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I’ve always loved stories. As a kid, I carried books with me everywhere, reading in the car, disappearing under racks of clothes while my parents shopped. I lay on the floor in front of the TV for hours, re-watching my favorite movies on loop, soaking up mindless cartoons, watching another dumb sit-com with a book pressed close to my face. Stories were a way to meet new people, to break into their lives, to learn about the world I was still too young to experience.

Find the complete progression of the work linked below.

Ecclesiastes 1:8-13

Artist in Residence 2016: Chris Knight Part 1

By

Chris Knight

Credits:

Curated by:

Spark & Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2016

2016

Primary Scripture

All things are full of weariness beyond uttering. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
That which has been is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it may be said, “Behold, this is new?” It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
There is no memory of the former; neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come, among those that shall come after.
I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.

Ecclesiastes 1:8-13

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March 14, 2016

I’ve always loved stories. As a kid, I carried books with me everywhere, reading in the car, disappearing under racks of clothes while my parents shopped. I lay on the floor in front of the TV for hours, re-watching my favorite movies on loop, soaking up mindless cartoons, watching another dumb sit-com with a book pressed close to my face. Stories were a way to meet new people, to break into their lives, to learn about the world I was still too young to experience.

As individuals, as a culture, stories are the tools we use to define ourselves. We remember our victories and our failures. The things we’ve done, the people we were with and the things that matter to us. They let us outsource our memories, preserving our experiences, our identities against our inevitable disappearance.

Or at least, that’s what we hope.

But the Preacher of Ecclesiastes reminds us not even our stories will last. They will all be forgotten. We will be forgotten. In the central line from the passage I’ve chosen, the Preacher writes, “There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.”

So then, who will to do the work of downloading us? Where do we go once we’re copied? And what if we change our minds? I’m still not sure where the story I’m writing is going. But I know that’s where it will start.

Spark Notes

The Artist's Reflection

Chris Knight is a director and writer based in New York City. His short films and feature scripts have been selected for a variety of film festivals across the country.