DEGREES UNEDITED

# 21 [16 February 2010]

Off to college this morning. A special trip for the ceremonial handing over of the dissertation (there is a receipting system to give me proof of submission). Despite it being half term, my tutor Sarah is happy to accept the work and I am happy for the expected relief of it being beyond my control.

# 22 [16 February 2010]

The ceremony is over, the dissertation has been submitted, and I have my receipt (for now, a very valuable piece of paper).

I am walking around like a Cheshire cat!!!

Immediately, I picked up a 6B pencil and made some drawings directly onto the studio backing boards. This was another good moment, as I realised there is potential here for displaying symbols on a grand scale, but quite simply and very relevant to a drawing course.

There are two close-up images attached here. These are very quick and unrefined so there will be more experimenting in March (after the reading week).

# 23 [19 February 2010]

Today I wrote this in response to a comment made on another forum:

"I am in a constant dialogue between digital and analogue, one informing the other. I flip and flop between the two, occasionally they meet in the middle somewhere and create something special. In logic, flip-flops are bistable elements, in my art digital and analogue are more bi-unstable, almost as if there is a self clocking mechanism encouraging constant movement between states and exploration of the space in-between."

This simple statement seems to sum-up so much of what my work is about at this moment. The big question is, can I resolve something that will capture this dialogue within an exhibition.

This morning I completed the digital domain resolution of the symbols I have been working on. I now have:

3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 81 monochrome and 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 81 colour symbols.

(based on the combining of two of three geometric shapes: triangle, circle and square)

27 TRIARCLE monochrome symbols

27 CIRCUARE monochrome symbols

27 SQUANGLE monochrome symbols

27 TRIARCLE colour symbols

27 CIRCUARE colour symbols

27 SQUANGLE colour symbols

162 symbols in all.

As per my last post, the next phase involves exploring the analogue potential of these symbols and the scale and materials of analogue production.

some strange terms defined:

TRIAngle + ciRCLE = TRIARCLE

CIRCle + sqUARE = CIRCUARE

SQUAre + triaNGLE = SQUANGLE

DIgital + anALOGUE = DIALOGUE.

# 24 [26 February 2010]

I have been a little distracted this week. With no college (reading week) and the dissertation out of my hands, I relaxed and became hooked on a phrase framed as a challenge (on another site). The challenge was to make work in response to:

the alarm kept ringing...

I became hooked on the idea of making a purely conceptual piece in the form of a set of instructions written loosely in the style of a computer programme. The outcome was this.

|| the alarm kept ringing... ||

| instructions |

01. select an alarm-device;
02. load a suitable alarm onto the alarm-device;
03. set the alarm-device to sound the alarm;
04. select a sound-recording-device;
05. set the sound-recording-device to record the sound from the alarm-device;
06. start the alarm-device;
07. start the sound-recording-device;
08. wait one minute;
09. stop the sound-recording-device;
10. stop the alarm-device;
11. select a time-display-device;
12. set the time-display-device to the correct time;
13. select a sound-recording-playback-device;
14. load the alarm recording onto the sound-recording-playback-device;
15. set the sound-recording-playback-device to continuous loop;
16. select a moving-picture-and-sound-recording-device;
17. set the moving-picture-and-sound-recording-device to observe and record the time-display-device and the sound-recording-playback-device;
18. start the time-display-device;
19. start the sound-recording-playback-device;
20. start the moving-picture-and-sound-recording-device;
21. wait for 24 hours;
22. stop the moving-picture-and-sound-recording-device;
23. stop the sound-recording-playback-device;
24. stop the time-display-device;
25. select a moving-picture-and-sound-recording-playback-device;
26. load the moving picture and sound recording onto the moving-picture-and-sound-recording-playback-device;
27. set the moving-picture-and-sound-recording-playback-device to continuous loop;
28. start the moving-picture-and-sound-recording-playback-device;
29. wait forever.

| components |

alarm-device, sound-recording-device, time-display-device,
sound-recording-playback-device, moving-picture-and-sound-recording-device,
moving-picture-and-sound-recording-playback-device.

| actions |

select, load, set, start, wait, stop.

|| revad, 2010, version rc2 ||

This is release candidate 2, I went through a process of beta, rc1 and rc2. Unless I find a fault, rc2 will become version 1.0. My only outstanding questions are:

Do I follow the instructions and make the physical work? Or, do I leave it and get back to work for the final show? Or, do I change direction and incorporate this idea into my subsequent work?

To some extent the questions are rhetorical, as everything I do has an impact on what comes next. Maybe I will make the idea manifest, maybe I won't, but it will impact what comes next - there is no doubt!

# 25 [2 March 2010]

Blog style renditions of the three coded symbol sets:

http://triarcle.codedimages.com

http://circuare.codedimages.com

http://squangle.codedimages.com

Inspired by...

...well you will have to click a link to find out.

# 26 [6 March 2010]

New materials added to the exploration include overhead projection film and associated permanent marker pens. I say 'new' but of course this is really another step back into my past, where I used an overhead projector, film and pens during my time as a company training school technical tutor. The thought here is to use the film to provide the ability to overlay ideas and (being in roll form) represent the serial nature of the exploration. I am looking forward to reconnecting with what were once such familiar everyday materials.

As I continue my journey, ideas for the final exhibition presentation are beginning to form. So far, I have sketched out and recorded a half dozen strong possibilities None of them are final, but I wouldn't expect that at this stage.

The pressure is on to deliver the text and photographs for the exhibition catalogue by next Thursday. No problem there, but agreeing the cover design and general layout is proving a little more problematic. I have to say it is so easy to spend far too much time worrying about such things when any one of a huge range of ideas would quite obviously be fit for purpose.

A decision will be taken collectively and another step toward the exhibition will be made.

# 27 [12 March 2010]

This past week I found myself laying out six short books (40 pages each) based around recording the TRIARCLE, CIRCUARE and SQUANGLE symbols in both monochrome and colour. Books seem to be a natural way of recording and presenting a serial idea. I plan to add these to my self-published series, they will be ready after I have checked the initial batch in about a month. Will they form part of the exhibition, maybe but it is still too early to say for sure.

The recent work on potential installations has suggested many possibilities, strengthening confidence that whatever space I have allocated for the exhibition I can adapt my work to fit. So, for now, I can park all thoughts about the final installation and return my focus to exploring and making new work.

There are still issues with getting the exhibition catalogue into print. There is little I can do, as it is for others to  deliver their contribution, so I will relax and let things take their natural course.

# 28 [16 March 2010]

I said (last time) that thoughts of installation issues will be pushed into the background in favour of making new work, a good plan I thought, but almost immediately it became obvious that the 'new work' would require decisions about presentation sooner rather than later and certainly before making 80+ A4 drawings. Actually it is more like 240+ as each drawing will have a minimum of three layers. The idea is to create a dialogue between my analogue and digital work and for this I need to consider how this dialogue might be displayed. This week's exploration is therefore centred around materials that can be used in overlaying one image on another and how these might be presented in a gallery environment.

The books are in print. I can't wait to have them in my hands, to find out if they work as 3D objects rather than the 2D virtual constructs I made on the computer.

The timetable for the final exhibition is starting to come together and it looks like the private view will be the evening of 9th June, still to be confirmed, so watch this space (should you be at all interested!).

# 29 [19 March 2010]

An excellent few days!

After two very good tutorials (we have two tutors for this final module), I am convinced my ideas are progressing in the right direction. The testing of overlays went well and I have planned more detailed experiments to confirm the exact approach.

Yesterday there was room to test the screen installation for the first time and this allowed several issues to come to the surface. Some key words are: lighting, reflection, cabling, power, position, mounting, surface, relationship, logic and emotion.

I have agreed to build a model of the installation and this coupled with further component experiments will inform decision making before commencing on the full size build and further refinement in April.

More materials were ordered, my budget still looks about right and I still have a contingency for the unexpected.

We also did some group work on our artist statements. This was fun and a good excuse to get together as a group. A chance to relax - just a little.

[EDIT] In one exercise we had to fill the [BLANK] in this statement with an appropriate verb:

I [BLANK] drawing(s).

It was suggested that I worry drawings, but I thought that I argue drawings was more appropriate for me and a little less scary too!

An excellent few days!

# 30 [25 March 2010]

Today was a group critique day. Such days are a good opportunity to test how my own work might be received and to see what others have been up to. The supportive and positive environment can also help us all through the more vulnerable moments when self-doubt creeps in. I like group critiques!

I installed and presented the CIRCUARE components in a new way, a way that is a strong candidate for inclusion in my final show installation. The feedback was positive, confirming some of the decisions I had already made and raising one or two new ideas and opportunities.

It was great to see how the others are progressing and have the opportunity to encourage and support what they are doing.

A very enjoyable day.

This week I took delivery of two more LCD panels, making three in all. I am working on a full proposal for next week, if this is agreed I can then push on and build the full installation in the studio starting immediately after the Easter break. Taking the time to pre-build the installation will allow all risks to be assessed and each detail to be checked and confirmed. The plan is to make the installation week as stress free as possible.