War and Peace Project

Collage 665

2012-01-31T09:59:00.001-05:00

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 585-586, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 10/21/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1078-1080

Collage 664

2012-01-30T21:49:00.002-05:00

Natasha is overwhelmed with grief and remorse about her relationship with Prince Andrei.

"Besides a general feeling of alienation from all people, Natasha experienced at that time a particular feeling of alienation from the persons of her own family."

I used some text from a child's reader, describing everyday breakfast items. Natasha feels so removed from everyday reality. The black and white floral wallpaper suggests the room where she spends her time alone, lost in thought. There is also some imagery of many human figures. She is in her own world, unable to connect. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 583-584, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 10/21/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1076-1078

Collage 663

2012-01-29T11:53:00.001-05:00

We are in Volume IV, Part Four, Chapter I. I used a bit of text that translates in English as "they did not dare to look life in the face". This is referring to Natasha and Princess Marya as they mourn the death of Prince Andrei. Throughout this project, I have been drawn towards religious imagery. Here is a mixture of Hindu and Russian orthodox imagery. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 581-582, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 10/21/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1075-1076

Collage 662

2012-01-28T11:44:00.006-05:00

Prince Andrei has died, and Princess Marya and Natasha are grieving. We are at the beginning of Volume IV, Part Four, Chapter I. I often use religious imagery, but it seems particularly relevant here.

"When a man sees a dying animal, horror comes over him; that which he himself is, his essence, is obviously being annihilated before his eyes -- is ceasing to be. But when the dying one is a person, and a beloved person, then, besides a sense of horror at the annihilation of life, there is a feeling of severance and a spiritual wound which, like a physical wound, sometimes kills and sometimes heals, but always hurts and fears of any external, irritating touch." -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 579-580, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 10/21/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1073-1075

Collage 661

2012-01-27T07:49:00.000-05:00

I believe the red here is a nod to an earlier contribution (collage #532, by Howard McCalebb from Berlin) which had been posted not too long before this was made. It's wild to be influenced in the studio by someone I haven't even met! When I weary of the project (another 5x7 collage based on WP!), I am often struck again by how unique and interesting it is.

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 577-578, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 10/21/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1071-1072

Collage 660

2012-01-26T07:46:00.003-05:00

About suffering they were never wrong,

The Old Masters; how well, they understood

Its human position; how it takes place

While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along...

-W. H. Auden from "Musee des Beaux Arts"

Lynn Waskelis
from page 575-576, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 10/21/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation 1070-1071

Collage 659

2012-01-25T06:40:00.001-05:00

"The actions of the Russian and French armies during the reverse campaign from Moscow to the Nieman resemble a game of blindman's buff, when two players are blindfolded and one occasionally rings a little bell to let the catcher know where he is. At first the one to be caught rings without fearing the enemy, but, when things go badly for him, he runs away from his enemy, trying to move inaudibly, and often, thinking to escape, goes straight into his arms." -pp. 1068 in P/V

Emma Rhodes
from page 573-574, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 10/20/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1068-1070

Collage 658

2012-01-24T06:10:00.001-05:00

Tolstoy's description of the collapse of Napoleon's army brings to mind the famous map by the French engineer Charles Joseph Minard (1781 - 1870), which graphically depicts where the 422,000 French soldiers who entered Russia in the summer of 1812 were reduced to 10,000 that finally left the country in the winter of 1813.

To see the map, click here. -- Otto

Otto Mayr
from page 571-572, volume 2 of original text
collage, acrylic paint
made 12/1-3/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1066-1068

Collage 657

2012-01-23T06:15:00.002-05:00

For more than a thousand pages, the reader has followed Pierre's ups and down. In his physical condition, Pierre is at the bottom, an unwanted prisoner encumbering a desperate and defeated company of French soldiers who are in full retreat, and have just shot Pierre's friend, Platon Karataev. Pierre appears to be in shock and on the verge of hallucinations, yet he is also in some kind of joyous delirium, quite at ease and prepared for whatever comes next. -- Otto

Otto Mayr
page 569-570, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 11/26/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1065-1066

Collage 656

2012-01-22T08:13:00.001-05:00

This is one of my favorite passages.

"Life is everything. Life is God. Everything shifts and moves, and this movement is God. And while there is life, there is delight in the self-awareness of the divinity. To love life is to love God. The hardest and the most blissful thing is to love this life in one's suffering, in the guiltlessness of suffering."

Pierre is in an altered state and hears these words spoken. This book is peppered throughout with mystical passages. And of course there is also Princess Marya, my favorite character with her luminous eyes and deep spiritual devotion. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 567-568, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 10/14/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1063-1065

Collage 655

2012-01-21T08:11:00.001-05:00

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 565-566, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 10/14/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1061-1062

Collage 564

2012-01-20T08:01:00.000-05:00

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 563-564, volume 2 of original text
collage, acrylic paint, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 10/14/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1060-1061

Collage 653

2012-01-19T07:53:00.001-05:00

"From the conversation of the Germans, Pierre heard that more guards had been placed on this train than the prisoners, and that one of their comrades, a German soldier, had been shot on orders from the marshal himself, because a silver spoon belonging to the marshal had been found among the soldiers' possessions."

Pierre's life experiences run the full range -- from bastard son to uber-wealthy nobleman, to prisoner of war, and finally to happy family man.

We got the news this week that we will have a show at The New School in New York City! Team Tolstoy will be offering 2 workshops on Monday February 13 to demonstrate the power of collaborative collage-making. That evening at 6pm there will be an opening reception. If you live in the NYC area, please mark your calendars! We will post details on our Facebook page regarding workshop times and how to sign up. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 561-562, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 10/14/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1058-1060

Collage 652

2012-01-18T06:29:00.000-05:00

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 559-560, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 10/14/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1056-1058

Collage 651

2012-01-17T06:16:00.000-05:00

I have a studio in the same building as Team Tolstoy, and have been watching this project develop since it's inception over 2 years ago. I wandered down to visit Lola and Adrienne in mid-October while they were working away one Friday, and they invited me to make a collage. This is the second piece I have contributed. Although I have not read War and Peace recently, it is still accessible to me as an artist. Tolstoy uses such rich imagery. I responded to the image of humming bees that were like music, so I wove the sheet music through the page. There was mention of soldiers marching, that image is also included, and the symbol of the angel as cloistral music. -- Joanie

Joan Ryan
from page 557-558, volume 2
collage
made 10/14/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1055-1056

Collage 650

2012-01-16T15:58:00.000-05:00

This is how Petya is described:

"he was in a magic kingdom, in which there was nothing resembling reality..." -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 555-556, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 10/14/11
Pevear/Volokonsky translation page 1053-1055

Collage 649

2012-01-15T09:46:00.002-05:00

Dolokhov and Petya Rostov are dressed in French uniforms, infiltrating a French encampment to gather information on the number of enemy troops and their whereabouts. Petya is both thrilled and apprehensive as he and Dolokhov approach the shadowy men at the fire. In his zeal to pass as a Frenchman, Dolokhov jokes about the Russian prisoners, 'Nasty business dragging these corpses behind you. Better to shoot the scum!' And bursts into such strange laughter that Petya fears the French will see through the deceit at once. -- Trish

Trish Crapofrom page 553-554, volume 2 of original text
collage, rice paper, graphite
made 10/25/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translatin page 1051-1053

Collage 648

2012-01-14T09:37:00.003-05:00

War and Peace spoilers ahead!

These cruel pages describe the last days of Petya Rostov's young life. He is an officer of the hussars and a foolish child filled with dreams of heroism. He treats military life and the war as if they were part of a great game, but fails to understand that he plays it for the highest stakes. Dolokhov and he put on French uniforms and visit an enemy camp - a dangerous undertaking that foreshadows Petya's fall the next morning. -- Otto

Otto Mayr
from page 551-552, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 11/25/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1049-1051

Collage 647

2012-01-13T09:37:00.000-05:00

This piece relates to the last collage I made. Soldiers guarding prisoners. This is from World War I. The uniforms and politics may change, but it's still war. I remember reading somewhere that for every year of peace, there are nineteen years of war. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 549-550, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 10/14/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1048-1049

Collage 646

2012-01-12T07:54:00.000-05:00

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 547-548, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 10/14/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1044-1046

Collage 645

2012-01-11T07:23:00.000-05:00

In this scene, Petya, the youngest Rostov who has just recently joined the military, is in camp with Denisov and trying to fit in with the other soldiers. He has just heard how Tikhon killed a French soldier, and he feels uneasy. He is so young, and so reckless, wanting to prove himself.

Sitting with the officers at the table and tearing at a greasy hunk of fragrant mutton with one hand, which dripped with fat, Petya was in a rapturous childlike state of tender love for all people, and consequently of certainty that other people had the same love for him.

I used another illustration from the original text where Pierre witnesses the execution of other Russians who were accused of fire-setting. He escaped that fate for reasons unknown to him or to the reader. Unfortunately Petya has another fate. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 545-546, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1044-1045

Collage 644

2012-01-10T06:47:00.004-05:00

When the laughter that came over him at Tikhon's words and smile passed and Petya realized for a moment that this Tikhon had killed a man, he felt uneasy. He glanced at the captive drummer boy and something stabbed his heart. But this uneasiness lasted only a moment. He felt a need to raise his head higher, to encourage himself, and to question the esaul about the next day's undertaking, assuming a significant air, so as not to be unworthy of the company he was in.

Lynn Waskelis
from page 543-544, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1043-1044

Collage 643

2012-01-09T06:44:00.000-05:00

We are in Volume IV, Part Three, Chapter V.

The 1976 Soviet Russia version of the source book we use has some wonderful illustrations, one of which I used on the lower left. I prefer to use originals rather than copies. So they are precious!

This scene describes how Tikhon Shcherbaty joins Denisov's military group. He became "one of the most necessary men in the party", eventually showing his worth and being promoted from a muzhik to a Cossack.

Tikhon, who at first did the dirty work of making campfires, carrying water, skinning horses, and so on, soon showed great zeal and ability for partisan warfare... Tikhon did not like riding and always went on foot, never lagging behind the cavalry. His weapons were a muskatoon, which he strapped on mainly for amusement, a pike, and an ax, which he used as a wolf does its teeth, with equal ease picking fleas out of its fur or biting through thick bones."

This makes me think about how difficult it must be for military people to return to civilian life. A totally different "skill set". Tikhon was valued for his skill at pulling dead horses out of water and skinning them. How often would he be called on to do that in non-military life?

Team Tolstoy met in the studio on Friday. We have just 20 more collages to make! We should be done in a few more sessions. And in the next week or so we should have our plans made for our show(s) in Russia this summer. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 541-542, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1041-1043

Collage 642

2012-01-08T08:39:00.000-05:00

Lucy Arrington
from page 539-540, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana, cellophane
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1039-1041

Collage 641

2012-01-07T08:26:00.000-05:00

This officer, a very young boy with a broad, red-cheeked face and quick, merry eyes, galloped up to Denisov
and handed him a wet envelope.

Poor Petya. - Adrienne

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 537-538, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1038-1039

Collage 640

2012-01-06T07:49:00.001-05:00

Certain things I remember exactly as they were. They are merely discolored a bit by time, like coins in the pocket of a forgotten suit...The myriad past, it enters us and disappears. Except that within it, somewhere, like diamonds, exist the fragments that refuse to be consumed. Sifting through, if one dares, and collecting them, one discovers the true design.

(re)quoted from James Salter's "A Sport and a Pastime"

I wonder about the possibility of discovering a "true design." But yes to the diamond fragments that refuse to be consumed! What would those be for Natasha? For Princess Marya?

Lynn Waskelis
from page 535-536, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1037-1038

Collage 639

2012-01-05T07:34:00.000-05:00

They [the partisans] gathered up the dry leaves that fell by themselves from the withered tree of the French army, and occasionally shook the tree.

Poetic, fragile. - Adrienne

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 533-534, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana, "Little Treasures" by Glenn Ridless
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1035-1036

Collage 638

2012-01-04T06:37:00.000-05:00

This passage is from Volume IV, Part III, Chapter II. Tolstoy is talking about his philosophy of war. I cut out a single sentence from the text that reads

Partisan warfare (always successful, as history demonstrates) is directly opposed to this rule.

I am no history buff but it got me to think about some of the wars I am somewhat familiar with -- such as Vietnam (clearly the US lost that one and the "partisans" were able to resist the invaders) or in very current times, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the case of Afghanistan, there is a long, long history of resisting outside forces. Partisans, indeed. And it makes me think of how one defines "rebels" vs. "freedom fighters". Sometimes I wonder how I personally would respond if the US was invaded -- I hope I, too, would become a partisan. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 531-532, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokhnsky translation page 1033-1034

Collage 637

2012-01-03T06:25:00.005-05:00

"The period in the campaign of 1812 from the battle of Borodino to the expulsion of the French proved that a battle won is not only not the cause of a conquest, but is not even an invariable sign of conquest; it proved that the force that decides the destiny of nations lies not in conquerors, not even in armies and battles, but in something else."

Lucy Arrington
from page 529-530, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1031-1033

Collage 636

2012-01-02T09:03:00.000-05:00

Part III of Volume IV begins with a discussion of the history of war and the ways in which the war between Russia and France deviates from what Tolstoy calls the "rules" of war. I used the iron structures from magazine images and expanded them with paint to create new open shapes, which I filled with gold paint and children's crayons. -- Trish

Trish Crapo
from page 527-528, volume 2 of original text
collage, magazines, rice paper, acrylic paint, wax crayon
made 10/8/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1029-1031

Collage 635

2012-01-01T09:18:00.000-05:00

"The yearnings manifest in a separate man are always magnified in a crowd."

Tolstoy is describing the French troops "going back down the old Smolensk road" toward home. The final goal of home was too distant, so everyone's desire to reach Smolensk was "increased in great proportion to the crowd". They "yearned for Smolensk as for the Promised Land". -- Trish

Trish Crapo
from page 525-526, volume 2 of original text
collage, acrylic paint, ink, vellum paper
made 10/8/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1027-1029

Collage 634

2011-12-31T09:13:00.001-05:00

Kutuzov, after a night of insomnia, hears the news that Napoleon has left Moscow. This news is like the dawn he has been waiting for.

"Lord my creator! Thou hast heeded our prayer..." he said in a trembling voice, clasping his hands. "Russia is saved. I thank thee, Lord!"

And he wept. -- Trish

Trish Crapo
from page 523-524, volume 2 of original text
collage, magazines, sheet music, handmade onion skin paper
made 10/5/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1026-1027

Collage 633

2011-12-30T09:08:00.001-05:00

Locked in circuitous thoughts, longing for but disbelieving in the destruction of the French army, Kutuzov lies awake, "peering into the darkness." Tormented, he thinks up all the way sin which Napoleon could be destroyed.

The glints of light on the iron seemed to me to be lie the news Kutozov awaits, as well as the first light of morning. -- Trish

Trish Crapo
from page 521-522, volume 2 of original text
collage, magazine, tracing vellum, rice paper, tissue papers
made 10/5/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1024-1026

Collage 632

2011-12-29T06:28:00.000-05:00

Sometimes an image just jumps out at you and begs to be used, as it was with this dog. While garish, there is something charming about this pretty girl, as she peeks out from the flowers (a gift from the Tolstoy estate trip) and pink paper, anxiously awaiting her masters and mistresses return to the daily routine of peace.- Adrienne

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 519-520, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1023-1024

Collage 631

2011-12-28T07:14:00.001-05:00

Tolstoy describes the crucial role chance and bit parts plays in securing Russian victory at Borodino- in the person of little, irresolute, and imperceptive Dokhturov. "And many heroes have been described for us in verse and prose, but there is hardly a word about Dokhturov." Is he a historical or a fictional figure of Tolstoy's making?

Lynn Waskelis
from page 517-518, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokshonksy translation page 1021-1023

Collage 630

2011-12-27T20:37:00.001-05:00

"as if to ward off the worsening situation, they were all especially animated and cheerful!"

Lucy Arrington
from page 515-516, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, ribbon
made 9/30/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1019-1021

Collage 629

2011-12-26T20:29:00.001-05:00

At some point along the way, in the course of the 2 years that I've been working on this project, I got interested in working more closely with the text, in a more illustrative way. In this scene, Pierre and Natasha have fallen in love and are considering marriage. Princess Marya is their go-between. They are both very happy. So I used some images of 19th century houses to represent the return to domesticity after all the war traumas and upheavals. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 513-514, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1018-1019

Collage 628

2011-12-25T20:27:00.002-05:00

One of the most memorable images in the description of the chaos that Moscow has become . A corpse smeared with soot for the fun of it.

Lucy Arrington
from page 511-512, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana, ink
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1016-1018

Collage 627

2011-12-24T20:24:00.001-05:00

Only after moistening this old page could it be crumpled without breaking into little pieces before being glued down.

Lynn Waskelis
from page 509-510, volume 2 of original text
collage, twine, ink
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1014-1016

Collage 626

2011-12-23T20:21:00.000-05:00

In his deprivation, in the absence of all life's superfluity, Pierre realizes the meaning of true happiness.

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 507-508, volume 2 of original text
collage, twine, pebble, ink, black plastic rose
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1013-1014

Collage 625

2011-12-22T20:19:00.005-05:00

"About a week earlier, boot-making supplies and linen cloth had been distributed to the French, and the soldiers had asked the prisoners to make boots and shirts for them. 'It's ready, it's ready, little falcon!' said Karataev, coming out with a neatly folded shirt.

. . . 'Promised and done are born brothers. I said by Friday, and so I did,' said Platon, smiling and unfolding the shirt he had made."

-pp. 1011 in P/V

Emma Rhodes

from page 505-506, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1011-1013

Collage 624

2011-12-21T08:10:00.000-05:00

The inspiration for this whole project was Matt Kish. Here is a link to his blog A Page For Every Page of Moby Dick. He turned his blog into a book and in fact I ordered a copy which arrived today in the mail. He mailed me a few postcards with his images, and I used one of his postcards in this collage.

"A French corporal, unbuttoned in a homey way, in a nightcap, with a short pipe in his teeth..." -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 503-504, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1009-1011

Collage 623

2011-12-20T06:33:00.002-05:00

I loved doing something this simple. I can't truthfully say I was conveying the text here, but for me this feels like a moving on of sorts in the story- the beginning of the end. - Adrienne

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 501-502, volume 2 of original text
collage, burning! matches! fire!
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1008-1009

Collage 622

2011-12-19T06:25:00.002-05:00

In the photographed blog image of this collage there is a play between foreground and background, in front of and behind that I can't remember whether you read in the original.

Lynn Waskelis
from page 499-500, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 9/17/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1006-1008

Collage 621

2011-12-18T06:38:00.002-05:00

Napoleon's troops have entered Moscow. He makes a proclamation urging the citizens to "Return with confidence to your dwellings: you will soon find ways to satisfy your needs! Craftsmen and labor-loving artisans! Go back to your handiwork." As if order could be restored with a proclamation...

Lucy Arrington
from page 497-498, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1004-1005

Collage 620

2011-12-17T06:35:00.002-05:00

The camera's reflection of the shiny glue detracts from the moonscape and the small clock toward the bottom.

Lynn Waskelis
from page 495-496, volume 2 of original text
collage, masking tape
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1003-1005

Collage 619

2011-12-16T06:27:00.002-05:00

Emma Rhodes
from page 493-494, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1002-1003

Collage 618

2011-12-15T06:25:00.003-05:00

Here, the action happens at the periphery, as often do the commands, the strategies, and mistakes of those in power. -Adrienne

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 491-492, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1000-1002

Collage 617

2011-12-14T06:24:00.001-05:00

If the Cossacks had pursued the French, paying no attention to what was behind and around them, they would have taken both Murat and everything that was there. The officers wanted that. But once the Cossacks got hold of the booty and the prisoners, they would not budge.

Lucy Arrington
from page 489-90, volume 2 of original text
collage, rubber, pebbles
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 998-1000

Collage 616

2011-12-13T06:37:00.001-05:00

“The Quilt”

Smoke, dusk, dimness, fury, purple, black
no purpose…
bad energy… -- Chris

Christiane Carney Johnson
from pages 487-488, volume 2 of original text
collage, watercolor
made 12/10/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation pages 997-998

Collage 615

2011-12-12T06:24:00.002-05:00

“The Caged Bird”

Kutuzov is commanding a battle he did not approve. “No one is ready!"

“No one was told!”
“No one is where they should be!” -- Chris

Christiane Carney Johnson
pages 485-486, volume 2 of original text
collage, oil pastel, watercolor, gold glitter glue
made 12/10/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation pages 995-996

Collage 614

2011-12-11T06:14:00.003-05:00

"The Paper Soldiers”

Disjointed, selfishness, confusion -- Chris

Christiane Carney Johnson
from page 483-484, volume 2 of original text
collage, acrylic, gold glitter glue
made 12/10/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation pages 993-995

Collage 613

2011-12-10T06:35:00.002-05:00

No one has any stomach for more fighting, but an attack has been ordered.
I have little stomach for more reading about fighting or making collages about fighting. I want to use bright colors again, but that seems so inappropriate.

Lucy Arrington
from page 481-482, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 9/16/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 992-993

Collage 612

2011-12-09T06:32:00.001-05:00

I see eyes and a mouth. What do you see?

Lynn Waskelis
from page 479-480, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 9/9/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 990-992

Collage 611

2011-12-08T06:29:00.002-05:00

This was my first time back in the studio after our 10 day trip in late August to Russia to visit Yasnaya Polyana. And what a fantastic trip that was! I used electric tram ticket stubs that Trish found on the floor of a metro car. I also used bits of maps that Otto send from Berlin many months ago. Bulgarian. Where did he dig that up? I recall that Picasso said that painting is like keeping a diary. I would expand that to include collage, and even more so. Much of what I use has significant meaning. Although not always. Sometimes it's also fun to use totally random elements. On an upcoming collage, Trish has actually used bits torn out of her old diaries. Stay tuned! -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 477-478, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 9/9/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 988-990

Collage 610

2011-12-07T06:26:00.004-05:00

Tolstoy frequently questions the writings of historians. The outcome of the war is determined not by any one event, a brilliant strategy, or the genius of a single man, but by a countless number of intertwining events, both planned and unknown.

My collage says nothing about the text. Just another piece in the world of extemporaneous actions... - Adrienne

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 475-476, volume 2 of original text
collage, India ink, black plastic rose button
made 9/9/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 987-988

Collage 609

2011-12-06T06:24:00.000-05:00

Emma Rhodes
from page 473-474, volume 2 of original text
collage, dried flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 9/9/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 985-986

Collage 609

2011-12-05T06:44:00.001-05:00

We are in Volume IV, Part One, Chapter XVI. Prince Andrei lies dying with Natasha by his side. He has an amazing dream. Death is one one side of the door and he is struggling to keep death out. Death wins.

"But in the same instant that he died, Prince Andrei remembered that he was asleep, and in the same instant that he died, he made an effort with himself and woke up."

Some of my favorite parts of this book are the death scenes. Death is the ultimate mystery. What does happen? Are we really at choice? And then what? Because Tolstoy takes it all on, there are several death scenes in this tome, although usually on the battlefield. I used the following lines in my collage:

"Yes, that was death. I died -- I woke up. Yes, that death is an awakening." The passage continues: "Clarity suddenly came to his soul, and the curtain that until then had concealed the unknown was raised before his inner gaze. He felt the release of a force that previously had been as if bound in him and that strange lightness which from then on did not leave him."

Wow! You never read passages like that in literature, but only in spiritual texts. The imagery of the curtain that separates ordinary consciousness from the inner reality is very yogic, as is the description of the life force. Tolstoy is an amazing writer.

A few years ago I was at a party and a friend told us about his near-death experience. He had a heart attack and was declared dead. He was then resuscitated, and tells a similar story. In his experience, he had to choose between two doors, one for life and one for death. The death door was more beautiful with surreal light surrounding it, yet he chose life. There was no struggle as in Prince Andrei's case. It was peaceful and beautiful and my friend made a conscious decision to choose the life door. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 471-472, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 9/9/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 983-985

Collage 607

2011-12-04T06:31:00.004-05:00

This collage is a memorial to Prince Andre. He's dying. "The dread, the eternal, the unknown was now close to him and-- by that strange lightness of being he experienced--almost comprehensible and palpable."

Lucy Arrington
from page 469-470,volume 2 of original text
collage, acrylic paint, dried flora from Yasnaya Polyana, peacock feather
made 9/9/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 982-983

Collage 606

2011-12-03T06:27:00.002-05:00

This was an instance of new materials eliciting new responses. None of us in the studio had ever seen pressed leaves, ferns, grasses and flowers quite as beautiful as those sent home with Lola from Yasnaya Polyana.

Lynn Waskelis
from page 467-468, volume 2 of original text
collage, oil pastel, ink, plastic rose button, dried flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 9/9/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 980-982

Collage 605

2011-12-02T06:24:00.001-05:00

"'They told her that Moscow is all burned down, completely, that supposedly . . .' Natasha stopped: it was impossible to speak. He [Prince Andrei] was obviously making an effort to listen and still could not. 'Yes, they say it's burned down,' he said. 'That's a great pity,' and he began to look straight ahead, absentmindedly stroking his mustache with his fingers." -p. 980 in P/V

Emma Rhodes

from page 465-466, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, dried flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 9/9/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 978-980

Collage 604

2011-12-01T07:38:00.001-05:00

Marya arrives at the Rostovs, agitated and anxious to see her dying brother. As the Rostovs fuss and fawn with the formality of greeting, Natasha ("with light, impetuous, almost merry footsteps"!), comes to her rescue.

Dark and light, the two princesses bond in grief.

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 463-464, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 9/9/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 977-978

Collage 603

2011-11-30T06:34:00.001-05:00

Princess Marya has decided to go back to Moscow to find her brother, Prince Andre. It is an almost impossible trip, but "what was difficult or not difficult, possible or impossible, she did not ask and did not want to know.

Lucy Arrington
from page 461-462, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, dried leaves and grass from Yasnaya Polyana
made 9/9/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 975-977

Collage 602

2011-11-29T06:35:00.001-05:00

Oh, how I love Princess Marya. She really shines in this passage. She is undertaking a dangerous journey from her country estate to Moscow where her brother Prince Andrei lies dying. She is so brave, and she is in love!

"Princess Marya had experienced the best happiness of her life. Her love for Rostov no longer worried or upset her. That love filled her soul, became an inalienable part of her, and she no longer fought against it. Most recently, Princess Marya had become convinced -- though she never said it definitely to herself in clear terms -- that she loved and was loved."

Finally! After all the emotional abuse doled out by her cranky father.

And another bit I like:

"As always happens during a journey, Princess Marya thought only about the journey itself, forgetting its goal."

That's kind of like this whole project -- enjoying the journey. Which we've been on for 2 years now! -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 459-460, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 7/29/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 974-975

Collage 601

2011-11-28T06:13:00.001-05:00

In the shed that Pierre entered and in which he stayed for four weeks, twenty-three soldiers, three officers, and two officials were held prisoner.

Later Pierre pictured them all as in a fog, but Platon Karataev remained forever in Pierre's soul as the strongest and dearest memory and the embodiment of everything Russian, kindly and round...the unfathomable, round, and eternal embodiment of the spirit of simplicity and truth. --pp 972-4 in P/V

Lynn Waskelis
from page 457-458, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 7/29/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 972-974

Collage 600

2011-11-27T07:13:00.006-05:00

"Well, the worm gnaws the cabbage, but dies before he's done: That's what the old folk used to say." Said by a beggar who's sharing his potatoes with Pierre.
Sometimes that's how we feel about this project. It's a massive cabbage that we're gnawing away at, but it's so big... will we ever finish? Do we want to?
Lucy Arrington
from page 455-456, volume 2 of original text
collage, embroidery thread, ink
made 7/29/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 970-972

Collage 599

2011-11-26T06:58:00.004-05:00

I copied out the word for "little falcon" which transliterates to "sokolik". In this poignant scene, Pierre had just witnessed the execution of many soldiers, and narrowly escaped the same fate. He is thrown into a shed where he meets Platon Karataev whose nickname is "little falcon". Platon addresses Pierre with his own nickname. Pierre is clearly traumatized and experiences flashbacks. Platon had been lying in hospital, dying of fever, when he was arrested by the French. They have an interesting interaction. Platon is a kind of spiritual teacher to Pierre, helping to process what he has just experienced. He helps bring Pierre back from the brink of madness when he shares some baked potatoes with him. He even has a small bag of salt, tied with a string. Pierre has never experienced anything so delicious. There is also this little dog in the scene who to me represents the life force. I have a dog who I adore -- she even has a Russian name, Sasha. The presence of an animal brings a certain energy and unconditional love into the mix. Platon in a sense saves Pierre -- he shows him some human warmth, understanding and kindness at Pierre's greatest hour of need.

Team Tolstoy did a collaborative collage workshop last weekend at The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, Massachsetts. Please check out their blog entry here. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 453-454, volume 2 of original text
collage, embroidery thread, ink
made 7/29/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 969-970

Collage 598

2011-11-25T06:49:00.003-05:00

After the executions, Pierre is separated from the other prisoners and left alone in a small, devastated and befouled church. He is haunted by what he has just experienced and seems on the verge of insanity. Then he meets Platon Karataev, a peasant soldier full of wisdom whose simple understanding of life comforts Pierre.

"(After carefully unwrapping his footcloths, Karataev) folded the knife, put it under his pillow, and, settling himself more comfortably, put his arms around his raised knees, and fixed his eyes directly on Pierre. Pierre felt something pleasant, soothing and rounded in these deft movements, in this well-arranged domain of his in the corner, even in the smell of this man, and he looked at him without taking his eyes away. 'So you've seen a lot of misery, master? Eh?' the little man suddenly said. And in the man's melodious voice there was such an expression of tenderness and simplicity that Pierre wanted to reply, but his jaw trembled, and he felt tears rising."

"Pierre did not fall asleep for a long time and lay in his place in the dark with open eyes, listening to the regular snoring of Platon, who lay beside him, and he felt that the previously destroyed world was now arising in his soul with a new beauty, on some new and unshakeable foundations." -- Otto

Otto Mayr
from page 451-452, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 9/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 967-969

Collage 597

2011-11-24T06:40:00.004-05:00

A surreal scene. Here a few key sentences. The actual description in the book is much longer.

"The criminals were place in a certain order, which was on the list (Pierre was sixth), and led to the post. Several drums suddenly began to beat on both sides, and Pierre felt that with this sound it was as if part of his soul was torn away. He lost the ability to think and reason. He could only see and hear."

"The convicts, having gone to the post, stopped and, while the sacks were brought, looked silently around them, as a wounded animal looks at the approaching hunter. One kept crossing himself, the other kept scratching his back and made a movement with his lips similiar to a smile."

"Pierre, much as he tried to recall later, did not hear the slightest sound of the shots. He only saw how the factory worker suddenly slumped down in the ropes for some reason, how blood appeared in two places, and how the ropes became loose under weight of the sagging body, and the factory worker sat down, lowering his head and tucking his legs under unnaturally. Pierre ran to the post. No one held him back. Frightened, pale people were doing something around the factory worker. The lower jaw of one old, mustached Frenchman was trembling as he untied the ropes."

"They all obviously knew without question that they were criminals, who had to quickly conceal the traces of their crime." -- Otto

Otto Mayr
from page 449-450, volume 2 of original text
collage, fire, acrylic paint
made 9/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 966-967

Collage 596

2011-11-23T06:25:00.001-05:00

"Vous n'étes pas ce que vous dites," Davout said again.

You are not what you say.

Pierre and five other "criminals" are led to the edge of a pit to be shot.

"Pierre did not remember how long he walked or where. In a state of total senselessness and torpor, seeing nothing around him, he moved his legs along with the others until they all stopped, and he stopped, too."

~Trish

Trish Crapo
from page 447-448, volume 2 of original text
collage, graphite, acrylic paint
made 6/29/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 964-966

Collage 595

2011-11-22T06:38:00.002-05:00

"Qui etes-vous?"

French general Davout, known for his cruelty, accuses Pierre of being a spy. Pierre has been taken prisoner and his fate is uncertain.

Odd how frightening this question can be: Who are you?

Trish Crapo
from page 445-446, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 6/29/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 962-964

Collage 594

2011-11-21T07:02:00.003-05:00

"... the whole of Moscow, all that Pierre could see of it, was one charred ruin."

It was satisfying to move from the pink palette of the previous two collages to these blacks and greys. I folded black magazine paper to distress it, drew with ink, then ran a wet brush over it to make it run, and layered opaque grey vellum to invoke the sootiness of Moscow as Pierre sees it. The manuscript page I tore into shards, imagining the many sharp pieces of shattered windows and crockery strewing the streets.

Trish Crapo
from page 443-444, volume 2 of original text
collage, graphite
made 6/29/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 961-962

Collage 593

2011-11-20T08:06:00.003-05:00

Trish Crapo
from page 441-442, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 6/28/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 960-962

"'But what does it mean?' Natasha asked thoughtfully.
'Ah, I don't know, it's all so extraordinary!' said Sonya, clutching her head."

Continuing on the theme of the pink quilt Sonya imagines she saw covering Prince Andrei in her vision, I went pinker!

Pink is not a color I usually am drawn to, except at Valentine's day, so it was interesting to work with it. I used marbleized papers given to me by my mother years ago, music scores, sewing paper patterns, rice papers, marker and silver foil.

Collage 592

2011-11-19T07:03:00.001-05:00

Trish Crapo
from page 439-440, volume 2 of original text
collage, graphite, watercolor
made 6/28/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 958-960

In a monastery hostel, the Rostovs encounter Prince Andrei, lying in bed, wounded. With a start, Sonya remembers that at Christmas, she had had a vision of Prince Andrei lying on a bed, covered with a pink quilt, his eyes closed. Though, at that time, she had told everyone that he was covered with something red, both she and Natasha now remember the vision to fit what they are currently seeing, a bit of déja vu created by their shifting memories.

"'Da, da, precisely pink,' said Natasha, who also now seemed to remember the mention of 'pink,' and in this she saw the chief extraordinariness and mysteriousness of the prediction."

Collage 591

2011-11-18T08:03:00.001-05:00

Nikokai and his poverty-stricken, orphaned cousin Sonia have been "promised" since they were children. She loves him passionately; he feels trapped by this obligation. The once-rich and proud noble family has fallen on hard times. In part due to Nikolai's gambling loss to ever-bad-boy Dolokhov (I love him, too), the family is practically impoverished. Marrying a wealthy woman would solve their financial woes. And he has fallen in love with Princess Marya who he rescues from her country estate when surrounded by enemy French soldiers. In this scene, he receives a letter from Sonia, releasing him from his promise to her. She writes him a letter from a monastery.

I used an old photograph of a cemetery on this piece as well as text from a liturgy that says "a vow". Then hand-wrote in Russian:

Sonia's letter to Nikolai, which was the realization of his prayer, had been written from the Trinity Monastery.

He is now free and clear to pursue Princess Marya. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 437-438, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 6/25/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 956-957

Collage 590

2011-11-17T08:44:00.001-05:00

I made an emergency call to Christiane in Atlanta this morning. I could not remember which line from the text I used on this collage! That clearly speaks to how poor my Russian still is. The only word I knew for sure was "face".

That pale, fine, sorrowful face, that luminous gaze, those quite, graceful movements, and above all that deep and tender sorrow which showed in all her features, stirred him and called for his sympathy.

Nikolai is falling in love with Princess Marya. Whenever I think of her -- my favorite character -- I recall how Tolstoy always refers to her "luminous" eyes, gaze. When she was first introduced, I thought she was thoroughly abused by her brutish father. She never struck back at him. I wanted her to! She is the most "spiritual" of all the characters. I would love to see her eyes, to meet that gaze. I am happy that she if falling in love and will marry and have children. I only wish it wasn't to Nikolai! He is bad-tempered and arrogant. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 435-436, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 6/25/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 954-956

Collage 589

2011-11-16T06:33:00.001-05:00

Trish Crapo
from page 433-434, volume 2 of original text
collage, graphite, rice and sewing pattern papers
made 6/25/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 953-954

"On receiving the news of the battle of Borodino and the abandoning of Moscow, Rostov did not experience despair, anger or vengefulness, and any similar feeling, but for him everything in Voronoezh suddenly became dull and vexing, everything was somehow shameful and awkward. All the conversations he heard seemed artificial to him; he did not know how to judge it all, and he felt that only in the regiment would everything become clear to him again."

I found it interesting to think that Rostov had trouble understanding the world when he was not with his regiment. The rules of war have become the defining structure for him and everyday life feels fake and confusing. I tried to convey this confusion in my collage. ~Trish

Collage 588

2011-11-15T06:17:00.002-05:00

Princess Marya is in love. She had been anticipating the arrival of Count Rostov, and the world changes for her when she sees him: "If Princess Marya had been able to reflect at that moment, she would have been more astonished than Mlle Bourienne at the change that had taken place in her. From the moment she saw that dear beloved face, some new force of life had taken hold of her and made her speak and act apart from her own will."

Lucy Arrington
from page 431-432, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 6/25/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 951-953

Collage 587

2011-11-14T07:14:00.000-05:00

Princess Marya has just met Nikolai and love is in the air.

At the end of Volume IV, Part One, Chapter V, Nikolai is at a party and talking with the governor's wife who is encouraging him to marry Princess Marya. At the bottom of this collage I used the phrase "Il y Maniere et maniere" which means "there are ways and ways". She is playing matchmaker.

A few paragraphs in Chapter VI:

"But in the depths of her soul there was a harmony with herself, coming from the consciousness that she had suppressed in herself the personal dreams and hopes that had begun to arise in her with the appearance of Rostov."

Princess Marya is in love! -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 429-430, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 6/25/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 950-951

Collage 586

2011-11-13T07:31:00.039-05:00

Trish Crapo
from page 427-428, volume 2 of original text
collage, thread, foil, ribbon, chocolate bar foil, ink
made 6/25/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 948-950

Rostov, pledged to marry his cousin Sophie since they were young, has been having stirrings of feelings for another. These are roused again at the governor's soiree where, "At the mention of Princess Marya, Rostov experienced a feeling of bashfulness, even fear, incomprehensible to himself."

I love the mysterious quality of old photographs, whether they are people I know or don't know. Here, the woman is clearly the object of someone's affection, as Marya is. The black ribbon and thread refer to a later passage in which Rostov visits Marya at home and Mlle Bourienne, Marya's friend, notices how how beautiful Marya looks as she rises to take his hand. Mlle Bourienne thinks, "Either black is quite becoming to her, or she has really grown quite pretty, and I haven't noticed it. And, above all—that tact and grace!" ~Trish

Collage 585

2011-11-12T07:29:00.002-05:00

On these pages we have one of the last of the society evenings. Nikolai is in high form, flirting: "Nikolai, with a smile that never left his face, slightly curved in an armchair, sat bending closely over the blonde, paying her mythological compliments."

Lucy Arrington
from page 425-426, volume 2 of original text
collage, copper leaf, acrylic paint, ink
made 6/25/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 946-948

Collage 584

2011-11-11T07:27:00.001-05:00

Trish Crapo
from page 423-424, volume 2 of original text
collage, marker
made 9/4/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 945-946

Nikolai Rostov, on leave from active duty for the first time in many months, goes to the estate of "an old bachelor, a cavalry officer, a horse fancier, a hunter, the owner of a carpet room, of century-old honey vodka, old Hungarian wine, and superb horses.

"After a couple of words, Nikolai bought seventeen stallions for six thousand, choice ones (as he said), to make a display of his remount. Having had dinner and drunk a bit too much Hungarian, Rostov exchanged kisses with the landowner, with whom he was already on familiar terms, and galloped back over the abominable road in the merriest spirits..."

It was fun to find, thumbing through old magazines, this image from Edweard Muybridge's famous photographic motion studies, done in the late 1800s. These, and the backgrounds of car ads showing the blur of motion, gave the feeling, to me, of Rostov galloping happily home. ~Trish

Collage 583

2011-11-10T07:25:00.002-05:00

Trish Crapo
from page 421-422, volume 2 of original text
collage: magazine images, Russian wallpaper, Moscow bus tickets
made 9/1/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 943-945

This is a passage that steps back from the action and comments upon the history as a whole. Tolstoy writes that "we, who were not living at that time, involuntarily imagine that all Russian people, great and small, were taken up only with sacrificing themselves, saving the fatherland, or weeping over its loss."

Instead, he asserts, "The majority of the people of that time paid no attention to the general course of things, but were guided only by the personal interests of the day. And those people were the most useful figures of that time."

Thus, the everyday images of laundry, tableware and bus tickets and wallpaper acquired on our trip to Russia this summer.

~Trish

Collage 582

2011-11-09T06:33:00.001-05:00

Trish Crapo
from page 419-420. volume 2 of original text
collage, graphite, acrylic paint
made 8/13/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 942-943

The language of this passage, like many in War and Peace, moves between French and Russian (or English, in the P/V translation), as a French messenger, Michaud, brings the sovereign Alexander the news that Moscow has been abandoned. It's interesting to observe, that while Alexander is unquestionably in power, Michaud exercises some power through his choice of words. This got me thinking about "chain of command" and how powerful language is, in and of itself.

~Trish

Collage 581

2011-11-08T06:45:00.000-05:00

Reality sets in – They learn that Moscow has been abandoned and surrendered. Their samovar is destroyed. -- Chris

Christiane Carney Johnson
from page 417-418, volume 2 of original text
collage, oil pastel, chalk, dried flowers from Yasnaya Polyana
made 9/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 940-942

Collage 580

2011-11-07T06:45:00.000-05:00

Their samovar is tipping over – life as they know it is tipping over. Helen Bezukhov dies unexpectedly. Is this a wake up call? Did anyone like her anyway? Tolstoy surely did not. Her death is a minor point in the action. Frankly, we are not that upset over it either. -- Chris

Christiane Carney Johnson
from page 415-416, volume 2 of original text
collage, Russian chocolate wrapper, chalk, dried flowers from Yasnaya Polyana
made 9/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 938-940

Collage 579

2011-11-06T06:38:00.001-05:00

The samovar represents peaceful Russian life...relaxation, calm, sipping tea within the family circle.

Anna Pavlovna is having another soiree in St. Pete. Tolstoy contrasts the light and airy atmosphere of their cozy aristocratic circle with the raging war in Moscow. It is quite inconvenient for these French speaking Russian aristocrats to reach out of their puffy circle and pay attention to the important issues of the day-–their brothers and sisters in Moscow.

What a very moralizing Tolstoyian scene! I can just see him shaking his finger at them all! Chris

Christiane Carney Johnson
from page 413-414, volume 2 of original text
collage, oil pastels, foil, dried flowers from Yasnaya Polyana
made 9/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 937-938

Collage 578

2011-11-05T07:33:00.000-04:00

"Petersburg and Moscow"

Opposites like "war" and "peace" form a theme that Tolstoy repeats over and over in the novel. The chapters preceding this page contain long descriptions of the capture and burning of Moscow. Now we are suddenly in Petersburg, and the contrast to the violence and destruction taking place in Moscow is stunning.

In Petersburg, in the highest circles, a complex struggle was going on with greater heat than ever between the parties of Rumyantsev, the French, Maria Feodorovna, the grand duke, and others, drowned as always by the humming of the court drones. But the calm, luxurious life of Petersburg, concerned only with phantoms, with reflections of life, went on as of old; and beyond this course of life it took great effort to realize the danger and the difficult situation the Russian people were in. -- Otto

Otto Mayr
from page 411-412, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, sulphur (burning)
made 9/1/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 935-937

Collage 577

2011-11-04T07:41:00.058-04:00

This feels like a decaying landscape- a backdrop for the elaborate, aristocratic parties which continue in Petersberg as war rages elsewhere in Russia. - Adrienne

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 409-410, volume 2 of original text
made 7/26/11
collage, ink
Pevear/Volokhonsky page 934-935

Collage 576

2011-11-03T08:12:00.001-04:00

But the calm, luxurious life of Petersburg, concerned only with phantoms, with reflections of life, went on as of old; and beyond this course of life it took great effort to realize the danger and the difficult situation the Russian people were in. There were the same levees and balls, the same French theater, the same interests of the courts, the same interests of the service and intrigues. Only in the very highest circles were efforts made to keep in mind the difficulty of the present situation.

p. 935 in P/V

Lynn Waskelis

from page 407-408, volume 2 of original text
collage, rubber
made 7/29/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 931-932

Collage 575

2011-11-02T08:11:00.003-04:00

Moscow is in flames. Chaos rules the street. Tolstoy uses Pierre to convey the urgency and disorde. rPierre is in the midst of it. He saves a child from the fire, confronts a looter and is taken by the authorities. All in a few brief paragraphs in a few short pages.

Lucy Arrington
from page 405-406, volume 2 of original text
collage, embroidery thread, ink
made 7/29/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 930-931

Collage 574

2011-11-01T06:14:00.000-04:00

Emma Rhodes
from page 403-404, volume 2 of original text
collage, embroidery thread, ink
made 7/29/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 928-929

Collage 573

2011-10-31T21:51:00.001-04:00

We are in Volume III, Part Three, Chapter XXXIII. Moscow is in flames. Pierre is wandering around and happens upon a family who has gotten separated. They fear that one of their kids is in a burning house. Pierre attempts to rescue the child who he thinks is in the burning house, but later finds her under a garden bench just outside the house that the French soldiers are looting.

... the sensation of heat and smoke and quick movement produced on Pierre the usual exhilarating effect of fires. This effect was especially strong on him because, at the sight of this fire, he suddenly felt freed of his burdensome thoughts. He felt young, cheerful, adroit and resolute. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 401-402, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 6/17/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 926-927

Collage 572

2011-10-30T09:45:00.001-04:00

Trish Crapo
from page 399-400, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 6/17/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 924-926

This is one of only two or three collages I had the great pleasure to actually make in the E. Boston studio with Team Tolstoy. It was amazing to me to see the many different ways of working, many of them looser and more abstract that mine. I still remember sitting on a pillow on top of a plastic cooler -- just the right height and surprisingly comfortable! -- working alongside these five very talented women.

In this passage, Pierre is walking through the burning city of Moscow when he discovers a woman, an old nanny and three children sitting by "a heap of household belongings: featherbeds, a samovar, icons, and trunks." The woman throws herself at Pierre's feet. "'Somebody please help us,' she managed to say through her sobs. 'My little girl! ...My daughter! ...My youngest daughter got left behind!"

I guess I imagined the sad cartoon of the little girl with the bird on her head to be the lost daughter and hoped that she would make her way through Moscow to be reunited with her family.

Collage 571

2011-10-29T07:45:00.001-04:00

In this piece I wanted to convey the horror and chaos of the burning of Moscow.
Lucy Arrington
from page 397-398, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 6/17/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 923-924

Collage 570

2011-10-28T07:40:00.001-04:00

Prince Andrei, mortally wounded, receives a visit from his beloved Natasha. She begs forgiveness for her betrayal. With newfound clarity and compassion, he tells her he loves her even more than before.

Meanwhile, Moscow burns.

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 395-396, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, 35mm film negative
made 6/17/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 921-923

Collage 569

2011-10-27T08:24:00.001-04:00

Inspired by Eva Hesse.

Emma Rhodes
from page 393-394, volume 2 of original text
collage, plastic
made 6/17/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 920-921

Collage 568

2011-10-26T06:56:00.001-04:00

He was the same as always; but the inflamed color of his face, his glittering eyes, rapturously fixed on her, and especially his tender, childlike neck, rising from the turned-down collar of his shirt, gave him a special, innocent, boyish look, which she had never seen in Prince Andrei before. She went up to him, and with a quick, supple, youthful movement dropped to her knees.

He smiled and gave her his hand.

p. 918

Lynn Waskelis
from page 391-392, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 6/17/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 918-920

Collage 567

2011-10-25T07:00:00.003-04:00

Try to visualize Natasha lying on a pile of straw covered by a thin sheet. She can hear the constant moaning of some wounded soldier, who she imagines is Prince Andrei. She has decided that she must see him. "Already that morning, when she had been told about the wound and Prince Andrei's presence, Natasha had decided that she must see him... She knew that the meeting would be painful, and was all the more convinced that it was necessary.

Lucy Arrington
from page 389-390, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 6/17/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 916-918

Collage 566

2011-10-24T06:54:00.001-04:00

Trish Crapo
from page 387-388, volume 2 of original text
collage, glitter, graphite
made 6/17/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 915-916

In this scene, Sonya tells her cousin Natasha to come to the window: "I think the whole of Moscow will burn down, it's such a terrible glow! Natasha, look now, you can see it from here through the window..." But even this tragedy can not distract Natasha from the "stupor" into which she had fallen when she learned of the news that her beloved Prince Andrei had been wounded.

It seems to me now, seeing the collage again, that I went quite literally for the shapes of flames, using tissue papers, foil and scraps of wallpaper. Drawing is foreign and intimidating to me and I had been making loose, abstract drawings just to get used to the feel of a pencil. These I ripped and have been using scraps of them in collages throughout the War and Peace Project. ~Trish