'n Ding wat homself dra : Anne Carson se Nox as visuele en poetiese ondersoek na haar broer se lewe en dood en Afskrif
Date
2015-12
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis is ’n studie van Anne Carson se boek Nox wat die vorm, voorkoms, prosesse en
samestelling van die teks ondersoek en analiseer. Dit probeer tot ’n begrip kom van presies
hoe Carson “a brilliantly curated heap of scraps” verwerk tot ’n outonome kunswerk, “a thing
that carries itself.”
In die eerste gedeelte van die tesis word Nox as voorbeeld van ’n kunsboek (“artists’ book”)
beskou. Nox se inhoud en voorkoms word gemeet aan die definisie en kenmerke van
kunsboeke en binne die konteks van die geskiedenis van boekkuns as praktyk geplaas. Daar
word veral gefokus op die visuele aard van Nox, die maniere waarop die boek verskil van
meer konvensionele tekste, die selfbewustheid en selfrefleksie wat in die teks manifesteer en
die eenheid van vorm en inhoud wat die outeur/kunstenaar bewerkstellig.
Die tweede gedeelte ondersoek hoe vertaling op verskillende vlakke as proses in die skep van
Nox funksioneer. Die fragmente en brokstukke waaruit die teks bestaan word deur middel van
vertaling tot ’n eenheid gebind. Die proses van lewensbeskrywing word op metaforiese vlak
as ’n soort vertaling gesien, wat parallel staan teenoor die letterlike vertaling van Catullus se
“Gedig 101” wat op die bladsye van Nox plaasvind. Terselfdertyd verteenwoordig die wyse
waarop ’n private objek (Carson se notaboek waarin sy die oorspronklike brokke
byeengebring het) verwerk word tot ’n publieke kunswerk (die kunsboek Nox) ’n volgende
vlak van vertaling wat die ander twee vlakke omarm en bevat. Deur middel van ’n proses van
intersemiotiese vertaling skep Carson in die kunsboek Nox ’n weergawe van “Gedig 101”.
Die manier waarop die gedig betekenis skep word in ander tekensisteme in die kunsboek
nageboots.
In die laaste afdeling word semiotiek aangewend as teoretiese raamwerk waarbinne ’n teks
wat uit verskillende media saamgestel is, ondersoek kan word. In dié gedeelte word ’n
stiplees van Nox onderneem om te demonstreer presies hoe Carson die fragmente en
brokstukke verwerk om ’n samehangende eenheid te skep. Daar word aangedui dat die teks
gelees kan word as ’n vertraagde, verskerpte en ontplofte vertaalhandeling wat uitdrukking
en vorm gee aan menslike smart.
Die bundel Afskrif bestaan uit gedigte wat die moontlikheid van oorspronklikheid ondersoek
en op verskillende maniere kyk na replikas, afskrifte, kopieë en herskrywings.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is a study of Anne Carson’s book Nox. It investigates the form, aesthetic, process and composition of the text, and attempts to come to an understanding of the way in which Carson transforms a “brilliantly curated heap of scraps” into an autonomous artwork, “a thing that carries itself.” The first section of the thesis discusses Nox as an example of an artist’s book. The content and appearance of the book are measured against the definition and characteristics of artist’s books, before it is placed within the context of the history of bookwork as an artistic practice. The visual nature of the book, the ways in which it challenges conventions of bookmaking, its self-consciousness and self-reflexivity, as well as the author/artist’s means of creating unity between form and content are emphasised. The second section of the thesis investigates how translation is used at different levels in the process of creating the work. Translation is used as a way of drawing together the fragments and scraps from which Nox is essentially made. At a metaphoric level, the process of life writing is seen as a form of translation, which also runs parallel to the literal translation of Catullus’ “Poem 101” contained in the pages of Nox. At the same time, the transformation of a private object (Carson’s personal notebook in which she collected the original scraps) into an artwork for public consumption (the artist’s book Nox) represents a third level of translation, which embraces and contains the other two. Through a process of intersemiotic translation, Carson creates a version of “Poem 101” in her artists’ book that mimics the way in which the poem creates meaning. In the last section of the thesis, semiotics is applied as a theoretical framework to facilitate the reading of a text in which various media is present. A close reading of Nox is undertaken to demonstrate exactly how Carson goes about processing the fragments and scraps into a coherent unity. The close reading reveals that Nox can be read as a slow, intensified and exploded exercise in translation that gives expression to grief. The collection of poems entitled Afskrif consists of poems which question the possibility of originality and investigates replicas, photocopies, copies and rewritings in different ways.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is a study of Anne Carson’s book Nox. It investigates the form, aesthetic, process and composition of the text, and attempts to come to an understanding of the way in which Carson transforms a “brilliantly curated heap of scraps” into an autonomous artwork, “a thing that carries itself.” The first section of the thesis discusses Nox as an example of an artist’s book. The content and appearance of the book are measured against the definition and characteristics of artist’s books, before it is placed within the context of the history of bookwork as an artistic practice. The visual nature of the book, the ways in which it challenges conventions of bookmaking, its self-consciousness and self-reflexivity, as well as the author/artist’s means of creating unity between form and content are emphasised. The second section of the thesis investigates how translation is used at different levels in the process of creating the work. Translation is used as a way of drawing together the fragments and scraps from which Nox is essentially made. At a metaphoric level, the process of life writing is seen as a form of translation, which also runs parallel to the literal translation of Catullus’ “Poem 101” contained in the pages of Nox. At the same time, the transformation of a private object (Carson’s personal notebook in which she collected the original scraps) into an artwork for public consumption (the artist’s book Nox) represents a third level of translation, which embraces and contains the other two. Through a process of intersemiotic translation, Carson creates a version of “Poem 101” in her artists’ book that mimics the way in which the poem creates meaning. In the last section of the thesis, semiotics is applied as a theoretical framework to facilitate the reading of a text in which various media is present. A close reading of Nox is undertaken to demonstrate exactly how Carson goes about processing the fragments and scraps into a coherent unity. The close reading reveals that Nox can be read as a slow, intensified and exploded exercise in translation that gives expression to grief. The collection of poems entitled Afskrif consists of poems which question the possibility of originality and investigates replicas, photocopies, copies and rewritings in different ways.
Description
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2016
Keywords
Carson, Anne, 1950- -- Criticism and interpretation, Artists' books, Poetry -- Translating -- History and criticism, Semiotics and poetry, UCTD