Process notes for PONG:
Tom Devaney: I had written about Edwin's work in an essay for a special edition of Poets & Writers Magazine in April of 1999. Sometime after that Jordan Davis suggested I interview Edwin on the publication of his book Fractured Humorous (subpress). I said I'd like to do that and Edwin suggested an email conversation, which was something I resisted at first. I disliked email for this kind of interaction. I also thought that one part of Edwin, and his work, that I loved so much was his vibrant and physical animation. While we went ahead with the email conversation I tried to make the medium a part of the conversation as much as possible. What followed became the on-going and sporadic conversation: Pong. The height of the conversation lasted over a year, but in many ways pot-shot volleys continue on to this day. The conversation was also adapted into a shadow puppet show called Pong Live, which Edwin and I performed on June 9, 2000 with the Animated Neck and Stars in Brooklyn, NY.
Edwin Torres: PONG came out of that one conversation everyone has with someone "Hey, let's get together...okay let's!" and then you never do. After a few months of this back and forth game, Tom offered to do an interview and I wanted to do something less formal than that. The PONG presented here, ongoing to this day, is in 30 hits. #1-3, 20 & 22 have been published in the journal Chain, Issue 9. Enjoy…
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1
From: Tom Devaney
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2000 3:59 PM
To: Edwin Torres
Subject: PONG as metaphor
Edwin. Glad I was able to get to Tonic last week 5/4/00 to see & hear you-that night, it was good to be in the same place while you were performing. I didn't try to focus on anyone aspect, but just let it happen-drums, dj, & you honoring the rain and the room. I'm willing to try a conversation with you here, though my instinct is to meet and talk first to get a physical sensory response which we can build-on in an brick-by-brick TOM, EDWIN, EDWIN, TOM email exchange-I'm open. I am wondering if you think email is a callous medium or if it's just that I use it callously? Anyway, just as no one enters a Pollock canvas, because it's a painting not a door-or what people say is-that no one enters a Pollock canvas visually in any one place, so we may place our conversational ball wherever we want. Point.
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2
From: Edwin Torres
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2000 5:44 PM
To: Tom Devaney
Subject: PING!
Tom
instinct sez physical meeting builds presence-email
meetings usually callous-HOWEVER-if we know who
we're dealing with-familiarity listens to untold
nuances in speech patterns-sarcasms ignite untold
tellings--keyboard becomes ear hole into which dark
ages collect--dust bowls inna earhole...AYYYYYYYY,
matre morto sans le carryoutta!!!
yeh, dug Tonic gig...glad you came-finished way too
short 'cuz DJ wasn't 'feelin'' it-I think it's cuz
he's not used to improvising...and although I did feel
a lag halfway through...it isn't uncommon to find the
energy go low in an improvisation as improvisors
search for each others' energy, etc. thought it was
just cooking when we stopped-but-was DJ's first
improv with any musician and SEAN is master
improvisor...knowing when to come in and out yet
always maintaining presence...
something I try and attain in writing-attaining
without trying--therein lies the blur...
speaking of...physical presence is currently at
work--don't know how often I'll be able to respond
immediately-but let's keep up correspondence...as
happenstance allows...your shot!
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3
From: Tom Devaney
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2000 12:42 PM
To: Edwin Torres
Subject: Limitation as plus factor
Edwin
Counterbalancing the medium's (not so immediate, not so immaterial) limitations against itself would be interesting to do-if we're not already doing that. The mismatch between screen, keyboard, music, our brains. What you call "keyboard becomes ear hole into which dark/ages collect-dust bowls inna earhole..." I call Screenesthesia--in the right ear-hand-eye-brain human, igniting "untold tellings" on the everyday face of our computers. I hope to match our mismatches into a new sense, instead of only a nuisance.
Concerning the performance (not the one here, but at Tonic). Yes, I agree it's not "uncommon to find the energy go low in an improvisation as improvisors search for each others' energy," I thought you were not fighting yrself, the room, the energy but working with it-it was mellow.
striking match, my best,
T.Devaney
p.s. I'm going to go to the show "Volume" at PS 1 sometime soon. (Some of it curated by Elliott Sharp). There is something about what is called sound installations, sonic drawings and sound art that connections to your work.
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=== message truncated ===
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4
From: Edwin Torres
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2000 1:48 PM
To: Tom Devaney
Subject: Re: mismatches & misfires
wow! do you see holy encryption at end of previous
email! holy message truncation! holy repetition
batmanman! code talks for us who have no talking...no
otherworldliness of words not worlds
how worlds invented for others worlds to live in--like
day of many days, environment concludes
cheesebombs...lunch hour for michevious wordsters
a word on mismatches...lighting misfires no
doubt--context in land of notext begets match, point &
game! In mistakes is where I choose to live, is
mistakes a new land? more likely just corner of
existing plains to each one's escape...is escape a
choice to live?
off now...to herrible torrible work-monster. future
responses may not be as quick...but you know that...
Pong!
Edwin
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5
From: Tom Devaney
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2000 5:02 PM
To: Edwin Torres
Subject: commitment to the gradual
Edwin,
"Message truncated," is the uncluttered in-between of our talk. As you say, "code talks for us who have no talking..." I like that because we're not talking, we're writing, but I am, or do follow your larger point. All that wild, sprawling and (for the most part) meaningless code-unintentional by-product. (What we didn't or can't, what he said, what we said we said.) Edwin, while playing PONG each hit increases the speed to the blip-ball, which I catch in the speed & rhythm of your "context in land of notext begets match, point & game!"
a dizzy day,
Tom
