Textual Revolutions and the story
Exercise 1
What happens when we take a story from its source and make it permanent in print and disseminate it to a wide audience?
We take it from one form of communication to another.
It is able to reach a lot more people, which can be important in terms of crucial information and truth.
We can educate others more easily because we have a solid reference
It becomes more dependant on people being literate
The story can be more permanent and therefore transgenerational.
The Implications:
The narrative can be altered
The story can be watered down with bias, opinion and censorship
The original source is less sacred and more commercial
It's more open to misinterpretation
Questions can’t be answered as easily
The authorship is taken from one person or culture to another
Not everyone is able to read and write
Research Point:
‘Creative Writing and the New Media’ p102-117, Hazel Smith, The Cambridge Companion to Creative Writing
Interesting discussion about using computers and algorithms to create works of poetry or fictional writing. However the author, Hazel Smith, believes that this new way of composing text doesn’t replace traditional writing, but is a development of writing.
It’s interesting to consider how we have always used ‘algorithms’ or a set of rules in writing, i.e. poetry rhythms or grammar. Using computers and digital formats is not too dissimilar, but does open up more creative pathways.
Using technology to create works of text is being explored through artists and writers and works have been created in incredible new ways. Artwork that incorporates texts can now include animation and interactivity with the spectators.
‘Mary-Anne Breeze (mez) even developed her own language known as ‘mezangelle’ - language isn’t as rigid as I previously thought. Language is continuously evolving through time, especially when we include digital formats, for example the development of ‘text slang’.
The concept of ‘emergence’, when an author feels the piece of writing is evolving in a way they had not expected. This really made me consider authorship and the influence a writer has sometimes unknowingly incorporated into their work because the words seem to find themselves in the process.
We generate text digitally sometimes to the point where the original wording is completely changed beyond recognition. This made me consider how we have more access to vocabulary and can rely on a wealth of resources such as the internet rather than just our memories alone. This allows more people to develop their voices as writers, as opposed to people in the past whose writing abilities heavily relied upon their memory and intellect.
Developing programs in itself is a skill that can be considered part of authorship, including Fox Harrell’s ‘The Girl with Skin of Haints and Seraphs’ which uses a program called GRIOT. The writer created this themselves, and used it to address issues of racial identity. I was really intrigued by this due to recent events in the media concerning the Black Lives Matter movement, and how we use art and literature to continuously tackle important issues. When the author brought this particular piece up, I considered how we use modern forms of creativity to continually battle hundreds-of-years-old issues.
Intermediation - a term that Katherine Hayles uses to describe the relationship between humans and computers.
Technology is used in art in so many ways, as explored in the case studies. There are various formats in which text is used digitally in works of art, that explore socio political topics. For example, the use of GPS to explore the relationship and divide between the north and south in Jason Nelson’s works. This resonated with me after studying ‘place’ in the last module.
The author includes studies of their own work, where she collaborated with Roger Dean on ‘instablities 2’. She goes on to describe the work’s digital platforms and programs, most of which I don't understand, but I generally gain the concept of how the piece works. A digital work that includes short statements of poetry and invites a viewer to interact with by making their own selections. It is a constantly evolving work, and continuously being redeveloped, much like the trends of writing itself.
I was interested in the description of M.D. Coverley’s ‘Accounts of the Glass Sky’ because, again, of the ties it has to ‘time and place’ which was previously looked at. It has so many layers of meaning because of its multi-media aspects but ultimately it collectively forms a depth of consideration of past events and the world around us.
Smith proceeds to discuss the process of writing using programs such as ‘flash’ (one i have some understanding of). We use animation to change the dynamics of reading and writing, which reminded me of using platforms such as ‘powerpoint’ to create presentations during my school days. I hadn’t really considered how this is a type of art and literature, which has developed today to maybe even develop a whole new genre of media on its own. Artists are using this form to manipulate viewers by creating emphasis on certain words and dictating the direction of text.
We’re no longer ‘just’ given a book and expected to read bodies of text, we can interact and allow the text to move and incorporate imagery and music. We can interact with the writer using the intermediate platform of technology. We can visibly engage with an author and connect to their work. This almost invites viewers to be part of the work themselves.
The writing exercises invite us to explore ways of expression using digital formats. Again, this reinforces the possibility of authorship to more and more people. In summary, authorship is no longer limited to the elites of the past. This is somewhat liberating but also, creates more competitions for uniquity.
Comments
Post a Comment