Creating an emergent identity
I keep coming back to the concept of pattern as it relates to emergence. So, today, while browsing at Barnes and Noble, I came across a few pattern design books. However, they didn’t really speak to me– I knew that pattern wasn’t the answer, but kept hanging on to it as an important piece of the puzzle. So I continued browsing, and another book grabbed my attention: “Havana Tile Designs.” Hmm, now I felt like this was getting a bit closer. Looking at the cover (and a quick glance to it’s contents), I was getting a deeper sense of pattern– what I might refer to as “applied pattern”, or a more complex system of pattern elements.
From here, I started to think about the work I already started to do this semester– the “What do we stand for” prints– and how I could further manipulate these pieces. What if I break them apart, in to modular pieces? Of course, there still needs to be further manipulation of the surface (currently considering the image transfer techniques of Rauschenberg, as see to the right), but after that, what if I cut them up into smaller squares or tiles, rearrange them, and see what emerges?
If I do this enough times, with enough prints, I can start to model my concept of emergence. For, out of the multiplicity of one of the most simple units– a square– can arise complex systems and patterns. In addition, I will I will have a collection of tiles, that are representative (of the subject of the pieces– see question A below) as well as dynamic (they are modular units, can be rearranged, etc) and engaging (see B). Finally, I will have developed my ‘kit of parts’, or my ‘identity toolbox.’ These tiles become my working alphabet, language, or toolkit, and are the critical elements needed for an identity formation.
Questions to ask myself:
A. What are the original pieces that I design on, manipulate the surface of, and break into modular units?
-Do I take pieces that I’ve already done?
-National Geographic, WIRED magazine, NYTimes?
B. In addition, what might the pieces be that I develop? (Largely depends on the answer to A.)
-are they literal ceramic tiles? Are the ‘prints’ transferred onto ceramic tile?
-do they have another form besides just physical?
-are they my identity or reusable by anyone to create their own identity?
Notes:
1. Photos and documentation at every stage
-change is only recognizable through observation and a record of what has been; how can we call something a ‘complex system’ without knowing what/where it came from?
I am going to create an emergent identity.
The best part is, this process and project represents my interests with emergence, identity formation, interaction, and surface design.
