Conceptual Reconstructionism Project

Welcome to our art interpretation project.

You will find here reconstructions of various works, including music, painting, photography, movies and literature (fiction and non-fiction). A reconstruction is not a substitute for the reconstructed content, but instead a focus on an overlooked aspect of content, namely the “medium-specific narratives.”

The motivations and goals for this project are stated in the Manifesto of Conceptual Reconstructionism. The project is basically the result of a critique of critique that arose from a personal dissatisfaction with interpretation and analysis in general, and their failure at conveying a certain type of uniqueness. For a more comprehensive discussion of our interpretation framework, we refer you to our online book: Conceptual Reconstructionism: An Initiative for the Interpretation of Medium-specific Narratives.

We do not aim at building a comprehensive knowledge base. Instead, we only intend to reconstruct selected works to inspire social progress through interpretation and creation. The project is non-profit and open to people who share our vision (cf. contact info below).

Featured reconstructions

Red links are reconstructions planned for the next few months.

Literature

• Reconstruction:As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
• Reconstruction:The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• Reconstruction:Dans la luge d’Arthur Schopenhauer by Yasmina Reza
• Reconstruction:The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Movies

• Reconstruction:Angst (1983) by Gerald Kargl
• Reconstruction:Seul contre tous by Gaspar Noé
• Reconstruction:Irréversible by Gaspar Noé

Painting and photography

• Reconstruction:La Vie by Pablo Picasso
• Reconstruction:Damsels wearing face packs posing before panels by Jay Maisel
• Various paintings by Paul Cezanne
• Various paintings by Lorenzo Tiepolo
• Francis Bacon, Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion

Music

• Reconstruction:Soon To Be Dead by Dismember
• We will probably cover Vivaldi, Beethoven, and a vast repertoire of metal songs.

Current state of the project

Primitive reconstructions have been around since the early 2000s, but were never published. The concept has matured over the years, enough to warrant a book which got finished November 15^th, 2021. The main factor that led to this project was the realization that reconstructions didn’t have to be obscure reading, but could in fact be the very opposite.

The current plans are to promote the concept to the public, and to begin posting reconstructions.

The next step will be to build a forum where people can discuss various topics not only about reconstruction, but with reconstruction as a mindset.

There are a few technological challenges to overcome, especially in regard to the reconstruction of music (which is, arguably, the most interesting type of reconstruction). This will be done in due time. Right now, the most likely candidates for reconstruction are paintings, literature (fiction and non-fiction) and movies.

Recent changes

• 18-12-2021: Added Reconstruction:Damsels wearing face packs posing before panels by Jay Maisel
• 14-12-2021: Added Reconstruction:The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• 09-12-2021: Added Reconstruction:La Vie by Pablo Picasso
• 06-12-2021: Added Reconstruction:As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
• 27-11-2021: Finished the Manifesto
• 11-11-2021: Finished the Book

Articles and ideas of articles

• Article:Are “reconstruction” and “medium-specific narrative” just new buzzwords?
• Article:The psychology, emotion and value of reconstruction: while recontruction plays dead when it comes to emotions and value judgments, it is still ultimately used to trigger what might be what Paul Cézanne called his “little sensation.”
• Article:Reconstruction, parody and humor: pure reconstruction is acultural. Does it mean we can’t reconstruct parodies or other types of humoristic content?
• Article:How to write reconstructions: for a beginner, reconstructing and writing reconstructions are not intuitive because of deeply ingrained habits.

Contact

If you’re interested in participating or knowing/discussing more about this project, you may contact this site’s maintainer, thaumasnot, using this site’s domain for the email address.