Agreeing with our earlier assessment as to the nature of Art
in The Art of Minimalism
as:
the annihilation of the Subject
by the nature of its being
a reflection of the Totality
Minimalist Art
is the annihilation of the Subject
(by the nature of its being
a reflection of the Totality)
through the most minimal expression available
to both Artist and Spectator
This presupposes a few things:
1. Minimalist Art is the most minimal expression available
2. This expression must be shared by both Artist and Spectator
3. The minimalist expression is Art
I believe material reality is the Totality of Being
which is to say
The most minimal expression of Material Reality is its Being
The Minimalist Art Object is thus
the expression of its Being in Material Reality
Which is to say
The minimalist expression shared by both Artist and Spectator
is the Being of the Minimalist Art Object in its Material Reality
As such
the Minimalist Art Object is Art
by its annihilation of the Subject
through reflecting the Totality
by its Being in the Material Reality
Every Subject in engaging the Minimalist Art Object
is annihilated by the minimalist expression of (its) Material Reality
as it exists in (its) Totality
The Totality of each Subject's engagement
with the Minimalist Art Object
is (its) Being in (the) Material Reality
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Breaking Up The Weeds
For D.
Its time to start throwing things away
again
Its alright with me though
I like it
I'm throwing away mp3s
they don't even take up any real space
I just like weeding out the shit
For the whole of last week
I've been going in alphabetical order
through all of my albums
and only playing the one's
of which I had any doubt
as to their Authenticity
I haven't gotten rid of much
really a few
but its just about making the decision
looking at something with a square eye
determining if its worth a good goddamn
and choosing to
either
take it or leave it
Its time to start throwing things away
again
Its alright with me though
I like it
I'm throwing away mp3s
they don't even take up any real space
I just like weeding out the shit
For the whole of last week
I've been going in alphabetical order
through all of my albums
and only playing the one's
of which I had any doubt
as to their Authenticity
I haven't gotten rid of much
really a few
but its just about making the decision
looking at something with a square eye
determining if its worth a good goddamn
and choosing to
either
take it or leave it
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Hearing Only the Frequency
Trust me when I say
that everything I have
is yours
that everything I say
I say to you specifically
Trust me when I say
I will never lie to you
If you ever find yourself
giving into the demands
of an animal
you should reevaluate
your analytical processes
You're better than the animals
You've got to try and believe me
You've got to believe you're better than an animal
You're better than the animals
You've got to try and believe me
Saturday, October 16, 2010
No Egos
I know that sometimes people
have to talk over me
I'm not yet sure
if its a problem
I'm sure
I've got a streak of sadomasochism in me
that would make Freud kick a mule
I'm certain all heroes do
It's not a crime to imagine yourself brave
at least not in my book
Courage always Courage
and there is no unsure thing
I believe volume has power too
but not in the way
that preachers on the capital steps
use it
The real thing
is always an unconscious
byproduct of belief
that what one says is right
It's not a crime to believe something is right
not in my book anyway
Righteous always Righteous
and there is no unsure thing
have to talk over me
I'm not yet sure
if its a problem
I'm sure
I've got a streak of sadomasochism in me
that would make Freud kick a mule
I'm certain all heroes do
It's not a crime to imagine yourself brave
at least not in my book
Courage always Courage
and there is no unsure thing
I believe volume has power too
but not in the way
that preachers on the capital steps
use it
The real thing
is always an unconscious
byproduct of belief
that what one says is right
It's not a crime to believe something is right
not in my book anyway
Righteous always Righteous
and there is no unsure thing
Friday, August 13, 2010
The Art of Minimalism
it has nothing to do with the quantity of Forms
and everything to do with the space of Conveyance
To get there we have to talk about Art:
Art is centered on the Art Object
It is through the Art Object
that we have any concept of Art at all
which is to say,
Art is the coming-into-being of the Art Object
Due to our Subjectivity
(ourselves as Subject in Relation to the Object)
being mediated by our Consciousness
(our consciousness as the Relation between
Subject and Object)
the Art Object
comes into being
for each Subject
entirely aside from its being in Totality
So,
Art is the coming-into-being of the Art Object
within the Totality
wherein
each Subject, in engaging the Art Object,
subsequently brings the Art Object into being
marked by the consciousness of the Subject
As the marked coming-into-being of the Object
is the Object mediated by consciousness
The marked Object
in the conscious engagement of the Subject
proxies for the Object as it exists in the Totality
In this way
the Subject is barred from perceiving
the Object in Totality
and thereby
Totality itself
For each Subject
their marking of the Art Object
functions as
the coming-into-being of the Art Object
In turn,
these individual markings
are subsumed in the Totality
within which they exist
The Art Object in Totality
subsumes
all markings done thereto
The Art Object in Totality
is the Art Object engaged
In this way,
The Art Object reflects its being in the Totality
and
the Subjective engagement with the Art Object
likewise reflects its being in the Totality
so
the Subjective engagement with the Art Object
reflects the Totality
in revealing the Subject's marking of the Art Object
The revealing of the Subject's marking of the Art Object
is the reflection of the Subject in Totality
The Subject is subsumed in the Totality
for the Totality is, in being Total, all-inclusive
and thereby,
reflects both the Subject and not the Subject
or
the Subject's being and not-being
The Subject then
in engaging Art
engages itself and its negation
and the negation
negates
the Subject is annihilated
Art is the annihilation of the Subject
by the nature of its being
a reflection of the Totality
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Femme Noir
A Romance Novel
Stockholm, 1973
"You don't love this life.
You've just been in its grasp for so long,
that you don't know what you'd be
without it."
Then he unsheathed his dagger...
Stockholm, 1973
"You don't love this life.
You've just been in its grasp for so long,
that you don't know what you'd be
without it."
Then he unsheathed his dagger...
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Intro to Minimalism
We've got to get a few things straight
about Art
before we dive head first into this thing
The concept of Art is an entirely human construct
which means
that all the meaning of Art is imposed from outside
by us incorporating that concept into our being
There is, as you can see,
an internal/external dichotomy:
Art is imposed on an object
by the incorporation of Art into our being
both of which happen simultaneously
put forever in motion
by the first utterance of Art
The utterance is the coming-into-being of all things
so,
every utterance is a coming-into-being
within the history of all like utterances
while simultaneously
manifesting itself as an entirely singular utterance
The utterance exists
both within and without
the continuum
it is itself and not itself
all inclusive and entirely exclusive
All of which is mediated by the Art object
represented in the Textual Chain
as the Productive Object
about Art
before we dive head first into this thing
The concept of Art is an entirely human construct
which means
that all the meaning of Art is imposed from outside
by us incorporating that concept into our being
There is, as you can see,
an internal/external dichotomy:
Art is imposed on an object
by the incorporation of Art into our being
both of which happen simultaneously
put forever in motion
by the first utterance of Art
The utterance is the coming-into-being of all things
so,
every utterance is a coming-into-being
within the history of all like utterances
while simultaneously
manifesting itself as an entirely singular utterance
The utterance exists
both within and without
the continuum
it is itself and not itself
all inclusive and entirely exclusive
All of which is mediated by the Art object
represented in the Textual Chain
as the Productive Object
The Object catalyzes the utterance
All utterance starts with the Subject
engaging the Productive Object
the utterance itself is an Imposition
of the Subject's Intent in uttering
on a Receptive Object
i.e.
The spoken word
The Canvas
The Marble
The Other
As the utterance is an Imposition
it can never be the Productive Object
only Signify it
In turn,
the manifestation of the utterance
in conveyance
takes the place of the Productive Object
within the Totality,
thus the Textual Chain reinitiates,
and
in conveyance of the utterance
the utterance replaces the Productive Object
within the Totality
simultaneously
Accordingly
the Subject/Object dichotomy
has become impossible to separate
Both function simultaneously
in engaging the utterance
As Art is no different than any other utterance
the Productive Object (Art Object)
catalyzes the engagement of all interested parties:
i.e.
"The utterance of Chair"
The Subject (Artist)
looks at a chair (The Productive Object)
(That chair is perceived via the utterance of chair
for
the knowing of Chair is the reception of its utterance)
he creates an utterance of that chair
on the Receptive Object (Canvas)
The utterance of Chair has reproduced itself
via the Productive Object (the (C)hair)
The artist's utterance of Chair
is at once
its own marked utterance of Chair
while concurrently
absorbed in the Total utterance of Chair
(Chair's utterance within the Totality)
In Reception
the Totality engages the marked Chair
The marked Chair
is both
its own Productive Object
(The utterance of Chair)
and a reproduction of the Total utterance of Chair
In this way the Totality absorbs the marked Chair
The Productive object is visible only in the Totality
accordingly
All Subjects engage the Totality in utterance
conveying (as above) marked utterances
which are Received only via the Totality
That is to say,
All conveyance fails to communicate
the truth of the Productive Object
because of the Imposition of the Subject
In the Metaphysics of Text
Art exists in the Productive Process
which is
the marked utterance of Chair
coming into being
within the Totality
(Remember the Totality is Subjectively Constructed)
and Go!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
A Note on a Note on the Metaphysics of Text
The last post
A Note on the Metaphysics of Text
may have gone to your Readers twice
This was an accident
the First of which was unfinished
the Second is complete
So if you read the First
Jump in where it left off on the Second
Or just come all the way over
&
See things in their context for a change
A Note on the Metaphysics of Text
may have gone to your Readers twice
This was an accident
the First of which was unfinished
the Second is complete
So if you read the First
Jump in where it left off on the Second
Or just come all the way over
&
See things in their context for a change
Sunday, July 18, 2010
A Note on the Metaphysics of Text
It has been about 18 months since I started Liberty Tries To Awaken Sleeping Reason
All the while, you proud few have followed me along
without which this could, literally, not have been possible
& I never stopped once to let you in on how its all supposed to work
So, to reward your most patient patience
I figured I'd give you the key to how this thing is supposed to happen.
This comes, to my own discredit, on the heels of some major changes to our little space here.
But that doesn't diminish your importance in the least,
really on the contrary:
You have asserted yourselves in the work since the very beginning,
and if this note is coming into being
it does so with your hands in it.
This comes down to what
Liberty Tries To Awaken Sleeping Reason is:
A Metablog
which
to understand that better
We'll look at something similar
Metafiction
definition via Wikipedia
Metafiction is a type of fiction
that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction,
exposing the fictional illusion.
It is the literary term describing fictional writing
that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact
in posing questions about the relationship between fiction and reality,
usually using irony and self-reflection.
Which is(n't) terribly helpful
A Metablog is then a blog
that self-consciously addresses the devices of blogging,
exposing the aesthetic illusion.
With that in mind,
let's take a look at these changes.
Page Construction
This isn't the first time I've changed the "plastic" elements of the space
Sometimes it has been on account of Boredom
Other times Accident
But always with the consideration of the work in totality
That is not to say that every change
has accompanied some conscious alteration of theme
except in the way
that as the form and matter of the aesthetic object
it changes the object as a whole.
Which is to say,
That the new Elephant on a Bicycle theme
is not indicative of a change in either my methodology or themes
except in the way that the constitution of the aesthetic object
affects engagement with the object
This happens, like all aesthetic engagements, on two fronts
which boils down to the same process on both sides
except with a distinction of roles and functions
That process is just the act of engagement
whatever that entails for the individual
I have removed the "Blogs I Follow" Gadget
because it distracted my eye
to the detriment of the work itself
This means, naturally, that many of your blogs
will not appear there
but I hope that information is available on your profiles
so as to not stop you from exploring
any of your fellow Followers' works
and thereby expand the possibilities of our work here
In its place,
I have added Labels to the posts
which took a hot minute
These are located under the heading:
DON'T USE THESE
which means:
DON'T USE THESE
and you shouldn't
mainly they are there to be used in a jiffy
and I don't encourage convenience
as a good way of reading poetry
my bathroom bookshelf excluded
that's a productive use of time
The point is to add Labels to the posts themselves
which should serve as an indication of each posts' Nature
and thereby allow us to communicate at a more productive level
but
If you happen to use them as a search guide
I trust you to accept
that your action
will transform the work
I have likewise removed Music Preferences from my profile
as again,
it affected the aesthetic engagement in a way I found detracting
It also affected the number of preconditions
I could account for in audience expectation
The incorporation of other media into the blog
are best isolated to the particular post in which they appear
and the collection of them established therefrom
Again, narrows the line of dialogue
allowing for better communication
This might be a good time to talk about Interests
Those were initially my way of establishing the context
of Liberty Tries To Awaken Sleeping Reason
They either express an interest of the creator
which is my role and function
as thematic insight into underlying anxieties
within the work
or
display the methodological approaches
which make up the work's aesthetic theory
Divided:
Underlying Anxieties
Doom, Art, Protest, Private Spaces, Public Spaces
Methodological Considerations
Minimalism, Metafiction, Deconstruction
The choice of "personal" interests
I wanted to attribute to the author function
were carefully considered
not for their coolness in conjunction
but for the absolute reliability of their subject matter
as source material for the work
That is to say,
they are to be considered as ever-present preconditions
for the work's authorial construction
Doom works as the zero factor in the work
it is the bar by which all judgments are made
which is really the only thing that needs explaining
except
that this blog is written by the only author with any interest in
Private Spaces
Weird, right?
Minimalism aint what Wikipedia says it is
it deserves a post of its own
which I've been meaning to write and aint
The other two are what they are,
one was explained above,
the other,
explained for the last 18 months
Back to my earlier promised key
to Liberty Tries To Awaken Sleeping Reason
The Mechanics of Metablogging
constructed by a false belief in direct communication
In engaging the work
my object
is its existence as a Textual Chain
As a Metablog this chain becomes cyclically kaleidoscopic
as the Productive Object
(the work as it produces your perception of it)
is changed by your contribution to the work
(actually or assumed)
into a Reproductive Object
My only response can be to a work forever in flux
That flux rests in the constant struggle to overcome
the division between all engaged parties
represented in the Textual Chain
this Striving is the space of
Liberty Tries To Awaken Sleeping Reason
That space is a kind of ex nihilio creatio
which is complicated
but that is the nature of all textual manifestation
and our unconscious suppression of which
is
the nature of the above divide
Which in reverse says:
Our engagement with the work
is conscious of the divide
between
Language and Meaning
and produces accordingly
This takes a lot into account
considering we are engaged in communication
but the text which results from this
is Being-in-Itself
in effect
The Work Communicates Only Itself
i.e.
"Drop that Beat!"
As we understand it
Drop that Beat
indicates
an ensuing onslaught
of bass and hi-hat
but Drop and Beat
carry with them them a legacy of different significations
so that
"Drop that Beat!"
evokes
"You Dropped that Beat!"
which would be an error on behalf of the percussionist
So
the attempt to communicate
"DJ, Rock the Party"
an (arguably) positive Meaning
(Drop that Beat!)
conveys an obviously negative Meaning
(You Dropped that Beat!)
by the nature of its Language
Which
if "Drop that Beat"
conveys two mutually exclusive Meanings
than
it has no Meaning-in-Itself
In contrast:
The Work Communicates Only Itself
All the while, you proud few have followed me along
without which this could, literally, not have been possible
& I never stopped once to let you in on how its all supposed to work
So, to reward your most patient patience
I figured I'd give you the key to how this thing is supposed to happen.
This comes, to my own discredit, on the heels of some major changes to our little space here.
But that doesn't diminish your importance in the least,
really on the contrary:
You have asserted yourselves in the work since the very beginning,
and if this note is coming into being
it does so with your hands in it.
This comes down to what
Liberty Tries To Awaken Sleeping Reason is:
A Metablog
which
to understand that better
We'll look at something similar
Metafiction
definition via Wikipedia
Metafiction is a type of fiction
that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction,
exposing the fictional illusion.
It is the literary term describing fictional writing
that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact
in posing questions about the relationship between fiction and reality,
usually using irony and self-reflection.
Which is(n't) terribly helpful
A Metablog is then a blog
that self-consciously addresses the devices of blogging,
exposing the aesthetic illusion.
With that in mind,
let's take a look at these changes.
Page Construction
This isn't the first time I've changed the "plastic" elements of the space
Sometimes it has been on account of Boredom
Other times Accident
But always with the consideration of the work in totality
That is not to say that every change
has accompanied some conscious alteration of theme
except in the way
that as the form and matter of the aesthetic object
it changes the object as a whole.
Which is to say,
That the new Elephant on a Bicycle theme
is not indicative of a change in either my methodology or themes
except in the way that the constitution of the aesthetic object
affects engagement with the object
This happens, like all aesthetic engagements, on two fronts
which boils down to the same process on both sides
except with a distinction of roles and functions
That process is just the act of engagement
whatever that entails for the individual
I have removed the "Blogs I Follow" Gadget
because it distracted my eye
to the detriment of the work itself
This means, naturally, that many of your blogs
will not appear there
but I hope that information is available on your profiles
so as to not stop you from exploring
any of your fellow Followers' works
and thereby expand the possibilities of our work here
In its place,
I have added Labels to the posts
which took a hot minute
These are located under the heading:
DON'T USE THESE
which means:
DON'T USE THESE
and you shouldn't
mainly they are there to be used in a jiffy
and I don't encourage convenience
as a good way of reading poetry
my bathroom bookshelf excluded
that's a productive use of time
The point is to add Labels to the posts themselves
which should serve as an indication of each posts' Nature
and thereby allow us to communicate at a more productive level
but
If you happen to use them as a search guide
I trust you to accept
that your action
will transform the work
I have likewise removed Music Preferences from my profile
as again,
it affected the aesthetic engagement in a way I found detracting
It also affected the number of preconditions
I could account for in audience expectation
The incorporation of other media into the blog
are best isolated to the particular post in which they appear
and the collection of them established therefrom
Again, narrows the line of dialogue
allowing for better communication
This might be a good time to talk about Interests
Those were initially my way of establishing the context
of Liberty Tries To Awaken Sleeping Reason
They either express an interest of the creator
which is my role and function
as thematic insight into underlying anxieties
within the work
or
display the methodological approaches
which make up the work's aesthetic theory
Divided:
Underlying Anxieties
Doom, Art, Protest, Private Spaces, Public Spaces
Methodological Considerations
Minimalism, Metafiction, Deconstruction
The choice of "personal" interests
I wanted to attribute to the author function
were carefully considered
not for their coolness in conjunction
but for the absolute reliability of their subject matter
as source material for the work
That is to say,
they are to be considered as ever-present preconditions
for the work's authorial construction
Doom works as the zero factor in the work
it is the bar by which all judgments are made
which is really the only thing that needs explaining
except
that this blog is written by the only author with any interest in
Private Spaces
Weird, right?
Minimalism aint what Wikipedia says it is
it deserves a post of its own
which I've been meaning to write and aint
The other two are what they are,
one was explained above,
the other,
explained for the last 18 months
Back to my earlier promised key
to Liberty Tries To Awaken Sleeping Reason
The Mechanics of Metablogging
A Metablog is a blog
that self-consciously addresses the devices of blogging,
exposing the aesthetic illusion.
I engage the work
self-consciously addressing the object
The object is best described in The Metaphysics of Text II
in a graph explaining the creator/spectator relationship
(thats You reading the Productive Object):
Textual Chain
The dotted green lines are not real lines
they are illusory lines constructed by a false belief in direct communication
In engaging the work
my object
is its existence as a Textual Chain
As a Metablog this chain becomes cyclically kaleidoscopic
as the Productive Object
(the work as it produces your perception of it)
is changed by your contribution to the work
(actually or assumed)
into a Reproductive Object
My only response can be to a work forever in flux
That flux rests in the constant struggle to overcome
the division between all engaged parties
represented in the Textual Chain
this Striving is the space of
Liberty Tries To Awaken Sleeping Reason
That space is a kind of ex nihilio creatio
which is complicated
but that is the nature of all textual manifestation
and our unconscious suppression of which
is
the nature of the above divide
Which in reverse says:
Our engagement with the work
is conscious of the divide
between
Language and Meaning
and produces accordingly
This takes a lot into account
considering we are engaged in communication
but the text which results from this
is Being-in-Itself
in effect
The Work Communicates Only Itself
i.e.
"Drop that Beat!"
As we understand it
Drop that Beat
indicates
an ensuing onslaught
of bass and hi-hat
but Drop and Beat
carry with them them a legacy of different significations
so that
"Drop that Beat!"
evokes
"You Dropped that Beat!"
which would be an error on behalf of the percussionist
So
the attempt to communicate
"DJ, Rock the Party"
an (arguably) positive Meaning
(Drop that Beat!)
conveys an obviously negative Meaning
(You Dropped that Beat!)
by the nature of its Language
Which
if "Drop that Beat"
conveys two mutually exclusive Meanings
than
it has no Meaning-in-Itself
In contrast:
The Work Communicates Only Itself
Friday, July 16, 2010
Homesickness
Its alright if you miss it
It really is
but its a whole other thing
to live for things
you're bound to miss
You can't focus on things
you're bound to miss
You can see traces of them
everywhere
It gets overwhelming
just looking anywhere at all
One day I'll rewrite Descarte's Meditations
One day it'll make sense enough to me
So that I'll rewrite Descarte's Meditations
One day they'll have to ask
if I rewrote it at all
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Folk Music
Folk Music
Liberates the Consciousness of the People
It used to take two Chords
and a pretty good Story
But the People these Days
aren't really into that sort of Thing
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Arizona
Now, that's not exactly true
I wrote 1/2 of one
finished 2
and took a cold, hard, look at an old 1
But finishing something
is a hell of an accomplishment
anyway
and that aint but half of what I did
I'm fibbing,
I didn't mean to
I just realized something just now
that makes me from a second ago
an outright fabricator
I might've wrote 1 and a 1/2 songs today
because two of the songs I finished
are mashed together
and I don't know what that counts for
Lately, I've been thinking alot about Art
I got this professor
always talking about "designation"
(which I don't give a shit about)
as a necessary requirement
for something to be Art
Like we all need more Authorities in our lives
So I dedicated a song to R.G. Collingwood
its an expressionist lyric
he oughta like that
"Collingwood"
When you were a writer
You were in love with your words
You wrote all those letters
Until you lost your nerve
What did you see?
Only the Mountains and the deep blue Sea
& What did you hear?
Only the Birds, Only the Birds, Only the Birds
Were There
Now that you are a painter
You're in love with all you see
You paint all your pictures
& then you ask it of me
What did you see?
Only the Mountains and the deep blue Sea
& What did you hear?
Only the Birds, Only the Birds, Only the Birds
Were There
~
There's an outro to it too
but there's no words
I like to think of it as a Dillemma
which is the same thing to me
as saying the Blues
It brings the melody into a more major
but way stranger space
in 6/4
(With the #s indicating number of measures)
Em G Em G F Fm B7 C7 Cm7 G B7 Em
2 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 2
It's sad and triumphant
the way I like 'em
Really wants a horn
but they're hard to find around here
and I find my mind
drifting off to Arizona
and my lonesome heart
trailing behind
I already done fucked that up
because all that above
comes at the end
and now its all out of order
but it don't matter really
there are always ways
of stranding things together
I wrote the next section first
and its been a minute too
but the words got me thinking
and seeing them in their own light
reminded me of a friend from the Service
That aint true really either
I knew the guy
but I wouldn't call 'em a friend
We were in the same company
and had a couple chances
to shoot the shit together
anyway
he was killed in Afghanistan
guess a week or so now
but it breaks my heart
anyway
"Snow Song"
That idiot drummer
He marched through the summer
Beating his drum
Till it snowed, playing,
"I'm Coming Home"
"I'm Coming Home"
Your soft-hearted sister
She's down by the river
Singing the only song
That she knows
"I'm Coming Home"
"I'm Coming Home"
Because
The Bells in the Alley, they clang
So Slow
And the Horns in the Army, they sing
So Slow
So don't Go
Back to the Snow
Without Me
~
That last bit I wrote
thinking about that kid
Who knows if he'd appreciate it
Anyway,
Dedications from Strangers
are more necessary to Art
Than Designations from Anybody
I know they don't make much sense together
at first glance
and they're not really supposed to
in any logical way
but its never been about logic
Anyway
Thursday, May 13, 2010
How It All Works
For Stephanie
I've often wondered
whether being a Deconstructionist
affects my marriage
My wife, I think she's one too
even if she don't know it
But its hard to believe
that all that talk of différance
doesn't have some effect
This morning we had a tift
it didn't get out of hand or anything
it was about (t)ime
late mornings are always like that
We went to Gardens In A Flower Pot
on Little Creek
for potting soil
picked up three plants for that
shady oppressive strip of the backyard
Went looking for something called a Leopard Plant
picked up two Gold Dusts
which I think
are probably some version of the same thing
and some Gardenias
which took us by surprise
and we both happen to like
Got home and put away the groceries we picked up
then out to the yard for an hour or so
breaking up the soil, the vines, the weeds,
shoveling and planting
Made tacos for lunch
and Stef started slicing up some pork to marinate
She had it on lock down
but I was cleaning up anyway
She said
Thanks for helping
I said, earnestly,
I know its not your favorite part
She agreed
That's the destructive part
I like the constructive part
I don't remember if I said it or not
but I, at least, thought
That's an interesting way to think about it
Went back out for a smoke
and took a solid look at the garden we planted
It looked real good
but it got us thinking about other projects
to beautify the backyard
We talked about creating spaces
the Shade Garden,
the Vegetable Circle,
not trying to manipulate the grounds
make things all forced and alien;
just clearly mark out lines
doing what little work is necessary
to make that space make sense
In the corner of the yard
in the far back left:
An old tenant had dug for a pool
must've been a real hack-job
dumped the dug-up earth
back there and since
the Bamboo has been spreading
covering the ignored mass
taking up a good 8th of the lawn
I told her I'd like to cut down some of that Bamboo
not all of it
just enough to create a clear enclosure
make a circular space
surrounded by the tallest stalks
shadowed by the canopy
I couldn't wait to get to work
I took out the big garden shears
and started
hacking away at it
I told her
I like the destructive part
She said
Its different
you're destroying things
to create a space
I replied
That sentence right there
is exactly what I mean by Deconstruction
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Plight of the Antihero
Fashion Fascination
Fashion Fascination
The dog eats things in the yard
I don't know what they are
but she never needs more then she takes
I've lost the will
For a minute there
I thought the wife had taken the only pack of smokes
and I was wrapped up in the usual blinding terror
of
Going to the Store
Then I realized
I left them in my coat pocket
and I was wrong to say those things
I say in my head
about
expectations
No one gets a fair deal with Hope
It's always a sacrifice
and nothing about sacrifice
ever works
Friday, May 7, 2010
Rhetoric
Pretend for a second
that you actually took everybody seriously
That's pretty much how it is
anyway
I know I owe a few of the very few you
something on the Metaphysics of Text
The word's getting around
should really start putting the pieces together
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Shortened Manifesto
for K.
It's good to see we finally got it together
We've been a'searching too damn long
Remember me back to California
Days drinking in the Dark
We won't be back till next Decemeber
and its been too damn long
To go back now
Think about those things
which happen all the time
Aint it like they've happened before
Aint it like they'll never happen again
Cyborg Puppet Show Theatre
For A.
Know when you look into the tiny hearts of men
(no bigger than a fist, clenching
Every other beat
that old, malleable stone of certainty)
That what you see there is blind Terror
I would experiment with the sublim(inal)
We know the universe
is
an ever-expanding, undefinable, space
Yet nobody feels inclined to say the same
of
themselves
We are all behind the wheel
simultaneously
Music playing Loud
singing, screaming,
Hung out on the Line
Sunday, January 10, 2010
The Metaphysics of Text II
The Textual Chain
The series of occurrences previously mentioned is the broadest sense in which we perceive the Metaphysics. For our purposes -- the whole playing field. If any logical proof has not yet been adequately demonstrated as to illustrate the necessity of the above clauses, trust that it will. We need first, however, presuppose that our aforementioned terms do, in fact, exist in sequence; their definitions intrinsically entwined. That is, if we are to further define our terms, their relation to each other must be agreed upon.
This agreement is the Textual Chain and all manifestations of Text occur within it.
The Textual Chain:
We have then three distinct processes divided by the Productive Object with Intent and Reception being paralleled in the metaphysical space and Production accounting for all physical manifestations.
It is important to note the aforementioned division. Though without too much thought put to elevation. For the initial division of Metaphysics and Production can only assumed to be equal in value and sequence. The Metaphysics tier is composed of our Writer’s intent or projected aim -- the Work, and the Manifested Text of the Reader. The Production tier consists of the initial or accidental Text, as well as the finalized Text of the Productive Object.
There are, of course, two instances of transference. That is from a metaphysical object to a physical object and vice versa. These coincide with the two above illustrated divergences, one being the Writer function in which the Work incidentally constructs the Text, the second being the Reader function in which the Text manifests itself in its Reception. It is important to note here that the Work and the Manifested Text bear no relation outside of their shared ethereal nature.
This all centers on the Productive Object and as such, it will serve as our primary device for analyzing the Metaphysics.
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Metaphysics of Text I
From the Bottom Up
A Writer writes. This act, by the nature of its being, must produce something, for a writer writes, necessarily, upon some object. Whether its lined paper, napkins, refrigerator message boards, or clean white word processing docs, writing is by necessity - writing onto something. On the other hand, though potentially still creative, productive and clearly metaphorical, writing onto nothing is something other than writing, a process which serves no purpose in our discussion.
We first must define the object on which our writer writes. It is, foremost, a physical object.* This classification alone is rendered insufficient by the presence of a later physical manifestation in the textual chain. So, let us for now refer to this first object as the Receptive Object and the later physical object as the Productive Object. The Productive Object being the “final” or “finished” manifestation of the text, i.e. Newspaper, Novel, Blog Post, Film, Journal, etc (not to mention the frequent, ethereal, transformation from Receptive Object to Productive Object).
So, to recap:
A Writer writes onto a Receptive Object in order to create a Productive Object. What, however, does the Writer write? This gets tricky. It must be remarked here that a frequent dualistic nature persists throughout the entire Metaphysics of Text. The first of which is the dualistic manifestation of text, an at first deceptively simple problem of definition and subsequently a problematic core to the entire Metaphysics.
The first is simply the Text, which is the sequence of symbols constructed on the Receptive Object. The second being the perceived Work which our Writer intends to produce on the Receptive Object. The necessity of this distinction is empirical, or else every Writer would be completely content with the Text they produce, the impossibility of which should be self-evident. Our Writer, then, creates the Text accidentally by producing the Work. One could go further in saying that the Work is the attempt at producing the final Productive Object while the Text and its associated Receptive Object are the means to that end.
We begin to see the dualism moving towards conflict. For we can identify two lines of development and a problematic chronology between them. That is to say, the Work seeks to actualize itself through the Productive Object while the Text actualizes itself necessarily as the Receptive Object. However, the Work is not the primary catalyst for the Productive Object, the Productive Object is the actualization of the Receptive Object. So the Work cannot actualize itself in the Productive Object, or more clearly, the Productive Object cannot communicate the Work. That is not with any predictable reliability, for we must account for the possible coincidence.*
I want to be clear that this formula should not discourage us in our pursuit of the Work through the Productive Object. There is no need to throw away the literary analysis tradition. In many ways, we have always been judging a work by its efficacy in consistently manifesting what we assume to be the Writer’s Work. That efficacy remains crucial. It speaks to the skill of technique and the power of the Writer’s intention. It is however a judgment at its best.
Though, any further attempt which assumes that one is actually interpreting the Work itself, and not the physical manifestation of the Text as Productive Object, is built on false premises, it’s restriction to falsehood does not render it useless, only untrue. For the Metaphysics of Text is concerned with only one thing: Can the Work truly manifest itself? Or more clearly, Does the Work exist?
We mean, then, to explain how the Work and the Analysis can both be metaphysical objects while the Text is a physical object. What must transpire for this to occur, what are the laws of this transference, what must occur as a result? Then, and most importantly, what can be said truthfully about the Text? As such, our preliminary definitions are stated and we can begin our analysis.
*Footnotes in Comments.
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