Monday, November 28, 2005
Papier Machine 'I'm Going to Pwn You'
The title 'papier machine' comes from one of Elizabeth Presa's sculptures that I like very much, which in turn was based on a reading of Derrida's collection of essays called 'Papier Machine'. It is a reflection on writing in a digital or paperless age.
http://www.sylviaschwartz.net/M_River/Presa_images.htm
I know it must seem terribly fuddy-duddy to insist that the clicking of keys and a blinking cursor cannot compare to the very physical act of writing with pen and paper. I maintain that how one writes something determines the nature of what comes out. Neil Gaiman wrote his fairy tale 'Stardust' entirely in long-hand, and I have seen facsimilles of Lewis Caroll's hand-written, self-illustrated 'Alice In Wonderland'. The latter is a wonderful document full of cancelled-out words and ink blots.
Even a type-script produced on a typewriter will bear the touch of the hand - mis-spelled words, letttters doubled as a result of pressing on a key a moment too llllong.
It's really the 'touch' that I'm getting at, though I know I'm dangerously close to seeming stupidly nostalgic and archaic. I have been told though that there ARE examples of 'touch' even deep in the digital orgy of cyber-gaming. E.g. In a killing frenzy 'I'm going to own you' often comes out as 'I'm going to pwn you'. I'm sure more were mentioned but I like this one most.
I keep a diary in a black spiral bound notebook with cream-colored pages. As I write the pages accumulate like dry leaves. It is a strange transition from there to this blog, whose text is formatted by the CSS I have tweaked in the html code. I swing back and forth between writing who I am and who I want to be seen as. My diary is a surrogate for my mind, there is an intimacy and trust that I find difficult to invest in other people.
A blog is a nice middle-ground. ¶ 5:00 AM
http://www.sylviaschwartz.net/M_River/Presa_images.htm
I know it must seem terribly fuddy-duddy to insist that the clicking of keys and a blinking cursor cannot compare to the very physical act of writing with pen and paper. I maintain that how one writes something determines the nature of what comes out. Neil Gaiman wrote his fairy tale 'Stardust' entirely in long-hand, and I have seen facsimilles of Lewis Caroll's hand-written, self-illustrated 'Alice In Wonderland'. The latter is a wonderful document full of cancelled-out words and ink blots.
Even a type-script produced on a typewriter will bear the touch of the hand - mis-spelled words, letttters doubled as a result of pressing on a key a moment too llllong.
It's really the 'touch' that I'm getting at, though I know I'm dangerously close to seeming stupidly nostalgic and archaic. I have been told though that there ARE examples of 'touch' even deep in the digital orgy of cyber-gaming. E.g. In a killing frenzy 'I'm going to own you' often comes out as 'I'm going to pwn you'. I'm sure more were mentioned but I like this one most.
I keep a diary in a black spiral bound notebook with cream-colored pages. As I write the pages accumulate like dry leaves. It is a strange transition from there to this blog, whose text is formatted by the CSS I have tweaked in the html code. I swing back and forth between writing who I am and who I want to be seen as. My diary is a surrogate for my mind, there is an intimacy and trust that I find difficult to invest in other people.
A blog is a nice middle-ground. ¶ 5:00 AM
