diary
page 1: December 20th 2001
This page is primarily for participants of
Solar Circuit, to be held in Tasmania Australia from January 28 to February 17,
2002. At Solar Circuit I will give a talk on nonlinearity in art projects, collaborate
with two or three other artists on a nonlinear artwork, take part in the exhibition
at the Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery, and with my collaborators, exhibit towards
the end of the event.
I
suppose it's best to start with three questions: 1. what is nonlinearity? 2. what
does a nonlinear artwork look like? and 3. how will the work be created in Tasmania?
1.
As far as nonlinearity goes, I've written an introduction
to nonlinear systems. Skip it if you already know, otherwise please read it
and then come back here. Thanks.
2.
what does nonlinear artwork look like?
Well, there is no prescribed 'look'
or identifying premise. This is not a visual style. Although natural systems are
offered as examples of nonlinear systems, there is no prescribed visual formula
(such as Impressionism) that would be applicable. In general terms, installation
approaches make a good fit, as clearly there is a rationale for extending work
beyond the straightforward boundaries of a frame or plinth.
Given
nonlinear systems are "articulations of superpositions, a diverse interconnection
of overlapping elements" then it makes sense to interconnect diverse elements.
Similarly, given nonlinear systems cross boundaries between energy, matter, human
and natural systems, both 'significant' and ephemeral elements are included. Ephemeral
is here taken to mean the every day. It is a matter of seeking elements that have
the character of expressing multiple connections, and following those connections.
In
other words, just as in chaos theory, where nonlinearity was found in the 'noise'
- the previously dismissed parts of scientific experiments - nonlinearity can
be found in both major natural systems and in previously 'unserious' areas of
academic study. I recently attended a research conference where one of the papers
concerned humour in the work place, in the form of people sticking visual jokes
and puns around their workspace. This paper found that humour was contagious,
and tested boundaries. Nonlinear systems involve similar properties.
To
make all this concrete, there is a multi-faculty arts related project at UCLA
in the USA, where the collections of diverse faculties are bundled as one. Where
fruit is concerned, the science faculty had botanical drawings of plants, some
of which were important to the slave trade. The slave trade was an economic venture
(a concern of the business faculty) with political and racial consequences (of
concern to the faculty of arts and humanities). Plastic fruit were also located
in the drawing classrooms of the visual arts department, and a still life of fruit
was presented to the French language department by a visiting dignitary. 'Fruit'
had multiple connections, which overlapped, and crossed boundaries of academic
study. It is not difficult to visualise how all these elements could be expressed
in an installation.
3.
how will the work be created in tasmania?
The project as given in the
application to the Solar Circuit organisers aims to "construct a short term
art work composed of the elements of Tasmania, cosmology, chaos theory and the
self of participating artists." It is hoped two or three participants who
also are attending the wilderness residency, will take part.
Collaborators
will provide input in various ways, which will be collated, mulled over, talked
about and interrogated in a search for multiple overlapping connections, which
interconnect the personalities and lives of the participants and the location.
In many cases, intuition will be needed, and intuitive lines explored. The boundary
of the artwork should extend outward to the world outside, and back inward to
other elements of the work. The impact of rocks and geological processes, and
the flow of plant energy into cultural systems will also be discussed. It is also
hoped that the collaborators will be able to provide images important to them
and suitable to the work.
The
media involved can be drawn from digital prints, photographs, video, plants, rocks,
shells, fragments, found objects, sound et al. The output can be web pages, prints,
installations, or something to project on the wall of the museum (which could
be part or all of the collaborative piece). No decisions on what is involved or
what is output can be firmly stated until the collaborators get together.
Click
here to go some
principles of nonlinear creative practice
go
to notes toward a solar circuit collaboration
(this includes some research into Tasmania and Maria Island).
If
you have further queries please email
me.
