Download Building Artificial Islands That Rise With the Sea

PAPA OF PATAPHYSICS….
Alfred Jarry
• French writer born in Laval, Mayenne, France
• Born: 8 September 1873
• Died: 1 November 1907 (It is recorded that his
last request was for a toothpick.)
“that which rolls”
Precocious
1888: At age 15, wrote play about Pere Heb (inspired by his obese physics teacher): Pere Heb had a
huge belly, 3 teeth, a single, retractable ear, and a misshapen body. Later Pere Heb becomes Ubu in
the novel, “Ubu Roi”.
How what why ‘pataphysics?
From (ugh) Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...
There are over one hundred differing definitions of pataphysics.
‘Pataphysics, "the science of the particular",
does not, therefore, study the rules governing
the general recurrence of a periodic incident (the
expected case) so much as study the games
governing the special occurrence of a sporadic
accident (the excepted case). …
• 'Pataphysics deals with "the
laws that govern exceptions
and will explain the
universe supplementary to
this one".
• In 'pataphysics, every event
in the universe is accepted
as an extraordinary event.
…suggesting a variety of puns that listeners may hear, or
be aware of: These puns include French: patte à
physique ("leg of physics"), French: pas ta physique
("not your physics"), and French: pâte à physique
("physics pastry dough"), the first perhaps more
correctly "physics paw", the last "physics paste".
• "'Pataphysics is patient;
'Pataphysics is benign;
'Pataphysics envies nothing, is
never distracted, never puffed
up, it has neither aspirations
nor seeks not its own, it is
even-tempered, and thinks not
evil; it mocks not iniquity: it is
enraptured with scientific
truth; it supports everything,
believes everything, has faith
in everything and upholds
everything that is.”
“Pataphysics will examine the laws governing exceptions, and will
explain the universe supplementary to this one.”
1896: publication of Jarry's 5-act play Ubu Roi—
Ubu Roi:
UBU ROI’s Opening night: “MERDRE!”
• On opening night), with traditionalists and the avant-garde in the
audience, King Ubu stepped forward and intoned the opening word,
"Merdre!" ("Shittr!").
• A quarter of an hour of pandemonium ensued: outraged cries,
booing, and whistling by the offended parties, countered by cheers
and applause by the more forward-thinking contingent. Such
interruptions continued through the evening.
• At the time, only the dress rehearsal and opening night
performance were held, and the play was not revived until after
Jarry's death.
• The play brought fame to the 23-year-old Jarry, and he immersed
himself in the fiction he had created.
Degrees in/of Pataphysics
• The Collège de 'Pataphysique, founded in 1948 in
Paris, France, is a "society committed to learned
and inutilious research”. (The word 'inutilious' is
synonymous with 'useless'.)
• "Pataphysics "the science of the particular", does
not, therefore, study the rules governing the
general recurrence of a periodic incident (the
expected case) so much as study the games
governing the special occurrence of a sporadic
accident (the excepted case). …
Pataphysics works even though its truth cannot be seen except
under a light that cannot be seen in a place that cannot be seen.
London Institute of 'Pataphysics
The London Institute of 'Pataphysics was established in September
2000 to promote pataphysics in the English-speaking world. The
institute has various publications, including a journal and has six
departments:
• Bureau for the Investigation of Subliminal Images
• Committee for Hirsutism and Pogonotrophy
• Department of Dogma and Theory
• Department of Potassons
• Department of Reconstructive Archaeology
• The Office of Patentry
• The institute also contains a pataphysical museum and archive and
organized the Anthony Hancock Paintings and Sculptures exhibition
in 2002
Syzygy
• The syzygy originally comes from astronomy
and denotes the alignment of three celestial
bodies in a straight line. In a pataphysical
context it is the pun. It usually describes a
conjunction of things, something unexpected
and surprising.
PATAPHOR
• A metaphor is the comparison of a real object or event
with a seemingly unrelated subject in order to
emphasize the similarities between the two. A
pataphor uses the newly created metaphorical
similarity as a reality with which to base itself.
• In going beyond mere ornamentation of the original
idea, the pataphor seeks to describe a new and
separate world, in which an idea or aspect has taken
on a life of its own.
“the science of imaginary solutions, which symbolically attributes the
properties of objects, described by their virtuality, to their lineaments”.
Anomaly
• An anomaly represents the exception. Jarry
said that "pataphysics will examine the laws
governing exceptions, and will explain the
universe supplementary to this one.”
a ROUGH draft for a Parallel Topics
lecture…..
LIVING THEATRE
{Looking at certain aspects of
theatre as a topic that is parallel to
how I think about my work}
Grounding my definitions of theatre:
• Is Theatre an invention
specific to our species?
• May be a dead end… investigate
the converse and learn some
Animal Theatre
Theatre is an agreed-upon artifice that involves fleshing out human themes and
dramas…
…at a safe distance. We agree to be
on this side of the curtain.
• We cannot help but place our
psychology into the plots that
examine the why of existence.
We can watch ourselves watching
ourselves.
[theatre and] Mimesis ~
another way to look at the artificial
i.e., Egyptian cat mummies
A plot that is of interest to me:
Manufacturing paradise and then
discovering it.
BTW: What’s in paradise? And how does a definition of Paradise manifest itself in the
examples I’m going to discuss?
Possible contents of a good paradise…justice, stasis, all electrical appliances working at
the same time.
(Visit Paradise’s in the U.S. – do we have a special kind of
Paradise?)
A few theatrical mechanisms [devices] that will be brought into
the mix:
The curtain
Deus ex machine Latin: "god from the machine" pronounced [ˈdeus eks ˈmaː.kʰi.na]; plural: dei ex machina) is a
plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved, with the
contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object.
Depending on how it's done, it can be intended to move the story forward when the writer has
"painted himself into a corner" and sees no other way out, to surprise the audience, or to bring a
happy ending into the tale.
Scale shifts from
prop to ‘real’ (and
vice versa).
Building Artificial Islands That Rise With the Sea
Paradise Island As climate change causes the sea level to rise, people who live in low-lying areas could move to artificial floating isles. Dutch Docklands International
With an average elevation of just five feet above sea level, the Maldives—a nation comprising 1,192 islands in the Indian Ocean—is the lowest country in the world. Sea level, meanwhile, has risen by about
seven inches since 1900, and scientists predict that it will rise as much as two more feet by 2100, pushing much of the population (about 390,000 and growing) out of their homes. In the past, engineers
have used sand and rubble to create islands elsewhere, but these structures can disturb the sea and seafloor ecosystems.
THE SOLUTION
The Maldivian government has started a joint venture with the architectural firm Dutch Docklands International to build the world’s largest artificial floating-island project, which will stay above water no
matter how many glaciers melt. In the Netherlands, the company has already built floating islands for prisons and housing from slabs of concrete and polystyrene foam. For the Maldives, it will anchor
similar structures to the seabed using cables or telescopic mooring piles, making landforms that are stable even in storms. The design disturbs only a small patch of the seafloor while preserving natural
currents. And many smaller islands are more ecologically sound than one large one because they cast smaller shadows on the water, minimizing the impact on sea life. Although the company is starting to
build an island for 200 luxury residences and another for a floating golf course this year, it is working on plans to construct islands for more affordable housing next.
My Pataphysical Challenge --- Tie together: the examples of Living Theatre’s players acting out
their particular artifices as they search for Paradise on earth
Examples of actors and actresses carrying out Living Theatre….
Re-enactments
Paradise on Earth
Retirement communities
War games with winners and losers aestheticized by colorful
costumes, music, food
(can also discuss SCALE with this)
Recreation / Re-creation
Sports and procreation
• shoot
• score