Dark matter objects
Technologies of capture and things that can't be held
Compiler
Video engineer
Sound engineer
Theme song composer
Printmaker
Circuit board engineer
Narrator
2018-present. 2-color red and black risograph printed handbound booklet. Red and black paper of various stocks, grey craft paper, lotka paper, newsprint, transparency, North Carolina cotton, red light emitting diodes, copper tape, coin cell battery, wire cable, fiberglass printed circuit board, black silkscreen. Made with Chibitronics Chibi Chip, MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020), TextEdit, Adobe Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Premiere; and EAGLE. Printed on RISO Ez 221 U, Cricut Explore Air 2, and Brother Monochrome Laser HL-L2370DW. Filmed on Sony XDCAM PXW-FS5 and Panasonic Lumix DC GH5. Website hand coded with HTML, CSS, Javascript, p5.js and Visual Studio Code by Emma Rae Bruml Norton, Dan Shiffman and Neta Bomani.
Full text
Dark Matter Objects
Technologies of capture and things that can’t be held
Chapter One
This is a story about words.
This is a story about language.
This is a story about the language of things.
This is a story about participation in the name of the thing named.1
This is a story about the fabric of our lives.
One must learn from the great masters of history,
the master plan
the master class
the master craft
the master document
the master recording
the master’s degree
the master’s pedigree...
Thirty-one score and 1 year ago
a master baited his slave, quietly.
And the slave laughed,
“For the slave, there was little that was humorous about his bondage. The conditions under which he was forced to survive were not calculated to evoke laughter, nor did the knowledge that his very soul was measured in dollars bring forth any waves of merriment. The very laws of the land proclaimed him a chattel, equal to the domestic animals which he tended.”2You see, the master,
he is wise and shrewd as a manager in chief
and the slave,
well, to the master, the slave has no character, no personality, no being—only body.
On the long night of bondage
the slave cried out,
“Comrade!”
“Friend!”
Oh friend, there was no friend then,
there is no friend now.
“There, there, don’t cry.”
“Quiet ‘fo they come!”
It’s a simple arrangement,
“the master tells the slave what to do and the slave shuts up.”3
This is what we shall see unfold in this modern folktale.
This is a story about logic.
This is a story about reason.
This is a story about technology.
This is a story about technologies of capture.4
This is a story about things that can’t be held.
This is a story about things that can’t be named.
This is a story about memory.
Shoot the footage
Capture the audio
Record the masters
Switch the tapes
Cut the footage
Manipulate the code
Upload the files
Export the assets
This is a story about power.
This is a story about ground.
This is a story about plantation and plot.
This is a story about
command and control
yes and no
on and off
1 and 0
beep and boop!
bits and bytes
and and or
true or false
white and black
subject and object
human and not human
confirm nor deny.
For all their supposed technical excellence and perspicuity,
the full significance of the myths they embed are not clearly perceived claiming,
“This isn’t about racism, they’re just technical terms!”5
while subsea fiber optic cables sowed by technological masters
trace contours of the trade routes from Portugal to South Africa screaming,
“Equiano!”
“Equiano!”
“Equiano?!”
“Equian-oh…”
“Olaudah Equiano!”
And so you see,
(don’t you see)
(you don’t see)
(y’all don’t hear me)
technology transforms its languages; poetry invents its tongues.6
What it takes to master language won’t be found in any book.7
We are lost in the inextricable, in the tangle of everything the master conceals and reveals
You see, the story of the master and the slave lies in everything people say and do.
The master/slave relationship has been used for centuries in technology, often to explain situations where one master process or component controls a slave process or component.
In audio recording, duplication is done with several tapes or recorders linked together. Operating the controls on the master recording triggers the same controls or commands on the slaves so that the recording is done in parallel.
In photography, slave flash units may be synchronized to the master to provide light from other directions.
In transportation, railway locomotives can be arranged in a master/slave configuration with the operation of all locomotives in the train slaved to the controls of the first master locomotive.
In automobile engineering, the master cylinder is a control device that converts force into hydraulic pressure in the brake system. The device controls slave cylinders located at the other end of the hydraulic system.
In software engineering, programmers upload code to the master branch repository.
In computers, the master clock provides time signals used to synchronize one or more slave clocks as a part of a clock network.
The computer holds the memories of time.
The computer is a clock.
Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock!
Race against the clock.
Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock!
Runaway slave
Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock!
The machine is running…
The computer was a person.
The term “computer” was first documented being used in the early 17th century to refer to a person who computes.
Teams of human computers who, in the beginning, were usually women, were commanded to perform long and tedious calculations by their masters, who were always men.
Like slaves tethered to the switch, the movements of human computers were imposed on them by the calculated commands of their masters.
The slave is a human computer.
The human computer is a machine.9
The machine is running.
“Massa gon git you!”
Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock!
This is a story about time.
This is a story about history.
In 1939 the Federal Bureau of Narcotics threatened to arrest Holiday for drug use and possession if she performed “Strange Fruit” again.
In 1945 the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the first programmable general purpose computer was created.
In 1947 the Cold War began.
In 1954 the Civil Rights Movement began.
This is a story about the movement.
In 1958 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) formed.
In 1963 John F. Kennedy supported the Civil Rights Movement in the Report to the American People.
In 1963 John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
In 1966 the Black Panther Party formed.
The Black Panther Party philosophy was inspired by Malcolm X, Mao Tse-Tung of the Communist Party of China and the anti-colonialist book the Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon.
They believed in and practiced armed self defense against the malware of anti-Black aggression by the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist cult.
They compiled the responses and created the Ten Point Platform and Program that acted as the foundation of the Black Panther Party.
The ten points of the Black Panther Party philosophy are:
- We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community.
- We want full employment for our people.
- We want an end to the robbery by the Capitalists of our Black Community.
- We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings.
- We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present day society.
- We want all Black people to be exempt from military service.
- We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of Black people.
- We want freedom for all Black people held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.
- We want all Black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their Black Communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States.
- We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace.
Because of its practice of armed self-defense against police, as well as its communism, the Black Panther Party was frequently targeted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s COINTELPRO (a syllabic abbreviation named after the Counter Intelligence Program) in addition to state and local law enforcement groups. While the Black Panther Party was targeted for its militancy, they also provided free breakfast for school children, sickle cell anemia health screenings, legal aid and adult education, among other community services.
In 1968 the Young Lords formed.
In 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
In 1968 the Civil Rights Movement ended.
In 1969 the Stonewall Riots happened.
In 1969 Fred Hampton was assassinated.
Unix is technology that exists inside most—if not all, human made computers on earth.
The Unix philosophy established a set of cultural norms for making software that became as important and influential as the technology of Unix itself.
According to this philosophy, the operating system should provide a set of simple modular tools, each of which performs a limited, well-defined function.
The 17 points of the Unix philosophy are:
- Modularity Write simple parts connected by clean interfaces.
- Clarity Clarity is better than cleverness.
- Composition Design programs to be connected to other programs.
- Separation Separate policy from mechanism; separate interfaces from engines.
- Simplicity Design for simplicity; add complexity only where you must.
- Parsimony Write a big program only when it is clear by demonstration that nothing else will do.
- Transparency Design for visibility to make inspection and debugging easier.
- Robustness Robustness is the child of transparency and simplicity.
- Representation Fold knowledge into data so program logic can be stupid and robust.
- Least Surprise In interface design, always do the least surprising thing.
- Silence When a program has nothing surprising to say, it should say nothing.
- Repair When you must fail, fail noisily and as soon as possible.
- Economy Programmer time is expensive; conserve it in preference to machine time.
- Generation Avoid hand-hacking; write programs to write programs when you can.
- Optimization Prototype before polishing. Get it working before you optimize it.
- Diversity Distrust all claims for “one true way.”
- Extensibility Design for the future, because it will be here sooner than you think.
This is a story about technology.
In 1983 the Internet was created.
In 1983 the first personal computer was created by Apple Incorporated.
In 1991 the Cold War ended.
This is a story about time travel.
This is a story about the universe.
This is a story about parallel universes.
This is a story about the construction of one specific society from the components of all possible societies. 10
Don’t you see,
it didn’t have to be this way
it could’ve been any way
but the master and the slave,
This stellar,
masterful arrangement
This is a story about the world.
This is a story about the earth.
This is a story about earth becoming world.
This is a story about the otherworld.
can’t imagine
can’t touch
can’t hold
can’t taste
can’t say
can’t hear.
This is a story about dark matter.
“that nonluminous component of the universe that is said to exist but cannot be observed, cannot be recreated in laboratory conditions. Its distribution cannot be measured; its properties cannot be determined; and so it remains undetectable. The gravitational pull of this unseen matter is said to move galaxies.”12
Now you see, technology is all bound up with slavery.
Freedom is all bound up with slavery.
to infinity and beyond.
The story never ends,
and we carry on.
Endnotes
- Bracken, Christopher, “The Language of things: Walter Benjamin’s primitive thought,” 1
- Henry Spalding, Encyclopedia of Black Folklore and Humor, 22
- Originally said to me and fellow classmates by a physical computing professor at New York University
- Originally said by Sol Cabrini de la Ciudad in a class taught by Fred Moten at New York University
- Elizabeth Landau, “Tech Confronts Its Use of the Labels ‘Master’ and ‘Slave’” (Wired 2020)
- A riff on Édouard Glissant
- Contribution from @bigflowersworld on Twitter
- A riff on S*an Henry
- A riff on Fred Moten
- From a cybernetic systems theory diagram by way of Melanie Hoff’s Code Societies
- A riff on Fred Moten
- Simone Browne, Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness, 9
Terms
Master “I am a master of my craft.”
- one who has power to control, use, or dispose (of something or some quality) at will
- a man who has people working for him, especially servants or slaves
- a man in charge of an organization or group
- chief, head, director, teacher
- having or showing very great skill or proficiency
- acquire complete knowledge or skill in (an accomplishment, technique, or art)
- gain control of; overcome
Master race race of people considered to be pre-eminent in greatness or power
Slave “He was a slave to his vices.”
- a person who is the chattel or legal property of another and is forced to obey them
- one who has lost the power of resistance to some habit or vice
- work excessively hard
Slave driver "He was an old slave driver."
- cruel or exacting task-master
Slaver “The Brookes slave ship is one of the first documented slavers.”
- ship in the slave trade
- person in the slave trade
Slavery “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
- severe toil, hard work, drudgery
- state of servitude
Captive “The slave ran away from captivity.”
- a person who has been taken prisoner or an animal that has been confined
Capture “Capture the audio.”
- take into one’s possession or control by force or stratagem
- the action of capturing or of being captured
- win by ingenuity or skill
Cut “Cut the footage.”
- make an opening, incision, or wound in (something) with a sharp-edged tool or object
- a stroke or blow given by a sharp-edged implement or by a switch or cane
Dispose “Dispose of the footage.”
- get rid of by throwing away or giving or selling to someone else
- bring (someone) into a particular frame of mind
Drive “Hard drive the slaves.”
- propel or carry along by force in a specified direction
- an innate, biologically determined urge to attain a goal or satisfy a need
Hard drive “Upload the files to the hard drive.”
- a high-capacity, self-contained storage device containing a read-write mechanism plus one or more hard disks, inside a sealed unit. Also called hard disk drive
- internal or external hardware component that stores digital data (documents, images, music, videos, programs, applications and operating systems
Execute “Execute the program.”
- to carry out fully; put completely into effect
- to make or produce (something, such as a work of art) especially by carrying out a design
- to put to death especially in compliance with a legal sentence
Export “Export the assets.”
- send (goods or services) to another country for sale
- a commodity, article, or service sold abroad
- to carry out, bring out; send away
Manipulate “Manipulate the code.”
- handle or control (a tool, mechanism, etc.), typically in a skillful manner
- control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly, unfairly, or unscrupulously
Record “The record needs to be mastered.”
- a thing constituting a piece of evidence about the past, especially an account kept in writing or some other permanent form
- the sum of the past achievements or actions of a person or organization; a person or thing’s previous conduct or performance
- set down in writing or some other permanent form for later reference, especially officially
- convert (sound or a performance) into permanent form for later reproduction
Shoot “Shoot the footage.”
- to throw or cast off or out often with force
Store “The files are stored on the drive.”
- a quantity or supply of something kept for use as needed
- keep or accumulate (something) for future use
Stow “Stow the slaves.”
- pack or store (an object) carefully and neatly in a particular place
- to cram, pack up close
Switch “Switch the computer off.”
- bough, twig, long thin stick
- device for changing the direction of something or making or breaking a connection
- beat or flick with or as if with a switch
Upload “Upload the files.”
- transfer (data) from one computer to another, typically to one that is larger or remote from the user or functioning as a server
- an act or process of uploading data
Load “Load the cargo onto the ship.”
- put a load or large amount of something on or in (a vehicle, ship, container, etc.)
- a weight or source of pressure borne by someone or something
- make (someone or something) carry or hold a large or excessive amount of heavy things
- a way, a course, a carrying; a street, watercourse; maintenance, support
- a great amount or number
- to fill with passengers
Download "Download the files.”
- action or process of transferring from the storage of a larger system to that of a smaller one
Works cited
American Artist, “Black Gooey Universe” (Unbag Magazine 2018)
Audre Lorde, “Poetry is Not a Luxury,” Sister Outsider (Ten Speed Press 2007)
“Basics of the Unix Philosophy,” The University of Rhode Island Department of Computer Science and Statstics
“The Black Panther Party,” National Archives
Christopher Bracken, “The Language of Things: Walter Benjamin’s Primitive Thought,” (Semiotica 2002)
Claire E. Evans. Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet
Denise Ferreira da Silva, “Toward a Black Feminist Poethics: The Quest(ion) of Blackness Toward the End of the World” (Taylor & Francis 2014)
Ed Robeson, To See the Earth Before the End of the World (Wesleyan University Press 2012)
Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (François Maspero 1961)
Fred Moten, The Universal Machine (Duke University Press 2018)
Hito Steyerl, “A Thing Like You and Me,” The Wretched of the Screen (Sternberg Press 2009)
Hortense Spillers, “Critical Theory in Times of Crisis” (The South Atlantic Quarterly 2020)
Matthew David Segall, “Diagram of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit”
M. NourbeSe Phillip, Zong! (Middletown: Wesleyan University Press 2011)
Orlando Patterson, "Toward a future that has no past—reflections on the fate of Blacks in the Americas" (National Affairs 1972)
Raymond M. Fish and Leslie A. Geddes, “Conduction of Electrical Current to and Through the Human Body” (Eplasty 2009)
Ron Eglash, “Broken Metaphor: The Master-Slave Analogy in Technical Literature,” Technology and Culture (Johns Hopkins University Press 2007)
Ruha Benjamin, Race After Technology (Polity 2019)
Saidiya Hartman, “Venus in Two Acts” (Small Axe Press 2008)
Tara McPherson, “U.S. Operating Systems at Mid-Century: The Intertwining of Race and UNIX.” Race after the Internet, by Lisa Nakamura and Peter A. Chow-White (Routledge Press 2012)
Wendy Hui Kyoung Chun. “On Software, or the Persistence of Visual Knowledge” (MIT Press Journals 2006)
Édouard Glissant, Poetics of Relation (The University of Michigan Press 1990)
“Remembering Slavery,” Durham University
Simone Browne, Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness (Duke University Press 2015)
Sylvia Wynter, "Novel and History, Plot and Plantation." (Savacou 1971)
Archives cited
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections
John F. Kennedy Presidential Libary and Museum
New York Public Library Digital Collections
University of Virginia Library
Acknowledgements
Adder Chu, for being a comrade and collaborator who went out of their way to realize the book into a film beyond my imagination
Allison Parrish, for teaching and inspiring me to pursue computational approaches to narrative
Ashley Jane Lewis, for thesis advisement and going above and beyond in providing feedback and space to show the work
Ayodamola Okunseinde, for thesis advisement and sharing a multitude of resources and inspiration surrounding book arts and printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication
Ben Denzer, for teaching the “Artist Books: Examples and Methods” class at the Center for Book Arts that inspired the book form
Bomani McClendon, for being a friend and collaborator who supported me throughout the process—from co-programming to running errands
Cezar Mocan, for sending me endless references and encouraging me to keep going
Chang Yuchen, for organizing lectures and classes that opened me up to the world of book arts
Cy X, for being a comrade and lending me their Panasonic Lumix DC GH5
Dan Shiffman, for being a comrade and an academic advisor who went out of their way to provide material support and resources during my entire educational experience at New York University
Elizabeth Perez, for being a friend and giving bountiful emotional support and critical feedback
Emma Rae Bruml Norton for being a friend, collaborator and continuous source of inspiration and support; and helping hand code the project website
Fred Moten, for teaching me so much of what I know and whose rigorous practice within Black studies fed me spiritually and intellectually, along with being the author of the book the Universal Machine which I struggled through reading while making the project
Galen Macdonald, for being a friend and collaborator who was there from the very beginning of the project
Holly Meadows-Smith, for being a comrade and collaborator who helped me print the book on risograph
Jie Qi & Natalie Freed, for teaching me everything they know about paper circuits and providing material support
Katherine Dillon, for organzing the "100 Days of Making" class in the interactive telecommunications program at New York University in which my "100 days of zine studies and experiments" project helped me create the book form
Kelli Anderson, for endless inspiration and free resources surrounding paper engineering
Khari Lucas, for being a comrade and a brilliant composer and producer who co-crafted the score
Mariame Kaba, for being a friend and collaborator whose comradery is a consisent source of support and inspiration
Melanie Hoff, for being a friend and collaborator who gave me the idea to perform the project
Mollie Underwood, for sending me endless inspiration
Sam Lavigne & Matt Jacobson, for helping me code the first Dark Matter Object I created in 2018
Sammi Aryani, for video production support
Simone Browne, for writing the book Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness—which deeply transformed me—and thesis advisement
Sol Cabrini de la Ciudad, for being an inspiring classmate who coined the term “technologies of capture”
Stefani Bardin, for thesis advisement
Steve Daniels, for thesis advisement on printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication and inspiring a transformative shift in the work
Sydney Spann, for generously supplying an archive of incredible field recordings for the score
Taylor Levy, for being an incredible physical computing teacher and helping me build the first Dark Matter Object in addition to providing one on one PCB fabrication tutorials and engineering
Tara Vancil, for being a friend who was the first person to show me I was capable of learning how to program computers and I could use computer programming to tell stories about my experience and the world