April 4,2010
public and private
April 2,2010
Foucault, "What is an author?"
甲：Man, it doesn't matter who the hack you are.Godard: -_- Like I care.
I am taking a shit load of theory class this quarter (might get rid one, yet it would be a tough decision...). Talking about learning theories is a very pretentious thing. Yet, I need to digest Foucault, Saussure, Marx and Frued, just because I need to....and here we go:
The quarter just started, Foucault's "What is an author?" is the first article we read. Couple questions were raised in the discussion:
What is the difference between the writer and the author?
What is the function of the author?
What is the discourse created or addressed by the author?
How the discourse of literature and science different?
Also, what Foucault's interpretation about "discourse" in general?
There is always a writer behind the text, yet there is not necessary an author behind. This is because the idea of the author is created through the development of literature, religious text and scientific text. Partially, the author is a given name that functions as a owner of the work. In addition, the life of the author him/herself also becomes a part of the work and therefore make the work change through the additional information that found around the author. In this sense, a work which has a reachable author is framed different from a work that has a anonymous writer.
The function of an author becomes a part of the mechanism that how the work/ the thought of the work. Plus, the relationship between the author and the text, the reader and the text, a discourse emerged. Although both science and literature create discourses that related to the author who creates thoughts, knowledge and text, the discourse in these two fields are different. In scientific world, the discourse is fixed. Through empirical experiments or pure math/ logical debate, the discourse made be defeated and changed completely. However, to literature or social theories, the discourse is not only a open text and constantly change, but the author also does not necessary fit into the discourse when it develops/evolves.
---In regarding to what discussed above, I quote:
"One does not declare certain propositions in the work of these founders to be false: instead, when trying to seize the act of founding, one sets aside those statements that are not pertinent, either because they are deemed inessential, or because they are considered "prehistoric" and derived from another type of discursively. In other words, unlike the founding of a science, the initiation of a discursive practice does not participate in its later transformations." --F
---
I still have not much clue how to interpret Foucault's concept of "discourse" though...)
Finally, the conclusion for this article, the closest thing I could guess is: Modern criticism of a text does not necessary need to includes the existence of the author. Instead, the discourse that frames the function and the development of the text/ or the thoughts in the text matters more than who the author is.
April 1,2010
Shutter Island
Shutter Island is a movie about the American way of imagining the healing process from world wars. During WWII, U.S.A. was not traumatized by being harmed, instead, it was traumatized by forcing to kill. The movie carries this idea through almost 80% of it. Then, in the end, it goes back to the personal history of Edward. Which, I think it is a shame. Also, because everything is shrunk into a individual life, the chaotic and insanity that almost implied by the film are gone. All the memories are rationalized in the end. Nevertheless, the movie makes another suggestion in the end-- failure of the memory. History becomes a loop. Even if at one point the protagonist figures out the "fact" of the past, (Blur)<-- I don't think anyone is reading this, but just in case I should not reveal the ending.
March 29,2010
No Wave and Robin Crutchfield
I somehow managed to fit my curiousity about No Wave music scene into one of my final papers for last quarter. While figuring out the basic of the music scene, I draw this map:
Although it was the craziness and chaoticity of these music attracted me at the first point. I start to really like this guy-- Robin Crutchfield. He is the keyboard of D.N.A., who left the band couple years later. I only mentioned him a bit in the paper when I argued that No Wave is full of self-contradiction:
"The conflict happened between Arto Lindsay and Robin Crutchfield when they were both in DNA. Lindsay represented as the chaotic element in the band and Crutchfield believed in making the music static and repetitive. Finally Crutchfield found the balance was off to Lindsay’s side and decided to leave the band. Although their approaches to the music performance appeared contradictory to each other, both approaches were a part of the NW music. This reflects how NW music was able to absorb dialectical elements in one scene."
Although it was the craziness and chaoticity of these music attracted me at the first point. I start to really like this guy-- Robin Crutchfield. He is the keyboard of D.N.A., who left the band couple years later. I only mentioned him a bit in the paper when I argued that No Wave is full of self-contradiction:
"The conflict happened between Arto Lindsay and Robin Crutchfield when they were both in DNA. Lindsay represented as the chaotic element in the band and Crutchfield believed in making the music static and repetitive. Finally Crutchfield found the balance was off to Lindsay’s side and decided to leave the band. Although their approaches to the music performance appeared contradictory to each other, both approaches were a part of the NW music. This reflects how NW music was able to absorb dialectical elements in one scene."
After Robin Crutchfield left D.N.A., he started Dark Day with Nancy Arlen (who played drum in Mars before).
It's not as insane and noisy as D.N.A., yet I love his creepy clamness.
Nevertheless, recently, as a 58 years-old man, he seems into something hard to grasp...
March 28,2010
Hard Target
Finally stepped out of the town since I flew back before last Christmas. Three months actually is not too long, just feels like a year.
-------A horrible-quality youtube to open this article----------
--------and this is my blog so I don't care----------------------
Wexner Center in Columbus is exhibiting a group of works about SPORT. Most of the works are photos and sculptures, many works are presented in video projecting as well. The title of the exhibition is called HARD TARGET.
These works are artistic presentations of sport. The artists break down the phenomenon of sports. They re-construct these ideas and build them into exhibitionable formats. Couple artists use words (text) as the carriers. Glenn Ligon 's Gold Mudbone (Liar) #2 is a print with a paragraph of written story. The story related to the sport theme in terms of the story describes an incredible power of African ethnical male. It refers to a specific racial group as athletics who dominated and often seen as the most competitive component in the contest. The print looks like a urban underground prophet because of its dustiness and brownish texture.
The other work by Doug Aitken is a lighten text of "START SWIMMING" the surface of the text is actually a bird-view photo of a snowy industrial area. From a distance, the work just words in blue and white color, yet look closely, it is pictures of little trucks, box buildings, and squares of land covered by snows. "Start swimming" shows so much energetic and pleasure in it. Composed by elements that is cold, dark and lifeless, the work contradicts itself in both heartbreaking and hopefulness ways.
There are many other works showing. Includes Matthew Barney's , Cremaster 4, weird video as usual, also Harun Farocki's Deep Play, which displays various screens that show different sports technologies in terms of usage for broadcasting and strategical planning.
The show also includes some star power. Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno projects images of Zidane on two walls of a 90 degrees conner. Same Taylor-Wood also uses the image of Courtesy Jopling and David Beckham in his video installation.
From global super star to local high school players, to U.S.A. SPORT is the spirit of the nation, yet very criticizable. I've always like sport. It makes me aware of true humanism although in the current world both "true" and "humanism" are such ignorance words.
-------A horrible-quality youtube to open this article----------
--------and this is my blog so I don't care----------------------
Wexner Center in Columbus is exhibiting a group of works about SPORT. Most of the works are photos and sculptures, many works are presented in video projecting as well. The title of the exhibition is called HARD TARGET.
These works are artistic presentations of sport. The artists break down the phenomenon of sports. They re-construct these ideas and build them into exhibitionable formats. Couple artists use words (text) as the carriers. Glenn Ligon 's Gold Mudbone (Liar) #2 is a print with a paragraph of written story. The story related to the sport theme in terms of the story describes an incredible power of African ethnical male. It refers to a specific racial group as athletics who dominated and often seen as the most competitive component in the contest. The print looks like a urban underground prophet because of its dustiness and brownish texture.
The other work by Doug Aitken is a lighten text of "START SWIMMING" the surface of the text is actually a bird-view photo of a snowy industrial area. From a distance, the work just words in blue and white color, yet look closely, it is pictures of little trucks, box buildings, and squares of land covered by snows. "Start swimming" shows so much energetic and pleasure in it. Composed by elements that is cold, dark and lifeless, the work contradicts itself in both heartbreaking and hopefulness ways.
There are many other works showing. Includes Matthew Barney's , Cremaster 4, weird video as usual, also Harun Farocki's Deep Play, which displays various screens that show different sports technologies in terms of usage for broadcasting and strategical planning.
The show also includes some star power. Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno projects images of Zidane on two walls of a 90 degrees conner. Same Taylor-Wood also uses the image of Courtesy Jopling and David Beckham in his video installation.
From global super star to local high school players, to U.S.A. SPORT is the spirit of the nation, yet very criticizable. I've always like sport. It makes me aware of true humanism although in the current world both "true" and "humanism" are such ignorance words.
