Ron Burgundy, Sven Birkerts

Thursday I attended the talk that was given by Sven Birkerts. He read his piece that he had written based upon Andre Kertesz’s exhibit “On Reading”. His work which exemplified how “to talk about reading is to talk about everything under the sun” was extremely interesting as it introduced some of the paradox’s that existed in Kertesz’s images of reading. He explained the paradox of the outward ness of photography vs., the inwardness of reading, the polarity of immobility and unseen property of the engaged, and the dual perspectives, that of the reader and that of the observer. As he continued he also delved into the phenomenon of the E-book that is becoming increasingly popular in culture today and what it means for the sort of sanctity of reading. One of the most interesting points Birkerts brought up that stuck with me even after the talk was the disappearance of the book as a tangible object in the age of the E-book. He discussed the significance of the material nature of a book vs. the online e-book whose “text is unhoused”. If we only read via the Internet we lose the “housed” text that sits on our bookshelf and in a sense gives an inclination to our character and interests. The E-book takes away from the idea of a child investing in an object, no tangible books help them fall asleep at night but rather a bright screen tells them stories and disappears when it is closed. Birkerts also looked at the point of a library in the age of the E-book as it may eventually lose its significance. But Birkerts makes a great point in the need and significance of maintaining the material object of a book; it shows what we value as content. For example, if you took a look at the bookshelf that I have in my dorm room you would see a row of about ten to twelve books that I have read during my life. These books were selected to be on my bookshelf because of their significance and impact on my life and therefore serve to tell an individual who may enter my room and see them, a little bit about me. If all the books I’ve read were kept online, I would not be able to glance around my room and see the stories that have consumed hours of my days, I would not be able to lend a book I know helped me in a certain point of my life to someone I felt could use it as an escape. In this way, I support Birkerts’ work that discusses the importance of the preservation of the material object of the book, and clearly enjoyed his presentation.