DEGREES UNEDITED

# 16 [8 February 2010]

On Thursday we have a group critique. Apparently this will coincide with a visit from our external examiner, so no pressure there!

Between now and then I have our installation room booked. I aim to setup some video test pieces using both a digital photo frame and a computer projector. I have the frame but need to borrow a projector. The college should be able to supply this kit, but you never can be absolutely certain.

Despite, or maybe because of my systems engineering background, I am dubious about using technology in the final show - unless I can ensure there are backups available for each and every item. My risk management experience tells me that if something can go wrong it will, so unless backups can be guaranteed then the show will be low tech.

Anyway, the installation test this week should help me decide how hard to work toward making the technology available as an integral part of the exhibit.

Key dates approaching: group critique 11th February; dissertation deadline 3rd March; deadline for my final show catalogue information 1st March.

We have the half term break next week followed by a reading week (where many students are off to Venice, but not I).

# 15 [4 February 2010]

The painting idea didn't get very far. Very early on it became obvious that paint was not the right medium for this line of enquiry (at least not paint and canvas). It was good to experiment, but painting is now off the agenda.

On the other hand, the process of deriving the expanded symbol set went very well. The exploration made connections to alternative methods of presentation. I now have a rough idea of the components and organisation I need for the exhibition. I have more experiments to perform in order to prototype the components

The symbols are begining to stand-alone, the connection with their original purpose now seems less important.

I feel the need for a detailed plan. I sound like an engineer again. I'm not sure if that is positive, negative or just an inevitable consequence of my past - probably the later!

# 14 [31 January 2010]

This week I started out with the intention of creating the two new symbol sets I mentioned in my last post. As it happens, a line of conversation in a tutorial has set me off on a different path. So, instead of creating those symbols I have been questioning the role of the hand-made in my work. Where is the balance between the idea and the execution. Will I be satisfied with the aesthetic of the entirely machine made output. Can I find my own balance point between hand-made and machine-made. In all of this there is a large element of self doubt too. Maybe this is just my nerves on edge at the realisation that four years of dedicated work is about to come to a head, about to be tested in the spotlight of a final show!

The danger is that, while procrastinating over the various arguments raging in my head, I dither and fail to make a decision. To break this deadlock I will try something different. I haven't lifted a paint brush for eighteen months (since my last life class) and so this week I will set-up a canvas and see what feel I get from using paint again.

So, this week, I will paint in the college studio during the day and I will create new symbols on the computer in the home studio in the evening.

Can I connect the two in some meaningful way?

# 13 [24 January 2010]

Following a review of progress, I have taken a step back.

It became clear that to continue with just 27 codes in my symbol set would be to journey down a blind alley. I had reached a point where having symbols only for alpha and space became just too restrictive. So what to do!

After some investigation (via sketching in my journal) I made the decision to add a triangle to my circle and square (this also fits with my dissertation research of Vasarely). Now this may have triggered a trip back to square one and an entirely new journey, where I build a new set of symbols from scratch, a set that could include all three shapes in a single symbol. However, by way of preference, I like to reuse what has gone before, so instead I have decided to add to my symbols already based on circle and square (this also fits with the way new systems are built on the architecture of earlier incarnations).

As the circle and square (CIRCUARE) symbols were built using a times 3 principle, it seems logical (and comfortable) to try to use times 3 again. So if CIRCUARE is 1 then I need another 2 sets to make 3.

So we already have:

CIRCle + sqUARE = CIRCUARE

To which I will add:

TRIAngle + ciRCLE = TRIARCLE

SQUAre + triANGLE = SQUANGLE

The naming convention was chosen to reflect the contortions that are often brought to bare in the naming of computer projects or systems, where the hunt for the right TLA, FLA or in this case ELA (eight letter abbreviation) can often appear to be of vital importance! Whatever you (or I) may think of these abbreviations they are a convenient shorthand.

This trebling of resources will allow my code symbols to represent 27 x 3 = 81 codes. This will suffice for now and we will see how far I go before this new set becomes too restrictive.

This week will be spent working out and recording the new symbols.

# 12 [23 January 2010]

The second draft of the dissertation is done. This is the first version to include a conclusion. I also have complete end-notes, illustration references and bibliography. There is still more tweaking to do, but if the deadline were tomorrow, then there would be something of reasonable quality to submit.

Relief is the word of the moment...

# 11 [20 January 2010]

This week has seen a continued effort to finish the dissertation. There is still work to be done on the conclusion, but it is going well and the end is in-sight.

In parallel, I have continued to work with the CIRCUARE symbols in the digital domain. There have been many composite images made that convey a coded message using both the monochrome and the colour symbol sets.

The colour symbol set has also been used as a basis for a series of more uncertain outcomes, outcomes I describe as static kinetic. I include some sample images made for this series, a series designed to be viewed in a transmissive medium like a computer monitor or digital TV.

Some test prints, made with pigment ink on archival matte paper, prove they also print well. They have a different feel in a reflective medium, but it is valid nonetheless. It may be worth considering the investment in a much larger mounted print to see how a significant increase in scale might change the way the image can be read. I am considering a Lambda print mounted on aluminum or dibond. An acrylic face-mount would be ideal, but remains outside my budget.

The problem with technology is that it is oh so easy to breach the budget. Affordability and logistics become a very important consideration. Budgets and risk management can put pressure on ambition.

I guess financing art production is not a new issue for an artist!

# 10 [15 January 2010]

Today has been all about the dissertation.

After some excellent feedback [on my first draft] I have been working on the next revision. Hopefully this one will hang together and be better balanced in terms of: primary research, secondary, research, the opinions of others, and my own input.

Unfortunately formal writing is [as usual] taking a dissproportionate amount of time when compared to the assesment marks on offer. But I guess that is just the way life is when doing something we find hard.

# 9 [13 January 2010]

This week CIRCUARE has moved from monochrome to colour. That is, the recording of this line of enquiry in my journal has reached the stage when colour becomes a component. I did a lot of unrecorded (1) work over the seasonal break that is only now finding its way into the journal. This sometimes happens when I am chasing a line of thought in the digital domain. The forensic record is all on the computers and I use the need to transfer this to the first-world journal as a trigger for reflection. (puting this in the journal allows my tutors easy access for assesment purposes too)

I am happy with both the monochrome and colour symbol sets and enjoyed the process of development. The initial clinical digital aesthetic is interesting, but now is the time to explore different ways of presenting and using these basic components.

There is a growing tension between analogue and digital production. A tension I need to explore further.

There is also more uncertainty to explore by applying the ideas and techniques from the monochrome three planes of uncertainty series to the colour symbol set.

Also, there is a second draft of the dissertation to write following useful constructive feedback on the first draft.

So lots to do.

(1) by 'unrecorded' I mean with no formal recording of the processes or outcomes other than the computer files generated at the time.

# 8 [11 January 2010]

I'll finish this reflective start (to the blog) with an up-to-date artist statement. If you have visited my personal web or blog you will notice this has not changed. I wrote this version in December, at the end of our Studio Practice 3 module, and this recent period of reflection has only served to strengthen my belief in its accuracy. Of course it will continue to develop over the coming months, but that is the nature of such a statement. Like a plan it can only be a best estimate (for the now).

Artist Statement for David Riley
(as of 10th January 2010)

My art requires a trigger point, some life event, an ongoing interest, or an idea discovered while exploring another avenue - serendipity is important. It involves researching the idea and the techniques that can be applied. It can involve learning a new way of doing, a new way of thinking, or some form of exploration along a familiar line of enquiry, but beyond territory previously covered. It is influenced by my life experience, and my first career as a systems engineer. Code, mathematics, diagrams and organisation are important. Components and reuse are often present; consequently the outcome is often a series rather than a single work.

My process involves a starting point which I work away from. Each step taken is recorded (in a journal) to ensure no thought is lost and to protect the possibility of returning later to an idea or discovery. I cannot predict what comes next. If I could, it is very likely I would stop and take the next step in an entirely different direction.

The materials used are chosen to suit the enquiry, but often include: marker pen, paper, self adhesive office labels, tracing paper, artist board and acrylic paint. A digital camera, scanner, inkjet printer, computer and software (including: office, raster graphic, vector graphic, video and bespoke self designed applications) are considered important. I use these tools in much the same way another artist might use assistants.

An enjoyable consequence of research is finding artists who have crossed the same path. When this happens I will take time to consider their motivation, process and outcomes. In doing so I benefit from their experience, increased confidence in my own decision making and a clearer idea of what must be done next.

I consider the journey as fundamental. The journey must please me. The outcome must please me and have an aesthetic that others might consider interesting.

There is always a strong desire to share what is discovered.

# 7 [10 January 2010]

Three more images to share. These represent a coincidence of lines of enquiry exploring: circle, square, phi, colour, random, logic, code, and uncertainty.

These images are all digital. There is a continuing tension between analogue and digital production.

Other dialogues (maybe tensions) that might prove important are:

positive - negative;

reflective- transmissive;

monochrome - colour;

circle - square.

These pairs seem to align well with my dissertation which begins with Aristotle's Pythagorean table of opposites.