Berge, van den 0
MEDIA ARCHAEOLOGY
The Reframe – Rethinking the Candle
, Berge, van den 1
Maud van den Berge
Erinç Salor
Media Archaeology
27/09/2020
The Reframe: Rethinking the Candle
Without light/fire we would have not been able to move in darkness, keep our bodies
warm or hunt the food for our survival, therefore humans have used the elements available to
build ways that render survival possible. “Media do not emerge independently and outside of
specific historical practices”, that is to say, the tools to contain fire exist for a reason, they did
not appear out of nothing (Siegert 52). However, “history is itself a system of meaning that
operates across a media-technological abyss of non-meaning that must remain hidden” (Siegert
52). So from a German media theory perspective, ‘fire containers’ existed before we actively
thought about them as such, but they gained meaning and potentially purpose when we look at
how ‘fire containers’ – and the way in which fire has been contained – are positioned in greater
cultural networks. It enables us to look at seemingly trivial objects and see them being part of
greater networks of meaning making. Fire, for instance, gifted humans the potential to master
and contain it such that it is not destructive, which has changed the way humans relate to light,
darkness, and ultimately fire.
It poses questions about how human beings relate to light and darkness, regardless of it
being day or night. Why are some people more attracted to darkness than others? Why are some
completely mesmerized by the flames of a campfire and others feel such a strong connection to
the sun? Humans have an intrinsic connection with fire. One of the first things we learn as
children is not to play with fire, but we do it anyway because there is something appealing about
MEDIA ARCHAEOLOGY
The Reframe – Rethinking the Candle
, Berge, van den 1
Maud van den Berge
Erinç Salor
Media Archaeology
27/09/2020
The Reframe: Rethinking the Candle
Without light/fire we would have not been able to move in darkness, keep our bodies
warm or hunt the food for our survival, therefore humans have used the elements available to
build ways that render survival possible. “Media do not emerge independently and outside of
specific historical practices”, that is to say, the tools to contain fire exist for a reason, they did
not appear out of nothing (Siegert 52). However, “history is itself a system of meaning that
operates across a media-technological abyss of non-meaning that must remain hidden” (Siegert
52). So from a German media theory perspective, ‘fire containers’ existed before we actively
thought about them as such, but they gained meaning and potentially purpose when we look at
how ‘fire containers’ – and the way in which fire has been contained – are positioned in greater
cultural networks. It enables us to look at seemingly trivial objects and see them being part of
greater networks of meaning making. Fire, for instance, gifted humans the potential to master
and contain it such that it is not destructive, which has changed the way humans relate to light,
darkness, and ultimately fire.
It poses questions about how human beings relate to light and darkness, regardless of it
being day or night. Why are some people more attracted to darkness than others? Why are some
completely mesmerized by the flames of a campfire and others feel such a strong connection to
the sun? Humans have an intrinsic connection with fire. One of the first things we learn as
children is not to play with fire, but we do it anyway because there is something appealing about
