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Updated November 22nd, 2011 All information on this page is provided in collaboration with students on WR30230: Textual Interventions (2011/2012) To add further information, e-mail your critical profile to jpm@aber.ac.uk Submissions may be edited prior to inclusion Suggestions for writing a critical profile (see examples from 2010):
Polarity's Child ... Links ... Moving Text, 2010 ... Moving Text, 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/poetry/ondisplay/flight/flight.html
I chose this piece primarily on the strength of the poem, but also how the animation and sound enhance the impact it has on the reader. I am interested in the way that animation, sound and various other digital effects which are unavailable in printed poetry can complement a poem that already works in its own right. 'Flight Comes Easily' creates a sense of eeriness, of being lost in the monumental distances between stars, and of being far away from a comforting, ordinary existence. The 'space-suit breathing' enhances the suggestion that this is a poem about being in space. However, the visuals of the poem work to undermine this, not showing us images of dark space or stars, but of the body; of cell division, a spinal chord and of blood running through veins. It suggests that the 'flying' of which the poem speaks is intrinsically linked to the body, and may well take place in the unconscious, hidden parts of the self. What is important about this piece is that it could function as a poem without the animation or sound, and still have an, admittedly limited, effect on the reader. The sound and visuals of this poem serve to augment an already effective text. This piece is by Eduardo Kac http://www.ekac.org/storms.swf I chose Storms because I was impressed by its simplicity and elegance. I use the same colour scheme in my own moving text. The poem is constantly changing yet always makes sense- furthermore, it is always incredibly evocative and beautiful. Every time the user clicks on a letter a new poem with new meanings is created before them, opposing and affecting itself depending on the order that the words fall in. If Kac had an original intention for his poem it cannot possibly exist beyond his own mind with this digital piece. The Death of the Author... or perhaps The Re-birth.
http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/stefans__the_dreamlife_of_letters.html The piece I have found is called 'The Dreamlife of Letters' by Brian Kim Stefans. Though it is a longer piece I have chosen it not only due to the film but also the context of its basis on Rachel Blau Du DuPlessis. We are told even before the piece that it 'attempts to explore the ground between classic concrete poetry, avant-garde feminist practice, and "ambient" I'd like to suggest the works of Young Hae Chang Heavy Industries which can be found here: http://www.yhchang.com/ with particular emphasis on this piece: http://www.yhchang.com/SAMSUNG_MEANS_TO_COME.html I really like these pieces because they place emphasis on the actual textual part of moving texts. Rather than relying on gimmicks to prop up fairly uninspired pieces of text they enhance pieces of already high quality prose with appropriate and considered animation. "SAMSUNG MEANS TO COME" in particular makes good use of repeated buzzwords, catchphrases and visual motifs to imitate the corporate marketing campaigns it intends to parody.
Polarity's Child ... Links ... Moving Text, 2010 ... Moving Text, 2011 |