[-empyre-] farewell -empyrean- : beyond the gates
Christina McPhee
christina at christinamcphee.net
Tue Feb 2 14:14:41 EST 2010
[in memoriam David Daniels http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Daniels_poet
. As David acidly reminded us moderators:
" I only add that in my experience 'Off Topic' always leads to LIFE.
Staying 'On Topic' kills. When we are dead we can stay 'On Topic' "
https://lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au/pipermail/empyre/2004-August/msg00131.html
dear -empyrean-s all,
In summer of1999 I was at Banff Centre for the Arts. I was invited
(like everyone else on campus) to participate in the wonderfully zany
Brainwave Drawing/Seance project , an early live conversation /
transmission project. It took place at the Walter Phillips Gallery,
thanks to Parkbench http://www.brainwavedrawings.com/webseance/seance/press.html
. The seance took: I was hooked into transmissions. I looked for
connecting words + parole with other artists and theorists equally
obsessed. It made me into a kind of scout of new rhetorics - new
media as linguistic Wild West. Soon I found Melinda Rackham's work
and baby -empyre- , in early 2001, thanks to a shared online show on
the now-defunct chairetmetal (Melinda : http://www.subtle.net/empyrean/
and Christina: http://naxsmash.net/47reds/about47reds.html )
curated by Olivier Dyens (CA). Olivier served as the first and solo
guest on -empyre's- debut.
I loved the image of a soft-skinned space, as if one of Ant Farm's
inflatables, escape from the cubicle or the white cube. Melinda's
slightly nerdy use of lower caps for the name of the list - it was
never 'Empyre'-- but always " -empyre- " with those little dashes on
either side, made the idea of 'empire' itself as absurd and as pompous
as it may be-going up in flames (pyre or gyre?).
When Melinda wanted a break to finish her PhD, I took on moderation
and the curating of each month for awhile, -empyre- became way to
connect with humans while deep in the wormhole of production. Soon
other moderators joined us, like Michael Arnold Mages, Felix Sattler,
Tracey Benson, Sergio Basbaum, Marcus Bastos, Jason Nelson; and now,
Gabriel Menotti, Nick Ruiz, Tim Murray and Renate Ferro....
Since 2002 so many thoughtful persons have brought voice to the 'soft-
skinned space'. I am especially happy that we somehow figured out how
to do multilingual conversations to a limited extent in Spanish,
French and Portuguese around English. I hope this continues.
Looking through the -empyre- archives- https://lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au/pipermail/empyre/-
it's amazing to scan and slip through this multi-authored document--
a real babel , if such means 'tower reaching gods' ... stacking up to
the heavens layers of astonishing, witty, strange, goofy, informative,
dry, sarcastic, elemental remarks. Try reading it backwards or cherry-
pick.
Deepest thanks to everyone-- your generous contributions are over the
top. -I beg pardon to those whom I somehow have missed mentioning.
It has been a blast. Thank you, thank you! to Melinda Rackham,
Olivier Dyens, Auriea Harvey, MEZ, Patrick Lichty, Joseph Nechvatal,
Alemsah Ozturk, Brendan Howell, Helen Varley Jameson, Deanne Achong,
Marc Garrett, Jordan Crandall, Jill Walker, Helen Thorington, Angela
Main, Anthony Rowe, Adrian Miles, Antonetta Ivanova, Cristiano
Bianchi, Damien Everett, Greg Little, Jaka Zeleznikar, John Klima, Jun-
Ann Lam, Michael Arnold Mages, Kathy Rae Huffmann, Tamiko Thielo,
Tiffany Holmes, Wendy Joy, Brad Brace, Amy Ione, Damien Everett,
Geniwate, Daniel Palmer, John Haber, Jeff Sonstein, Nicolas Clauss,
Jun-Ann Lam, Sylvie Parent, Jason Nelson, Nemo Nox, Saul Ostrow,
Katherine Parrish, Barrie Collins, Chris Campbell, Brandon Barr,
Christiane Paul, Dr. Hugo, Garnet Hertz, Valerie Lamontagne, Reiner
Strasser, Peter Luining, Mario Lima Cavalcanti, Lachlan Brown, Sean
Cubitt, Eryk Salvaggio, Hideki Nakazawa, J. Abbate, Jim Andrews, Lea
Deschamps, Clemente Padin, Daniel Dugas, Valerie Leblanc, Sue Thomas,
Angela Main, Vijay Pattisapu, Grayson Cooke, Mary Flanagan, Adam Nash,
Charlotte Frost, Christiane Robbins, Fatima Lasay, Nathalie Magnan,
Julianne Pierce, Maria Tjader-Knight, Felix Sattler, Gillian McIver,
Ian Stevenson, jonCates, Pia Ednie-Brown, Sandra Jo Shelton, Amanda
McDonald Crowley, Christiane Paul, Camille Baker, John Hopkins,
Gregoire Zabe, Josephine Bosma, Lloyd Sharp, Teri Rueb, Brett
Stalbaum, John Tonkin, Kate Richards, Per Platou, Garrett Lynch, Hazel
Smith, Steve Guynup, Susan Ballard, Eliza Fernbach, Mark Kristmanson,
Damali Ayo, Leafa Janice Wilson, Claudia Raddatz, Danny Butt, David
O'Halloran, Katherine Moriwaki, Keith Obadike, Linda Wallace, Roya
Jakoby, Taylor Nuttall, Tobias Van Veen, Patrick Simons, Raul Ferrera
Balanquet, Chris Byrne, Glenn Bach, Jean-Phillipe Halgand, Mendi
Obadike, John Kannenberg, Ignacio Nieto, Marie-Claude Poulin, Eugenie
Shinkle, Henry Warwick, Troy Innocent, Andrew Murphie, Alessandro
Ludovico, Joel Weishaus, Tamara Lai, Yvonne Martinsson, Deborah Kelly,
Diana McCarty, Isabel Saij, Judy Malloy, Tim Murray, Catherine
d'Ignazio, Aliette Gilbert de Certhoux, Ashley Holmes, Carolyn
Guertin, Christy Dena, Jim Andrews, Nick Montfort, Noah Wardrip-
Fruiin, Kate Southworth, Steve Dietz, Tamara Lai, Geert Lovink, Marius
Watz, Trebor Scholz, Alexandre Venera, Ana Balint, Regina Celia Pinto,
Honor Harger, Jan Hendrik Brueggemeier, Marjorie C. Luesebrink, Adam
Hyde, Lucio Agra, Gisele Bieguelman, Barbara Lattanzi, Ben Syverson,
jon.satrom, noemata, Sherry Hocking, Simon Biggs, Andy Polaine, Boat
People, Carlos Henrique R. Falci, Chris Caines, Clare Stewart, Helen
Stuckey, Melanie Swalwell, Sam da Silva, Zina Kaye, Tom Nicholson,
Eddo Stern, Christian McCrea, Brody Condon, Ana Valdes, Josephine
Starrs, Radwan Kasmiya, Andreas Broeckmann, Axel Bruns, Charlotte
Frost, Gianni Wise, Jeremy Hight, Christoph Bruno, Geri Wittig, Jeff
Knowlton, Naomi Spellman, Ruben Coen Cagli, Pali Thayer, Jim Barrett,
Simon Taylor, Jacob Lillemose, Jeff Gates, Matthieu O'Neill, Randall
Packer, Mauro Annunziato, Ken Rinaldo, Kominos Zervos, Mitchell
Whitelaw, Paul Brown, Nancy Paterson, Susan Aaron, William Tremblay,
Christine Goldbeck, Jacqui Clarke, Sally Jane Norman, Soo Kwok Heng,
The Paul Annears, Sue Ballard, Trudy Lane, Stella Brennan, Nancy Mauro-
Flude, Luciana Duranti, Paul Koerbin, Sharmin Choudhury, Yann
Leguenec, Kevin McGarry, Simon Pockley, Yvette Hackett, Andrew
Burrell, Margaret Phillips, Rike Koh, Maria Miranda, Chris Joseph,
Andres Burbano, Eduardo Navas, Cecil Touchon, Heidi Figueroa, Renee
Turner, Jess Losby, McKenzie Wark, Jordan Williams, Joeser Alvarez,
Ryan Griffis, Brad Brace, Kate Southworth, Young Hae Chang Heavy
Industries, David Jhave Johnston, Doron Golon, Kim Machan, Jacques
Sirot, Abe Linkoln, Anna Munster, Bill Fisher, Chris Ashley, Liza
Sabater, Marcus Bastos, Rich White, Robert Labossiere, Tom Moody,
Chris Salter, Franck Ancel, Michelle Riel, Michelle Teran, Tracey
Benson, Floyd Mueller, Scott Paterson, Angel Nevarez, Ian Clothier,
Lana Lin, Mariam Ghani, Ricardo MIranda Zuniga, Angela Ferraiolo, Bill
Seamoan, Brigid McLeer, Peter Ciccarriello, Charles Baldwin, Dirk
Schuering, Frederic Madre, Friedrich W. Block, Dirk Vekemans, Gisele
Beiguelman, Kenneth Newby, Roman Danylak, Alex Killough, Christina
Ulke, Deborah Kelly, Cara Baldwin, Marc Herbst, Nato Thompson, Robby
Herbst, Brian Lee Yung Rowe, Andy Gracie, Luigi Pagliarini, Raquel
Paricio, Raquel Renno, David Cuartielles, Alexandra Dulic, Alan Drury,
Johannes Blank, Claire Pentecost, Isabelle Arvers, Lucia Sommer,
Nicholas Ruiz, blakkbyrd, Linda Carroll, Erik Kluitenberg, G. H.
Hovagimyan, Thomas Schmidt, Amit Pitaru, James Patterson, Joel
Swanson, Roger Malina, Federico Bonelli, Dene Grigar, Sergio Basbaum,
Bee Flowers, Ulrich Malik, Conor McGarrigle, Jacky Sawatsky, Michele
White, Nicholas Brown, Sarah Kanouse, Susana Mendes Silva, Tina
Gonsalves, Gunalan Nadarajan, Jose-Carlos Mariategui, Rob van
Kranenburg, Brian Holmes, Joanna Callahan, Luis Silva, Lucas Bombazzi,
Heather Corcoran, Stephen Jones, Marina Vishmidt, Paula Roush, Alexis
Turner, Femke Snelting, Nathalie Fougeras, Hamed Taheri, Johannes
Birringer, Ceclia Parsberg, Joy Garnett, Loretta Napoleoni, Claudia
Reiche, Iliyana Nedkova, Sharon Daniel, Chris Molinski, Alan Sondheim,
Brooke Singer, Gabriela Vargas-Cetina, Norie Neumark, Paul Vanouse,
Renate Ferro, Annie Abrahams, Jill Magid, Lee Wells, Stacia Yeapanis,
Brian Droitcour, Jenny Marketou, Anna Robinson, Chris Dodds, Domenico
Quaranta, Hugh Davies, John von Seggern, Ricardo Peach, Fabio
Zambetta, Kath O'Donnell, Kathy Clelland, Leif Brush, Pierre Proske,
Scott Kildall, Stephan Doesinger, Susan Douglas, Catherine Ingraham,
James Way, Maurice Benayoun, Kevin Hamilton, Jeremy Baudry, Millie
Chen, Teddy Cruz, Jose Perez de Lama, Jasper Bernes, Judith Roof, Dean
Wilson, Reggie Woolery, Eugene Thacker, Steve Devos, Madeleine Reich
Casad, Katherine Carl, Naeem Mohaimen, Cara Walz, Ayesha Hameed,
Michael Deeter, Margarete Jahrmann, Kerrie-Dee Johns, Daphne Dragona,
Max Moswitzer, Julian Oliver, David Surman, Dale Hudson, Tom Shevory,
Patty Zimmerman, Stephanie Rothenberg, Jim Bizzochi, Britta Riley,
Sharon Lin Tay, Ulises Mejias, Irina Contreras, Bill Kelley, Ricardo
Bracho, Megan Debin, Felipe Teixeira, Eduardo Molinari, Jennifer
Flores Sternad, Andre Mesquita, Brian Whitener, Javier Toscano, Jeremy
Douglas, Fabi Borges, Ampat Varghese, Gisela Doschke, Felipe Fonseca,
Sarah Cooke, Simon Biggs, Michele Barker, Ben Bogart, Alan Dunning,
Barbara Marie Stafford, Paul Woodrow, John Onians, Lucette Cysique,
Trish Adams, Edgar Landgraf, Frederic Neyrat, Miguel Santos, Yvonne
Martinsson, Verena Conley, Navjotika Kumar, Greg Smith, Judy Cockeram,
Ricardo Dominguez, Cathy Davidson, Andrew Garton, Sheldon Brown, Micha
Cardenas, John Cayley, Juan Gutierrez, Laurent Sauerwein, Davin
Heckman, Cinzia Cremona, Michel Angelo Tata, Cynthia Beth Rubin, jeff
Pierce, Joseph Tabi,Laura Cull, Erin Maning, Asley Ferro-Murray, Li
Zhenhua, Stamiata Portanova, Hana Iverson, Norah Zuniga Shaw, Stelarc,
Sarah Drury, Marc Lafia, Claudia Costa Peterson, ala Plastica,
Margaretha Haughwout, Nick Knouf, Atsuko Miyawaki, Shane
Mecklenburger, Julian Oliver, Marc Leger, David Chirot, Lessa
Bouchard, Robert Summers, Virginia Solomon, Judith Rodenbeck,
esquisotrans, Sergio Tavares, Tara Mateik, Gabriel Menotti, Jose
Carlos Silvestre, Roos Menkman, Bruno Vianna, Duncan White, Greg
Ulmer, Marco Desiriis, Kazys Varnelis, Jason Freeman, Maria Angel,
Zach Blas, Daniel Lichtman, Machiko Kusahara, Mark Marino, Gerry
Coulter, Johanna Drucker, Christine Spiesel, Marianne Holm Hansen,
Catherine Liu, Josh Dienstag, and Suzanne Fredericq.
I also want to honor the memory of some -empyrean- contributors who
engaged so often and so well with us-- Ricardo Rosas (BR) http://www.collectivate.net/journalisms/2007/4/24/ricardo-rosas.html
Millie Niss (US) http://www.sporkworld.org/ and David Daniels (US)
who are now beyond the gates of paradise. www.gatesofparadise.com
As I leave the moderating/curating role, I find that one motive that
sustained my editorial and curatorial work the most throughout these
last eight years, is the hope of an archive as a kind of excited
marginalia. I find a comment by Andrew Burrell about the use of the
archive like -empyre- for 'future generations' to be very thoughtful,
so I leave you with this. Andrew wrote, in https://lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au/pipermail/empyre/2005-February/msg00092.html
"I recently presented a paper on the ancient library of Alexandria at
a humanities conference, and was surprised (though in hindsight I
should not have been) that question time revolved around discussion of
the following quote, which discussed the destruction of the
collections at Alexandria, Pergamon and the like:
"The disasters of late antiquity had the general effect of rendering
ancient literature a manageable corpus again. Had it survived, our own
libraries would have long since burst- as they will do in the near
future unless some similar catastrophe wipes out most of our extant
holdings (or puts them on the internet!). Not only did the destruction
of late antiquity reduce ancient literature to a manageable corpus,
but it improved its overall quality as only canonised classics, in the
main, survived." [J.O. Ward, "Alexandria and Its Medieval Legacy: The
Book the Monk and the Rose," ]
"There was a certain amount of anger (or at the very least least
disgust) in the audience that one could suggest such a thing. It may,
at first, appear to be unthinkable to speak of the destruction of such
works as being somehow a good thing. But then I realized that the
horror that I feel in the possibility of celebrating this loss, is,
more a symptom of my yearning for what I imagined might have been,
rather than what was actually lost.
"What we plan to leave as a 'heritage' for the writers of history in
the future, is not what will necessarily reach them. Especially if our
own disasters render our own sprawling archives a 'manageable corpus.'
They (those who write our history) will still mourn that which they
imagine to have been lost and will more than likely fill in the gaps
with their own vision of our age.
"There is an answer to some of this, however, and it revolves around
the role of the individual. I will allow another commentator on the
ancient libraries to make this point for me:
"The great concentrations of books, usually found in the centres, were
the main victims of the destructive outbreaks, ruinous attacks,
sackings and fires. The libraries of Byzantium proved to be no
exception to the rule. In consequence, what has come down to us is
derived not from the great centres but from the ‘marginal’ locations,
such as convents, and scattered private copies." [Luciano Canfora, The
Vanished Library]
But, these comments also rely on assumptions I have made regarding the
answers to the question
"whom are we archiving for?"
"In the "now," however, if we as a culture, or as individuals ever
lose the drive to collect, archive and store 'ourselves', it would be
a sure sign that we had laid down and given up.
"And as a stab at an answer to Paul Koerbin's question:
"Who will be using our archives in 2525? People like us. People who
are inquisitive, interested, concerned, flawed, curious, questioning
and human. Technologies and outlooks may have changed since 1525, or
even 525 BC, but I don't think these qualities of the people who use
the technologies or possess these outlooks has changed. No matter what
our future I don't see this changing in anything like 500 odd years.
And while these are still attributes of being human, any talk of none
of this really mattering in the context of the vastness of time and
space outside of our individual lives, is defeatist and a evasion of
responsibility to yourself."
-- quote from an -empyre- post by andrew burrell http://www.miscellanea.com
-----
with all my best wishes to everyone-- and I 'll be around as a lurker
in future I hope.
love,
Christina McPhee
http://christinamcphee.net
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