This game is not a game--that is, not a joke. It is a game that I will actually play. It is a game that is a new media moment, a spiritual exercise, and, more importantly, a new-media-moment-as-spiritual exercise.
It is also a new-media-moment-as-spiritual-exercise-reading. In this game, we will be reading something in a new media way.
The game will be to read William Blake's For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise, (electronic edition of copy D, owned by the Pierpont Morgan Library, originally designed in 1793, re-worked in 1820 (three new plates added at end), copy printed 1825, published by the Blake Archive), by saving each plate as wallpaper for your computer.
To play the game, first you download the image (I will not tell you how, or give you the image, because that might get me in trouble with the most-respected Blake Archive). You may need to crop it slightly (not taller than 700px on a 17-inch computer monitor). I am leaving the background color white, which works well with copy D, which is uncolored.
Secondly, you keep the image as your wallpaper for an entire 24-hour period. If you're home computer is your day-work computer, like mine is, this is easily done. If you have a different work computer, perhaps you can upload the plate as wallpaper in that computer. The same if you feel like hanging out at a coffeehouse with your laptop. The idea is to have the image/text ubiquitous, there everytime you close out your programs, which gives you a moment to reflect on it.
Thirdly, after the 24-hour period, blog (or log if you want to play only "on-paper") some reflections on the image. Reflection points:
1. Basic reflections on the image/text. What is Blake up to here?
2. How is this reading a new media moment?
3. How is this reading a spiritual exercise?
4. How is this reading a new-media-moment-as-spiritual exercise?
5. How is this reading a new-media reading?
I follow with my blog entry on Plate 1 of the Gates of Paradise, copy D.
Posted by jeb at October 21, 2004 1:53 AM | TrackBack