hélas techne | translation and meaning

while the home page is being conceptualized, i would like to shed some light on hélas techne – the meaning and purpose — because it just occurred to me nobody but a select few have been given a proper explanation. it’s no secret, just that since the ideas have been externalized more than once, i’ve begun to feel like the word is out. but silly me, the job’s not finished. quite the contrary actually. i cannot foresee anything causing the termination of this work, hence “endeavor and ever” (a new working song title).

so i’ll begin with a literal translation and the origins of the words’ usage. hélas. only after unintentionally adopting this much adored little moniker did i realize it was an actual word, the french equivalent of the english alas. this in itself is not crucial, but it did lead me to an existing work of art, a poem by Oscar Wilde, that surprisingly had me intrigued. i’m not one with an affinity for poetry, but Hélas! actually resonated. it was like i had unearthed musings from a past life that are just as pertinent in this one. so it stuck, the sight and sound of it’s syllables embodying a very unique belonging feeling.

techne on the other hand did not appear to me until late last summer, after years of using hélas mostly as an alias online. while engrossed in a book by Daniel Pinchbeck, the term came up, quoting philosopher Martin Heidegger –

 Once there was a time when the bringing-forth of the true into the beautiful was also called techne.  

this, much like reading Hélas! the first time, immediately resonated. i read on to find techne, derived by the Greeks and elaborated on by Heidegger, translates as craftsmanship, craft, or art. it is the rational method involved in producing an object or accomplishing a goal or objective, with the means of this method being through art. it also serves, etymologically, as the basis for technique and technology. and so a dichotomy in my mind resolved, unifying rationality and artistry, discovering harmony where dissonance once abstracted their relationship.

what i’ve learned about the synthesis of hélas and techne is not what i would’ve expected. its place wasn’t immediately apparent, not as the alter-ego, the band name, or even the title of my future 10 disc anthology. i didn’t feel the light bulb above my head illuminate like “this is it!” no, it was more like the light bulb popping in, unlit. strange feeling. but i find the thing slowly coming aglow. i see hélas techne encompassing a larger body of work and information, almost like a general reference for my personal chronicle. yet, its scope is broader than my current field of vision. which is good!  it seems to have defied the expendable, volatile nature of pseudonyms in the modern age with a keen temperance, becoming something quite sacred and a little beyond me. it will be the thing i seek while also being the thing i am.