~e; short-circuits

[brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>]

  what Steve brought up about short-circuits happens to
  be what i had just been working on in the sculpture so
  i am going to briefly describe the idea here. the 'crown
  of thorns' was originally on a plain black mannequin head
  yet the idea of an update of this symbolism was not being
  carried just by the crown itself, which was a one-liner,
  and made electronics decoration. some original photos:

  earlier version without mannequin electronics circuit...
  http://www.electronetwork.org/temp/crownIMG_0278.jpg
  http://www.electronetwork.org/temp/crownIMG_0279.jpg

  vs. electromagnetic crown of thorns. 4/2005.
	mannequin stand with electronics symbols.
	http://www.mnartists.org/work.do?rid=64832

  i prefer the object as presented in these photos, though
  the idea was not achieved so i went further as to what
  such a crown of electronic thorns (LEDs=blood) might be
  considered as, in relation to the human crown/head...

  and it is the idea of a short-circuit which, like the
  crown of thorns in its religious and symbolic dimension,
  start to create a context if seeing the human as being
  electromagnetic (it is now becoming the health paradigm,
  such as with mind-body research in neurology and electro-
  physiology, 'the body electric', etc.) so too with all of
  the conceptualizations by doctors and researchers about
  how these systems work and interact, they are electronic
  and electrochemical and electromagnetic, (thus, optics
  in the eye interact with the brain as electric signals)
  and these many events are being tied together into one
  model of a connected being (mind and body) -- yet the
  ideas of disease, of mental illness even, where there
  is a threat-model to the mind, sick minds, etc. it is
  similar to the idea of circuitry-- where something is
  not working correctly and needs to be fixed/tweaked.
  (reference to prescription and drug experimentations
  would go here). the idea of the human as a circuit, in
  particular, the mind as a circuit, then, would have as
  a 'crown of thorns' a specific symbolic burden of going
  into this circuit and start breaking the patterns of
  how it works, that this halo of wires would start to
  short-out and cause spikes and surges in the electrical
  storms that is human consciousness as it is activated.

Definitions of  short circuit on the Web:
http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+short+circuit


wikipedia: A short circuit (sometimes known as simply a short) is a 
fault whereby electricity moves through a circuit in an unintended 
path, usually due to a connection forming where none was expected. This 
unintended path often has a very low resistance which means that a much 
larger current than normal flows, potentially causing overheating, fire 
or explosion.

  this is to say that parts of a circuit (in the human
  brain/mind/thoughts/paths of connection) are suddenly
  juxtaposed or placed in relation to others that may
  change the nature of the circuity, cause malfunctions
  or may transcend the original design, maybe even to
  evolve in some ways, new circuitry. so much of these
  types of concepts already exist in the medical field,
  in psychiatry, in drug development, conceptualizations
  of the mind, how it works, and also popular conception.
  there's something about music that to me says it best,
  and it is a connection that can be found in the DIY
  people who are taking old electronics toys and making
  them into music instruments by a process that is called
  'circuit bending'. basically, they do the same thing
  this crown would be doing, on a circuit board/map, yet
  it is purposeful to make music by altering/changing
  the nature of the device by adding a wire here and
  connecting it there, bypassing and short-circuiting
  one thing to make another thing possible. thus, the
  crown could be considered a type of circuit bending,
  for better and ill, a type of condition for an age
  where everything is based on such interactions of
  electromagnetism, and yet it is not even understood
  as being relevant to the issues in a larger context,
  that is, everything is discreet, there is no larger
  circuit/paradigm which places things in relation to
  other things- directly the opposite of traditional
  views & dogmas no longer able to divide and conquer.

  for instance, the idea of circuits (hardware and
  software, there is a fluid continuum between math-
  matics and code and electronics in this area, too)
  has been researched in terms of human relationships,
  and how successful relationships evolve: it is said
  to be the balancing of circuits of one person with
  the circuits of another person, where the two sets
  are able to complement, extend, and change another
  and then work as a single unit. (news story months
  ago, from 'nature' i think it was). point being that
  human interactions, individuals and groups, could be
  also 'short-circuiting' in the way of relating and
  functioning as is needed or desired (say, 'utopic
  circuit' by some grand circuit designer) and then
  the bugs in the way things actually turn out to
  work, anomalies, etc... though also refinements,
  changes, optimizing, learning, and evolutions.

  if understanding a small book i finished today,
  an antenna basically works on the idea of short-
  circuiting a transmission line, to send out EM
  radiation-waves, and also to capture such waves.
  maybe the short circuits are 'reverse-salients'
  in some ways, opportunities/places to optimize,
  maybe it is what is behind the life force which
  presses on, and changes, over the millennia, too.
  circuitry must change, for example, in thinking
  for anything to happen that is new or different.
  this is why 'closed minds' & closed-circuits are
  similar, it would seem, as open-minds which are
  able to connect with other open-circuits, say.

  as a footnote to the idea of short-circuits and
  this crown of thorns, then, is that the symbol
  dictionaries i use reference a 'crown of thorns'
  and thorns in particular in relation to the cross,
  and here are some quotes that may be related to
  the idea of the mind-as-a-circuit and individual
  and group circuitry of many working as if one....

* '...the crown is is the visible sign of success,
of 'crowning', whose significance reaches beyond
the act to the person who performed it. At first,
crowns were made out of the limbs of trees in
general and of some trees in particular.' ...
Books on alchemy also stress the affirmative and
sublimating sense of the crown. In ~Margarita
~pretiosa, the six base metals are first shown
as slaves, with their uncovered heads bowed low
towards the feet of the 'king' (that is, gold);
but, after their transmutation, they are depicted
wearing crowns on their heads. This 'transmutation'
is a symbol of spiritual evolution whose decisive
characteristic is the victory of the higher principle
over the base principle of the instincts. That is why
Jung concludes that the radiant crown is the symbol
~par ~excellence of reaching the highest goal in
evolution: for s|he who conquers him|her-self wins
the crown of eternal life (31). p.69 j.e. cirlot,
a  dictionary of symbols

* thorn: ...related to the world-axis, and therefore
the cross. The thorn on the rose-bush helps to
emphasize the counterpoise or 'conjunction' between
thesis and antithesis, that is, between the ideas
of existence and non-existence, ecstasy and anguish,
pleasure and pain; this again is related to the
symbolism of the cross. The crown of thorns adds to
the basic symbolism of the thorn the evil character-
istics of all things multiple and also the cosmic
symbolism of the circle (by virtue of the shape of
the crown). p.323 j.e. cirlot, a dictionary of symbols

* thorn: it is a symbol of difficulty, obstacles,
and suffering. -- ...In Christian graphic and plastic
art, a thorn branch wound about a skull symbolizes
eternal damnation. -- Christ's ~crown~of~thorns is
both a symbol of suffering and of ridicule...
p.195, Herder Dictionary of Symbols


in the post to follow, I am going to attempt to
clarify about the overlap between the religious
and non-religious aspects, and yet some information
is related to religious symbolism (crown of thorns)
though placed within a secular context, or so it is
proposed, as a way to communicate ideas with certain
meaning that may be otherwise impossible to convey.
thus, a post about 'crucifixion' will soon follow
which will attempt to address this basic condition
between public & private meanings of such symbols.
brian

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