Strained Structures

[Original at http://www.3via.org/index.php?htm=prenapete_strukture/index]

Produkcija KUD Trivia | Trivia Art Production | more pages by Borut Savski
Borut Savski – Prenapete strukture | Strained structures


Tensed Structures trio at The Gallery of Contemporary Art in Celje – group exhibition SCULPTURE TODAY IV: Performative Bodies and Spaces presented by the Center for Contemporary Arts Celje.

CELEIA – CENTER SODOBNIH UMETNOSTI
Galerija sodobne umetnosti, Trg celjskih knezov 8, 3000 CELJE
http://www.celeia.info/center_sodobnih_umetnosti

 

 

Borut Savski – Rože zla | Flowers of Evil | Fleurs du mal (Prenapeta struktura IV)
Produkcija: 2013

 

Hm, zdi se, da ni konca tej konceptualni seriji…

Rože zla so nastale na podlagi ene predhodne variante poimenovane “Bitje” z namenom, da se proizvede spreminjajoč se vir zvoka (za projekt Cirkulacije 2). Oblika piezo-zvočnikov je potem sugerirala tudi identiteto – npr. črne lilije – in takoj zatem citata iz preteklosti – Rože zla (pesniška serija Charlesa Baudelaira). Tu je zanimiva spletna stran posvečena temu: http://fleursdumal.org/

Rože zla so se v juniju 2013 predstavljale v projektnem prostoru Aksioma v Ljubljani kot del kibernetičnih struktur/ skulptur/ platform, ki smo jih pripravili v okviru Platforme za totalno umetnost: Organizem zvoka – zvok organizma.

Borut Savski – Drevo spoznanja (Prenapeta struktura III)
Produkcija: KUD Trivia 2011

 

17. januarja 2012 ob 21.00 v galeriji Metropolis

Otvoritev razstave kibernetske strukture Drevo spoznanja v galeriji Metropolis (izložba Metropola; Kiberpipa) avtorja Boruta Savskega.

Tretja po vrsti prenapeta struktura je bila v osnovni obliki že predstavljena konec lanskega leta na gostujoči razstavi Device_Art v Tokiu (organizacija: zagrebški Kontejner in galerija Kapelica), v oktobru letos pa kot del razstave Muzej Robotov v Mariboru(organizacija UGM Maribor). V prenovljeni vsebini bo tokrat prvič na ogled v Ljubljani. Vse prenapete strukture imajo značilnost prenosa gibalne energije s pomočjo torzijsko nasprotno napetih trakov, kar omogoči zabrisanje prejšnjih – enostavnejših, rotacijskih – načinov giba in prehod v višjo – mistificirano pojavno obliko. Preglednost prenosa je zaradi enostavnosti principa za pozornega gledalca ohranjena, tako da lahko govorimo kar o “uteleseni metafori” (metafora: starogrško μεταφορά “prenos”).

Drugo povezano polje razmisleka, ki objektu predstoji, so translacije gibanja iz fiksnih točk v tridimenzionalno polje. Kraki “drevesa” namreč prav očitno opisujejo prostor. V miselno polje prenesni pomen nam morda približa problem razumevanja stvari – objektnih in onih drugih. Najbolj enostavni primer: branje, učenje novih pojmov iz ploskega besedila ne prinese takoj razumevanja, ampak šele ob dodatnem razmisleku pojmi pridobijo telo in postanejo razumljivi. Teza: razum je torej prostorski fenomen.

Tretje polje, ki je objektu podelilo tudi ime (Drevo spoznanja), se tiče kibernetskih (samouravnavajočih) lastnosti sistema – torej zaznavanje okolice in interpretacije zaznav – odziv na okolico. Tu se dotikamo dramaturgije (sosledja), ki ni enostavno predvidljiva, ampak je rezultat zaporedja in vzporedja v tekočem in ravno minulem času – torej tudi stvar spomina/ pomnilnika. Sistem tega prenosa – od zaznav do svojih gibalnih odzivov (rezultatov) – naj ne bi bil reducirajoč, ampak ohranjujoč vso vhodno bogastvo podatkov tudi v interpretirani/ prenešeni obliki. V sistem smo poleg tega dodali nekaj tipičnih načinov programiranega obnašanja, ki najbolj priličijo konkretni mehanični izvedbi “Drevesa” – temu so botrovali zgolj koreografski razlogi – oziroma: osnovni estetski razlogi. Resnični estetski razlogi pa tičijo v integraciji vsega povedanega v pojavno celovitost metaforičnega telesa.

Drevo spoznanja je skupaj z drevesom življenja eden od temeljnih konceptov zahodno-krščanske kulture in metaforično izjemno bogato. Drevo spoznanja (The Tree of Knowledge; avtorja: Humberto Maturana in Francisco Varela; prevedeno tudi v slovenščino) je tudi temeljno delo biološke veje kibernetike – avtopoetske teorije (autopoesis: samokreacija) – s katerim je biologija vstopila v kibernetsko dobo. Ker je temeljna misel knjige v definiciji živih sistemov, je s tem na nek način opisana pot tudi do Drevesa življenja.

Na fotografijah zgoraj je najnovejša prenapeta struktura še s starim “analogičnim” srcem, imenovana Drevo življenja ali tudi Bonsai življenja – razstavljena v sklopu razstave Muzej robotov oktobra 2011 v Mariboru.

On photos above is the newest from the strained structures series – called Tree of Life / Bonsai of Life – and it belongs to the octopussies family. October 2011 – exhibited at Museum of Robots exhibition in Maribor.

Prenapete strukture: Drevo življena | Tree of Life | Bonsai (2010)

 

Vsi trije sistemi so v procesu razvoja pridobili drugačno zaporedje – tako je najbolj primitivna oblika črv oz. DNK – telo, ki se imenuje Bitje, druga je Drevo življenja in tretja je Hobotnica. Zadnji dve višji obliki pridobivata drugačno logiko, ki jima bo omogočala nekatere rudimentarne oblike obnašanj – sinhronih koreografij.

 

Utelešena metafora

Najnovejši projekt/objekt se dotika dokaj temeljnega raziskovanja avtonomnih struktur / sistemov – točneje (a ne izključno) mehanskih premikajočih se organonov. Gre za predhodno napete (=prenapete) – in potem med seboj na poseben način povezane osnovne elemente, ki v nadaljnem prepletu tvorijo strukturo, na katero se prenesejo vse (pre)napetosti posameznih gradnikov.

Skušal sem sestaviti nekakšno zvijajoče se telo – morfološki objekt. Skrivnost je v uporabi torzijsko zvitih trakastih elementov, ki na enem koncu vpeti (po najmanj dva skupaj) ustvarijo prenos torzijske energije na celotno tako oblikovano tridimenzionalno strukturo. Pogoj je, da je na drugem koncu elementarna struktura zakoreninjena (zaključena z vpetostjo v točki, ki ni vezana neposredno na prvi konec strukture). Po mojem mnenju pa je celo zaželjeno, da se s kombiniranjem prenapetih elementov dobi na koncu vase zaključeno strukturo, ki je v celoti “prenapeta”.

Rezultat je zanimiv kibernetski sistem, ki ima vgrajeno energijo (potencialno energijo) – in celo vrsto lastnosti, ki ga delajo ‘bolj telesnega, bolj organskega, bolj živega’. Iz fizike vemo, da se potencialna energija rada pretvarja v kinetično (gibalno) – kar je tudi glavni motiv gradnje. Želja je bila, da se sicer pogosteje prisotno in bolj domače rotacijsko gibanje (in prenosi preko kolesc in jermenov) nadomesti z neko primarnejšo obliko: translacijskim gibanjem. Seveda se nahajamo v domeni avtonomnih strojev, ki jim popularno rečemo roboti.

BEAM robotika

Elektronski mehanizmi, ki gibljejo vse naprave, ki jih gradim, so analogni in grajeni po principih t.i. BEAM robotike (kratica druži izraze: biologija, elektronika, estetika in mehanika). V osnovi pa velja, da moment odločitve ni enoznačen, ampak je zaradi uporabe analognih elektonskih komparatorjev, ki delujejo na robu odločitev, precej samosvoj. V zadnjem času mi je bila omenjena beseda ‘fuzzy logic’ (Majda Gregorič), ali slovensko: mehka logika (Boštjan Leskovšek), kar v precejšnji meri ustreza opisanemu. Drug izraz za mehko logiko je tudi ‘analogna logika’. Ne le dve izključujoči se stanji – ampak neskončno stanj.

Besedna zveza ‘analogna logika’ je zanimiva, ker dejansko pomeni ‘analogična logika’, ali ‘nelogična logika’. Torej nekaj takega kot ‘neumni um’. Semantično pa kaže na to, da je nelogično izpeljava iz logičnega – torej je primarnejši izraz ‘logično’. Beseda zelo blizu ‘analogičnemu’ je ‘analogno’, vendar je drugačnega pomena – opisuje da je pri prevajanju iz ene vrednosti v neko drugo vrednost prišlo do proporcionalne spremembe – mi pravimo, da je bila sprememba skoraj ‘linearna’. V človeškem jeziku pa: da je pomen skoraj isti.

Obeti prenapetega principa gradnje so se kazali predvsem v neke vrste mehanskih kvantnih stanjih. To so t.i. diskretni energijski nivoji znani iz kvantne mehanike, pri nas pa neke vrste ravnotežne lege, za ohranjanje katerih pri prenapetih strukturah niso potrebni linearno povečani vložki sile. To je bistvena razlika v primerjavi z linearnimi translacijami gibanj. Govorimo lahko torej o neke vrste nelinearnem mehanskem sistemu. In še več: o mehanskem kvantnem sistemu.

Tensegrity

Čeprav se mi je zdela ideja originalna, pa se je pokazalo, da vendarle ni čisto tako. Ponovno se je izkazalo, da je šlo za reinvencijo principa. Trčil sem ob angleško skovanko ‘tensegrity‘ (kombinacija: tensional integrity; celovitost, enotnost s pomočjo napetosti). Kljub vsemu moja izvedba ostaja izvedbeno originalna, saj v literaturi ni bilo najti nobene izvedbe s torzijskimi napetostmi trakov. Predvsem pa je bila moja pot do prenapete strukture popolnoma samostojna.

Besedo ‘tensegrity’ je v petdesetih letih skoval kultni arhitekt Buckminster Fuller, avtor koncepta pa je ameriški kipar Kenneth Snelson, ki je na ta način gradil svoje skulpture – najbolj znana je 19-metrski Needle Tower (1968). Zdi se, da je tudi ruski arhitekt Boris Stučebrjukov počel nekaj podobnega v njegovem umetniškem obdobju (70-ta, 80-ta).

Fuller je princip napetostnega ravnovesja tesno povezal z besedo sinergija – ko dve ali več nasprotujočih si sil dosežejo stopnjo ravnotežja med notranjimi napetostmi (tenzijami) in ukloni (kompresijami). O principu povedal, da ne gre za nasprotujoče si, ampak za dopolnjujoče se (komplementarne) učinke, ki so vedno hkrati prisotni. Principi: potiskanja in vlečenja, pritiska in uklona, privlačenja in odbijanja…

Za celovit sistem so bistveni konceptualno ustrezni temeljni gradniki – elementi (“primitives”), ki že vsebujejo / vzdržujejo dvojico lastnosti: napetost (tenzijo) in uklon (kompresijo) – ali pa kakšen drug komplementarni odnos. Od tu dalje postanejo stvari metaforične in princip prenosljiv na druga področja. V zvezi s tem se v literaturi že takoj omenjajo algoritmični in heuristični principi t.i. ekspertnih sistemov. Pojavi pa se tudi povezava s človeškimi miselnimi in spoznavnimi sistemi, ki naj bi tudi bili “prenapeti”.

V kibernetiki za prej opisane sisteme pravijo, da imajo vgrajeno inteligenco. Sam bi raje uporabil besedo “samosvoje inercije”. Na vsak način imajo torej neko vgrajeno identiteto (pa tudi če je ta le mehanska). V matematiki identitetne točke (singularnosti) opišemo s pomočjo “ničel” in “polov”. Te pa so značilnost nelinearnih funkcij.

Da je zadeva pomensko izjemno prenosljiva govori tudi dejstvo, da si je besedo ‘tensegrity’ sposodil tudi pisatelj Carlos Castaneda za svoje kultne magične zgodbe. Za Castanedo je princip vsakodnevna umetnost prilagajanja svoji lastni in energiji drugih na način, ki prispeva k celoti skupnosti, ki jo tvorimo.

V skladu s prejšnjim sem se v princip zaljubil tudi sam in sistem podnaslovil kot Utelešena metafora.

Prenapete strukture: Bitje / Biće (2009)

 

A second strained structure at Device_Art event in Zagreb (october 2009). This one is called Being / Bitje / Biće… (recorded By Robertina Šebjanič)

Prenapete strukture: Bitje / Biće

če izhajam iz divje predpostavke, da se besede skozi človeško kulturo pomeni cepijo – derivirajo, spreminjajo – tudi kot cepljenje na različne jezike, vendar da se podobnost ohranja in kaže na neko nekdanjo isto besedno in pomensko osnovo – potem lahko nastavim tezo, ki definira polje Bitja:
– bitje (slovensko): srca, ure – simboli živosti vase zaključene (avtonomne) entitete, dimenzije časa, ki ji pripada -torej prisotnosti bitja v trenutku in razponu časa;
– biće (hrvaško): mehkejša oblika slovenske besede, ki nosi enake pomene, poleg tega še pogled v prihodnost. Slovensko: bo, morda tudi kot nekdanja osnova besede, ki nekoč v preteklosti morda postane bog, morda tudi kot ideja upanja v prihodnost – v povezavi z besedo boljše (prekmursko: bogše) – in hkrati delegiranje te (za)upanja na/ v boga.
– ben (italijansko), bon, beau (francosko), itd…
– be (angleško): ista besedno-pomenska osnova z vsemi osnovnimi derivati samoidetifikacije in samokreacije – become: postati, belong: pripadati, begin: začeti, before: pred (tem)

if I do a wild supposition that throughout the human culture the new words are being derived from the older ones to support the new meanings – also as derivations into new languages, and that the similarity of words is conserved ands points to some previous rudimentary word and meaning – then I can present a thesis that defines the field of Being:
– bitje (slovene): beating of the heart, of clock – the symbolics of an (autonomous) entity / being that is alive, the notion of the dimension of time, that it belongs to – representing the presence of being in the moment and in the time span;
– biće (croatian): the softer derivation of the slovene word, that bears the same meanings, and additionally also a direct idea to future. In slovene: biće = bo, maybe also as an ancient root od the word that in time became “bog” – (english: god), maybe as an idea of the hope which is in the future – in connection to the word “boljše” (english: “better”; or in slovene Prekmurje region: “bogše”) -and at the same time the delegation of hope to bog / god.
– ben (italian), bon, beau (french), etc…
– to “be” (english), being: the same word-meaning root with all the basic derivations of self-identification and self-creation – being, become, belong, begin, before….

Struktura in umetnik, 21. oktober 2008, galerija Kapelica
Structure and the artist, 21st October 2008, Kapelica Gallery Ljubljana
foto | photo: Nada Mihajlović

 

Sestavni deli Prenapete strukture. Odločil sem se za osem prepletenih in vase zaključenih krakov (konec zadnjega se spoji na začetek prvega – torej narisano v eni potezi – podobno kot pentagram), ki jih spojene ženejo štirje motorji.

The building elements of Tensed structure. I decided for eight inter-twined elements that are in closed loop (in the manner of pentagram), powered by four motors.

 

Senzorika in motorika: dva mikrofonska analogna komparatorja s pripadajočimi vezji, dva t.i. števnika dogodkov, sestavljena iz dveh vzporednih dekadnih števcev z možnostjo nekakšnega “programiranja” (z IR sprejemnikom – zaenkat še neuporabljenim) in štirje gonilniki za enosmerne motorje (H-mostički).

Sensoric and motoric electronic: two main microphone sensor circuits with analogue comparators (in the middle), two so-called “event-makers” – consisting of two parallel decade counters (with IR-receiver – not used yet), and four H-bridge DC-motor drivers.

Situacije v galeriji Kapelica / Kapelica Gallery situations
foto / photo Miha Fras

Situation at Arzenal Depo at Viba Studios Ljubljana
(december 2009)
foto / photo Petra Kapš

 

 

 

The new heart of Octopussy (2011)

 

The new heart uses arduino microcontroller to deal with four independant motors and two sensors (sound and infra red). Some “behaviour” will be added before the next occasion. So, the analog decision-making logic (“analogic logic”) will give way to programming approaches…

Metaphore incarnated

This project deals with relatively basic research of autonomous structures / systems – namely (but not exclusively) the mechanic moving organons. It is about previously strained – and after that in a special way interconnected basic elements, that in the final stage – as intertwined – make up a structure, where all the strains of basic elements are transferred to.

I tried to create a kind of twisting body – a morphologic object. The secret is in the use of torsionally twisted plastic elements, that when fixed (at least two together) on one end create a transfer of torsion energy to the whole of a structure. The condition is that on the other end the elementary structure is rooted to the point that is not directly connected to the first end of the basic structure). It is however desirable that the final combination of such elements creates a structure that is self-contained – and “strained” as a whole.

The result is an interesting cybernetic system, that has a built in energy (the potential energy) – and a numbr of properties, that make it “more bodylike, more organic, more live”. From Phyisics we know that potential energy likes to change into kinetic (moving) energy – and this is the motive for building this object. I wanted especially to eliminate the usual omnipresent (and well understood)rotary movement (and the transfer of of movements with wheels and strings) and replace it with the more primary method: the translation movement. Of course we are in the domain of building autonomous machines popularly known as robots.

BEAM robotics

Electronic mechanicms that move all my objects are analogue and built along the principles of so-called BEAM robotics (abbreviation of the words: Biology, Electronics, Aestetics and Mechanics). It basically means that th moment of decision is not precise, but because of the use of analog electronic comparators, that work very close to the border of switching / decisions, rather unpredictable. Lately a word was mentioned to me – ‘fuzzy logic’ (by Majda Gregorič), or ‘soft logic’ (Boštjan Leskovšek), that depicts well to the principle described. Another term for this could be ‘analog logic’. Not only two distinctive exclusive states, but infinite number of states.

Word combination ‘analog logic’ is very interesting since it actually means ‘analogic logic’. Like ‘unreasonable reason’. And also semantically points to believing that logic was there before the analogic. A word very close to ‘analogic’ but different in meaning is ‘analogous’ – describing that the translation of some value to another value was proportional – we say that it was ‘about linear’. Or in human talk: that it is about the same.

The promise of using the strained principle was in a kind of mechanic quantum states that would be achieved. Quantum states are a kind of discrete energy levels known from the quantum mechanics, and in it’s mechanical form – a kind of balanced situations in the movement (going from from minimum to maximum) that do not neccesitate linearly progressive forces. This is the basic difference to linear translation movements. So, we can speak about some sort of non-linear mechanic system. And more: about mechanic quantum system.

Tensegrity

Though the idea seemed original, it proved not to be entirely so. Again it was the reinvention of the principle. I came accross english word ‘tensegrity‘ (combination: tensional integrity; integritiy as a whole, unification by the use of mechanical tension). But my particular approach seems to be original, because I could find no information of use of torsionally twisted elements. And also: the path to my tensegrity / strained structure was totally independent.

But the story of tensegrity itself is extremely interesting. The word ‘tensegrity’ was coined in the 1950s by renowned thinker and architect Buckminster Fuller, and the author of one such concept is American sculptor Kenneth Snelson, who used it to build his sculptures – best known is the 19-meter Needle Tower (1968).

Fuller related the principle of ‘balance through tension’ closely to the word ‘sinergy’ – when two or more opposing forcesreach the point of balance between the inner tensions and compressions. He added philosophically that it is not about the opposing, but the complementary effects, that are always present at the same time. Such complementary effects are: pushing and pulling, tension and compression, attraction and repulsion…

For the whole of such system, the conceptually appropriate building elements are necessary – the primitives, that already provide the both properties: the tension and compression – or in fact any other complementary relationship.

From here on things become highly metaphoricand the principle can be translated to any other area. Very quickly one finds the algoritmic and heuristic principles of so-called ‘expert systems’. No far away are the links to human thought and cognitive systems, that are said to also be ‘strained’ – tensegrity systems.

In Cybernetics, for the systems described above, often say that have a built-in intelligence. I would rather use the description – that they provide a kind of “individual inertia”. In any case they have some in-built identity (even if only mechanic). In Mathematics the identity points are so-called singularities – “zeros” and “polls”. These appear for higher order non-linear functions.

That the principle is easily “transportable” (metaphoric) proves also the information, that the word ‘tensegrity’ was borrowed by writer Carlos Castaneda for his cult magic stories. For Castaneda tensegrity is the principle of every day art of living – of adjusting oneself to our inner energy and the energy of others – in a manner that adds to the whole of community (humanity) that we together form.

Because of all this possibilities of translations and the fact that it is all about translations I gave the project a subtitle of “Metaphor Incarnated”.

One comment was that it was a Moebius structure, which I declare as wrong (I already invented* Moebius (loop) ten years ago). It is an invention* of the Buckminster Fuller structure… however, it seems that Boris Stuchebryukov (a Moskow architect) did something similar in his artistic period (70s, 80s).

Borut Savski

* invention = reinvention, when a person walks a full path of “solidification” of a principle – the basic thinking, conceptualizing and materializing the object.

Prvo izvedbo prenapete strukture sem predstavil 21. oktobra 2008 v galeriji Kapelica. Na ogled so bili pravzaprav štirje mehanizmi: dva reflektorja, ki pogojno sodita pod isto zvrst “polipov”. Prvi je bil zgrajen lani novembra na rezidenci v SantralIstanbul v Istanbulu / Turčija, drugi v začetku letošnjega leta. Tretji je računalniški videografični sistem generiranja novih pomenov in ključnih besed na podlagi večih vhodnih besedil – generiranih s pomočjo programa Pure Data in Gem. Četrta – Prenapeta struktura pa je moj osrednji projekt leta 2008, ki ga je tudi sofinanciralo Ministrstvo za kulturo RS.

Predstavitev je potekala v obliki hkratnega delovanja strojev (struktur, skulptur, objektov, teles, mehanizmov…) in pripovedovanja o vseh za avtorja zanimivih s tem povezanih pogledih.

Prvi dve strukturi (objekta) sta bili narejeni z željo po razširitvi običajnega planskega fokusa (video) projekcije z dveh dimenzij na celoten prostor. Zato se imenujeta reflektorja – delujeta pa točno tako. Da pa ne bi bila le pasivna člena imata vgrajene lastne premične zmožnosti. Pri gibanju pri vseh objektih velja, da me ne zanima kontrola, ampak avtonomnost objektov, ki me zato lahko presenečajo in intrigirajo.

Prenos (metafora) v najširšem smislu je temelj človekove biti, pa naj to imenujemo motivacija, racionalizacija, imaginacija, kontemplacija, komunikacija, identifikacija, penetracija… Nasproti temu stojijo na primer: inhibicija, stagnacija, kastracija. Morda so slednje vse točke mirovanja – na nek način nemoči. Pri prenosu v najširšem smislu gre torej za aktivnost, dejavnost duha, dejavnost moči, ki pa se vendarle giblje od točke mirovanja do točke gibanja – do novega stanja (=mirovanja) in tako naprej.

Moja zgodba torej govori o metaforičnosti (o refleksiji, podobi, reprezentaciji) in otipu (o materialnosti, telesnosti; posredno pa o “stvari na sebi”, ki je vendarle prisotna šele preko svoje reprezentacije, refleksije). Torej poteka pot do identifikacije / poimenovanja / spoznanja šele preko podobe – in je v “stvari na sebi” še ni. Paradoks torej, ki materialiji (stvari sami na sebi) jemlje resničnost.

V ta namen je bil že pred samim projektom napisan esej o trdnosti materialov (tudi “takšnih, kot so sanje…”), ki na pripisuje materialnost vsemu resničnemu. Materialnost = struktura. Esej je objavljen na moji spletni strani Temeljna vprašanja in v katalogu, ki je rezultat dela na rezidenci v Istanbulu v Turčiji.

Zgodba o metaforičnosti zvoka je bila sicer napisana že pred leti, zgodba o metaforičnosti giba (=motiva) in torej tudi pomena, pa je od lanskega leta pogosto priložena mojim diskografskim izdajam dostopnih na Trivia Records | Zapisi. Besedilo pa je na voljo tudi na prej omenjeni spletni strani Temeljna vprašanja.

 

english continued…

 

First presentation of strained structure took place at Kapelica gallery on 21st of October 2008. There were actually four mechanisms on display: two reflectors, that somehow also belong to “octopuses”. The first was built in november 2007 at a residency in SantralIstanbul in Istanbul / Turkey, the second one during the 2008. The third mechanism is a computer videographic system of generating associations – new meanings – keywords on the basis of more input texts (generated by the use of Pure Data and Gem software). The fourth – Strained Structure was my main project in 2008, that was cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture of Republic of Slovenia.

The presentation took form of a parallel functioning of all machines (structures, sculptures, objects, bodies, mechanisms,…) and the storytelling of all the aspects relevant to the author.

The first two strucutres were made with the aim to enlarge the usual two-dimensional video projection space (the focus) to the whole of the (3D) space. That’s why reflectors. Not to remain the passive elements they have the in-built moving options. With the movement of objects I am not interested in control but rather with autonomy of objects’ dynamics – that can as such intrigue me also in the future.

The translation, transportation (the metaphor) in the broadest sense is the basis of human identity, and we can call it motivation, rationalization, imagination, contemplation, communication, identification, penetration… – life. Opposite to it stand: inhibition, stagnation, castration,… – death. But still, the latter belong to the important aspect of passivity – the points of stand-still – powerlessness. With translation in the broad sense we talk about activity – of spirit, of power, that nevertheless moves from standstill to movement.

My story is about the metaphoric properties (about reflection, imge, representation) and the tactile properties (the materiality); and indirectly also about the “thing by itslef”, that nevertheless appears only through it’s representation, reflection. So, the path to identification / nomination / cognition leads through it’s reflection – which does not exist in the “thing by itself”. A parradox that takes aways the reality of the materiality (the thing by itself).

Even before the strained structures project I wrote an essay about the hardness of materials (also about “the materials, the dreams are made of…”), that adds the materiality to all the real. Materiality = Structure. Essay is published on the webpage Basic Questions and in the catalog that appeared as result of SantralIstanbul residency in Turkey.

The story about the Metaphorics of Sound was written some years ago, and the story about the Metaphorics of Motion / Motivation (and Meaning), is sometimes added as a booklet with some of my discographic editions available at Trivia Records | Zapisi. The text is also available at Basic Questions website.

 

Situation at Parahouse_12 event in Studio Martina Schumacher & Joulia Strauss, Ullsteinhaus / Berlin, January, 26th 2009
http://web.me.com/marchegon/electropera/parahouse.html
(parahouse_12 is Act 1 of Electropera, the pilot art project of x-op http://www.x-op.eu)


photo: participants of Parahouse_12

Parahouse_12 was declared as participatory collective evolving environment – a modular structure of individual entities synchronized in time and space. One of such entiities was the above object – for that particular moment described as Octopussy (for some reason the principle of octopus appeared in three more Parahouse_12 modules…).