Dear Eduardo
Many thanks for your interesting response: I had not heard the origin of
Geometry, though the story
of the potter Butades' daughter is one of my most favourite myths (?), I had
not connected it to erasure
by water/ the environment, thank you for that .
Derridas' text observes that Butade's daughter in anticipation of the loss
of her lover must look away
from him in order to draw his trace and so while making the trace she does
not look, cannot look at him
in the present. "present perception depends on the Traced of the past which
cannot
itself be made present"
Emmanuel Levinas' ideas around the Trace involved defining the type of
evidence of presence, whether it be a rigorous contaminating menacing sign :
"The authentic Trace disturbs the order of the world it comes
superimposed"
Or a faint generous gesture of something past:
"He will not have been present but he will have left a gift by not
disappearing without leaving a trace ."
perhaps this last is also connected to the environment, evidence of presence
on the environment................................
Best Wishes
Maryclare
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eduardo Corte Real" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2005 10:02 AM
Subject: Re: Drawing in ( as a ) response to the environment
> Dear Mary Claire:
>
> One of the founding myths of drawing, at least for the highly controled
> drawing is the Origin of Geometry told by Herodotus.
> The Egipcian priests where able to calculate the area and the limits of
the
> lands and reconstruct the boundaries of property after the Nile's floods.
> This deals with representation and the use of abstract models to face
> environment.
> The other interesting Myth is the origin of Painting by Plinio: The girl
> that copies the shadow of her lover before he goes overseas.
> Water seems to be present in both as place of possible oblivion. Drawing
> (conceptual and mimetical)is the device that overcames the possible
erasure
> that water symbolises. Facing the environment seem to be, therefore,
deeply
> rooted on the origins of drawing.
>
> Best whishes for your work,
>
> Eduardo
>
> Eduardo Corte-Real
> PhD Arch
> Ass. Prof.
> Researcher at UNIDCOM/IADE
> ESD/IADE
> Av. D. Carlos I, 4
> 1200-649 Lisboa
> Portugal
>
>
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