Moby Dick

I'm not really sure if photos were allowed or not, but I caught a snap of the great "Mocha Dick" by Tristin Lowe at the Fabric Workshop Museum during the May First Friday opening.

This whale is a sight to see, lounging on the 8th floor of the new FWM building in Center City. It's made of felt, zipped together in panels, encrusted in barnacles and wrinkles.

Funny how things you see spark other ideas and actions. After witnessing the behemoth, I got "Moby Dick", the video with Gregory Peck, out from the library to finally figure out what it was all about. After returning it the librarian asked me if I'd ever read the book. After saying "no" he pointed me toward a poetry anthology with one title reading "Their eyes should be gouged out and replaced with hot coals". The poem basically states that anyone who hasn't read "Moby Dick" and yet considers themselves educated should.. have their eyes gouged out...etc.

So I'm reading Moby Dick. A story of obsessions. Not only in plot but in form. Melville writes obsessively, trying to make the ultimate in in-depth books on whales.

I'm also felting with my Sculptural Fiber Class. Fiber Arts requires a certain obsession. One must be able to do repetitive actions over sustained periods of time before coming even close to creating something substantial. "Mocha Dick" appears to be industrial felt. I can't imagine how long it would have taken to do it by hand. Construction of it must have been daunting enough.