Friday, October 23, 2009

On phenomenological wesensschau in voodles



" For example, if we are seeking to form an idea of, or to understand the essence of, a spatial figure, such as this voodle, we must first perceive it. Then we will imagine all the possible aspects contained in this figure as changed. That which cannot be varied without the object itself disappearing is the essence. Suppose that we wish to form the idea of melody. We recall a tune which we have learned to sing, and suppose that all the notes and all the relations between the notes are changed. That which remains invariable and without which there would be no more melody is the essence we are seeking. In the same way, if we are trying to conceive the the essence of a "social process", we will represent to our selves a social process in which we have participated or concerning which we have some historical understanding. That which does not vary through all conceivable variations will be the essence. Even when one thinks in terms of of the pure essence, one always thinks of the visible - the fact. But in the case of Wesenschau, the individual fact is neither grasped nor assumed as a reality, which is shown by the fact that we subject it to an imaginary variation."

Further dwelling in the intricacies of phenomenology, Sam Renseiw subjected a recorded moment of etude exercise to imaginary variation(s), thus introducing both a tune and the reverberations of a social process. View the overloaded footage by clicking here or on the links above. (patafilm # 729, 01'40'' 22,2MB, Quicktime/mov - other versions at Blip.tv) click here for archive.org version

Today's Bonus Lumiere Video features almost a minute of full frontal, backwards projection complete with cameo appearance by Sam. (Lum # 231, "shadow dance", 01'00, 12.8MB, Quicktime/mov)

Labels: , , , , ,