szymon mów
Perhaps it is part and parcel of blogging that each new post does not necessarily bear a close relationship with its predecessor. But, when viewed together they are able to take on a ‘life of their own’ (even if merely a cloud). - simon ellis
sheila’s presentation put forward the idea that ‘new wave’ dance blogs are artifact and art. as an outcome of ongoing engagement, the ‘whole’ blog will always carry more significance that each part. that’s not to say each post can’t make sense by itself, but an accumulation of posts provides more context(s).
the person/s writing a blog provide tethered continuity; e.g. quodlibet is a slim slice of my interests, practice/products and ‘self’. authorship is not ‘static’, so whilst the clouds maintain a (shifting) boundary, they also drift.
the idea of drifting contexts can be off-putting. it takes confidence to trust your own interpretation, especially when the focus of engagement changes over time. but attending to (and sharing) the current moment is a compelling feature of the new wave. finding the pieces of a puzzle, helps you see how they ‘fit’, and the overall picture.
doug and simon are right. floating clouds are difficult to place, yet the best we can hope for. explaining your concept/inspiration, or providing a concrete context whist developing work, is incredibly hard. the author must be clear about what they do, and do not understand. sometimes offering no context, is better than confusing the the reader.
discourse is a two way process, listening to the experience of the participants helps us improve it. both author and reader have to work at creating/interpreting, meanings and contexts. we need to work harder to achieve this balance.