Formal Culture thesis paper: butlers_fc07 (1.7MB)
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Is it really about the machine? We do distinguish between machines and representations? Our machines are invisible. And what about contexts? The context here was too obvious and lacking contrast. Writing in a cubicle needs to be contrasted with writing in the wilderness.
“And out of the hills came a strange thing.
It was a machine like a jade-green insect, a praying mantis, delicately rushing through the cold air; indistinct, countless green diamonds winking over its body, and red jewels that glittered with multifaceted eyes. Its six legs fell upon the ancient highway with the sounds of a sparse rain which dwindled away, and from the back of the machine a Martian with melted gold for eyes looked down at Tomás as if he were looking into a well”
This quote from Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles is from Peter Courtemanche, http://absolutevalueofnoise.ca/ to show some sculptures in the next show at the Ellen.
Hanne Darboven
Published April 30, 2007 ethnography , observed , paper , poetry , thoughts Leave a Comment
HD With me, ‘writing time’, meaning-to-say-nothing in what says, no-longer-meaning-to-say in saying, and what I do previously and altogether, is the unsaid.
Who argues that drawings are actually more effective forms of representation (over photographs), for what distinctive elements they capture? There certainly would have been a school for that thought, wouldn’t there? Alfred Stieglitz wrote about photography as art, Muybridge: photos for science. But before that it was magic, right? There must have been guilds whose professions were threatened, draftsmen, portrait and landscape painters.
Although Maya Deren does do a wonderful job representing dreams in film.
The Assassination of Joan Lee by Unknown Forces, by Ben Lee
is his ethnography devoted to her
The installation, my first, is concretising more than I imagined. I had been reading and writing in preparation: developing plans, hypotheses, while the most important elements are taught by the contexts of the work. For example, while I was inspired by Cornelia Parker’s 1991 Cold Dark Matter — An Exploded View (pictured here), I am finding the metaphysics of ideas more implosive. Cubicles may tend more to collapse into themselves. Becoming immense in their magnifications. I wouldn’t know. At least in this case. Office furniture seems to organize itself neatly in any configuration. A messy Tetris board, the chaos of a Rubix cube. At least when all of the contents have been concealed. In the writing I’ve asked so often “Is it important that this mean?” Now I am totally bent on preserving the words. So, yes. My answer is yes. It is important that writing mean. Purely subjective. Nonetheless it does mean more than it means, as we all know.
An art work employed to explore writing, discovers realms beyond words.
Equally satisfying is the confirmation that writing is promonotory, of course, I mean “premonitory”, but it’s an alright allegory. The matter of my exploration contains the answers. I wanted to know about the constructs of bureaucracy, (and I’m tracking down accounts payable), creativity and globalization (and all of the texts point to art writers, critics, scholars and artists’ stories, stories, statements, letters, diaries,), and the shapes of aluminum filing cabinets, papers and hands in the process of writing one word at a time have things to say about it. Does writing find itself within the cabinets, or from climbing atop them?
This is my attempt to conceptualize the video for this project. However, my work with video is as intuitive and spontaneous as my writing. The raw media is derived from one-hour writing blitzes. (Phil says I may be afflicted with “graphology”:). For the first part of each page the viewer can follow along with my slowly writing hand, but eventually the text is obscured by itself and the scene speeds. Initially inspired by my ma’s knitting, I yearned for consistent lettering. I had dreams about Agnes Martin. However, after writing for several hours my diligence wore out and I began to write, perhaps as Riopelle might. Much of the content ruminates over questions of meaning, legibility, creative processes. I.E. “Is it important that this mean?”, “What do we risk losing when we equate writing with creativity; with art; with thought itself?”, “Do you dream in French?”, as well as technological concerns: “Should the text be legible in the projection?”. Another object contemplated at length is time.
Thanks to all who have agreed to participate in Formal Culture. The deadline for forms has been extended — to March 1 — though I have been receiving completed questionnaires and surveys since February 1. Thank you, again!
For now, they are being kept in a safe place. I haven’t opened the envelopes, or even read the completed questionnaires. You can call it a bit of delayed gratification, but I do look forward to reading through everything in early March. They will be integral to the final installation.
This week is an important week for the project: I’ll spend time video editing, and in preparation for the mid-term review February 8.
Following that, I’ll need to be away from this blog, in order to shift focus: to automatic writing, and to sketches for the final installation — I may take-up origami, calligraphy, sign language, deep sea diving, or some such thing. (Jokes aside, I’ll also need to concentrate some energy into my anthropology thesis…and I have a feeling a ‘breather’ will be due. Maybe I’ll go to New York? It’s RESEARCH!)
Om Shanti bebe
In training for the performance, beginning “There is nothing to unify these thoughts except that they are mine, the evening of December 30, 2006, beginning at 7pm”, I have reached 25 pages. Not bad, but 50 pages is a lot of pages. Perhaps better to begin at 7am accompanied by a latté, (rather than cigarettes and gin). O my aching heart.
I developed a form for the performance, (see: writing-performance.gif), although it is much too complex. I am leaning more towards a black rectangular border around each page.
Yearning to experience inspiration as a natural and potentially constant state.
2.
1.
Rhetorically, this is a critique of equating writing with creativity. But I really love writing. So, no. In fact it is not a critique. More of an inquiry. Yes. An inquiry. What is it to write? Why write? Mostly an exploration of writing as cultural representation? Writing as ethnography? Or writing forms? A reflection on my own academic enculturation. Where you are what you write. What people write about you. Word.
But I really love writing. So. An exploration of life in a hyper literate state. Read me?
About the performance. What am I going to wear!? No really. This is an important consideration. And I’m thinking about it. I’ll be able to control everything. Design the entire scenario. Which leads me to what I won’t be able to decide in advance. Always back to serendipity. The day. The timing. My moods. The uncontrollable whether.
Ideas:
1. Sterile, Clinical, Precise
All white lab coat. See 1, Lisa Klapstock above. A scientific experiment of writing. Science. Art. Religion. Believe me?
2. Dirty Hippie
Off the city street. Hair in my face. Could be anyone?
I am struggling with actually being someone. In representations I just want to be exhibit A. Blank. Anonymous. Everyone and no one. But perhaps this is avoiding finding, or avoiding expressing who I am. Finding that would make it relate-able. Human. I am reading George Orwell Why I Write. I thought he said something like ‘the more conscious we become of our own political bias, the more successful our writing’. What are my politics? May as well ask me what God I believe in. (In beauty school we are taught that politics and religion are taboo topics of conversation. Better to talk local.) So. Fess up. What are my politics? Look out for your neighbors, friends and family. This needs work.
3. Disembodied Hands
Because I’m interested in the act of writing. Writing as a (dis) embodied experience. (must see Vicki Kirby). The paradox of coming out of one’s self while writing. Peripheral vision. This is very important. Aside, I quite like the aesthetic of Claire Savoie’s work (2 above).
But: Peripheral Vision. This is very important.
