Uneasy reading : resistance and revelation in Willem Boshoff's "Verskanste Openbaring"

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dc.contributor.advisorTwidle, Hedleyen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorEdy, Aliceen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-07-25T11:29:08Z
dc.date.available2016-07-25T11:29:08Z
dc.date.issued2016en_ZA
dc.description.abstractIn 1978, South African conceptual artist Willem Boshoff retyped the Book of Revelation onto a single sheet of paper; reinserting the same page into his typewriter, layering the language upon itself. This project sets out to "read" the product of Boshoff's performance - a rectangle of superimposed text entitled "Verskanste Openbaring" ("Entrenched Revelation"). Entirely illegible, this page is immediately resistant to conventional strategies of reading. However, perhaps the text's provocation might also be an invitation of sorts; in the absence of discernible language, can we read the text's act of resistance? "Verskanste Openbaring" oscillates unpredictably between image and text. Rather, then, than imposing a rigid mode of interpretation, I situate the poem flexibly within the theoretical frameworks of concrete poetry, book history and conceptual writing. I begin at the surface of the page, approaching the the text in aesthetic and material terms. Here, specific attention is paid to considerations of the authorial performance, temporality, sound and typography. Having considered the author's performance of writing, I consider his medium: Afrikaans. Might we "read" a language aesthetically? Finally, focus is shifted from the ink to the book that is hidden within: Revelation. Looking back two thousand years, I explore the socio-political context in which John of Patmos produced this strange and deeply violent prophesy. Guided by the material conditions of Boshoff's piece, this paper seeks to respond to the provocations of both "Verskanste Openbaring" and its source text. Might the plagiarism be productively put into conversation with the original - and vice versa? In producing "Verskanste Openbaring" Boshoff foregrounds the performance of writing. In response, this project takes the shape its own self-conscious interpretive performance; an exploration of the possibilities of reading - via a single illegible page.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationEdy, A. (2016). <i>Uneasy reading : resistance and revelation in Willem Boshoff's "Verskanste Openbaring"</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of English Language and Literature. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20692en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationEdy, Alice. <i>"Uneasy reading : resistance and revelation in Willem Boshoff's "Verskanste Openbaring"."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of English Language and Literature, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20692en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationEdy, A. 2016. Uneasy reading : resistance and revelation in Willem Boshoff's "Verskanste Openbaring". University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Edy, Alice AB - In 1978, South African conceptual artist Willem Boshoff retyped the Book of Revelation onto a single sheet of paper; reinserting the same page into his typewriter, layering the language upon itself. This project sets out to "read" the product of Boshoff's performance - a rectangle of superimposed text entitled "Verskanste Openbaring" ("Entrenched Revelation"). Entirely illegible, this page is immediately resistant to conventional strategies of reading. However, perhaps the text's provocation might also be an invitation of sorts; in the absence of discernible language, can we read the text's act of resistance? "Verskanste Openbaring" oscillates unpredictably between image and text. Rather, then, than imposing a rigid mode of interpretation, I situate the poem flexibly within the theoretical frameworks of concrete poetry, book history and conceptual writing. I begin at the surface of the page, approaching the the text in aesthetic and material terms. Here, specific attention is paid to considerations of the authorial performance, temporality, sound and typography. Having considered the author's performance of writing, I consider his medium: Afrikaans. Might we "read" a language aesthetically? Finally, focus is shifted from the ink to the book that is hidden within: Revelation. Looking back two thousand years, I explore the socio-political context in which John of Patmos produced this strange and deeply violent prophesy. Guided by the material conditions of Boshoff's piece, this paper seeks to respond to the provocations of both "Verskanste Openbaring" and its source text. Might the plagiarism be productively put into conversation with the original - and vice versa? In producing "Verskanste Openbaring" Boshoff foregrounds the performance of writing. In response, this project takes the shape its own self-conscious interpretive performance; an exploration of the possibilities of reading - via a single illegible page. DA - 2016 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2016 T1 - Uneasy reading : resistance and revelation in Willem Boshoff's "Verskanste Openbaring" TI - Uneasy reading : resistance and revelation in Willem Boshoff's "Verskanste Openbaring" UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20692 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/20692
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationEdy A. Uneasy reading : resistance and revelation in Willem Boshoff's "Verskanste Openbaring". [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of English Language and Literature, 2016 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20692en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of English Language and Literatureen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherLiteratureen_ZA
dc.titleUneasy reading : resistance and revelation in Willem Boshoff's "Verskanste Openbaring"en_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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