Image of the devotional spontaneous text I did for this task.

The Art of Handwriting 

This task brought me back to early 2020 when, for a few months, I was working on a project of devotional writing. Even though these writings were planned to be released digitally, I would do the writing process by hand, using a pencil and paper. As Collier notes in Cooke’s (2012) short film, there was a therapeutic and more intimate aspect to bringing thoughts into form through writing than typing. I would write about three to four devotional papers a day and soon begun to make some connections between handwriting and art. I noted that writing words is a form of visual art in the sense that you can do beautiful handwriting. As I practiced my writing daily, I became intensely aware of how I wrote the letter of every single word. I realized it was very similar to the process of signing, in which every single note of a melody has to be carefully located on the right pitch. I understood that if I took a “one letter at a time” approach while writing, the words I produced came clear and visually appealing, which is closely related to what Collier (Cooke, 2012) referred to as “putting the letters together”. This is certainly not present in the production of writing digitally in which a letter is produced by hitting a key. In that regard, writing puts us in a position of a designer or artist which is lost when we type. Bolter (2001) observed that each new technology claims to be better than the one it sets out to remediate in at least one—if not several—senses (p. 26), however, I think this is not correct, but rather depends on how we look at it. From a practical point of view, typing is better because it saves us time, but isn’t our ability to produce beauty and experience it essential for a good life as well? Of course, this all depends on the context and purpose of putting ideas into form.

As I became more proficient at handwriting I began to see them as pieces of music or art. The inspiration of a session plus the writing technique would make these “shinny” (beautiful) objects that contain the “wow factor” described by Collier (Cooke, 2012). I could see that, just as in singing, they were a performance that couldn’t be reproduced in any other way – a unique creation that reflects the inner emotional state of the writer, not only in the words and ideas but also in the visual production of the words. What I found particularly surprising about doing this task (in which I wrote again a devotional text) is that, compared to my writing in early 2020, I felt a little out of shape. This revealed more connections between art and writing because it made me reflect on the importance of practice. I know that when you stop practicing a musical instrument or singing for a long time, it might take you some time to get back to the top of your game. However, it is also interesting to see that the technique is also retained to some degree, so I was able to write within standards of what I consider beautiful.

References

Bolter, Jay David. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print [2nd edition]. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Cooke, Danny (2012). Upside Down, Left To Right: A Letterpress Film [Video file]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6RqWe1bFpM&ab_channel=DannyCookeFreelanceFilmmaker

I enjoyed doing this exercise because I am fascinated by the act of using my voice to create form. This year I have been practicing singing and oratory on a daily basis, doing recordings of myself for music and narration projects. In the context of speaking, I’ve developed a passion for effective pronunciation and vocal vibration, recognizing it as an art form that can transmit beauty and emotional healing. While doing this week’s readings, I found Haass’ (2013) description of writing as a technology to be compelling and I think the same applies to speech.

With this in mind, while doing the exercise of speech to text, I had some technical advantages and experience that kept the transcription from having many flaws. I must admit, of course, that I was more mindful and careful in my speech. However, because of my practice, this is normal to me now.

While looking at the text, the major deviation I find from written English is that there is no punctuation. I have a big paragraph that looks like an endlessly flowing, very (very) long sentence. When I read the sentence I find myself slipping through sentences that sound non-sensical. This makes me think about the importance of punctuation and how this must have been an issue that the investors of the technology of writing came across while creating it. This must have required an analysis of how we use silence and inflections while speaking and find a way of symbolizing that through colons and commas. It’s interesting to think how we have assigned a form (a colon or a comma) to something formless (silence). This makes me think about Gnanadesikan’s (2011) statement about writing being “only a means of expressing language, not language itself” (p.4).

In this week’s readings, Schmandt-Besserat (2009) made me reflect on the connections between graphic symbols and language. While exploring in detail my experience of speaking, even in an improvised context such as this, I’ve noticed that words first appear in my mind, and then I read them. Looking more closely, it seems to me like, before a word is formed in consciousness, there is an image of an experience. In that sense, the text I am seeing is a description of images and experiences. What feels “wrong” in the text is when this description becomes non-sensical through an error in the text. For example, one was “nobody is really perfect, and if that is true Bend I have no reason if you ashamed”. It seems to me that sentences like this are considered wrong or mistakes because they create sentences that can’t be properly referenced to images and experiences in our memory. 

It’s interesting to think about how this might have been if it was scripted. As a musician, I have experience with improvisation, so the text came up fluently and structured. However, it is not as tight as it would have been if I had taken the time to think more carefully about what to say. As noted by Hass (2013), “written texts foster contemplation, analysis, and critique” (p.9). Speaking is similar to singing in the sense that there’s almost no time to take pauses to reflect, go back, and edit lines of thought. Writing on the other hand is more like sculpturing, in the sense that the thought objects we create can be molded and refined. Spoken words come into existence and quickly fade out of existence – there’s no turning back; while written words come into existence and are situated as an object in space. As noted by Gnanadesikan (2011), “writing is generally done more deliberately than speaking, so finished written pieces are much more carefully crafted than a typical spoken sentence” (p.5).

References

Gnanadesikan, A. E. (2011).“The First IT Revolution.” In The writing revolution: Cuneiform to the internet (Vol. 25). John Wiley & Sons (pp. 1-10).

Haas, C. (2013). “The Technology Question.” In Writing technology: Studies on the materiality of literacy. Routledge. (pp. 3-23).

Schmandt-Besserat, D. (2009). “Origins and Forms of Writing.” In Bazerman, C. (Ed.). Handbook of research on writing: History, society, school, individual, text.New York, NY: Routledge.

First, some information about me.

My name is Eduardo and this is my third semester in the MET program, taking my 5th and 6th course. I love this program and have learned a lot since I started it. I was born in Canada and grew up in Peru, where I currently live. I went back to Canada for a few years to study music and multimedia production at York University in Toronto. Professionally, I work at a university here in Lima teaching music production courses. Simultaneously, I work as a music producer and multimedia artist.

Moving on to the task.

During this pandemic period, I haven’t used a bag. So for this “What’s in your bag?” exercise I’ve constructed a simulation of what would be in a bag if I was going somewhere today or catching a plane.

The objects are:

1. Cellphone
2. Laptop
3. Professional headphones
4. Christian Bible
5. Hand sanitizer
6. Hat
7. Bag of almonds and a banana
   

It’s interesting to see how these items are “texts” that provide information about my identity, culture, and lifestyle. I will elaborate briefly on each item.

1. Cellphone

This item provides information about being an individual who is connected to the world through technology. At first glance, the cellphone reveals that I use spoken language to communicate with other people. However, I rarely use this object for this function. It would be more accurate to read this object as a smartphone and recognize that the communication happens primarily in written formats.

2. Laptop

This item also provides information about my connectivity with the world, as it is very unlikely that a computer is not used in some way to navigate the internet. The difference with the cellphone is that this is a larger and more capable tool, which indicates that this is a technology used for work. As such, it can be seen as a survival tool, or a tool for creativity, if my identity as a music producer and multimedia artist is considered. The object also gives information about a preference for Mac computers.

3. Professional headphones

This item provides information about being someone who engages in auditory experiences. This is an important trait of my personality, as l am very sensitive to sound and have a preference for auditory outputs. By itself, the object doesn’t have much meaning because it needs to be connected to something, may that be a computer, a cellphone, or a sound system. In that sense, this object reveals information about how the previous two items are used. Also, these are not ordinary headphones, but professional and rather expensive ones, which indicates that I give value for sound quality. This again gives clues about my inclination for music and sound. The headphones are also clearly a text technology because it is very likely that sung and spoken words will be reproduced through them.

4. Christian Bible

This item is the one that comes forth more clearly as a text, given that it is a book. It reveals information about my beliefs, values, and spiritual practice. It is a text technology used for humans to build a relationship with God. In that sense, just like the cellphone, it could be seen as a communication tool, but rather than being a form of communication that takes place on the net, this takes place on the level of the spirit. A revealing feature of this item is that it is written in Spanish, being the Latin American version of the Bible. Hence, this item is also providing information about the language I speak and the culture I belong to.

5. Hand sanitizer

This item provides information about personal hygiene. The text that is transmitting from observing this object is that I am mindful of keeping my hands clean. This means that I must be aware of issues that could arise from not having my hands clean in external environments, such as contracting Covid-19.

6. Hat

This item is interesting because it doesn’t seem to have the degree of functionality that the other items have, particularly because this is an ivy hat. This kind of hat doesn’t have the function of sun protection as most hats do – it is strictly for fashion purposes. Hence, this item reveals information about being mindful of my appearance and personal fashion style (at least from the neck up!).

7. Bag of almonds and banana

These items could be read in a number of ways. Firstly, being very healthy foods, they reveal that I am mindful about nutrition and care for my body’s well-being. It also provides information on particular preferences, such as preferring sweet instead of salty flavors (the banana could have been celery sticks). Finally, having these items in the bag also reveals information about being mindful of expenses, as it protects me from having to buy expensive snacks at the locations I might be going to.

Literacies

Overall, the items in my bag reveal numerous types of literacies. The cellphone, laptop, and headphones reveal digital, media, information, and technological literacies; the Christian Bible reveals more traditional notions of literacy (reading), as well as information literacy; the hand sanitizer and bag of almonds and banana reveal critical and information literacies; and the hat reveals visual literacy.

Coherency with self-image

I think there is coherency between these items and the image I project to the world. I normally present myself as a music producer and multimedia artist. Both of these roles imply having technological abilities that are implied in the use of the laptop, the cellphone, and the professional headphones. On the other hand, the Bible reveals values that are expressed in how I treat people with respect and kindness, as well as being happy and having a positive outlook on life. The healthy foods are coherent with having my body in shape, while the hat is coherent with dressing in a mindful way.

Fifteen years ago?

Fifteen years old, this bag would have looked very different. I would have been 19 years old. Back in those days, smartphones were not around and laptops were not as accessible as they are today. Similarly, this was before acquiring some of the technological and digital literacies I use today for work. The headphones might have been there because my music journey had already started, however, I wasn’t so mindful or sensitive to high-quality sound as I am today. Back in those days I also used to eat more sugar and sweets, so instead of the healthy foods, there would have been bubble gum and a bottle of Coca-Cola. Also, although raised in a predominantly Christian culture, I hadn’t started a serious and committed relationship with God.

Found by an archeologist

If an archeologist was to find these objects in the future, I think he/she might be able to draw similar conclusions to what has been written in this analysis of the texts. The archeologist could research the capabilities that computers and cellphones had these days and make assumptions of what kind of activities I engaged in with these technologies, for example sending emails, navigating the world wide web, texting, using social media, etc. I can imagine these technologies would be seen as very basic compared to what will be around in those days. What might be interesting, is that the Bible is still relevant and that could provide information about essential desires of the human spirit than transcend time and space.