Kymaerica
May 9, 2007 8:11 PM   Subscribe

Have you ever come across a plaque commemorating an historical event that seemed well… just a little strange? Maybe it was the Krblin Jihn Kabin (KHS #1) in pCalifornia, Notgeon. Maybe it was the Noizomi in nMichigan, Raalberdus? Welcome to Kymaerica.
posted by tellurian (26 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Is there a site that actually explains this, or does one need to be crazy from the start to understand?
posted by efalk at 8:18 PM on May 9, 2007 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I'm all for clicking around a discovering zaniness for myself, but at least a modicum of explanation would be nice...
posted by wfrgms at 8:25 PM on May 9, 2007


And an explanation you shall have!
posted by L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg at 8:32 PM on May 9, 2007


In my freshman year of high school these girls with lockers next to mine talked in that "tothegoo-tothegee" pidgin/piglatin/codey code talk.
That was super annoying.
This site reminds me of that a little.
"would-be neatfilter?"
posted by chandy72 at 8:33 PM on May 9, 2007


Not really related, but as 'fake artifacts,' understandable.
posted by acro at 8:45 PM on May 9, 2007


(When I hear "multimedia installation" I immediately think of the vacuum cleaner play from Spaced)
posted by acro at 8:48 PM on May 9, 2007


Ahhh, an entry from the Whatthefuck files.

Also, could not they have used a better camera to capture these important artifacts. Could not they?
posted by The Deej at 8:53 PM on May 9, 2007


Kramerica
posted by euphorb at 9:25 PM on May 9, 2007


Grbln gr bln grbln. Bzrf? Mrk mrk mrk mr tzrm! Blrf! Zgrtftftfthnnnn, jwx.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:25 PM on May 9, 2007


So Eames Demetrios, grandson of designers extraordinaire Charles and Ray Eames seems to be behind all this. What this is, however, still remains a mystery. There's something interesting, perhaps, but it's really hard to tell.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 10:00 PM on May 9, 2007


He says:
It’s a story told in a physical way. You might call it a massively multimedia project. It is an alternative universe with thousands of gwomes (a term meaning "the footprint of [a] nation) occupying an area somewhat congruent with North America. Each culture has its own history. It is a kind of reinterpretation of the American landscape. The project involves a web component, photography, books, performances, and physical installations--including a series of plaques marking important sites in Kymaerican history.
Which doesn't really help all that much.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 10:02 PM on May 9, 2007


I don't know, when I read L. Fitzgerald Sjoberd's link, I started thinking "what if I read a description of this artwork in a novel, as if it were fictional? like reading about kilgore trout's novels in vonnegut books, or artists mentioned in some of william gibson's short stories? what would I think? i'd probably think 'man, that's pretty cool. someone should do that in real life.'" well, this guy did that in real life. good on him.
posted by shmegegge at 10:04 PM on May 9, 2007 [1 favorite]


No mystery here. He doesn't have to work, so he plays at being essential. Free lunch, no clock to punch, surfing is too complicated and at the same so Zen, that the erasure is absolute. In light of no perceived value, leave a plaque. Leaving human waste, just isn't enough, leave a plaque, more complicated, intellectually satisfying, human waste.
posted by Oyéah at 10:29 PM on May 9, 2007


Oyéah, you can criticize the guy for failing to create something pleasing or edifying. But to spit on the very act of creation is cheap nihilism.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:37 PM on May 9, 2007


I can see why some might be put off, since you need to evert your brain through one nostril and rub it all over your monitor to digest even a small part of it. But I absolutely love it. Reminds me a lot of Peter Greenaway's equally inscrutable, equally mesmerizing The Falls. (see also)

And thanks, L.Fitzgerald, for that excellent link! Really thoughtful stuff, that.
posted by otherthings_ at 10:58 PM on May 9, 2007


Metafilter: more complicated, intellectually satisfying, human waste.
posted by fleacircus at 12:00 AM on May 10, 2007


Elgaland-Vargaland
posted by Joseph Gurl at 2:35 AM on May 10, 2007


Grbln gr bln grbln. Bzrf? Mrk mrk mrk mr tzrm! Blrf! Zgrtftftfthnnnn, jwx.

*nods head vigorously in agreement*
posted by quonsar at 4:17 AM on May 10, 2007


In all seriousness, is this intrinsically different from how, back in 1988 or so, Will Reichel and I would tell each other scary stories and rumors about the dread "Mr. X" who lived at the end of the block?
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:14 AM on May 10, 2007


I really like the idea of phony historical plaques. Most people would never know the difference.
posted by empath at 6:25 AM on May 10, 2007


you need to evert your brain through one nostril and rub it all over your monitor to digest even a small part of it

Yes! I am really intrigued by this kind of stuff (I think the claim that it is closely related to ARGs is very true), but it is so exhausting to try and comprehend it. I can only digest about 2 concepts per sitting. Today: gwomes!
posted by Rock Steady at 6:40 AM on May 10, 2007


Isn't there a Borges story about something like this?
posted by casarkos at 8:26 AM on May 10, 2007


In 1972 Yello's Dieter Meier put a plaque down at a German train station that read "On March 23 1994, from 3 to 4 pm, Dieter Meier will stand on this plaque". I'm sure for 20+ years many people walked by the plaque and thought "Who the hell is Dieter Meier". When people see a nice plaque they assume it has some importance, so I'm all in favor of plaques that confuse.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:52 AM on May 10, 2007


Reminds me of Templar, Arizona.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 9:00 AM on May 10, 2007


Then Phony Historical Plaque you shall have!
posted by tiny crocodile at 9:22 AM on May 10, 2007


casarkos: yes. Tlon, Uqbar and Orbis Tertius

My mind is not made up on this project, but it reminds me of those professors I've had who've argued that once we fully understand something, especially creative works, they cease to be important.

Still, I'd like to be assured that what I'm looking at has some sort of meaning and is not, say, bird vomit.
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 10:42 AM on May 10, 2007


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