© matthew purvis

The Saying and the Said

Electronic piece composed while a philosophy student. It was a reaction to the work of Emmanuel Levinas, a thinker who, as mp’s professor at the time remarked, presents a world where people don’t seem to have skin: they are simply raw nerves.

The work plays off of references to Levinas’ structural and linguistic concerns. Its primary base is a wav made from converting his texts to raw sound and then doppling it in a graphic interpretation of his name. This is then augmented by more wavs which articulate his notion of the kerygmatic and the unilateral nature of alterity.

Consequent to creating this work, mp renounced his interest in phenomenology for being excessively pious and sentimental.

Click to play