Julieta Aranda
Tools for Infinite Monkeys (open machine)
October 16–November 21, 2014
Opening: Thursday, October 16, 6:30pm
Ignacio Liprandi Arte Contemporáneo
Avenida de Mayo 1480
3ro izquierdo
Buenos Aires
Argentina
info [at] ignacioliprandi.com
Jonathan Swift:
“A half-dozen monkeys provided with typewriters would, in a few eternities, produce all the books in the British Museum.”
Jorge Luis Borges:
“Strictly speaking, one immortal monkey would suffice.”
The monkeys (Elmo, Gum, Heather, Holly, Mistletoe & Rowan):
“sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
sssssssssssssssss….”
Ignacio Liprandi Arte Contemporáneo is pleased to present Julieta Aranda’s solo show Tools for Infinite Monkeys (open machine).
The “Infinite Monkey Theorem” states that “an infinite group of immortal monkeys, arranging letters at random for an infinite amount of time will almost surely produce eventually a given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare.”
In this context, “almost surely” is a mathematical term with a precise meaning, and the “monkey” is not an actual monkey, but a metaphor for an abstract device that produces a random sequence of letters ad infinitum. The probability of a monkey exactly typing without mistakes the contents of a book is so tiny that the chance of it occurring during a period of time of the order of the age of the universe is extremely low, but not zero.
Variants of the theorem include multiple and even infinite typists, and the target text varies between an entire library and a single sentence. The history of these statements can be traced back to Aristotle’s On Generation and Corruption and Cicero’s De natura deorum, through Blaise Pascal and Jonathan Swift, and finally to the modern iterations, that make use of the iconic typewriters. In the early 20th century, Émile Borel and Arthur Eddington used the theorem to illustrate the timescales implicit in the foundations of statistical mechanics.
Some years ago, some scientists in England furnished six Sulawesi crested macaques (Elmo, Gum, Heather, Holly, Mistletoe and Rowan) with a computer, to try and prove the theorem. What happened afterwards is that the monkeys effectively destroyed the computer in a couple of weeks, but during that time they managed to produce five pages of text, consisting largely of the letter S.
In principle, the output of the monkeys is an infinite text, even though it is only five pages long. And I want to believe that this text is non-quantifiable, as it carries all the weight of centuries of imagining monkeys as scribes, collecting history both written and unwritten, library backward and library forward. This non-quantifiable text registers in its illegible repetition all the critical historical narratives, that when properly aligned become readable, and otherwise remain unrecognizable, dormant potentiality.
Ignacio Liprandi Arte Contemporáneo is a space dedicated to the exhibition and diffusion of international contemporary art. Founded by Ignacio Liprandi in May 2009, it is characterized by a curatorial proposal that articulates a program of exhibitions, participation in international fairs and the development of a network of curators, galleries, and institutions to allow the insertion of its artists in the international circuit.
