“Faith in Literature” by Brett Brennan
A reconstruction and comparison of Robert Kendall’s Faith through relational aesthetics.
In reconstructing Robert Kendall’s “Faith” from a piece of electronic literature into a piece of print literature, I highlight the pros and cons of the use of each medium. Relating the same text through the relational aesthetics of two different mediums makes the levels of basic human and automatic qualities of each piece much more apparent, giving a reader more cement to base their opinions on. I have done my best to transpose “Faith” from the screen to the page using a series of pages with peepholes placed precisely in order for the reader to see through to the text of the final page, more peepholes appear and more words become visible with each turn of the page. In the process of creation, the reality of what I am aiming to communicate with this piece became even clearer. The specificity of working with paper is huge; there isn’t much room for error. If you place a cut incorrectly, you’ll have to start over with a new page. The digital ideals of having the control to move text if it is placed in the wrong spot and the precision the creator is able to accomplish accordingly became ideals I wished for in my work. The working and finalized ideals of electronic literature and print literature are what I want readers to ruminate from reading my chapter because they are often overlooked and literature is taken for what it is. But what if the literature you read was presented to you in a completely different medium? How would it be presented in that medium? How differently would you relate to and interact with that text? If I were to continue working with “Faith,” I would start from scratch. I would use a different paper, map out a more exact math of where text and peepholes are to be placed, laminate each page, conjure a different way of binding the piece, add a title page, and create a pull-tab for the final page. (Kendall’s original features the word “Faith” at the top of the piece through 4 pages of the multi-text until it “falls” on the 5th, a pull-tab would recreate this action and interact more with readers). My transposition of “Faith” will most likely sit on my coffee table for the unforeseeable future; and when my friends will ask me what it is when they visit, I’ll have to direct them to the e-book.
Steph's perspective on "Faith in Literature"
Ambitious musings:
Of what is touchable,
Of what is not,
Conceived tangible Poetry-sunny side up.
From Robert Kendall’s “Faith”
Brett’s motivation grew, with most specific construction turning…
O F F T H E R O C K E R (Yippee!)
Complex and unforgiving, the paper fought,
To take what digital had barely thought.
After the transition from digital to physical
Had smoothly been sanded down,
Humanism is tasted, relational and without frown.
Shifting interaction back to digital again
Left me cold, but knowing “Faith” would surely win.
And keep in mind you’re seeing time
Flash-frozen in a curious bout.
So enter here to discover “Faith”
It will tickle your fancy, without a doubt.
