drops of protein, spermatocysts, watch-hands, thermostats, tiny valve pipes, air, odometers, gel, ccm, atmospheres, ions, magnets, electrolytes, bicycle spokes, honey-combs, fish fins, urine, test tubes, positive poles, negative poles, parchment, amniotic sacs, egg shells, leaf patterns, protozoa, gills, tooth enamel, ether, celluloid, isotopes, cepeid variables, gamma rays, idioplasm, perpetua mobilia, quintessence, radioactivity, signs of the zodiac, gonococci, arsenic, water wheels, alizaris, hieroglyphics, deuterons, nerve tracts, mother of pearl, jellyfish, 5 degress, pollen, meridians, hygrometers, alveoli, quinine, spectrum lines, glass fibre, parallaxes, ears, nematoblasts, flickering, bronze, footnotes, ellipses, leiden jars, phlogiston, gun powder, gravity, primodial sea, selenium, systoles, eye-balls, heliozoans, chrysoprase, fossils, units of length, cyclotrones, spawn, glaze, nothing, paleolithic era, polyps, chalcedony, CaCo3, division signs, spirit of wine, ammonium, graphite, larynxes, gall stones, WORDS.
I swim, swim in a flickering. the relays clatter in my head…dreamy phase! i race through the convolutions of my brain, i look through the vitreous spheres of my eyes…exquisite speech bubbles burst in my brain, bespatter my perception, drip from furniture. In a rabble of words from condensed perceptual mist! the echo of the anthropomorphic shit resounds from every atom, to form calcified vessels. my watch ticks…tic-toc, like a small bird in a steel case, my head is a glass bubble through which one can glimpse a frantic ticking cog wheel mechanism — and here, here in my pocket i have a little key with which i can set this mechanism in motion whenever i want.
- Autobiography of Albert Einstein, Gerhard Roth
"The term Anthropocene suggests that the Earth has now left its natural geological epoch, the present interglacial state called the Holocene. Human activities have become so pervasive and profound that they rival the great forces of Nature and are pushing the Earth into planetary terra incognita."
Dr Crutzen
I wonder whether this an ego driven theory. Regardless, I can confidently predict that the term anthropocene and anthropogenic will be kicked around by environmentalists, politicians, lobbyists and well, anyone who wants to convince you of anything. Perhaps even philosophers? More so than a geological shift (which I don't really care for), it is an ontological shift, that will superlatively affect how we interpret the meaning of our existence and our relationship with the natural. As a kid, I thought my existence and really the existence of mankind was trivial in the "grand scheme of things" and not because I was a clever kid who contemplated her own ontology but rather because it was a line from a film. A solemn character who features in an equally solemn film, who is in the midst of contemplating his mortality in a prison cell, enlightens his other inmates, "Mankind is an insignificant speck in Earth's time line". For ages I considered people and mankind as peripheral. And science dictated so, Copernicus relegated Earth from the center of the universe and Darwin placed human species onto a single twig of the evolving tree of life. But in light of anthropocence my somewhat inconsequential life is actually quite consequential. We are actually a gargantuan agency. (Massive human ego trip)
As much as I have an affinity with Buddhism, the Cosmos and generally the idea that we are mere insignificant spirits or particles in space I appreciate Anthropocene's Brave New World-esque prophecy. I use Brave New World as a prophecy point for everything but I do think it is particularly relevant to human separation from nature. The dichotomy of nature and man. In Brave New World, Man is the progressive and Nature is the savage. In the distant future kids will learn that they evolved from monkeys and think it absurd, that humans were once symbiotic with the natural world. Will kids in the distant future understand the concept of ecosystem and ecology- will such concepts exist? I find myself resenting man made structures and environments and yearning natural environments; but even then it is still man made nature. Ski resorts, beaches, national parks; man-centric.
I briefly mentioned politicians because in our current economic, political and social climate where sustainability and environment are massive buzzwords, anthropocence will be mixed into this green salad. Environmental consciousness has led to growing trend in literature, titled such as, 'An Economic Ethics for the Anthropocene.' More interestingly when I Googled "Anthropocene + Ontology" I accidentally came across Oxford Literary Review calling for papers on the deconstruction in the Anthropocene (here) to be published in 2012. Eco-criticism is obviously a rising academia field. I found this paragraph pretty captivating: "OLR is particularly interested in papers that take up the challenge of the Anthropocene in relation to the following questions. In what ways does thinking currently associated with deconstruction and the work of Jacques Derrida now take on new force, re-interpret itself or become anachronistic? Does thinking through the challenges of the Anthropocene tally with a turn to a more thing- or object -oriented ontology, the need to acknowledge the separate incalculable agency of the nonhuman, that “All reality is politics, but not all politics is human”"
Anthropocene will perhaps empower mankind with a new sense of responsibility, but also a fearfully large sense of duty too.
I am as ignorant to the exchange rate as I am of the interest rate on my credit card. In both circumstances ignorance has been bliss; I shop online, ignoring the fact that the AUD to the Pound is 2:1 and I make cash transfers from my credit card, ignoring the fact that there is 20% interest. Absurdly, the only way I manage to comprehend finance jibberish is via cheeseburgers. When I was backpacking, cheeseburgers were a staple food in my diet. They were so delicious, somewhat nutritious, and importantly convenient and cheap. As a cheeseburger enthusiast and ex-McDonald's employee I was conscious of the differences in cheeseburgers from Paris to Buenos Aires to Tokyo- especially in their price difference. My somewhat unused left brain got to thinking about how such prices differences were indicative of perhaps, that country's economic climate and currency strength. In that light bulb moment, for me, a McDonald's cheeseburger became more than a patty between two buns and more so a universal symbol for food prices. As much as I was proud of myself for somewhat grappling the idea of purchasing power parity, the correlation seemed a bit amateurish. BUT ALAS! I was happy to see The Economist, an immensely credible and legit journal, collate a Big Mac Index.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index
People used to tell me that I had beautiful hands
Told me so often in fact that one day
I started to believe them
Until I asked my photographer father
'Hey Daddy could I be a hand model'
to which he said
'No way'
I don't remember the reason he gave me
and I would've been upset
but there were far too many stuffed animals to hold
too many homework assignments to write
too many boys to wave at
too many years to grow
We use to have a game, my dad and I
about holding hands
Cause we use to hold hands everywhere
And every time either he or I
would whisper a great big number to the other
pretending we were keeping track of how
many times we had held hands
That we were sure that this one had to be the
eight million
two thousand
seven hundred
and fifty three
Hands learn, more than minds do
Hands learn how to hold other hands
How to grip pencils and mould poetry
How to tickle pianos and dribble a basketball
And grip the handles of a bicycle
How to hold old people and touch babies
I love hands like I love people
They are the maps and compasses'
with which we navigate our way through life
Some people read palms to tell your future
But I read hands to tell your past
Each scar marks a story worth telling
Each calloused palm or each cracked knuckle
is a missed punch or years in a factory
Now i've seen Middle Eastern hands clenched
And Middle Eastern fists
pounding against each other like war drums
Each country sees their fists as warriors
and others as enemies
Even if fists alone are only hands
But this is not about politics, no
this is a poem about love and fingers
Fingers interlocked like a beautiful zipper of prayer
One time I grabbed my dad's hands so that our fingers interlocked perfectly
But he changed positions saying
'No that hand hold is for your mum'
Kids high five
But grown ups we learn how to shake hands
You need a firm handshake
but don't hold on too tight
but don't let go too soon
but don't hold down for too long
But hands are not about politics
When did it become so complicated
I always thought it simple
The other day my dad looked at my hands
as if seeing them for the first time
And with laughter behind his eyelids
And with all the seriousness a man of his humour can muster
he said
'You know you have nice hands, you could've been a hand model'"
-Sarah Kay
Told me so often in fact that one day
I started to believe them
Until I asked my photographer father
'Hey Daddy could I be a hand model'
to which he said
'No way'
I don't remember the reason he gave me
and I would've been upset
but there were far too many stuffed animals to hold
too many homework assignments to write
too many boys to wave at
too many years to grow
We use to have a game, my dad and I
about holding hands
Cause we use to hold hands everywhere
And every time either he or I
would whisper a great big number to the other
pretending we were keeping track of how
many times we had held hands
That we were sure that this one had to be the
eight million
two thousand
seven hundred
and fifty three
Hands learn, more than minds do
Hands learn how to hold other hands
How to grip pencils and mould poetry
How to tickle pianos and dribble a basketball
And grip the handles of a bicycle
How to hold old people and touch babies
I love hands like I love people
They are the maps and compasses'
with which we navigate our way through life
Some people read palms to tell your future
But I read hands to tell your past
Each scar marks a story worth telling
Each calloused palm or each cracked knuckle
is a missed punch or years in a factory
Now i've seen Middle Eastern hands clenched
And Middle Eastern fists
pounding against each other like war drums
Each country sees their fists as warriors
and others as enemies
Even if fists alone are only hands
But this is not about politics, no
this is a poem about love and fingers
Fingers interlocked like a beautiful zipper of prayer
One time I grabbed my dad's hands so that our fingers interlocked perfectly
But he changed positions saying
'No that hand hold is for your mum'
Kids high five
But grown ups we learn how to shake hands
You need a firm handshake
but don't hold on too tight
but don't let go too soon
but don't hold down for too long
But hands are not about politics
When did it become so complicated
I always thought it simple
The other day my dad looked at my hands
as if seeing them for the first time
And with laughter behind his eyelids
And with all the seriousness a man of his humour can muster
he said
'You know you have nice hands, you could've been a hand model'"
-Sarah Kay
GOOGLE STREET VIEW
In street view photography, Google cars, mounted with nine cameras, roam the earth, automatically recording whatever comes within their purview. Street view photography is indifferent and without artistic or human intention. It is bereft of context, history or meaning. Despite this; despite that these images and its subjects are purely symptoms of a robotic gaze of an automated camera- there is something very human
Fucking scary, it's bona fide Birds.
I could not think of better photo to sum up post Cold War Russia.
Fresh, clean, fragrant white linen blowing in the wind.
The fence, it's like peeping into your neighbour's backyard.
This intrigues me so. Where is he going? What is he waiting for?
http://9-eyes.com/
RUINS OF DETROIT
YVES MARCHAND
et
ROMAINE MEFFRE
When a building is abandoned, in some way it’s escaping from us,from our human context. It's like it’s slipping into another reality. We try to depict that.Ruins and buildings are really good metaphors for human nature,for our ability to create and destroy. A fading and rotting building reminds you how fluctuating and ephemeral things are. Ruins are a kind of humanisation of architecture. Their fragility brings them closer to us. They turn structures that can be perceived as inanimate and cold into something really moving.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)