SF0 / drsubtle / Split Text

50 + 20 points

Split Text by Dr. Subtle

January 9th, 2008 11:11 PM

INSTRUCTIONS: Write a short story, dialogue, instruction pamphlet or text of your choosing. Split it into small segments and distribute the segments individually in the form of door-to-door fliers. You may use the reverse madlibs technique to generate your text.

FLIERS HAVE BEEN DISTRO'D!

Battle Hymn of Pittsburgh

For The Glory of the City he is coming to our aid
His eyes aflame with prophecy his words to be obeyed
And those who are not cleansed by him by fire shall be slayed
Thus doth Carnegie live.

Glory glory to Carnegie
Glory glory to Carnegie
Glory glory to Carnegie
Thus doth Carnegie live.

Andrew Mellon a founder is, a father and a priest
He built in hills and in rivers, the work has never ceased.
The golden age of steel, his, must ever be increased.
Thus doth Carnegie Live

Chorus

Good Henry Frick the cyclops who is pretty Martha's sire
Shall fall with wings of steam upon the insects in the mire.
And cleanse their brains and bodies with the holy blade of fire
Thus doth Carnegie live

Chorus

In chains of sin 'neath rivers three our steely god remains
His maid of foot dear Martha Frick doth soothe the burning brains
And turn our eyes towards the glory of future Steely saints
Thus doth Carnegie live.

Chorus

And Westinghouse who stopped the trains doth lend his hand to fight
A machine he builds for Carnegie to light harmonic night
And powers it with spawn of those who do the City blight
Thus doth Carnegie live.

Chorus

His time is nigh, the city waits with anticipation
For winter and the iron cold that clouds and snow summon
And from confluence of rivers three will rise the Holy One
Thus doth Carnegie live.

Chorus

Thus doth Carnegie live.

There are those among us who believe that men CAN become gods, and that a hundred and twenty years ago men did just that. Those who believe that Andrew Carnegie lies trapped under the confluence of Pittsburgh's three rivers, a seventy foot tall steel statue bound in chains forged of the city's sins. That he has four entities bound to him: Andrew Mellon, the banking magnate; Henry Clay Frick, the coke and steel baron; George Westinghouse, the inventer of AC power, the Pneumatic Air Brake, etc; and Martha Frick, Henry's young daughter who died when she was very young; all four now infused with elemental power- Earth, Fire, Air, and Water respectively.

Across many media the unfolding Prophecy of Carnegie is being told. Key to it is a distributed text across 160 fliers that will eventually be distributed across the city of Pittsburgh.

The TASK-specific piece of the operation comes in when I made very small, cut up versions of the fliers.

I distributed them all over town, and across two college campuses.

- smaller

They Rise!

Pencil drawing of Carnegie's Return.

Alexander Berkman Flier

... attempted assassin of Henry Clay Frick: Judas and Betrayer, Insect Priest of Satan.

Henry Clay Frick Flier

One Eyed Minotaur Cyclops Angel of Fire, he heals through burning death. His daughter Martha (not pictured) heals through soothing water to the sinful brain.

Andrew W. Mellon Flier

Man of Earth, Builder and Prophet.

16 Fliers

The previous three fliers are but 3 of 160 unique fliers (a tenth of which are shown here), most of which I have not had time to properly scan and photocopy, but thats a goal. The fliers tell a story of how the Prophecy of Carnegie is to play out, split across all of them, but one only really needs to read 20ish of the to get the drift.

Mellon in Situ

There are five unique pictures (Frick, Martha, George Westinghouse, Mellon, and Carnegie himself). The text is different every time, and doesn't always stick to a linier or even horizontal pattern.

Frick in Situ

A few of the fliers have been photocopied and put up around the city, but most haven't. They will though. Look for that as a task some time in the future!

The TASK BEGINS!

I took four of the fliers and 'shopped them onto a single 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. These are double sided, and line up so that when cut into 4 each card has a different person on each side.

The cut-up pile

Here they are cut up- split text. But i'm not done.

Stickers!

To some of them (about 5% of the few hundred little ones), I have attached PHZERO stickers.

CUTUPS

I then made cuts in all of the hundreds of little fliers and began slipping them together in pairs. Each card is now a mashup (split text) of two different ones. They may be pulled apart to be read, or left together as a sort of strange amalgamation.

Some of my more favorite specimins