Saturday, October 19, 2002

Informed Clay If I write on clay, am I an author or a potter? Is it a mug or a book? If the vase is of a pretty form, but the text is crude, is the vase beautiful or ugly? OK, a quick recap: Over 5000 years ago, the Sumerians began writing on clay tablets with long reeds. They started with pictographs, small pictures of what was being represented. Later the Sumerians, and others, became more abtract in their representations, producing ideograms. wsu , upenn Clay has been found inscribed with all sorts of content, from mythological texts to a beer recipe to family squabbles. (The last two perhaps displaying a cause and effect relationship?) Interestingly, the tablet could be additionally manipulated. Once the tablet was inscribed and the clay dried then another layer of clay was put over the inscription to protect it. When it was to be read, the outer portion was broken off. turkishpress. I find the clay cuneiforms inscriptions quite beautiful in a formal, spatial, sense. I find the conceptual notions surrounding textual information on clay, or any art, absolutely intriguing. Let's make it personal. The Museum of the University of Pennsylvania has a Cuneiform Monogram Generator. Anyone want to sign their pieces that way? 1:04:40 AM