunks reading experience. I like Weschler's writing style and hope to eventually return to the book, but alas, the library is sending me late notices.

P.S. This book did offer up my new favorite phrase: lunk-literal-mindedly

[Katie Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays, conversations, and musings on the relationship between different works of art. Utterly absorbing--for example, he connects a photograph of volunteers sifting through the wreckage of the World Trade Center with the painting The Gleaners. Or a Jackson Pollack painting with a Hubble image of two galaxies colliding. Good stuff: the essays vary in length, so you can hop around according to how much attention span you have on a given day.

[Alexa Cascade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book. Takes you out of everyday thought and sight and changes the way you look at the world, and think about it. Engages the reader but never makes any final judgements, leaves the implications for the reader to consider. Would like to meet the author and have some wonderful conversations.

[Gabriel]

Weschler obviously owes a number of debts for the material in this book. The nice thing about the book, though, is that it, in itself, is a sort of proof against precisely those kinds of debts. And like his other books, it is a tremendous spur to the intellec; without ever calling attention to his goal, Weschler still manages to reach it--without argument--through his tales of synthesis.

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first few sections of this book immensely and I think the concept is so brilliant, finding echoes in different artworks, between art and life, etc. etc. As it goes on the relationship between things felt like it became more stilted and I ultimately lost interest. Those first pieces were still really awesome though and I like the meditative tone of it all.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-reading this book. I read it earlier this year - February I think - and was greatly impressed by it. This is as interesting an art book as John Berger's Ways of Seeing. I decided to give it another try and see if more of his eye for Convergences would sink in to my own mind.

[Jenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fascinating series of essays about how artists unconsciously echo each other in the images they use. Lots of great illustrations.
My favorite was the photo of the welder guy next to the painting of Mars (the god, not the planet).

[pearl]

Intrigued, if only because the title is suspiciously similar to Flannery O'Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge...

[hh · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You begin to see things that are identifiably yours-and yet, of course, yours in the context of a long tradition which has itself become part of you" (22).

hard to imagine a more engaging collection of the wanderings of an educated brain.

[Gala · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that reads like an idiosyncratic scrapbook of observations and collected harmonies from disparate sources. I come from a line of thinkers that make synthesis into a sport, so I really appreciate Weschler's athleticism in this regard.

[Lili · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun read

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting digressions, to be sure, but I'm not entirely convinced by all of his flights of free association in this book. Then again, maybe that's not the point....

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressionistic philosophical assemblage / riff in the mode of Spy's "Separated at Birth". Serving suggestion: Consume slowly, savor, like little bites of 83% dark chocolate.

[Rob Corder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is as brilliant as it is gorgeous.

[Hannah]

Best weirdest art book of the month

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuneiform text in my garden bed
'as legible as shredded wheat':
Visible, corporeal, seemingly autonomous
convergences show that
form is identical to content.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth checking out from the library if only for the first essay that juxtaposes images from 9/11 with classic works of art. Very thoughtful.