Be the Weaver of Your Context - Presented at Hot Nonsense 2021
Channel: Meaning Is Alive
Date: 16/12/2021

The word "context" comes from Latin "contextus," "a joining together," originally past participle of contexere "to weave together," which is itself derived from Proto-Indo-European "con," meaning "with, together" + "texere" meaning "to weave, to make" (from the root *teks- "to weave," also "to fabricate"). In its original use, before it evolved to the more abstract usage it has today, context was literally the result of the creative activity of weaving things together. Maybe it described something like a quilt or tapestry. Or perhaps it described a situation in which a great deal of art was assembled in one hall.

When we use the word "context" today, we tend to think of it as something that we find ourselves in, rather than something we create. For example, we act from the context of being humans who must eat and sleep. Our gestures and phrases mean what they do in the context of a certain culture. Our actions have meaning within a given situational context. The context is what brings together our otherwise disparate actions, forming something like the background of meaning. Yet context itself is meaningful.

In this workshop, I make a case for the creative activity involved in the active formation of the various contexts we live in. Our most basic assumptions about reality are themselves a result of a reciprocal process of interpretation and expression--a semiotic process. What happens when we turn our awareness and intention to the semiotic process involved in the formation of our contexts? Self and identity, world and history, myth and spirituality, philosophy and thought. It all comes together to make an intricate tapestry of meaning in which we appear to be mere woven figures. But what happens if you shift your perspective to become, instead of the woven--the weaver?

This, I think, is ultimately a playful process, but not playful in the sense of a joke or pretend-game, but playful in the sense of a most earnest work of art. As the artist of your own existence, may you step up to become a virtuoso, while also developing a harmonious relationship with your co-creators.

(I did not plan on recording this workshop, but my friend kindly offered to record it using my phone. Due to the spontaneous quality of this filming, we did not have any professional equipment available. There is a lot of background noise and weird audio disturbances. Your patience is appreciated. I have hand-typed subtitles for the entire length to make it easier to follow.)

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(Music used is Bach's Brandenburg Concertos as performed by Musica Florea. I do not own this music.)