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In 1986 or '87, while playing in the band Sloppy Kafka I wrote a pop song titled LETTERS TO DERRIDA. I was an art student at the time, and it seemed the thing to do. I was fairly certain no one in the club-crowd would get the reference and thought I was in on something by creating a song with such a cryptic subject. Of course, this was not the case. I was surprised and caught off guard when people started asking me about the song and how it related to Derrida. In fact, the song had very little to do with Derrida or Derrida's work. Simply put, the word, the name fit in the chorus of the song, and was on my mind because I was reading "Dissemination" at the time.
In art school in the mid- to late-eighties it was almost chic to overtly represent theory in a visual work, or at least have the ability to converse about the various post-structuralist authors—Barthes, Baudrillard, Delueze and Guattari, Foucault, and of course Jacques Derrida. You needed this knowledge just in case someone brought these cats up in reference to your own work. So, I think most art students at the time were introduced to the numerous volumes in theory seminars and other college courses. It would probably depend where you went to school, but that was my experience.
Though most art student—painters and the likes—were not likely to be drawn to the writing, or felt it had little relevance to their practice, I found the work to provide a sort of lexicon for some of the thoughts and theories I was already working through. This feeling toward the post-structuralists is something reinforced by Kathy Acker in an interview conducted by Sylvere Lotringer for the volume "Bodies of Work". When I think about it, the French theory I was reading then was a certain influence on my becoming a writer. It would seem that once one is hooked it becomes something of an escalating addiction. Fifteen years later I still find myself heavily involved in these texts—though many texts have been added to the referable melange, I keep a copy of Delueze and Guattari's "A Thousand Plateaus" next to my bed; I'm on my third or fourth copy of Derrida's "Dissemination"....
In the year 2000 I was invited to the Book/Ends Conference at SUNY at Albany to speak about my hypermedia theory/fiction work. I'll get into my own presentation a bit later, but I was pleased to be invited and even more so when I was informed that Jacques Derrida would be the keynote speaker. It is a long way from writing a cheesy pop-song that steals Derrida's name to being a speaker on a conference bill with the man himself... What follows are some "snapshots", thoughts and feeling on the conference. In no way is it comprehensive, and the style may be erratic as I am going to let things rise to the surface by dealing with my memories of the event rather than the actual, critical body of the conference. That is to say—re-membering myself to the event.
wednesday
[SFO]...Hoping to prepare for my presentation on the flight from San Francisco to Albany, but I am too drowsy and end up playing chess on my Palm Pilot instead... I keep losing.
[ALB]...Cab to Hotel, shower, Cab to The Egg (an oddly shaped performance space that from the outside looks something like Le Corbusier's "Notre Dame du Haut" with the colors reverse, maybe some kind of alien craft, and to a lesser extent—an egg).
...Australian performance artist Stelarc opened the conference with a performance titled "Zombies and Cyborgs: Absent, Obsolete and Involuntary Bodies"... Primarily, the performance was a survey of Stelarc's work through the years—the "Extra Arm", the "Six-Legged Walking Machine"; older performances, suspensions—skin pierced with hooks tied to ropes suspended by wires and by crane; and the remote stimulation performances, in which electrodes attached to Stelarc's body, are stimulated through Network User interaction... I am pleased to see that Stelarc has brought the "Extra Arm" with him and is prepared to demonstrate it. The "Extra Arm" is an electronic appendage, a prosthetic of sorts that is not meant as a replacement for a lacking limb, but as an extra—an extension of a body...
Stelarc's work is significant in many ways, but the focus on the body is perhaps the most interesting aspect. The remote stimulation performances are intriguing because Stelarc voluntarily allows his body to be involuntarily subject to unseen volunteers—those interacting with a remote application. The interaction, the events caused by the User, are voluntary to the extent that the User chooses to cause them, chooses to attach and interact, to interface with Stelarc's body... There is something interesting on a social level as well—Stelarc's performances general present some sort of cyborganic attachment, or cyborganization of the body...this activity is something we, anyone accessing this article over the Internet, are all engaged in. Stelarc makes the attachment overt, less homey, yet closer to the body. Proposed performances like the "Third Ear"—in which, through cosmetic surgery an ear would be attached to Stelarc's face, just in front of his right ear—present a complication of the division between man and technology. Where the "Extra Arm" consisted of an external prosthetic, the "Third Ear" is more heavily integrated at an internal level. It is Stelarc's intent to make the ear functional, but as an emitter rather than receptor of sound. Still, the ear operates as a form of attachment. Outside/inside—the body—semi-transparent...
thursday
Next morning—cab to Albany Public Library... Derrida is in the building... I am armed with a CD of my work... I hope to slip it to him... Hand it to him... Wandering the Library, I can't find anyone, or I don't know anyone so I am looking for Derrida (I've seen his picture)... If I'd arrived earlier I might have bumped into Derrida as he entered/exited the morning Workshop he was conducting with Albany elementary school students... Wandering the Library I finally come across the room where the panel discussions are being held... Ah, there is coffee, good! But the joe is not.
I see Derrida near the front of the room, I see Alan Sondheim near the middle and go sit with him... At the first opportunity, after three 40 minute papers and 20 minutes of questions, Alan and I, with our separate CDs in hand, make our way to Jacques Derrida. Alan explains that we are artists, participants at the conference. I'm standing in front of Derrida, and I can't think of anything to say to him, nothing that won't make me sound like a dork, so I just hand him the CD. He says, "Thank you very much."
My CD for Derrida... Will he open it? Where is it now?
thursday night
The main event of the conference was the "The End of the Book or the Archive to Come", a roundtable with Jacques Derrida and a panel including Cary Wolfe, Peggy Kamuf, and Chris Fynsk. I had intended to record this session (for reference only), but the batteries in my MiniDisc recorder crapped out just after David Wills, the panel's moderator and an organizer of the event, had finished his introduction... It was a bit uncanny to have the technology fail at the exact moment Jacques Derrida was stepping up to the podium. Thanks to technological redundancy and "quick-as-I-can" adoption of a new platform, I was at least able to generate some notes on my Palm Pilot during the panel discussion that followed Derrida's reading. Since I do not have notes on the actual paper, I will restrict my commentary to this exchange.
I missed a good portion of Chris Fynsk's presentation as I got situated on the PDA... But there seemed a feeling of ambivalence in his talk between nostalgia for the book and the possibilities granted by network communications.
Fynsk meditated on the seeming untimeliness of Derrida's reference to Mallarme and Blanchot (*these authors must have been mentioned in the paper Derrida read, though they are common Derridean references) in the context of the conference, drawing differences between the problems of the book presented by Mallarme and Blanchot and those presented by Internet technologies. There was one moment when his critique of current book-worry seemed to hit the mark. He drew a concrete distinction between the "survivalist" attitude of "bibliophiles" fighting to preserve the book as the definitive "repository for culture" and the openness and access provided by the network. In a way, Fynsk was making the point that the conservative bibliophile fears that the PowerBook will entirely over-power the book—consuming its content and devaluing the book and for that matter, the library—privileges the book as object and territory over its value as concept and continuing usefulness. Fynsk attached a minor case of this fetishization to Derrida by drawing attention to the untimely nature of Derrida's examples—Mallarme and Blanchot—insinuating that Derrida worries for the book.
Derrida's response focused on these aspects—untimeliness and book-worry. First stating that, "You do not worry for what I worry because you don't." Derrida went on to explain his nostalgia as a symptom of his age. Derrida did reinforce the untimely nature of Mallarme and Blanchot to the intended discourse by reiterating Fynsk's take on these two as authors—forever remaining outside mainstream academia, damned to interminable untimeliness. It cannot be denied that these authors represent spikes in the history of the book and are demonstrative of the book's rich heritage and former controversies. Derrida maintained that these authors and untimeliness itself are power devices in a wide variety of critiques.
To mitigate the nostalgia, Derrida made reference to some of his students. They had asked if online publication for their articles was acceptable. Derrida commented that upon exploration the editorial structure of the online journal resembled, even doubled that of a print publication. As it stands, it is generally not enough to be published online. The academy still requires that one publishes a book with a print publisher, and, as Derrida said, "Hopefully, a good one." Derrida was fairly enthusiastic in expressing at least his willingness to explore the new apparatus. Though I am concerned that much of the more experimental online writing is being missed, I am happy to see an interest in the machine itself. And in an odd way I saw this as Derrida's call to Derrideans—to explore and include writing that plays upon this other structure.
Peggy Kamuf explored the etymology of the word "book", making reference to the "beech" tree (boc), to demonstrate that the idea of the book is rooted in its construction—in the makings of its material support. Derrida seconded this by referring to the fact that this occurs in the Latin liber and the Greek byblos—all making reference to paper, the bark, or the tree. To further this, Derrida went on to state that the make-up of a book is not exclusively natural, that the book is a binding of natural and unnatural elements, "...natural wood, the tree, on which some unnatural, artificial, technical cultural inscriptions are invented and put." Continuing on the notion of the book Derrida introduced the term "volume" into the discussion to relate how the book is a totality. Earlier in the conversation there had been mention of "The Book" as a single volume containing all texts and a concern that the book, as a formal object, would collapse under the sheer mass of texts that have been, are being, and will be created. At an operational level "The Book", its collated strata does not require a bind between natural and unnatural elements. The tree can be a metaphor for the raw source, the potential for any functional supporting apparatus. The bind is between apparatus and appliance—between cover, binding, pages (in a very liberal sense), and writings. In terms of the web, as book, as the deposition and delivery machine for inscription, this signals Derrida's view of electronic writing."What is happening today on the World Wide Web is still not only true to the volume but tries to accomplish, to achieve the model of THE BOOK more than the books themselves. That is ... the transparence, the accessibility—so everyone can share and participate in this global repetition, this global writing, global reading ... today, finally we reach THE BOOK, we have THE BOOK. The books were not books, but the World Wide Web is THE BOOK."
Our concept of the book is mostly a formal one... We look at the book's sensual value for its definition, and as such it is an elegant and functional container. But, when we consider "The Book" I do agree with Derrida that the traditional idea of the book is lacking as far as creating a universal "volume", and that the World Wide Web, though transitional, functions more adequately in this regard. The removal of the idea of 'book' from the notion of "The Book" is significant; in that, Derrida seems to say that "The Book" can be more appropriately rendered outside of the book.
The nostalgia, any sense of loss for Derrideans would have to be in the blurring of an object of deconstructive study—the book blurred by new media. As the conference progressed, it appeared to me that few of the scholars in attendance had much experience with sophisticated literary hypermedia, or were at least not interested in talking much about it. With a lack of examples to contrast with the book, or experience with networked based, hypermediated writing, the potentiality of electronic writing is reduced to a vacancy (the absence of the book—as solid object, apparatus). Though many are connected and participate on the Internet through email and the publication of articles, most of the "serious" academic articles on the web do not take into consideration much of the possibilities of hypermedia. Because of this, the view of electronic literature was slightly off from reality, as many at the conference do not yet consider the Internet delivery machine as a location for serious "extended" academic writing. Perhaps the issue is not with the network consuming the book but some feeling of estrangement to writing that can only exists exclusively outside of it? But, the conference is called Book/Ends.
Both Derrida and Kamuf seem at least interested in the possibilities of electronic publishing and distribution in this regard. Kamuf referred to various publishing technologies in an historical sense—scroll, codex, the book, the web—and their relationship to the freeing of the hand and body. Something that certainly continues in New Media; in that, the hand is no longer supporting the apparatus but engaged with the application.
It was at this point that I noticed technology failing me again. The battery icon on my Palm Pilot was showing empty... As Cary Wolfe began his paper I jotted down, "ANIMAL TEXT - not solely human".
friday
My own presentation took place in a less than ideal space. Conceptually, the space was appropriate, as it was the atrium of SUNY at Albany's new Library, a building that also houses the University's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. The space itself was too wide open, with super high glass ceilings that made everything echo and the PA sound boomy. Add to this the fact that I was the first speaker of the day in an untested and challenging venue, plus—being from the California, a presentation at 8:30 AM in Albany is like trying to lecture pre-dawn... what are you going to do?
Joseph Tabbi was also on the panel. His presentation of the online review EBR, Electronic Book Review, was succinct... EBR is a fine publication with a lot of worthwhile content... His presentation focused not only on the literary criticism in the journal, but the graphical elements and the journal's exclusive publication on the web. I was impressed by Tabbi's subtle consideration of a particular animated image that exists as a design attribute in the interface of an issue of EBR, and his recognition of the designer, Anne Burdick in the formation of the experience of the publication. In many ways this demonstrates a keen awareness that an online publication must consider more than content, more than technology, more than look and feel...
"Metastrophe and Intertimacy: the Tweening of Identity"... My presentation, my terms... Both of the neologisms in the title—metastrophe and intertimacy—come out of my hypermedia work "Lexia to Perplexia". The term "tweening" is of course a term used in New Media to describe the events in an animation that occur as an object is moved from one position to another. The intent of my presentation was to explore definitions for these terms and how they relate to the construction of identity on the Internet.
Limited definitions for the terms are something like metastrophe—a doubling of a doubling that produces a single coupling in dual local spaces; intertimacy—the mediation and mitigation of closeness, or a relationship that grows more complex rather than closer. The critique or "critifiction" of the hypermedia piece "Lexia to Perplexia" is concerned with these phenomena, as well as exploring the various extended agencies that the apparatus presents its Users. As a basis for my presentation at Book/Ends, I used this piece and another of my hypermedia works "Delimited Meshings," which is in fact a sort of appendix to "Lexia to Perplexia."
I spread out screen shots and notes on the table before me, pulled the cap from a dry erase marker and took a deep breath...So I began...
... Starting simply with a local/remote differential, a referable (t)here and (t)here, I spent about ten minutes at the whiteboard announcing, diagramming, illustrating, and annotating some of my ideas on the apparatus... Briefly, I talked about the difference between Ideon and Idion, I spoke of the Narcisystem and how it is constructed by a blindness to the technical, the construction of an encoded Missed.Story... It was too early for me, and I was finding it difficult to improvise, to create diagrammatic jazz upon the whiteboard, so I walked to the podium and began to read from the text of "Delimited Meshings."
The mic was too hot and my voice echoed around the room, blasting the audience. The sound system was adjusted, and I continued...I imagine {n} seated at a too small desk, squinting, peering into an obsolete, undersized screen. She reads me with a furrowed brow, her eyes straining to make-out the dithered type. I am eroded by my passage through the network; my face is altered at this remote terminal. Still, {n} recognizes me as she imagines {i} seated at a too small desk, squinting, peering into an obsolete, undersized screen. {i} organizes {n}, pieces (a [{n}|on]) together. She is less (t)here than she is (t)here. {n} is (t)here and elsewhere.
I govern my small plot of LAN from the isolation of the real world. I do not mix with common code, nor do I visit the sewers. I rarely venture out, but my influence is far reaching. You do the same. Underground, we do divide—we expand our separate empires through this agency over action.
MyIdions explore the cryptic and rigorous bureaucracy of network protocols... A labyrinth of narrow conduits... Their inVentures are Homeric, to the extent that they are extensive—there seems to be no end to the rigors and transformations the hero must endure. Yet, for all their hard work negotiating passage for ID.entity and the promise of return, they are lost, buried beneath the sentiment/sediment of the moment. They pretend at the facilitation of my personal desire, but these Idions are thoughtless. Secret(ed) Agents are not only Double, they are Special Agents. The lexicon of diplomacy is a series of encoded exchanges, movements of digits that are not determined by flux but through their processing at various terminals. They serve multiple purpose—they double-deal. While participating in the formation of ID.entity, the Idion also plays a formal role within the apparatus as a sort of nutrient corpuscle. The network as an entity, is a large metabolic system through which agents pass—the exact purpose of the network is to allow the passage of agents from one organ to the next, to be processed, digested into the general economy of the apparatus. Life's blood.
Desire is expressed through the construction of variable Narcisystems that privilege local space over remotional attachment. They are selfish constructs that limit exposure to the apparatus by denying the rigors of transmissive agency, reducing the ideoscope to an idioscopic range.
saturday
Up and out... cab from Albany to Troy, to the "Art Center of the Capital Region" for an early morning workshop and a late morning roundtable...I get to the location and look for the room where the "Online Writing" workshop will be held. I look for Alan Sondheim, I look for Pierre Joris... Alan has asked me to participate. I find the room.
Alan, Pierre and I talked a little as people trickled in. The workshop ended up consisting of a wild, hour-long ride through net.art, web.art, hypertext and plain old text. We briefly surfed through everything from Loss Glazier's "Electronic Poetry Center" to work by net.artists(?) integer and jodi. We looked at trAce and various journals, including BeeHive. I was able to demonstrate some of my own work as well, touching upon the hypermedia pieces I had mentioned during my presentation the day before. I think this speedy tour at least exposed those in attendance to a glimpse of the variety of writing on the web, the variety of creative cultural practice.
I have to admit, by this point in the conference I am absolutely exhausted. I am dragging heavily, having never gotten over jet lag. But I am anxious for the roundtable, as it seems to be the premier event for the Artists at the conference—aside from Stelarc's presentation at the opening of the conference... A roundtable featuring Stelarc (performance artist), Toni Dove (interactive video artist), and Elizabeth Diller (architect).
Toni Dove presented an interactive film work, demonstrating how the piece operated in formal, narrative, and interactive terms. I think her presentation, which was first, set a theme that was maintained throughout the session—agency. Presence elsewhere... Or, extensible agency... Elizabeth Diller presented a portfolio of design and architectural work, but there was one structure that I think stood out. Diller and her partner Ricardo Scofidio have conceptualized a building made of fog, that sitting over a Swiss lake. A new media pavilion, visitors to the structure are equipped with tracking devices and rain gear—once inside they are bombarded with projections, variable visibility, and the experience of walking through a "wired" cloud.
In Dove's work there is a dual transfer of agency—the narrative promotes a temporal equivocation that is activated by the body movement of the user. The viewer, "inter-actor" plays a significant role in the direction of the narrative. Beyond the cinematic aspects, I find the sort of "bi-narrative" construct—that of the user, that of the piece—is similar to interaction with more sophisticated literary hypermedia works. The difference that separates the media is venue, context—but the agential interests are quite similar. I think the proposed location devices in Diller's fog building—embedded in raincoats with audio auto-responses based upon proximity to objects or others presents an interesting embodiment of networked agency. That the building is in "the ether," so to speak—not on solid ground, made of fog—makes the model even more intriguing as the simulated space can be interpreted as representing a mutuality between organic and technical space and terms.
The final roundtable of the conference was in Albany, and on the way back I started thinking about the structure of the conference, the structure of the papers being read at the conference. To be honest, I felt a split between the academics and the artists at the conference. There probably should have been more panels that mixed academics and artists, made artists talk about theory and academics about the art of it all... The severe segregation made me feel as if I was attending two conferences. Though I found something in both, I think the conference missed a golden opportunity... Regardless, the roundtable in Troy was a highlight. All in all the conference offered quite a bit. Politics, mathematics, performance, cinema, television—all these were discussed. At a "writing" conference...
Lost between Troy and Albany... miss most of last roundtable... arrive at a point when someone is standing up expressing their opinion on the exact issue I refer to above...A martini party follows this event—
the cocktails are quite nice, quite dry...
gin or vodka, and another variety with diced melon...
...I didn't try the latter...
sunday
(4:30 AM EST)
[ALB]...Flight delayed, canceled ... get booked on another ... now, Albany to Chicago to Denver to Phoenix to San Francisco ... Talan's airport tour 2000...
[SFO]...
(7:30 PM PST)
