Marcel Duchamp reads 'a Dictionary', a fragment from 'A L'infinitif' (1912-20) / recorded in New York, 1967. / mp3 audio file; 2.3 MB
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A Dictionary
- of a language, in which each word would be translated into French order by several words, when necessary by a whole sentence,
- of a language which one could translate in its elements into known languages but which would not reciprocally express the translation of French words or other, or of French or other sentences,
- Make this dictionary by means of cards.
- Find how to classify these cards (in alphabetical order, but which alphabet)
Alphabet or rather a few elementary signs like a dot, line or circle etcetera (to be seen) which will vary, according to the position, etcetera.
- The sound of this language, is it speakable? No.
Relation to shorthand,
"Grammar" = that is how to connect the elementary signs (like words), than the groups of signs one to the other; what will become of the ideas of action or of being (verbs), of modulation (adverbs) - etcetera.
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Buy a dictionary and cross out the words to be crossed out. Sign: revised and corrected.
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For the dictionary look for the equivalents of colours which cannot be seen.
'Theory'
10 words found by opening the dictionary at random by A
" " " " " " by B These two 'sets' of 10 words have the same difference of 'personality' as if the 10 words had been written by A and B with an intention. Or else, it matters little, there would be cases where this 'personality' may disappear in A and B. That is the best case and the most difficult.
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Dictionary:
with films, taking close-up, of parts of very large objects, obtain photography records which no longer look like photographs of something. With these semi-microscopics constitute a dictionary of which each film would be the representation of a group of words in a sentence or separated so that this film would assume a new sign significance or rather that the concentration on this film of the sentences or words chosen would give a form of meaning to this film and that once learned, this relation between film and meaning translated into words would be 'striking' and would serve as a basis for a kind of writing which no longer has an alphabet or words but signs (films) already freed from the 'babytalk' of all ordinary languages.
- Find a means of filing all these films in such order that one could refer to them as in a dictionary [...].
Source: Marcel Duchamp / Some Texts from A L'infinitif (1912-20) Read in New York, 1967 Album: The Creative Act, 1992 / web link: http://www.last.fm/music/Marcel+Duchamp/The+Creative+Act