Litterature is giving a story, a possible interpretation, to something lacking explanation.
As the name implies, Litterature is writing on the subject of trash.
But what is it about?
The way I see it… (Ha! See what I did there? … Is it too early for that joke? I suppose it is. Hold tight, it will make sense.) The way I see it, Litterature is about perception.
Every one, every thing, has a story. Some people would argue our story is the same as our history – a series of events that happened to us, and around us, chronologically until we arrive at the present moment. However, our interpretation, our perception of these historical events sculpts our experience.
If I’ve gone a little too philosophical too quickly imagine this:
You’re out and about, travelling to your destination of the moment. Maybe you’re driving to a hair appointment, maybe you’re ducking into an alley to hide from your ex’s ill-tempered relation who is carrying a grudge against you, maybe you’re posting flyers for your band’s debut on the way to the library. Whatever you’re doing, you happen to look up at the exact moment a unicyclist goes passed, en route to his own destination. Now, in most places I imagine this is not an overly common occurrence so you’ve likely made a note of it in one way or another. Each of these previously mentioned hypothetical people saw it and each of them perceived it differently than the others. They might be thinking “That guy is a lunatic, riding a unicycle (of all things!) outside in the winter!” or “I wonder how many times that guy wiped out learning to ride that thing that well.” or maybe “Gosh, that looks swell!”.
In any of these cases the same historical event created a different experience based on the individual’s perception and is remembered a bit differently by each of them.
Our perception of something is shaped primarily by two main things:
- Context
Context is the information surrounding something that tells us how to interpret it. A joke needs context to be funny, a punch line someone has no reference for will fall flat. A third year geography text book assumes you have some knowledge of the informational landscape on which to base this further information. If we walk into a building and find various foods on display and cashiers at the front, we’re likely in a supermarket. We tend to intuit context from our surroundings but this isn’t always possible.
- Our past experiences
Our past experiences actively affect our perception of the present, often on a subconscious level. What we’ve seen, experienced and learned up to this point tells us how to interpret our current circumstances.
Combining these elements shape our perception of events and thus the story we tell ourselves. The cool thing is that everyone’s story is different! While other people will have experienced similar events in their lives how you perceive something will always be unique because you have your whole history of individual perceptions influencing your interpretation. So, even though you might come to the same conclusion or feel the same way about a situation as someone else, your interpretation is your own.
I know, I know. “What does all this have to do with pictures of garbage?”. Bear with me a little longer, we’re almost there I promise.
We essentially create our individual realities based on our perceptions. We create a picture of the world based on the information available to us, context and our past experiences. You’ve heard the expression “One person’s junk is another person’s treasure.” If we identify something as garbage does it make it garbage? To us it is, so it may as well be; to someone else it may be a spark of inspiration, a glint of hope, a sign of things to come or a symbol of what was. So, if we identify something as art, does that make it art? Or is it still just garbage?
Litterature is about playfully embellishing on the context we’re given (lack of context has a huge influence on a lot of things but that subject is a whole other rambling thing..). It is about questioning initial perceptions and asking “Yes but what if it’s this?”. Litterature is giving context to something that lacks it, creating a story for it and emphasizing the power of our perception on our own reality. Is it art or is it garbage?
Now, if we apply this to the rest of the world around us things get really interesting. What do you see?