Yesterday at 10am, members of the Rome-based research group Stalker Lab orchestrated the NY Peace Walk: In the Footsteps of Paul Auster. Starting at the Storefront for Architecture, participants walked to the United Nations Building spelling the word PEACE along the way.
So, 'great' you say. That's very clever, and pointed, and counter-cultural like a good public performance by an unfortunately named group of erudite Italian artists/architects who are nostalgic for the situationist movement of the 1960's by intellectualizing the simple act of walking. Although I enjoy their intent, I don't understand the accompanying manifesto. It seems to be just complex words about walking. Simple walking. (Mark, I hope you read this)I'm more interested in this event for other reasons. Firstly, as an advocate for the use of the city's public landscape as interpretive space - open to anyone who wants to unfold their uncanny ideas upon it. Come one, come all. Do whatever you'd like. The stranger the better in my book. Secondly because after my most recent dalliance with the United Nations, I keep a close eye on it. And thirdly, because the name Paul Auster is one I haven't considered for years, and doing so gives me exciting things to ponder.
My undergrad at the U of Nebraska was peppered with Auster. His book The Music of Chance had just been released and some random college professor decided to spring it upon a bunch of 18 year olds from nowhere-Nebraska. I distinctly remember it's premise about the search for identity and personal meaning and the role of coincidence and random events. Or more succinctly, the relationships between men and their peers and environment. So of course, because I enjoy coincidence, and seem to be experiencing more of it than usual, I did a little research on the writing of Mr. Auster. I found this:
Two strong elements in Paul Auster's writing are Jacques Lacan's psychoanalysis. In short Lacan's theory describes that we constitute the world in words. We observe the world through our senses but they only enter our mind when we find the right words. Thus our subconscious is also structured in language.
Instances of coincidence can be found all over Auster's work. Auster himself claims that people are so influenced by all the consistent stories that surround them, that they do not see the elements of coincidence, inconsistency and contradiction in their own lives. - Wikipedia
I guess this little reminder of a piece of literature from over 10 years ago, via seemingly wordy Italian walkers, is confirmation to keep on looking. And to keep on blogging. And that perhaps, as I have loosely intuited, vibrant urbanity creates more coincidence in our lives because maybe it lessens the doldrum of consistency.
2 comments:
there are blogger rules?
eeek - uh oh.
you silly! there aren't general blog rules. that would defeat the purpose of open source! just my own rules for my blog - to keep it with some sort of purpose and direction.
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