Quipi (Talking Knot) Asemics by Dorina Harangus (Hechingen, Germany)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail art by IUOMA member Dorina Harangus (Hechingen, Germany)

 

July 4, 2017 - I admire art by Dorina Harangus because it is so indeterminate and open to interpretation, so I leave open the possibility that you might find things in this work that have no relation to asemics. That is very likely. At the same time, I want to explain why this ingenious work is so relevant to asemics.

This new work by Dorina Harangus is a “found” plastic bag containing pieces of wood and paper shreds. I find the piece to be textually oriented on several levels: from the appearance of actual words to the use of material related to writing and printing as well as the concept of linearity. Here is the contents:

Specifically, and this is certainly a subjective response, the piece strikes me as being modeled upon Quipi: the language of knots used by the Inca. This piece by Dorina Harangus has knots. More important, though, it suggests a language composed of strings (the sturdy paper is string-like). Quipi uses strings extensively.

https://hyperallergic.com/277483/unraveling-the-lost-inca-language-...

I know other asemic writers who are fascinated by this ancient Inca writing and have composed asemic pieces with string, knots and sometimes colours. The Dorina Harangus piece suggests the possibilities of this kind of work.

 

 

 

 

 Many thanks to Dorina Harangus for this second piece!