[asemic] landscape

landscape

             

Asemic writing is not the simple absence of language, or the opposite of language, or the simple presence of a language that cannot be deciphered.

Whatever is asemic is a dynamic moment where things get divided into 1) the becoming-language of the-language-I-know, 2) the becoming-language of the asemic item into the-language-I-don't-know, and 3) the becoming-non-language of everything else. In this scenario, the process of becoming-non-language may even be seen as the parasitic threat that can transform anything into an asemic item.

Thus, in any analysis of an asemic piece, we just need to look at a three-fold interaction: the 1) foregrounding of the asemic item in the perceptual field, the 2) surrounding linguistic or paralinguistic cues, caption or context, and the 3) supporting non-linguistic or material "environment" of the whole interaction (e.g., ink, monitor, paper, brain, or even earth and sky, all in the process of becoming-non-language: that is, whatever we bracket off from the process of interpretation or translation or even divination). This tactic can be useful in both the consumption and production of [asemic] items.