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April 07, 2004
Cairns
You know how strong a cairn is visually/mentally?
Of course you need a fairly (visibly) pristine environment, but in the act of making a sign and putting just one stone on another (i'm not really talking about those huge cairns that you might see holding up a survey marker or on top of a hill, I mean those almost insignificant ones that might remind you that you are on a track in the absence of other signs) a very strong sign is constructed. As humans we're naturally very aware of an object in our environment that can only be made by another human (almost like dogs and scent) It "sticks out" as a human construction and takes on meaning, some meaning, like a pair of inverted comas with nothing in between ( " " ) - it is a holder of meaning, we might not be sure what meaning.
If this were a graphic object what form would it take?
Does this class as an object that invites discourse rather than shut it down?
ps This is not a cairn. I have to buy a digital camera - I hate their lack of clarity and I can't afford it but I think I have to get one....
Posted by Neal Haslem at April 7, 2004 01:33 AM