Week 2-Automatism

Automatism is spontaneous, impulsive behavior that forgoes concentrated thought in favor of improvisation based on instinct.  It is free association.  The absence of control.  Or at least, that's the best descriptor I could come up with without copying from wikipedia or the dictionary.  I'd like to say it's "voluntary Tourette's Syndrome for artists" but without knowing a ton about that particular disorder, I'm sure drawing that comparison is somehow offensive.

The assignment for this week has "Cut-up technique" specifically singled out.  The cut-up technique involves taking a completed text, physically dissecting it, and then reassembling the pieces in a new configuration that alters the meaning of the original.  Is this where the concept of Mad Libs came from?

Visual examples of cut-up technique.

William Burroughs credits Brion Gysin as the first person to work with the cut-up technique.  Gysin discovered his method by rearranging the scraps of newspapers he'd been using as a cutting mat to form new texts.

My attempt at the cut-up technique was more along the lines of clipping and rearranging texts, as opposed to spontaneous, free form improvisation:

Week 1-Found Object

"Stan Lee's Amazing Marvel Universe"

I chose this book because I have two of them. I don't say that in the flippant sense of "I picked this book to destroy because I have a spare", I chose it because of what having two copies seems to say about me. Both were gifts given to me by two different people in the same year. One was for Christmas from a roommate, one was from a coworker for my birthday. These people don't know each other, and the nature of my relationship to each of them is significantly different, yet these two unrelated individuals both saw the same book and apparently thought it would be right up my alley. I find this a tad unsettling. Not because of the book itself (I did like it, it's fine) but because of how seemingly predictable my tastes are. That two acquaintances have simplified me down to "the comic book guy." The bracelet I'm wearing in the photo featuring logos of various superheroes was also a gift from a third party, so my roommate and coworker are not alone in their assessment of me.

 I like to think of myself as a complex person, with diverse tastes and varying interests, but I guess I don't read as multifaceted as I'd hoped. None of these people knows me particularly well. I assume that those who are closer to me have a more 3-dimensional sense of me as a person. Still, I can't help but be amused that multiple people made a surface level assessment of me as someone who is way into comics.

To be clear, I'm not offended by this, I simply see it as interesting and perhaps an indication that I should diversify the decor in my room and office. There are worse things to be pigeonholed as than "comic book nerd." If people were gifting me stacks of pornographic magazines or something, maybe then I'd have reason for concern.

 My example of a "found object artist" is Marcel Duchamp. As such a looming figure in conceptual art, he probably seems like an uninspired choice. Well, my background and interests in art tend to run towards the commercial. I like cartoons (and yes, comics), book and advertising illustration, line drawings etc. I like "low art." Someone like Duchamp wasn't even on my radar prior to a couple of years ago when school forced me to explore outside my immediate interests. So while yes, Marcel Duchamp is an obvious example to cite, considering my personal biases the mere fact that I even know who he is is somewhat miraculous.