"It is a remarkable apparatus," said the officer...

I heard a piece this morning on the BBC World Service about Margaret Atwood unveiling her LongPen, which is an invention that allows Atwood to sign books for fans anywhere in the world by a remote control robot arm (that honestly looks kind of Erector Set in the picture). She can also chat with them via a video link. Pretty cool stuff.

My first thought when I heard "two metal arms holding a pen reproduce the signature" was the device in Kafka's "In the Penal Colony." My next thought was a piece by the artist Tim Hawkinson that I saw at the Whitney last year called "Signature Chair," which is a turntable with a track where the record groove would be that guides the pen along the paper. According to Artnet.com, it's for sale, which probably would have saved Atwood a ton in research and development... I dunno, take a look at all three, let me know what you think.

Atwood's LongPen:

Kafka's "Penal Colony" device:

Hawkinson's "Signature Chair:"


--John Mark