Our long-awaited and sixth double issue 76:3-4 (2019) of ETC: A Review of General Semantics is in the mail and is now available for download from the IGS Store in searchable PDF format.
Table of Contents Preview
"Beyond Either-or: Creativity’s Antithetical Traits" by Martin H. Levinson
"Literally vs. Seriously: Analyzing a Contrastive Pair Applied to Interpretations of Trump's Rhetoric” by Lance Strate
"Solipsism and Rhetoric during a Time of Uncertainty: A President Turns Persuasion on Its Head" by Mark Hickson III
"Antisemitism in the United States: New Media, New Semantics, and New Problems" by Carolin Aronis
"'Bucky' and General Semantics" by Chris Mayer
"Sound: The Second Sense" by Thom Gencarelli
"What Does Anything Mean Anyway? Your Guess Is as Good as Mine" by Milton Dawes
"Mapping the Language and Rhetoric of the Vietnam War" by Martin H. Levinson
"Dating America's Response to Drugs: A Historical Overview" by Martin H. Levinson
"Teaching and Reading Jamaica Kincaid's 'Girl'" by Pramod Nayar
"Connotations of Connotations" by Paul Lippert
"The COVID-19 Pandemic, Catchphrases, and Capitalism: A Synthesis" by Flora Keshishian
"Closure as It Relates to Perception, Thinking, and Problem-Solving Tasks" by Joseph N. Agostino
"Closure in a Visual Motor Task" by Joseph N. Agostino
"This Is Jeopardy" by Suzanne G. Beyer
General Semantics "Action Plans":
"A Note from the Editor and an Explanation" by Thom Gencarelli
"Action Plan: Self-Reflexiveness" by Jesus Aguirre and Mary Lahman
"Action Plan: Nonidentity" by Kendal Garringer and Mary Lahman
"Action Plan: Non-Allness" by Derek Ginn and Mary Lahman
Plus Book Reviews.
Cover Art
"Hedgehogs' Dilemma” by Dom Heffer. 2020/Oil, Acrylic, and Spray Paint on Canvas/158 × 158 cm
From the artist: This work was provoked by Arthur Schopenhauer's description of the “hedgehogs' dilemma”—a metaphor for the problems of human “closeness.” Schopenhauer describes the problem of hedgehogs (or porcupines) huddling together for warmth and safety, but not being able to get too close because of their spikes. The idea of finding "optimal" distance between one another for successful cohabitation is the functional element of the metaphor. The Hedgehogs' dilemma made me think about where the artist fits into society. The floating figure with the glow around him is loosely based on the popular American TV artist Bob Ross. Ross was one of the first exponents of the "paint along" program. He hovers around, armed with his palette knife, trying to find his place among the hedgehogs. This work was made for a project called "Rethinking Civil Society," led by Professor Timothy Stanton at the University of York, and was completed in January 2020. Strangely enough, soon after the completion of the work, the idea of human proximity developed a new significance.
Dom Heffer (b.1978, London) is an artist, based in Hull. His work often involves paintings that are large scale and colorful, and carry a hint of anarchy. The intent is to investigate infrastructure: hidden, mechanical, or psychological. Recent works focus on the infrastructure or "semantics" of painting. They depict communication networks intruding on our visual world; canvases are netted with transmission beams, figures (or "stooges") are distorted by interference, and visual devices called "creative blocks" disrupt the scenes.
Dom has worked with many arts and research organizations, some of which include the Institute of General Semantics, the Media Ecology Association, UK City of Culture, 20/21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe, Arts Council England, and The Estate of Francis Bacon, London.
Further information about Dom's work is available at ideasinthevoid.com.
