87 9 Torqued Tesselations wind/wind . . and The enigma of Postage not sent
As of this October, we celebrate our first year of existence/our first year of persistence, in the age of hyperactive intermedia. The
Surrealism Server began as an
intention enveloping the
Surrealist Compliment Generator. To date the compliments given to the
masses number in the hundreds of thousands, and the compliments
submitted by the masses number some few orders of magnitude less
on the numerical scale. We salute the masses for their massiveness
and their mindful attention that perpetuates our belief in opium.
WHAT IS SURREALISM?
Surrealism is not an entity to read about in books or in magazines.
Surrealism is art, literature and politics, and it goes far beyond art, literature and politics.
Sleep is both the goddess and the destroyer of Surrealist pursuits.
The lucid dreamer and the chronic insomniac experience different sides
of the same coin.
There is nothing more sacred and surreal than the exportation of objects and events from the unconscious into the physical relm of the conscious.
The subconscious is your bridge to widened perception of both conscious and
unconscious sensation. Use it to your advantage.
The use of Automatism and Critical Paranoia in Surrealist practice and technique may be seen as a means of conditioning the subconscious as a perceptive tool for creative device; to know what is not knowable, to connect the unconnectable. By forcing these situational realizations upon the higher and lower centers of thought and perception, may you begin to make use of what resides in the subconscious mind. You may choose to call it what you will, and do with it what you will.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF SURREALISM?
WHAT ABOUT SURREALISM AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB?
The more interesting question however, is how Surrealist technique and vision can make use of the Web, and not just the WWW, for FTP, IRC, CuSeeMe and other appendages of the Internet present
some truly astounding means for real-time collaborations with people from around the world.
No longer do you need to crowd everyone in the same room for an evening of
Exquisite Cadaver. Do it electronically, and spread your contacts from coast to coast across the continents. For those of you saying 'it's not the same', indeed it isn't! It is an experience unto itself and what it may lack in physical location is met in other ways and means that cannot be attained by having people at the same location at the same time. The practice of Surrealism can only benefit from collaborative interaction, and the fact that the internet is a medium specifically for communication means the two go naturally hand in hand.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE SURREALISM SERVER?
You would be foolish to accept any answer. Do not be deceived, for it
is better to ask, 'What is the sound of two hands clapping?'
What was the future of Surrealism before there was Surrealism?
Bosch and
Ducasse seemed to know of it before Apollinaire coined the
actual phrase 'Surrealism'. However, would Surrealism (or monotheism, or
fascism..) have contributed so significantly to the history and events
of the 20th Century if Surrealism had not been so aptly named
'Surrealism'? Regardless, it seems unlikely that anyone shall soon
disprove Surrealism or invent new engines and devices to make it
obsolete before the coming of the next millenium.
Ahhh, something of relevance.. Mentioning Surrealism and the World Wide
Web in the same breath brings two points to mind: what people call
'Surreal' and the opportunities for Surrealistic Metastasis throughout
this developing medium. As of one year past,
Lycos and
Webcrawler were amassing
information about sites and content on the web. Running a search for the
word 'Surrealism' produced very little.. a few sites with some images
by Dali, and a page at LeWeb Museum. Run the same search now and you could spend a
few hours investigating the output of links presented. Of course
much of this material reflects the presence of more sites with
pictures by Dali (including ours), the expansion of LeWeb Museum,
and the many pages featuring the word 'Surrealist' before 'breakfast'
or 'lightbulb'.
Our purpose is to say distinctly that we have no profitable purpose.
To server the masses some tidbits in the name of Surrealism is as good
a purpose as any. You may compliment
yourself on this point, we have seen to that. The collective of
Enigma Engines for a Better World
only furthers our purpose to this heightened degree. Follow what you will.
See. Read. Write. Cry. Scoff. Aggrandize. Such is the path to an
unrealized state of enlightenment.
-- Banjo Ruthless & I.N.X.J.U.
Be wary of the self-proclaimed Surrealist sporting a collection of books.
Chances are they proclaim much and are out to alienate the masses.