Electronic Literature as World Literature?
The Beehive Design Collective (hey Talan lets get the other Beehive going again!!!)
I stumbled across an announcement from the Beehive Collective <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beehive_Design_Collective> and was admiring, as I always do, their great pen and ink posters, their aesthetics, their rich informational qualities, and their ethical commitment. On the one hand, I find myself admiring their tried and true methods: black and white posters, created by artists working in community, distributed by hand. I appreciate their emphasis on storytelling, not only in their images, but as they promote the causes they choose to represent. I appreciate the fact that their research is based on actual travel and organizing and networking, and that they distribute their work across the borders they are bridging. Even their whole “Beehive” mythology is fascinating.
The other part of the Beehive Collective’s work, however, is not simply flesh and blood art and communication. Not only do they respond to a global situation which was created by the New Economy (in which flows of labor, resources, and capital are increasingly transnational), but their model of information exchange, activism, and distribution makes use of these very same flows. This is not an original point, of course. But it is interesting to look at how the Beehive Collective whose chief medium (the black and white, hand-designed poster) exudes simplicity (even if the phenomenon they wish to critique are complex). Aside from the crunchy, earthiness that appeals to folks who feel threatened by life in the fast-paced, throwaway USA (I consider myself one of these), these posters are practical–the dispossessed people who support this fast-paced, automated commodity culture might not have access to computers, fast connections, technological skills, or the culturally specific knowledge needed to assimilate products that were made for platforms (and by platforms, I am referring to any method of dissemination, from laptops to department stores) that are intentionally or unintentionally exclusive in their character. Sure, our clothes might be made by sweatshop workers in Honduras, but that does not mean that the Hondurans who cut and stitch the clothes are welcome in the malls where they are sold. They are not even welcome in the U.S. Depending on the factory, they might not even be free to leave the premises. A poster, a flier, a story told from one person to another–messages forged through dialogue with their intended audience–perhaps, in a sense, these old media ARE the new media for an alternative globalization, which is emerging. They are just as much creatures of the New Economy as the various market-driven logics that build the sweatshops, send the work orders, destabilize agricultural economies, privatize water resources, and fracture families.
In addition to thinking about the lovely bees and their dedication to the life of their hive, I have also been thinking about some questions raised by Sandy Baldwin at an ELO/MITH panel that I didn’t attend, but which are preserved online. Baldwin asks, “How regional or hemispheric are the set of possible statements about electronic literature (e-lit is formalized around specific statements or conditions of possibility; certain works “appear” and others do not)? To what degree is what we talk about as electronic literature solely out of US/Western Europe? To what degree is it a function of the academic practices of these geographic regions?” And, I think these questions ought to be answered.
To help accomplish this, I’d like to direct people to the International Electronic Literature Wiki, which presents an opportunity to put a bigger picture together. Does the body of Electronic Literature represent a “photo album” or “archive” of life on earth in the 21st Century? Does it really reflect the human experience (or, if you’d prefer, the story of consciousness) as it is unfolding across the globe? Am I a fool to even concern myself with this? Does electronic literature contain some hidden generic restrictions? Or does it embody this same sweep of globalization? I don’t know what the answers are. But I’d like to think about it.
I’d like to hope that Electronic Literature IS a literature that can provide a detailed account of the world as we know it.
In the meantime, you might look at the work of Horit Herman Peled <www.horit.com>. Peled, an artist, activist, and scholar, whose work provides glimpses (images, texts, videos) of Israel/Palestine border checkpoints might provide one example of how digital writers can document aspects of the daily lives of subjects in our era of globalization.
Tags: Beehive Collective | Davin Heckman | Globalization | Horit Herman Peled | Theory
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4 Responses to “Electronic Literature as World Literature?”.
Thanks for this, particularly for drawing my attention to the work of Horit Herman Peled. It’s envigorating to read words such as these, ‘The artists are no longer only criticizing, mediating or commenting on the mode of production through aesthetization, from an outside and alienated position; they are working with the means of social production from within.’ And she goes on to say, ‘…a meaningful art work on the plane of the digital revolution is a work that points towards the possible fulfillment of the emancipatory potential inherent in this revolution.’ (http://web.macam.ac.il/~horit_a/blessed5.htm)
There’s something about the technical simplicity of her creative works that speaks more eloquently about the brutality of the barriers/borders than the surfeit of novelty and slickness that can so seduce we creators/users/readers/consumers.
you quote sandy baldwin saying “To what degree is what we talk about as electronic literature solely out of US/Western Europe? To what degree is it a function of the academic practices of these geographic regions?”
the answer is the degree to which “we” are not only from “US/Western Europe” but are not familiar with work from anywhere else.
you know who you are.
A really elegant and thoughtful post Davin. The theme of “Future Fate of E-Lit” seems to be a major theme in not only many of the posts here, but also much of the scholarly and critical writings. And yet I think was has been lost is exactly what you are pointing towards, that this new form of literature is emerging around us, and away from us, and indeed is doing what good literature sometimes does, which is rethinking and translating world views and social ideas.
How about this for a task. Davin…how about for the first netPoetic Exhibition, you invite some of these folks, like the above to send in their work…indeed you could curate a section devoted to this type of literary and creative production.
Hows that sound?
Jason
Jason,
This would be a great idea for an exhibition… but part of the problem is reaching out to artists in the first place. I only know Horit because she replied to a CFP I sent out a long time ago.
I’d love to see if we get anymore action here. Maybe people would respond to this thread by plugging artists that they might be flying under the radar.
Or, maybe we should start by looking at the “E-Lit Portals” tab, and then ask people to list their favorite electronic writers that HAVEN’T been mentioned in those portals (and we can add some others to the list). Like, who hasn’t been mentioned at E-Poetry, anthologized in the ELO collection, referenced on Hermeneia, etc. We could set some parameters, and then invite people to submit some recommendations… because it’s not just a geographical thing… it also has to do with trying to broaden our vision.
It would be a tragedy, I think, if Electronic Literature were synonymous with a “movement,” rather than a development in the history of Literature as a whole. Nobody thinks of “the novel” as a movement, even if it began that way… rather, the novel became synonymous with Literature, even if we all know that there is Literature that has other formal characteristics.
But, yeah, I would like to work with some people to put together an exhibition that tried to accomplish this goal of exploring electronic literature as world literature. Right now, I know that I do not have the breadth to be able to put something like this together myself. Most of what I read comes from recommendations. It was only my good luck that Horit contacted me.
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