"the utopian library" -- a letter from Vittore Baroni

ARTIST'S BOOKS – ALTERED BOOKS – IMPOSSIBLE BOOKS

ANTI-BOOKS – REVOLUTIONARY BOOKS – IMAGINARY BOOKS

THE UTOPIAN LIBRARY

In July-August 2008 the BAU Cultural Association (www.bauprogetto.it)
will organize in Viareggio a multimedia festival titled THE PLACES OF
UTOPIA, that will include art shows and installations, performances,
readings, workshops, conferences and other events revolving around the
theme of UTOPIA.

As part of this festival, I will coordinate THE UTOPIAN LIBRARY, a
reading room where the visitors will be able to look through a
collection of international artists' books culled from the E.O.N.
archives plus books expressly submitted. The books will be on display
in shelves and over tables, with the possibility of a direct, hands on
fruition.

You are welcomed to CONTRIBUTE A BOOK to the UTOPIAN LIBRARY, either
an original work related to the utopian theme, or a book you have done
in the past that you think will fit the project. An illustrated
catalogue of the books received will be sent to all the participants
(Arte Postale! magazine n. 95). Your book will not be returned, but at
the end of the festival will become part of the E.O.N. archive.

The size, medium and technique for the books is FREE.

The material is not restricted to paper, but please take into
consideration the hands on approach.

Deadline: all the books should arrive BEFORE JULY 15, 2008.

Mail to:

Vittore Baroni, via C. Battisti 339, 55049 Viareggio (LU), Italy

vittorebaroni [at] alice [dot] it

Thanks in advance for your participation

Feel free to circulate this invite

Vittore Baroni

RACTER

Unaware of "The Policeman's Beard is Half Constructed," supposedly written by the program Racter, I made the post below about virtual poetry. The book is in fact available on Ubu Web. Bill Chamberlain, Racter's creator, wrote disingenuously, "With the exception of this introduction, the writing in this book was all done by a computer." It's interesting that he chose to highlight the novelty of a computer-written book, to present what was essentially his own poetry. Whatever you make of Chamberlain's writing, this book failed as a concept, as conceptual art, since Chamberlain never adhered to his own concept.

Virtual and Robotic Poetries

Soon, I can see it coming, someone will publish a poem in a legit journal, an entire book even, composed with a poetry software. There are several choices, such as The Virtual Poet, "a tool for the professional poet and anyone who wants to write a small poem with just the right words for that special someone. If you have ever spent minutes, hours or even days searching for the right rhyme, Virtual Poet can do it for you in just seconds." Or Icon Poet, "an unusual piece of software that lets you produce original poetry by clicking on different word categories [...] a great cure for writer's block." One may smirk at these lame tools, but soon, I can see it coming, they will become bolder, more willing to take risks, explore deeper depths of feelings and splinter, kick open doors at the backs of their minds, their techniques growing ever more radical, iconoclastic. Nothing is too farfetched. Just yesterday, the Financial Times published "UK report says robots will have rights." It quoted Henrik Christensen, director of the Centre of Robotics and Intelligent Machines at the Georgia Institute of Technology, “If we make conscious robots they would want to have rights and they probably should.” A small percentage will also yearn to write poems, no doubt, and a handful, if we're lucky, will become exceptional at it.