the entropy of 4 hoovers and other electrical appliance stories
But “you canʼt have your cake and eat it too,” the saying goes. (1949 p.70)
Norma Jeane (the artist) began his / her artistic career in 1994 with a portfolio entitled Who is Norma Jeane? and since then, the production, accumulation and dispersion of energy have remained central themes to his / her entire practice (2004 p.181). As much of a conscious decision as the paradox of their identity, the artist represents his / her fascination with the movement of energy through the concepts of entropy and potlatch. These two concepts are not by definition theories of the creative process, in contradiction to polyphony, but by appropriating the concepts Norma Jeane utilises their potential as creative processes7.
Since 1997 Norma Jeane has produced a series of works under the title potlatch, explicitly appropriating the notions of the concept, described by Galasso as “contemporary version[s] of ancient sacrifices” (2004 p.184). This having been said it is not possible for Batailleʼs understanding of potlatch within his broader General Economy to exist without the concept of entropy, although here, mirroring Batailleʼs study of consumption they shall study them relatively independently of each other8.
The practice of potlatch amongst the indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest of America, at first observation, can be seen as an attempt to redress the accumulation of the surplus energy that cannot be used in the maintenance of life and the growth of the collective society. Prior to the consequence on the societyʼs hierarchy, it is possible to view the act of the gift or even the act of destruction as a means of squandering excess resources without profit, potlatch as a mode of loss not acquisition (1949 p.67) precisely illustrated in Norma Jeaneʼs first work in the potlatch series Potlatch 1.1