Is there a physical relationship a touching between two material bodies that of the screen and that

1
Is there a physical relationship - a touching
between two material bodies - that of the screen
and that of the viewer?
2
Traditionally we think of the world as a set of
fixed objects, located in space, capable of
moving within space. And as an object moves from
one point in space to another the human mind
observes this change from its own fixed position.
Time is, therefore, defined as a measure of
movement. Space is an already given, already
present, field of equivalent points. Colebrook
(2006) Deleuze A guide for the Perplexed,25.
3
If we were to consider space intensively however,
according to duration, we would have to see space
changing according to the movements it maps.
There is after all, no really neutral medium
within which movement takes place, as all space
is composed of forces this applies both to the
physical universe where we can measure different
fields in the solar system, and to human life
where we live space intensively. Colebrook (2006)
Deleuze A guide for the Perplexed,25.
4
If, for example, I run a marathon, then the last
mile is not only slower (taking longer in terms
of clock time) but also introduces changes of
fatigue and motion in the body the undulations
in the pavement and the hills have a greater
force and effect than they did in the first five
miles. The final minutes of a marathon are
composed of thousands of tiny perception - each
step, each ache, each spasm increases
exponentially - whereas the first half-hour might
yield no perceptible change in the body. Any
marathon runner knows that a marathon does not
consist of four ten-kilometre runs, for the last
quarter of the marathon carries the memory of the
previous three.
5
It is not that we homogenize time by reducing it
to space, seeing the flowing complex changes of
duration in terms of a line of fixed points,
measuring our life out in a unit that allows one
point to be equivalent to another. It is also the
case that the space we have mapped on to time is
a space devoid of intensity, devoid of differing
speeds and dimensions. Colebrook, 200626)
6
It is a certain need of life, a need to
homogenize and reduce complexity, that leads to
the spatialization of time, the reduction of time
and space to the measure of movement of an
unchanging unit across an unchanging series of
points
7
But our actual experience of life is one that has
a much more complex engagement an engagement with
all of our sense all of the time and our senses
themselves sense other material forces or
energies that they connect with and that they
combine with to create a physical impression or
register in our bodies.
8
When we have a relationship with the screen we
perceive particular patterns, elements, rhythms,
movements in the frame- that is we select them
from a whole range of possibilities some of which
we have ignored. Then what we perceive is also
connected to a whole range of sensations which we
also encounter in our perception of the
image. Now there is a moment of intensity that
creates a stoppage in our conceptualising
engagement and we simply experience these
sensations for themselves and these trigger
possibilities in us. These are the catalysts for
change.
9
We either engage with these and make them part of
our appreciation of the perception, that is the
catalyst has triggered a response and this then
will direct our action or we can ignore these
sensations because the power of these as a
catalyst or trigger for change arent strong
enough for us to include them in our decision to
act on the image that we perceive.
10
Often we respond habitually to these sensations
often unaware of the effects they have on us but
there are times when a sensation, a sound, a
rhythm, a colour, a vibration is so powerful that
it becomes a very conscious part of our
engagement. These moments of intensity act as a
force for changing our experience.
11
The eye can trigger , instantly, a response
without a thought an intensity, an
energy. Kennedy B. (2000) Deleuze and Cinema,
EdinburghEdinburgh University Press,216.
12
We could call this intensity affect - the felt
movement in our bodies that may or may not result
in action - in responding to the flow of images
on the screen. For example if we see a
particularly rich colour on the screen and it
shapes itself in a slow liquid form before we
make any decisions about our perception of this
sensation we can think of all the changes in our
body resulting from this perception - we might
feel elated, warm, relaxed, we might tune into
the slow rhythm of this perception, we might feel
uncomfortable, there might be multiple
possibilities of sensations we could experience.
13
Whatever triggers us of all these multiple
possibilities will direct our engagement and
shape the way we conceptualise or think about
what it is we are perceiving.
14
Affect happens to us and it is not in our
control but then what happens with affect does
shape how we decide to act in terms of what we
have perceived. If affect isnt intense enough it
doesnt trigger any change in the way we perceive
but if it is intense enough it will shape (or
effect) our perceptions.
15
Affect is, thus, essentially a pre-personal
category, installed before the circumscription
of identities, and manifested by unlocatable
transferences, unlocatable with regard to their
origin as well as with regard to their
destination. Guattari Ritornellos and
Existential Affects 1996158)
16
Affect is not so much in or of the senses but,
more precisely, across them.a snesthesiac rather
than sense-mode specific. (Sigworth in
Animations of Deleuze and Guattari 200381)
17
there are two types of affects categorical
affects and vitality affects Categorical affects
are designated as such because they encompass the
ability to perceive, categorize, and thereby
correspond with discrete emotional
perceptionsbecoming a particular type of
affection such as joy, sadness, anger, surprise,
fear, and so forth
18
vitality affects are different because they are
not linked as explicitly to distinct emotions.
that is the workings of vitality affects are not
locatable in or across any of the particular
sense apparatuses but are, rather, dispersed
across and about the entire body.These global
qualities of experience also include the
constant conditions that act upon and through any
physical bod things like temperature, movement,
rhythm. All are part of the dynamica flow of
bodily experience (not limited only to the spaces
of, on, or in a body but to its history and
context as well) and, thus, none of these
vitality affects can be said to properly belong
to or correspond with just on (or several) of the
body senses. (Sigworth in Animations of Deleuze
and Guattari 200382)