Agnes Denes

Agnes Denes (1931, Budapest), primarily known for working with environmental, ecological issues and philosophical concepts, is an early adopter of computer to engage with scientific and technological subjects. Her Hamlet Fragmented – Wittgenstein’s “Pain” (1971) employs two existing texts: an excerpt from Philosophical Investigations (1953) by Ludwig Wittgenstein and Hamlet (1623) by William Shakespeare, each modified by the computer. Wittgenstein’s text was subjected to his own concepts on the ‘logic of language’, replacing the word ‘pain’ with ‘pleasure’. Shakespeare’s text was programmed into a computer and edited until all connectives, articles and prepositions were removed. The resultant concrete poetry divorces its physical properties from its original meaning opening up new spaces for speculation. According to Denes, ‘the technical part was just basic computer work . . . Using word revearsals, a new personality was born: TECHNOLOGY CHANGING PERSONALITY. What’s important is the result, done by the mind. The computer was not used for my drawings.’