Attempt at conceptual art:
List of what landed in my mailbox last night:
- AARP brochure
- AAA brochure
- Soft Surroundings clothing catalog
- Kohl’s
- STAPLES coupon
- Sam’s Club® Catalog
- Harvard University Press Literature & Culture 2017
28 items in the Sam’s Club® Catalog:
- SAMSUNG UHD TV (3HDMI)
- FIJI WATER
- FROZEN STUFFED JALAPEŇO PEPPERS, 40-50 count.
- DIAMOND EARRING
- MAKEUP REMOVER CLEANSING TOWELETTES
- FIXED/TILT WALL MOUNT KIT
- SAMSUNG 2D WI-FI BLU-RAY™
- $100 DESKTOP PC BUNDLE
- HP® FULL HD NOTEBOOK
- ROUTER WITH BONUS ADAPTER
- ALL IN ONE WIRELESS PRINTER
- 1080P HD SECURITY SYSTEM WITH 1TB HARD DRIVE
- GARMIN™ VIVOSMART® HR+
- ENERGIZER® LITHIUM AA AND/OR AAA BATTERIES
- DURACELL® COPPERTOP AND/OR QUANTUM BATTERIES
- XEROX MULTIPURPOSE PLUS PAPER WITH COLORLOK™
- CLEARLAX®, GLUCOSAMINE CHONDROTIN + MSM, B-12 AND/OR LUTEIN ZEAXANTHINE
- VITAMIN D3 2,000IU AND/OR 5,000IU
- GARMIN APPROACH S6 GPS WACH AND TRUSWING BUNDLE
- SERTA® CONTOUR MEMORY FOAM OR FOREVER COOL PILLOW
- AUGASON® FARMS EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLY AND/OR SIMPLY MEAL PACK
- WISE® COMPANY 4 MONTH FOOD SUPPLY AND/OR 3 MONTH GLUTEN FREE MEAL KIT
- HISENSE CLASS 4K SMART TV
- HP JET PRO MFP M477FNW COLOR LASER PRINTER
- EVERLAST SPAS™ PREMIERE 80 JET SPA
- CROCK-POT® 6-QT. COOK AND CARRY WITH LITTLE DIPPER
- BOSE SOUNDTOUCH 130 HOME THEATER SYSTEM
- LOGITECH® HARMONY TOUCH SMART REMOTE
Etc.
28 items in the Harvard University Press, Literature & Culture 2017 Catalog:
- NOTHING EVER DIES: VIETNAM AND THE MEMORY OF WAR
- THE POEM IS YOU: 60 CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POEMS AND HOW TO READ THEM
- DANTE: THE STORY OF HIS LIFE
- A FLOATING CHINAMAN: FANTASY AND FAILURE ACROSS THE PACIFIC
- THEORY OF THE NOVEL
- THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE TALKING BOOK
- THE LETTERS OF ROBERT FROST, VOLUME 2
- TRACK CHANGES: A LITERARY HISTORY OF WORD PROCESSING
- EMILY DICKINSON’S POEMS, AS SHE PRESERVED THEM
- MARVELLOUS THIEVES: SECRET AUTHORS OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
- TAMIL : A BIOGRAPHY
- ELIZABETH BISHOP AT WORK
- COOL CHARACTERS: IRONY AND AMERICAN FICTION
- FLAUBERT
- BROTHERS OF THE QUILL: OLIVER GOLDSMITH IN GRUB STREET
- THOMAS HARDY: HALF A LONDONER
- JUST AROUND MIDNIGHT: ROCK AND ROLL AND THE RACIAL IMAGINATION
- THE LYRIC IN THE AGE OF THE BRAIN
- RACE AND THE TOTALITARIAN CENTURY: GEOPOLITICS IN THE BLACK LITERARY IMAGINATION
- AUTHORS IN COURT: SCENES FROM THE THEATER OF COPYRIGHT
- THINKING WITH KANT’S CRITIQUE OF JUDGMENT
- BLAKE; OR, THE HUTS OF AMERICA: A CORRECTED EDITION
- MANSFIELD PARK: AN ANNOTATED EDITION
- THE TOPOLOGICAL IMAGINATION: SPHERES, EDGES, AND ISLANDS
- THE DREAM OF THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL
- WALTER BENJAMIN: A CRITICAL LIFE
- ONE-WAY STREET
- THE STORY OF ALICE: LEWIS CARROLL AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF WONDERLAND
I was struck by the similarity of shape and size of the two catalogues in contrast with their (apparently) diametrically opposed purpose, meaning and mostly language. By aligning the font and giving a similar number of items I tried to emphasize those similarities and differences.
I was captivated, slightly amused and repelled by the new language created by marketing, with its initialisms and the newly coined trademarks, a language that can appear in turn foreign, futuristic, or slightly comical.
I thought this was a snapshot of society now, the languages that have developed from its evolution up to this point. I was also interested in the two different levels of consciousness: Sam’s club catering to buyers motivated with material comfort and technology, and a sort of paranoia (the home security systems, the emergency meal kits), and a desire for entertainment or protection of riches.
On the other hand the Harvard brochure was offering the language of intellectual pursuits away from obvious material pragmatism, although I know that the two worlds of thinking might not be mutually exclusive.
Grain de sable 