Deleuze

Despite this reading being particularly dense I felt that this has immediate and interesting applications to my own practice more so than Heidegger. Deleuze in many ways is the opposite to Heidegger as he views things as not being but becoming. He introduces the concept of a becoming-animal, where a person can be becoming an animal and takes on some of its attributes. This isn't to say that a person actually becomes a dog as that would be being Deleuze suggests that we are in a constant state of becoming something else. From this I though the notion of a becoming-book could be particularly interesting.

This becoming is of course a process so within art for example seeing the artists hand in some work eg Cezanne would show this process. We know that the image is made out of paint yet we see that is a landscape. This relates to text on page also, we know that is made up of letters yet it becomes meaningful, the reading of it takes you elsewhere. The content of books themselves can also often be about becoming and the act of writing them. Deleuze references Virginia Woolf whose characters are often in a state of becoming.

Deleuze also writes about time, and how it never stops but just continues at different speeds. This sense of movement is apparent in the way in which we read, as our eyes move across a page and in the turning of a page. Also the way in which a book is published in editions, and that more versions are created also ties into this feeling of becoming. Again it seems to fit much better than a state of being books and their nature seem to always be moving.

The way in which the publishing industry as a whole is also in a state of becoming. The move into digital technology is particularly interesting as digital technology it is often seen as masculine. However I would argue that it feels more in a state of becoming than being and therefore more feminine. As like the feminist movement, it is questioning the established structure. Particularly in terms of the internet and new programs, devices like the i-pad being created. I am interested to see how books are almost in a state of becoming-digital. It appears to be an unhappy progression in the publishing industry as they are reacting quite painfully to the changes however change isn't often achieved smoothly.

It would be interesting to try and apply the becoming-animal to a book. Could a library be a pack? with its own outsiders and sorcerers to encounter? Each book certainly has an identity the physical quality of a book affects the way in which we interact with it. Also like Deleuze's Vampires infecting others as a way of procreating could we consider the act of reading as an infection of the mind? Could the act of reading and the implantation of ideas create in people a becoming-book?

Heidegger

The first strategies of thoughts lecture in the series was on Boredom from the philosopher Heidegger. It was my first experience of Heidegger so it took a little while to adjust to his writing style which is almost a stream of consciousness. He examines the subject from one angle and then another. He never really focuses or comes to a definitive answer to what he is examining. Despite this initially being frustrating you quickly realise that this is an important way of thinking that can be applied to your own practice. It is not the answer but the journey that is important and so viewing things from different angles has a great value.

Heidegger also highlights the importance of documenting your ideas as it is not possible to hold two thoughts in your mind. Therefore techniques such as his writing style and mind-mapping are important parts of research.

The notion of time is one way of understanding boredom. That when we experience boredom time seems to slow, however we try to avoid this. It is almost contradictory to our nature as we wish to live for a long time yet we are wishing our life away. Heidegger also uses Dasein which refers to man as in state of Being, which is very structuralist. For him the human mind is more static and fixed in itself, which used as a basis for patriarchal society.

So from Heidegger's work around boredom I can apply to my own practice his stratedgy of thought. I can think around my subject and try to view it from different angles in order to be more thorough and original. Another concept I can learn from Heidegger relates to the nature of boredom. It is that an object itself is not boring but it is a combination of our own perception and the object that creates boredom. This can be applied in my practice in terms of remembering where I place my own work. That something like too much exposure can produce monotony and so the right amount of work in the right place will produce the best results.

Hello

Hello,

The blog has come into being as a way of documenting my thoughts around the MA Design and Art Direction (Manchester School of Art) I have started this year. My intention is to use it as a space to think around and expand on the idea's I am getting and the experiences I'm having on the course and professionally.

I intend to look at how books are developing into digital media. This I will consider through examining the way in which we read, the value of a physical object and wider issues within the publishing industry. I will be focusing in particular on a comparison between analogue and digital media and so this blog is an important way of documenting my findings alongside my journal.