Revised Proposal and Video

The exploration of symbols has been the fundamental impetus for many projects of mine. Symbols are, by their nature more than simply what they are visually. They are attached to an idea which allows humans to communicate over time and distance without using sound. Previously I was interested in developing a visual language that could be understood without needing to learn the language (something untrue of every writing system on the planet right now). I found myself drifting towards certain specific ideas within such a large project. Eventually I completely destroyed the project and with what was left, rebuilt it. The form it now takes is one focused on symbols that express an idea of universality and the repetition of form in the universe from micro to macro. The animations are a representation of the universal language of the universe itself. The true, naturally understood language that all humans interact with at all times and are themselves comprised of. I use Flash to explore animation and the way I want to express this idea. Flash allows me to rapidly produce snippets of ideas that I may or may not use. My development takes the form of a tree. A central trunk is the main theme I have been following from the beginning, that of language and symbol. Off of this trunk are many different paths that have lead to dead-ends; ideas that I am less interested in and don't have a place in my main project. These ideas however, just like the branches on a tree, provide the core idea with even greater strength. They feed the core and through these ideas I'm able to better understand what exactly I am doing. They allow me to define the idea. I find these dead-ends extremely important and informative to the work. The process has not surprised me; I know I often move around from idea to idea rapidly but I also know there is a reason and there is a connection even if it isn't immediately apparent. The central idea is revealed from multiple perspectives and also negatives until there is no confusion. The final form of the piece will be an animation supported by these dead-ends. It will be stored online and made accessible.

Atomic Molecular

Much change

Many thing have been left behind over the last month. The ideas of a logical, scientific language understandable by many people immediately has been completely forgotten in pursuit of more truly universal ideas. The first draft of a revised proposal:

The exploration of symbols has been the fundamental impetus for many projects of mine. Symbols are, by their nature more than simply what they are visually. They are attached to an idea which allows humans to communicate over time and distance without using sound. Previously I was interested in developing a visual language that could be understood without needing to learn the language (something untrue of every writing system on the planet right now). I found myself drifting towards certain specific ideas within such a large project. Eventually I completely destroyed the project and with what was left, rebuilt it. The form it now takes is one focused on symbols and the way humans interact with and understand them. To create visual gibberish that has essentially no meaning. To humans eyes and a human brain however this visual gibberish is given meaning through the use of symbols. The symbols I choose to explore and use are those I find at the smallest and largest of scales. Single celled organisms, atoms, molecules, planets, galaxies and the universe. From the smallest to the largest these things all share a shape and movement, one that the human eye and brain recognizes and immediately gives value to.

Considering a circular structure.


pattern.


cloud/earth pattern.

More refined version of the landscape.

Another aspect of the work I have been thinking of quite a bit is form. From the beginning I had imagined symbols on wooden blocks but wasn't entirely convinced by the idea. Now i'm revising that perspective and looking at urban elements of stone. Concrete, flag stone, etc. I have already found sizable chunks fallen from buildings, knocked off the corner of stairs, etc. I'm going to experiment etching into these surfaces. If it proves effective I will likely pursue this route.

A quick example of a landscape created from the elements i'm working with. Tone may become a necessity as a way to better communicate. The system moves further away from blisssymbolics as time goes on and more into the space of aesthetics not function. I'm no longer interested in making a script and set of symbols to be written like text. That idea is limited and derivative. I'm pursuing the usage of space to identify characters and relationships as well as developing the negative space.

This is an experiment with a form I might end up using to describe earth/land. I'm considering moving away from previous forms to a more unified and abstract system. I may make two versions. One more pictorial and one that must be learned to be understood. I have a desire to make something more interesting visually. Also something mysterious.