[NetBehaviour] a new Microcode: Vito Acconci's 'Seedbed'

[james morris]

Hi Pall,

I've got to admit that I've had trouble too, understanding your
MicroCodes. Sometimes I think I get it, other times I read what you've
written and think I've been misunderstanding.

The formal interpretation of code is instinctive when I view it, so
trying to read code as something else, to value my human interpretation
almost cut off from the formal meaning is really quite difficult that it
just does not happen.

Consequently my response is (or can be) almost blind to a human response,
and involves elaborating upon the code. I always want code to do more,
for the computer's interpretation of it put into action, to be
satisfying for the viewer. So I don't think you're being stubborn, as
although the concept is quite simple, it can be difficult to hold in
ones mind, so stubborn repetition is quite useful.


james.



On 2/7/2009, "Pall Thayer" <pallthay at gmail.com> wrote:

>Hi Alan,
>I'm probably just being overly stubborn to make a point. Of course the
>idea of the "Seedbed" code is to play around with the dual meaning in
>the line "touch $myself". And if I understand you correctly you're
>simply pointing out the ways in which words and images evoke emotional
>responses even though whatever mediates the words and/or images is
>itself incapable of such emotional responses. This is just our way of
>understanding things. We attempt, maybe even at a subconscious level,
>to apply whatever is being mediated to our own selves (or someone
>else's) to see how that affects us. But the interesting thing is that
>whereas we usually see programming code as something to be interpreted
>by a computer and then we interpret that interpretation, in this case
>(and in fact this is the underlying concept of the Microcodes in
>general) our interpretation of the code elicits a much stronger, more
>meaningful response than an interpretation of the computer's
>interpretation of the code. This is something I want people to
>consider and be aware of, that's why I'm being so stubborn. I'm sure
>there are people out there who experience some discomfort in reading
>the "Seedbed" code. Some might even feel embarrassed, turned on,
>ashamed or all of the above. If I didn't want people to feel this way
>I wouldn't have associated it with "Seedbed". But I hope that they
>will take the time to discover what the words as computer code really
>mean and see the absurdity of it all.
>
>best r.
>Pall
....