I was lucky enough to attend a teacher's conference at the National Gallery during which Joseph Campbell lectured about Myth and Art. It was followed by a tour of a Star Wars exhibit at the Air & Space museum. Fascinating lecture. Had no idea he was connected with the Grateful Dead in any way, but it makes sense because of the Kerouac/John Cage connection. All of them are & were brilliant anyway... "nothing that a few billion less brain cells wouldn't fix," lol.

I am envious, L. How cool! I don't think that Campbell was connected to the GD for more than that moment.


So, no Phaedrus? Were'd he go?

Think my avatar is envious of yours, don't "Bogart," lol. I was really inspired by the whole myth based conference and wrote a major paper on Mythology in Contemporary Art, as a thesis of sorts. Very memorable experience for me.

well, what was your thesis?

Thankfully, it wasn't anything I needed to defend, just a ridiculously long paper on Mythology in Contemporary Art that is now on file at the college I attended. There were many many artists from the mid fifties- the nineties that used powerful mythological imagery/themes as inspiration. Feminist artists like Louise Bourgeois and Judy Chicago come to mind.

I like Phaedrus and Joseph Campbell.
I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance between by freshman and sophomore year at the University of Chicago. It had just been published and was all the rage at the time.
You might say that created a bit of mind melt, especially when first quarter of my sophomore year I was sitting in class one day and realized it was the same room where Phaedrus/Pirsig had sat when he had his breakdown, in the Classics builiding on the Quad.

No doubt, Zensea. Very cool

I am curious for more details about the book's reception. Did you and your friends debate about it endlessly? Was it a quick fad? Was there anything in the media, or was it among your group?

Ha!
Well, it was a long time ago.
I don't remember the media response or debating it with friends.
There were a lot of things going on at the time along with it and it was part of the whole climate as I recall.
As for me, I ended up hitchhiking across the country the next summer going up to Montana for the second Rainbow Gathering which was in Glacier Park, so I found myself on the same road again.
It's been a long time since I read that book, I've been meaning to recently but haven't gotten around to it.
Other stuff I read at the same time has definitely stuck with me.