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Profile view of a human head in green wireframe rendering on black ground, containing the words -Impersonate Self!- repeated three times.

Still image from Lagado Aphorismatic, D.W. '19

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Lagado Aphorismatic

Machinic Observations on Meaning and No-Meaning

A certain apparatus in the Academy of Lagado1 really intrigued me. According to Swift, it could produce "all kinds of insights" by randomly drawing slabs of words. Satire though it may be, I think it is a great idea. The linguistic turn has happened after all. My algorithmic video Lagado Aphorismatic is a modern interpretation of Swift's apparatus. It has a limited set of visualizations referencing modern industrial culture2.

In each visualization, randomly chosen words 3 from a suitably philosophic pool of 100 apiece are made into animated objects. Fantastic contraptions like the "operand switcher" in fact make philosophical headway. Words are rotating around on turbine blades or pulse in people's heads. They are interacting with their surroundings acording to their meaning - or perhaps this is random behaviour too.
Profile view of a human head in green wireframe rendering on black ground, containing the words -Impersonate Self!- repeated three times.

Algorithmic Video | D.W. '19

Still from Lagado Aphorismatic #1

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A row of mannequins on office chairs in front of a wall of wire grating and three huge vertical halogen stripes. Dark blue base color, superimposed text: -The one to sow virtue will reap strife.-

Algorithmic Video | D.W. '19

Still from Lagado Aphorismatic #2

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Footnotes

  • 1↑ I was reading Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.
  • 2↑ I was thinking along the lines of the Cirkopolis performance by Cirque Éloize. I was also influenced by Jacques Tati's Playtime.
  • 3↑ Some of my favourites: "The one to sow schism will reap property.", "Strive for doubt!", "The sage says 'I am distilled fallacy'.", "Only virtue is simple.", "The one to sow culture will reap expansion."