Thursday, December 30, 2004
December 30, 2004
Have just been reading Sagmeister's "Made You Look," at first guiltily because it doesn't pertain to my thesis, not even remotely. But I find it inspiring to read about people working through a process, encountering and overcoming obstacles; not to mention I have yet to figure out what I'm doing for my thesis, despite all my assurances to my classmates and professors that I have it all under control. I really don't, and I don't know how this will come together in 4 months.
Some passages I particularly liked:
"Another thing: I am still afraid of sitting down and working on a concept. I guess it's the fear of not being able to come up with anything - fear of failing - I take every opportunity to make phone calls, fill out forms, etc. anything that will preventme from having to think."
(so much of my last semester was spent in this state. perhaps it was the result of so much solitude, combined with having to come up with so many new ideas on my own. not that i'm not capable--something always came, eventually-- but i get a lot of indirect stimulation (that is, ideas are generated by discussions that don't necessarily pertain to the concept i'm trying to develop) from simply being in class or in talking to others, or watching a film, or reading a book, or going to the museum. so little happens when i'm sitting in front of a computer wracking my brain for even a grain of an idea. it's torture. and it's lonely).
From a 1930s manual, "A Technique for Producing Ideas:" 1. Think about the project from any point of view--your mom's, yours, from the pot. of view of color, or form - and write each response down on a single index card. 2. spread out all the index cards out on a big table and see if you can find the relationship between the different thoughts. 3. Forget about the whole thing. 4. The idea will strike you miraculously when you least expect it."
What I want it to be:
* Environmental and encompassing
* artistic but accessible
* beautiful, poetic
* design-related
* art-related
* writing-related
Where do poetry, design and art intersect? Somewhere in all of this I believe there is a connection between these three elements, and therein lies the physical manifestation of the poem. The publication, perhaps, could be a poem as a skeleton and the rest footnotes to flesh it out. The way I've always wanted to physically unfold a poem, so that it could exist on its own, in its original form; but also have a form in which all the concepts and references are annotated. Uh. I guess that already exists, an annoted poem; or a poem on the web with links. But maybe not in print.
Examples:
* foldout
* cut outs -- top page only reveals words of a poem; turn the page and the whole text appears
* map - references are color coded, cross referenced
- poem exists on one level, as itself
- then with seemingly unrelated references to outside sources (be it my experience, thought, a book, author, designer, etc)
- then reveal the connections that all the references have to each other
What the installation could resemble:
iceberg - revelation of a seemingly small thing to be something large and expansive, generative
cocoon - development of a small thing into something alive and out in the world
hunt - poem is revealed in small increments; reader follows the path of words situated around campus (not practical, and not really what I want to do anyway)
revelation
surprise
Some passages I particularly liked:
"Another thing: I am still afraid of sitting down and working on a concept. I guess it's the fear of not being able to come up with anything - fear of failing - I take every opportunity to make phone calls, fill out forms, etc. anything that will preventme from having to think."
(so much of my last semester was spent in this state. perhaps it was the result of so much solitude, combined with having to come up with so many new ideas on my own. not that i'm not capable--something always came, eventually-- but i get a lot of indirect stimulation (that is, ideas are generated by discussions that don't necessarily pertain to the concept i'm trying to develop) from simply being in class or in talking to others, or watching a film, or reading a book, or going to the museum. so little happens when i'm sitting in front of a computer wracking my brain for even a grain of an idea. it's torture. and it's lonely).
From a 1930s manual, "A Technique for Producing Ideas:" 1. Think about the project from any point of view--your mom's, yours, from the pot. of view of color, or form - and write each response down on a single index card. 2. spread out all the index cards out on a big table and see if you can find the relationship between the different thoughts. 3. Forget about the whole thing. 4. The idea will strike you miraculously when you least expect it."
What I want it to be:
* Environmental and encompassing
* artistic but accessible
* beautiful, poetic
* design-related
* art-related
* writing-related
Where do poetry, design and art intersect? Somewhere in all of this I believe there is a connection between these three elements, and therein lies the physical manifestation of the poem. The publication, perhaps, could be a poem as a skeleton and the rest footnotes to flesh it out. The way I've always wanted to physically unfold a poem, so that it could exist on its own, in its original form; but also have a form in which all the concepts and references are annotated. Uh. I guess that already exists, an annoted poem; or a poem on the web with links. But maybe not in print.
Examples:
* foldout
* cut outs -- top page only reveals words of a poem; turn the page and the whole text appears
* map - references are color coded, cross referenced
- poem exists on one level, as itself
- then with seemingly unrelated references to outside sources (be it my experience, thought, a book, author, designer, etc)
- then reveal the connections that all the references have to each other
What the installation could resemble:
iceberg - revelation of a seemingly small thing to be something large and expansive, generative
cocoon - development of a small thing into something alive and out in the world
hunt - poem is revealed in small increments; reader follows the path of words situated around campus (not practical, and not really what I want to do anyway)
revelation
surprise
// posted by Scoop @ 4:41 PM 
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