the really modern reader

Readers of this blog will probably find much of interest in Sucking on Words, a new documentary on conceptual poet Kenneth Goldsmith. Goldsmith, as I’ve noted before, is the wizard behind the curtain at ubu.com; this documentary, by Simon Morris, focuses on his work as a conceptual poet. Like much conceptual art, Goldsmith’s work tends to make many sputteringly angry; as he himself readily admits in the film, the idea of reading it can be superior to the act of reading it, and the exploration of his work in this documentary might be the best introduction to it that’s available.
A typical Goldsmith piece is to take all the text of a day’s edition of The New York Times – all of it, from the first ad to the last – and to put it into a standard book format: viewed this way, the daily paper has the heft of a typical novel. It becomes apparent from this that when we talk about “reading” a day’s New York Times, we really only mean reading a tiny subsection of the actual text in the paper. Our act of reading the paper is as much an act of ignoring. (Nor is this limited to print media; taking a typical page on the online Times, one notes that of the 963 words on the page, only 589 are the article proper: our reading of an article online entails ignoring 2/5 of the words. This quick count pays no attention to words in images, which would send the ignored quotient higher.)
Goldsmith starts from the proposition that there’s enough language in the world already. Like many in the digital age, he’s trying to find ways to make sense of it all; in a sense, he’s creating visualizations.

2 thoughts on “the really modern reader

  1. bowerbird

    the entry on this page was 306 words, out of the 831 total,
    so “readers” had to ignore 525 words here, more than half… :+)
    -bowerbird
    Main
    Blog
    Page
    Main
    Site
    Page
    a
    thought
    experiment:
    reading
    in
    parallel
    Main
    ———————- begin entry
    the
    really
    modern
    reader
    Post
    date
    11.07.2007,
    12:33
    PM
    Readers
    of
    this
    blog
    will
    probably
    find
    much
    of
    interest
    in
    Sucking
    on
    Words,
    a
    new
    documentary
    on
    conceptual
    poet
    Kenneth
    Goldsmith.
    Goldsmith,
    as
    I’ve
    noted
    before,
    is
    the
    wizard
    behind
    the
    curtain
    at
    ubu.com;
    this
    documentary,
    by
    Simon
    Morris,
    focuses
    on
    his
    work
    as
    a
    conceptual
    poet.
    Like
    much
    conceptual
    art,
    Goldsmith’s
    work
    tends
    to
    make
    many
    sputteringly
    angry;
    as
    he
    himself
    readily
    admits
    in
    the
    film,
    the
    idea
    of
    reading
    it
    can
    be
    superior
    to
    the
    act
    of
    reading
    it,
    and
    the
    exploration
    of
    his
    work
    in
    this
    documentary
    might
    be
    the
    best
    introduction
    to
    it
    that’s
    available.
    A
    typical
    Goldsmith
    piece
    is
    to
    take
    all
    the
    text
    of
    a
    day’s
    edition
    of
    The
    New
    York
    Times

    all
    of
    it,
    from
    the
    first
    ad
    to
    the
    last

    and
    to
    put
    it
    into
    a
    standard
    book
    format:
    viewed
    this
    way,
    the
    daily
    paper
    has
    the
    heft
    of
    a
    typical
    novel.
    It
    becomes
    apparent
    from
    this
    that
    when
    we
    talk
    about
    “reading”
    a
    day’s
    New
    York
    Times,
    we
    really
    only
    mean
    reading
    a
    tiny
    subsection
    of
    the
    actual
    text
    in
    the
    paper.
    Our
    act
    of
    reading
    the
    paper
    is
    as
    much
    an
    act
    of
    ignoring.
    (Nor
    is
    this
    limited
    to
    print
    media;
    taking
    a
    typical
    page
    on
    the
    online
    Times,
    one
    notes
    that
    of
    the
    963
    words
    on
    the
    page,
    only
    589
    are
    the
    article
    proper:
    our
    reading
    of
    an
    article
    online
    entails
    ignoring
    2/5
    of
    the
    words.
    This
    quick
    count
    pays
    no
    attention
    to
    words
    in
    images,
    which
    would
    send
    the
    ignored
    quotient
    higher.)
    Goldsmith
    starts
    from
    the
    proposition
    that
    there’s
    enough
    language
    in
    the
    world
    already.
    Like
    many
    in
    the
    digital
    age,
    he’s
    trying
    to
    find
    ways
    to
    make
    sense
    of
    it
    all;
    in
    a
    sense,
    he’s
    creating
    visualizations.
    Posted
    by
    dan
    visel
    ———————- end entry
    on
    November
    7,
    2007
    12:33
    PM
    tags:
    Kenneth_Goldsmith,
    conceptualism,
    conceptualpoetry,
    documentary,
    poetry,
    reading
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  2. Gary Frost

    Reading is a physical act. The daily paper newspaper is a physical adventure. We do not delete the physical pages. We explore them. And consider the liberation of throwing the paper newspaper away. Electronic waste is not just abandoned toxic hardware. We abandon electronic news by not physically reading it to begin with. Its, like, unreal.

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