SPECIAL ISSUE 13 MARTIN BOARD

For the Special Issue 13, I interpreted the essay TENSE (2018) by Simon(e) van Saarloos. With my interpretation, I amplified the author’s discourse on descriptive language by exaggerating the use of meta-descriptions through the form of HTML-tags. Normally, a HTML <tag> acts as a descriptive container, it is invisible for Web-user point of view as it is only made to be read and interpreted by the computer in order to arrange the structure of the Web-page

By looking for ways to make these meta tags visible and readable from a Web-user’s point of view, I affect the reader’s interpreation of the essay and also perception of the document accessed. Additionally to the Web, I made my three HTML documents (essay, artistic response and map) printable from the Web and included them in the Special Issue 13 book.

As part of the design team of the Special Issue 13, I collaborated with two XPUB1 students to make the project’s visual identity, including the making of Web-to-print documents such as the blank map; bookcover and colophon.

WHAT DID I DO?

• During this Special Issue 13, on one hand, I have been involved into the creation of the visual identity of the project with the design team. Creating the blank map, the colophon, and the cover of our book all entirely with a WebtoPrint process and by using free licensed typefaces and materials. I also gave a little help on the launch page, but it remained a very small contribution on that part. Finally an even smaller but still relevant contribution to the collective work was my title suggestion: Wor(l)ds for the Future.

• On the other hand, I have been working on the essay called TENSE, by creating 4 different HTML printable pages. In relation to my own path of research, this work amplifies the author’s discourse on descriptive language by using and overusing meta-descriptions (html tags). Meta language is undeniably descriptive, as it allows a machine to interpret content and to give the structure of a Web page. By making these meta tags visible, I wish to affect the reader/user experience and interepreation of the text.

WHAT DID I LEARN

TECHNICALY

• My knowledge and pratice of HTML/CSS to Print improved and it felt good to finally do some printed design without any kind of Adobe software. Happy that 100% of my contents were generated with this process and looking forward to push on this eventually for the 2nd year.
• Annotating, reading, collaborating, team decision making
• Introduced to a crazy range of open source tools

CONCEPTUALY

• Digging further in my own path of research

MAIN LINKS

• SPECIAL ISSUE 13 - WOR(L)DS FOR THE FUTURE
• TENSE ESSAY INTERPRETATION
• TENSE MAP
• TENSE ARTISTIC RESPONSE INTERPRETATION
• MATERIALS

WORKLINKS

Workshops

Collaboration, Conflict & Consent with Eleanor Greenhalgh

→ 1.  Workshop page
→ 2.  Freeze

Annotating

Words/publications to read/annotate : Tense, Practical Vision, Eco-Swaraj
Team: Pon, Floor & Martin

→ 1. TENSE PDF PADMAP
        Simon(e) van Saarloos / from Words of the Future - Nienke Scholts (2017)
→ 2. Practical Vision PDFPAD
        Moses Kilolo / from Words of the Future - Nienke Scholts (2017)
→ 3. Eco-Swaraj PDF PAD
        Ashish Kothari / from Words of the Future - Nienke Scholts (2017)

Licensing

→ 1.  Writting a General License - group work with Floor, Pon & Camillo (in Progress) PAD
→ 2.  License to Sub-License - individual work (in Progress) PAD

Mapping readings

→ 1.  Group work with XPUB1 / coordinated by Steve PAD
→ 2.  A3 MAP TEMPLATE (FOR PRINT TEST)

Creating a map of maps

→ 1.  TEMPLATE
→ 2.  PAD FOR "MAP OF THE MAPS" GUIDELINES / QUESTIONS / DEADLINES

About the notion of "Meta"

Making a image that describe itself as an image, a map that describes itself as a map, by using Ascii aalib (Keywords: reflexivity; embodied aesthetic; meta-cognitive; representation; sublime; attention; paradox; mise en abyme;)
→ 1.  The meta as an aesthetic category Bruno Trentini (2014)
→ 2.  File:RMZ ARTIST WRITING(2).pdf The eye tells the story by Rosa Maria Zangenberg (2017)
→ 3.  Leonardo Da Vinci - Paragone by Louise Farago

Design department Special ISSUE XII

→ 1.  HOTLINE
→ 2.  PAD

General Links

• Tense link: https://issue.xpub.nl/13/TENSE/
  
• Wor(l)ds for the Future link: https://issue.xpub.nl/13/

ALL PADS

• Mapping Key words
  
• Overview on the project
• SI13 general Pad
• Communication Pad
• PUBLIC_COPYRIGHT_LICENSES_RESEARCH
• Licensing
• TENSE

TEXTS

https://pzwiki.wdka.nl/mediadesign/Category:WordsfortheFuture

Word	Authors	PDF (small)
LIQUID	Rachel Armstrong, Andrea Božic & Julia Willms (TILT)	link
OTHERNESS	Daniel L. Everett, Sarah Moeremans	link link link
PRACTICAL VISION	Moses Kilolo (Jalada), Klara van Duijkeren & Vincent Schipper (The Future)	link link link
ECO-SWARAJ	Ashish Kothari, Rodrigo Sobarzo	link link
HOPE	Gurur Ertem, Ogutu Muraya	link
TENSE	Simon(e) van Saarloos, Eilit Marom & Anna Massoni & Elpida Orfanidou & Adina Secretan & Simone Truong	link link
UNDECIDABILITY	Silvia Bottiroli, Jozef Wouters	link
RESURGENCE	Isabelle Stengers, Ola Macijewska	link
!?	Nina Power, Michiel Vandevelde	link
ATATA	Natalia Chavez Lopez, Hilda Moucharrafieh	link

Prototyping

With Pyhton

→ 1.  Generating 100 000 billions of poems
          from 100 000 milliards de poèmes — Raymond Queneau (1961)
→ 2.  Trump speeches words occurences counter
→ 3.  Computer assisted licensing
→ 4.  Making a Gradient Patch (Coordinated by Manetta and Michael)

SPECIAL ISSUE VISUAL DESIGN

Creating the map with Web to Print

During this Special Issue, I have been very much improving on the HTML to Print process. By forcing myself to use this method, I could more and more easily get to the result I wanted, and could avoid to use any kind of close licensed layout softwares. Here are a few non chronological exports of the blank map of the Special Issue. Jacopro assisted me on the text layout.

export 1

export 2

export 3

export 4

export 5

export 6

Creating the cover and colophon with Web to Print

Same thing here, all design team collaborated together to make the cover of the book and integrating the custom typefaces made my all XPUB1 students and a few teachers.

WFTF Colophon Web To Print

WFTF Colophon Simulation

Map preview IRL

During the launch day, I puted some phone cameras on the ceiling and started recording in order be able later to make a timelapse of the making of the map. These footages became very useful to communicate about the publication itself after the launch.

WFTF map timelapse

Final printed map IRL

WFTF map in use

Book preview IRL

Naami and Frederico made a photoshoot of the final book, here are a few shots!

WFTF Book Final Shot 01

WFTF Book Final Shot 02

WFTF book final shot 03

WFTF book final shot 04

TENSE

The study of the text first started with Floor and Frederico in a very early stage of the special issue 13 process. Later it became the text I personaly had to work on.

A note about the text

Because the text itself is very spontaneously written and quiet 'apocalyptic' in a way. It has different motions to adress. Sometimes personal thoughts. Sometimes philosophical thoughts. It is not an essay with a conclusion, but more a flow of ideas. After reading it we had a lot of thoughts and discussions about what it really means. The text self is not easy to understand and we needed to use the dictionairy frequently. To explain this text we would need a lot more text. The summary would count more words than the actual essay so we're currently working on alternative way(s) to make this essay intelligible.

• Link to original text: https://git.xpub.nl/XPUB/S13-Words-for-the-Future-materials/src/branch/master/pdfs-small/Words-for-the-Future---TENSE---ESSAY-resampled.pdf

Our process in pads

• Pad with annotations on the original text: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/TENSE
• Pad with notes: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/TENSEnotes

Our process in Figma

• Map https://www.figma.com/file/QFNnwDTXWSxFIjZQC65pcr/Tense?node-id=0%3A1

Work in progress mapping the essay with visual parts https://www.figma.com/file/QFNnwDTXWSxFIjZQC65pcr/Tense?node-id=0%3A1

Description of my work on TENSE

“What is described can sometimes even be more easily celebrated and embraced, because it appears dead” - Simon(e) van Saarloos ( @svansaarloos )

My Web to print interpretation of Tense, an original contribution by Simon(e) van Saarloos, part of Words for the Future - a multivoiced series of ten booklets directed by @nienkescholts in 2018. In the 2020 online and printed version called Wor(l)ds for the Future, XPUB1 (Experimental Publishing) students from the Piet Zwart institute reinterpreted the original material through methods such as annotating and prototyping in Python (a coding language we used to analyse text as texture). The ten booklets were cross-examined and mapped in order to find interconnections and links.

With my interpreation, I amplify the author’s discourse on descriptive language by using and overusing meta-descriptions (html tags). Meta language is undeniably descriptive, as it allows a machine to interpret content and to give the structure of a Web page. By making these meta tags visible, I wish to affect the reader/user experience and interepreation of the text.

Navigation Screen Captures

Tense main page Screeshot

Tense map page Screenshot

Tense response page Screenshot

Tense Button Display 1

Tense Button Display 2

Tense Button Display 3

Square screencapture TENSE 01

Square screencapture TENSE 02

Square screencapture TENSE 03

Square screencapture TENSE 04

Square screencapture TENSE 05

Square screencapture TENSE 06

TENSE screen capture Square 01

TENSE screen capture Square 02

TENSE Web to Print Process

Tense Essay To Print 01

Tense Essay To Print 02

Tense Artistic Response To Print 01

Tense Artistic Response To Print 02

Post-Launch TENSE Motion Design Process

Working from a Web interation video capture

Trying to play around with the Browser window resizing in order to create a playful animation decidaced be a thumbnail of the project. The two first screen capture will be the basis of the upcoming motion. I will first try to smooth the window movement and make the two screen capture fit togehter before synchronizing them and looping them.

TENSE MOTION Initial Screen Capture 1

TENSE MOTION Initial Screen Capture 2

Smoothing/Combining/Synchronizing Frames

Working from a videocapture and trying to smooth the quiet laggy movment of the window was quiet tricky, I got there after a while.

Export 1

Export 2

Export 3

Final Result Square + Rectangle Format

Tense Motion V3 - Martin Foucaut

TENSE Motion Rectangle Format Loop in the loop

PS: It might be called a quine

References:

• https://hugohil.github.io/dedans/
• https://secretgeek.github.io/html_wysiwyg/html.html
• http://all-html.net/?