My chapter...

The prompt for the class eBook chapters is, flexibly, "Create a formal analysis of your chosen work of literature in the context of the changes that the digital age has presented to reading and understanding that work." My work is Jorge Luis Borges' Labyrinths, which has already been the focus of much scholarship. I am excited to focus my research on a relatively unexplored aspect of his work, and that is (visual) artwork that is related directly or indirectly to his short stories.

There have been many artists who have created illustration-type art pieces to accompany Borges' work. Some have rendered computer images of complex ideas/objects that Borges describes; others have taken artistic license in interpreting his work while nonetheless trying to stay true to it. For instance, a museum in London did an exhibit last year of installation art based on the theme of Borges' short story, "Library of Babel." I sent the museum the following email:

Hello,

My name is Rachael Schiel and I am a student at Brigham Young University in Utah, USA. I am currently doing research on artwork that is based on Jorge Luis Borges' fiction, and I believe that in 2010, an exhibit at your London location focused on the theme of "Library of Babel," which is a short story of his. I am wondering if you can give me any information on the exhibit, its featured artists, and if there is any way I may be able to contact them.

Thank you very much,
Rachael

I'm not sure if I'll get a response in time to do anything more substantial with that approach, but it's interesting nonetheless.

I am currently deliberating between the following options:

a) Analyzing a piece of visual artwork that has been created based on Borges' work and describing how it illuminates the literature

b) Taking unrelated artistic works (such as Escher's) and showing how they can illuminate Borges' work

c) Describing a hypothetical piece of visual art that could illuminate Borges' work.

In the process of any/all of these options, I would argue that visual arts should be incorporated into reading/teaching literary works, especially in the context of the digital age.

All right, that's all I have for now. Cheers!