Anastasia
Evoke, bespoke, repose.
A definite function A particular task
The machine works forwards and backwards in time, and has two definite functions 1. is a way to understand motivations, to revisit remoulded ideas and revise desired directions (In the form of analysis through what/how/why). 2. The machine is not bound to linear progression but rhizomatic simultaneity, this part of the machine clouds, confuses and re-registers words and images as metaphor. The machine creates fragments of prose which relate to sculptural outcomes.
Part one (what/how/why) of the machine in action for the sculpture: ‘Repose’ :
What: The small project space is emptied of furniture - barr its usual iMac computer in the corner. We see a website up on the screen of the iMac and center-left there is a sculpture made of various hard and soft materials.
The sculpture is roughly rectangular and consists of two parts: a wooden base, with four legs, in untreated pine, which is nearly 2m long and half a meter wide. And on its top: an asymmetrical clear-vinyl cushion stuffed with white wadding, edged in (sewn on) black bias binding.
Roughly resembling a ‘chaise longue’, the large cushion is fitted to the wooden base and there is a small cylindrical bolster of the same materials lying upon one end. The website on the imac screen is ‘Google books: Ngram viewer’. This web page is mostly white and shows a line-graph with boxes above to enter information. The word ‘repose’ is entered into one of these boxes. The y axis shows a percentage, the x axis shows a timescale- from 1800 to 2008. Hereby charting the rise and fall of the word ‘repose’-according to google books’ publishing data.
How: Explore ‘metaphor’ through sculpture e.g ‘situated knowledges’ / ‘uncomfortable data’ in relation to the technologies of automation. Research etiquettes and behaviours through ‘fourniture’ (equipment). Find furniture which reflects social status and certain behaviours in specific cultures. Explore materials which encourage narratives and incorporate elements of craftsmanship. Recycle materials from previous work - complicating the ‘end point’ of a work and situating it within a continued practice. Plan for art’s after-life : Sculpture would soon transition into studio furniture, incorporate this into its ‘design’.
Why: I’m interested in the bodily relation people might have to the materials and possible functionality (I.e as a piece of furniture) of an art work, especially in terms of the invitation to ‘repose’ or recline on the art work. I feel like the idea of furniture - the actions around it - i.e use is strong but its the cultural context (and whether this is reconfigured/reenacted) throughout the ages which I am interested in researching in ways which are bodily and informational. As part of this work is a line graph - an Ngram - how do we engage with these inclinations, plateaus and steady declines of language use? - as information? There is a tendency to come to conclusions.. Which is too wrapped up and tidy to be real - so I want to include and encourage a bodily relation to these ideas.
2.