Introduction: Memory, Media, Art

The trio of memory, media and art raises a question from the start: what can be articulated by such a grouping? One element of a preliminary reply has to do with the materiality implied by arts and media. We are not addressing media in the sense of “new technologies;” although this collection is interested in these, its thrust is “upstream,” in the area of writing, for example. The media are less a technique of communication than a singular way of appearing, a device (un appareil, in the words of Jean-Louis Déotte) whose materiality touches not only the senses, but also memory: “Memory is equipped like any other human faculty. Without memory, there is no event” (Déotte, 112). We incorporate (memorize) the specific ways of appearing/instantiation related to current and outdated media.