On Fri, 18 Jul 1997, Bracha Lichtenberg - Ettinger wrote:
> to be able to reply, please explain first what is
> ">the emergent electronic apparatus." and also, what are the artists'
I use or abuse the term "apparatus" to refer to the social machine
organizing language-technology in a given epoch. Orality, literacy, and
now electracy are the historical apparatuses we know something about
(grammatology, the history and theory of writing). The apparatus is a
matrix (not a causal sequence) including a technology (eg alphabetic
writing), an institutionalization of the technology (eg.the academy,
school), and the formation of identity of individual persons experiencing
the technology and institutional practices (eg producing the experience of
having a "self"). My examples are all from literacy. Electracy was
literacy's idea, so to speak, and now everything that "literacy" wanted to
accomplish by means of "electracy" no longer matter because the new matrix
is transforming the nature of its matrix. (!) (so to speak) (?)
> projects you refer to, I mean, if you can speak of " >artists' projects
> methodology," then there should have been something in common to these
> prjects? something generalizable?
>
well, of course: Aristotle did something like this with his poetics. I
could do the same for the many examples of representations identified as
"projects" in the catalogues, art magazines, and books that I have seen.
I should do this analysis and I will do it, no doubt, because that is what
I know how to do. My question is somewhat different in assuming that an
artist making one of these things represented as a "project" might see it
differently than a poetician, perhaps?
Let me do a bit of my part then. case: ZONE 1/2. many articles
analysing, explaining, arguing, full of knowledge about, knowledge that.
then there is, for example, Baldessari "Crowds with Shape of Reason
Missing" (a photo cut-out series).
In the emerAgency I imagine that we might take a local disaster, say for
example "Rosewood." It has already been explained. There is a feature
film even. What I would like to learn from the "project" approach is
something more oblique. Not to stop with the project either (not to make
"art"), but to learn from the project how to inquire differently; to
organize a triangulation: Rosewood--me (whomever is making the
inquiry)--local policy formation.
Sorry; most unsatisfying elaboration. I will try again otherwise.
best
Greg Ulmer