Thinking with her fingers,
Eva
PS--If my ramblings have been thoroughly traversed already, I'd
appreciate
a pointer to the appropriate spot(s) in the archives.
*****************************************************************
These ideas have been traversed on many occasions, but a fresh outlook
such as yours is always welcome.
I think I've been on this list for about eight months and the one thing
that I see popping up again and again is that old Absolute Truth
arguement.
Some people say that we live in a reality based on provisional truths.
Then others say that 2+2=4 and wonder why the first group of people
don't feel as stupid as the second group intended them to.
What was the decision on that?
In my imagination I see us as having agreed that the most truthful memes
are the ones that are the best at explaining the world and solving
problems.
I am not a physicist. I have no idea what this means in terms of quantum
theory or that razor that keeps getting mentioned (what the hell is that
anayway?)
But in my field of cultural studies-- critical theory and performance--
Provisional Truths work the best. I will never have any idea how many
electrons are in a Klein, it's not a tool I use.
I will never use a painting for its electrons.
But in the world of physics, electrons get used, so we'd better have a
name- and a whole meme complex for them-
Seurat used the science of light to show us how our perceptive faculties
provide meaning for us. Especially when that meaning is held together in
a painting comprised of dots.
Stand too close to a Seurat (and their huge so it's easy to do) and you
lose the image.
The subject matter of his most famous work (translated as "Sunday
Afternoon on the Grande Jette" -- hope I remembered it right) ( I'm
pretty sure it hangs in Chicago) portrays the bourgeoisie of Paris
recreating in the sunny park on a non-work day.
There are so many texts running through this painting-- the figures look
relaxed in public space-- caught in a sort of public subjectivity-- yet
the painting is quite subversive-- because it is fragmented--
disintigrated into dots-- relying upon the mind and eyes of the viewer
to construct the Bourgeoisie of Paris, the park-- even the idea of
Sunday-- from colored "particles of light".
All of the cultural information-- the subjects, their social station,
their public bodies, everything-- is carried in the mind of the viewer
and stimulated by the arrangement of Seurat's dots.
Sends a fairly strong message about abslolute truth-- no?
I think it also illustrates what other paintings might seek to hide--
that level of (re)construction.
I believe that memes are like little dots of paint in a Seurat.
-- Regards +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ Ken Pantheists http://www.lucifer.com/~kenpan +--------------------------------------------------------------------+