Warning: Kid A In Alphabet Land, because it deals with psychoanalysis, "contains language." (Carl Steadman, Kid A In Alphabet Land )
The ineffability and the ubiquity of language are configured as a redundant array of the letter ‘L’ interspersed with vowels, in an iconic image of patterned liminal memory. George Lakoff’s research on cognitive metaphor structures and memories maps examines linguistic patterns in relation to conceptual events. Lakoff’s work is notable because he postulates that linguistic metaphor is a dominant cognitive function embodied in the biology of the brain, for the purpose of memory storage and retrieval. He also proposes that metaphor not only applies to individuals, but also to culture as a biologic mechanism for storing ongoing cultural knowledge or collective memory.
Charles Bernstein’s joke about theory, which refers to Henny Youngman’s punch line “practice” would not register as humorous, if you had not heard Youngman’s joke and could not make reference to the well established theoretical paradigm of “theory and practice”. The numerous associations involved in this little joke are a good example of Peirce's representational multiplicity and Lakeoff's system of metaphor logic.
Lakoff’s identification of metaphor as a personal and collective cognitive embodiment is coherent with several other cognitive theories on vision perception and speech behavior. Paul Virilio’s theories of speed, motion, space, place and perspective in Polar Inertia add another component of physicality to theories of culture and art by considering physical space.