disconnected communication - concept development

after generating and communicating an array of conceptual referencing and delving into and exploring the work of others, i feel i have further developed my appraoch to this brief and the concept in which i have generated. after looking at the work of sarah hobbs and particularly gordon matta clark the distinctive aspect of both of these works is the emptyness or 'void', that is generated through the absense or removal of a substance, that i feel most influences the development of thought and direction in which to take this conceptual consideration of communication and language, in which to inform the initiation of a three dimentional outcome.

from this realisation i now intend to explore this avenue of disconnected communication further in order to develop the intended outcome.

gordon matta clark - images

gordon matta clark

'could not escape falling under the aegis of the disappearance or inaccessibility of the primary site'

the work of gordon matta clark, pictured below, directly identifies with the idea of disconnection. the method in which he appraoches his large scale works and the literal removal of space, and of which intern, then develops space further, almost generating a void within the structure, is an act of disconnection. matta clark was fascinated by the multifaceted implications of occupancy of space and therefore profoundly explored the boundaries of it, completely defying the soundness of architectural structures. by removing sections and splitting areas of structure he created a completely new perspective.

the sketches, as pictured above, of gordon matta clark's proposed work is particularly reminiscent of the process invovled in the innovative and alternative method of pattern cutting, subtraction. the way in which the spherical shapes have been applied to the sketches as representation of the removal of them, directly coincides with the method of subtracting the area of fabric that the body will then fill within the method of subration cutting. this literal removal of somethig that is obviously intially in connection to the area of which it is then being removed signifies a disconnection.

gordon matta clark - images

gordon matta clark - images

gordon matta clark - video link

http://www.ubu.com/film/gmc_splitting.html

quote response

by the removal of the last utterance in a communicative sense, the conversation or course of speech is essentially paused or stopped at a point in which does not follow the expectance of language. in order for communication to occur, conversing must be prominant for the invovlement of conversation, therefore the subjects that are conversing essentially need to make a connection. if the removal of the 'last utterance' occurs it therefore breaks the connection for the conversation to occur thus causing the disconnection.

joseph conrad - quote

'and besides, the last word is not said - probably never shall be said. and our lives too short for that full utterance which through all our stammerings is of course our only and abiding intention.'

joseph conrad 1983

rachel harrison - images

rachel harrison

'...indicates nothing more than participation'

photography series above entitled 'perth amboy' fully communicates rachel harrison's recognisable approach, the entwinement of mass-produced visual sign and singular physical trace, producing such a minimalistic image with an undoubtedly forceful effect.

the way in which harrison has used such an iconic image such as a window to create a barrier instantly promotes a disconnection. the way in which you can only visibly see the faintest glimpse of a subject or simply a single entity of, hightens the reality of the portrayal that there is not only a communicative disconnection but a literal disconnection from the world.

jh engstrom

photgrapher jh engstrom has an unusual knack of creating haunting images, that promote and trigger thought and analysis, the work pictured above, part of his 'trying to dance' series, inidividually entitled 'brooklyn', certainly coincides with this.

i find the image above promotes a stillness, a silence, yet at the same time, due to its almost stark appearance and simple aesthetic it instantly initiates questioning. the stance of the man and the composition of the piece gives a sense that there is no activity, nothing connecting, not even his own psyche ticking over just simply a silence, this is echoed through the emptyness of the entire image. there is a definate connection with the body language and entire image composition however it is not a connection chosen by the subject. the subject within the image appears completely disconnected from anything, speech, thought or even presence.

as opposed to the work of sarch hobbs by which there is mundane objects such as chairs left empty leaving a disconnection behind, this image doesnt create the emptyness through objects but literally through the communitative human body yet much the same effect is achieved.

raft installation - images

raft

'in the listeners ears the discourse of such places is registered as a polyphonic babble, a co-existence of voices, accents and intonations signifying nothing. when occasionally communication is attempted...that serves to get the message across without involving any exchange.'

artists ruark lewis and paul carter within there installation 'raft' attempt to represent the seperation and differentiation that language barriers create. by filling a room with a mounted discourse of languages almost creates a noise of 'nothingness' as it produces nothing of sense in terms of the exchange through communication. like these two artists have tryed to represent through their work when an array of several communications of differentiated origins commence and co-exist at one given time or in one particular place it literally causes communication with no exchange due to the barrier created therefore the communication has no exchange or direction essentially causing it therefore to be disconnected despite the intention for it to initiate connection.

kenneth goldsmith - images

soliloquy

soliloquy is defined as a communication with ones self by which the discourse of the communication is not intended for an audience or recipricator but is simply an expression.

kenneth goldsmiths work explores the idea of soliloquy and literally fills the walls of an installation space with continuous communication of which has no audience in which to reciprocate, just to simply view. you can connect through thought to the text visually displayed in front of you, but not literally connect through communication and not necessarily directly in coherance with the actual content, therefore it also instigates a disconnection, supporting the act of soliloquy.

quote response

human error can never be removed, therefore we will always go through life miscommunicating. we may feel we are fully connected to communication we partake in, yet in a vast majority of cases we never fully connect to the situation at hand, thus disconnection will always take place.

i find this quote below to be particularly true, as no matter how much we feel we are taking part in a fully concentrated communication exchange, due to all of the internal communications of our own, we never essentially fully engage with another, thus disconnected, causing miscommunication.

the unbearable lightness of being - quote

'it is possible that people never understand each other, yet they always agree. each interprets the other's words in his own way, and they live in perfect harmony, the perfect solidarity of perfect mutual misunderstanding.'

milan kundera 1984

sarah hobbs - images

sarah hobbs

'...rooms absorb their absent occupants symtoms, and every day objects...'

these large scale installation photographic images are part of photographer sarah hobbs' series entitled 'small problems in living'. images from the top are entitled:

-untitled (perfectionist)

-untitled (indicisiveness)

-untitled (insomnia)

the absorbing scale of the photographs, their lucidly labelled titles and clear metaphorical illustration of complex emotional states create an all consuming narrative. the way in which the installations are compiled and photographed create a strong aesthetic that is realistic and that can be related to, yet despite this compelling imagery there is undoubtedly an absence, a removal of something that could inevitably complete the connection to the image thus emitting the disconnection. the emptyness of the mundane objects, namely a chair, instantly creates the visual deficiency, causing a reaction.

i feel this is particularly highlighted in the 'untitled (insomnia)' piece as the absence only enforces the strength of the image. the floating thoughts shrewdly constructed on the post-it notes explores the idea of the disconnection from reality to the human psyche and how therefore the communication has no connection to be produced.

walead beshty - images

walead beshty

'...its discontents, instead of concentrating upon depopulated structures and spaces that occupy an interstitial presence...'

walead beshty's photography series entitled 'the phenomenology of shopping' looks at how we as a population get completely engulfed by consummerism that we are blinded by reality. therefore the representation of imagery promotes how the limp visual of the human body depicts the absorption highlighting the disconnection from reality. although this photographic series is rather literal i feel it depicts an interesting aesthetic and due to the use of the limp bodies it instantly triggers the imagination and analysis of the image simultaneously disconnecting from the reality of the portrayal.

disconnecting is communicating

'...to disconnect, i need to break through the walls in order for me to go in and analyse...'

this insight into 'disconnection' in relation to communication, suggests that in order to diminish the connection that a deeper understanding needs to be reached and that an unbias analysis needs to be performed. in order to truely find an understanding and remove connection to any form of communication any emotional ties need to be taken away from the situation in order to completely disconnect.

disconnecting is communicating - video

http://

disconnected communication

following my intial response in relation to the set brief and an insight into these avenues of research i have now taken time to consider all avenues and possibilities this brief allows and have now taken my level of thinking further.

from intially looking at the idea of translation of data through technological devices and how the process is often undetectable and also the consideration of image over text and how the brain can often identify with an image rather than text, due to the the lack of concentration it can take in which to do so, it has lead me to explore the possibilities of the reaction of this communication being diminished.
the concept i have cultivated from this way of thinking and the one i proceed to take forward in direct response to the brief set, is that of the idea of disconnected communication. this can be in the form of any communication or language, but primarily looking at the removal of it and the reaction it can incur through imagery, as opposed to words.

for something to be disconnected it has to have been connected in the first place therefore the action of removal then creates the disconnection of the communication therefore triggering a reaction. it is the act of removal and the reaction that it then incurs, that primarily interests me and this is the exploration with this brief that i intend to take.

response extended

from the consideration of initial ideas in response to the brief set i have undoubtably continued this development of ideas with visual research to consider the ideas further.

the image above is an exploration of a new typography by which a digital image is created through a specific key stroke sequence that is individually determined by the user. David Crow explores the idea of visual dominance and how often an image or visual can have a larger degree of affect than words themselves. through the development of technology and the advancement of digital intelligence he has been able to demonstrate this transition of text to imagery and at the same time highlight the idea of communication through a hidden language that is coded and decoded by a technological device in which to create an aesthetic that is uniquely formed depending on the input at any present time.

initial response

my initial response from the starting point of communication and language led off in several directions leading into very different conceptual paths.

my first thought was in relation to the idea of technological langauge and the transferral of data between two mediums. when we input data into a technological device we enter it in a language or 'code' that is recognisable to us. when entering this data, the device in order for it to then deliver the result in which we expect, has to 'decode' and translate into a langauge that it understands, better known as 'binary code', and then reverse it back into a state that we then recognise. this process is undetectable to us when entering the data as the process occurs at such a pace and without visibility. from this i could potentially explore the idea of hidden messages and the unconceivability of the invisible.

another path i considered was that of the rapid transition from the traditional use of text as a form of communication to becoming a widely image based forum. i considered the idea of when we are children before we are literate, the key base of education is the image and how a child can learn the method of fictional communication without the use of text. from this i considered the possibilities of looking at imagery that would trigger a narrative or provoke an emotion without the intended concept being present.

subtraction cutting

i found this unique and unusual approach to pattern cutting extremely interesting with an expanse of possibilities. my main intrigue to this method came from the fact that only three pattern pieces were needed to create such a complex aesthetic in adverse to traditional pattern cutting and the idea of creating a tunnel by the removal of the negative space i find very inspiring.

the initial technique and theory behind the innovative approach was simple to comprehend and i feel i applied it with ease, however the actual placement of the circles to create a desired silhouette i feel i still need to continue with further experimentation to enable me to use this method to its full advantage.

another key aspect that came to light during the workshop was the importance of fabric choice. we used quite stiff fabric resulting in a structural and volumous outcome, whereas others within the workshop used a more delicate light weight fabric which resulted in a softer, draped aesthetic.

i feel very inspired to take this approach futher and experiment with key aspects such as fabric choice, pattern placement, varied pattern shape subtraction and alternative garments.

process art - its all about the journey

Process art is an art movement by which the end product of the art is not the prominent focus, instead the process of its making is a key aspect, or in some cases the entire completed piece.

work by installation artist felix gonzalez-torres specifically his "untitled (placebo)" piece, pictured above, has a clear process art approach to its thought and creation. the installation consists of over 40,000 small silver wrapped candy pieces. the pieces are arranged when installed in a rectangular fashion on the floor of the exhibition space in an almost carpet like fashion. throughout the duration of the exhibition the visitors are encouraged to take a piece of candy from the exhibit therefore potentially by the end of the installation the artwork then becomes something of nothing. obviously, the transition from the entirety of the installation to the void of space left at the end, due to the removal, embodies the process and in this case it would be a gradual experience creating a varying aesthetic at the end of each day highlighting further the idea of the process as the key to the completed work rather than the execution.

the brief

"a langauge is a particular kind of system for encoding and decoding information. during this project you will explore the idea of langauge and communication. interation through touch, sound, movement and dialogue, should be explored, and inform research path. your research should then seek to inform a design process that reflects a directional and forward approach that encompasses innovation within cutting, fabric and design."