Site as a Verb

si te as a ve rb verb noun \ ’ v Ć?r b \ a w o rd ( s u c h a s j u m p , t h i n k , h a p p e n , or exist) that is usually one of the main p a r t s o f a s e n t e n c e a n d t h a t e x p re s s e s a n a c t i o n , a n o c c u r re n c e , o r a s t a t e o f being1

site as a verb. *nonspaces “...anti-spatial or non-spatial in terms of any kind of behavioural experience, for they are as holistic and as immediately perceived as the objects they house...designed for the frontal confrontation of objects.� Robert Morris 2

t h e s i s re s e a rc h b o o k | 2 0 1 6 | r m i t i n t e r i o r d e s i g n

ma d d y dav id son

a p ro c e s s o f a s s e m b l i n g s i t e by expanding and investigating objects and nonspaces*

01 02 06 08

20

38

48

77 81

preface foreword introduction

(001) objects value, memory, temporality, thingness | projects: ‘value in ornaments’, ‘desk object catalogue’, ‘useless vessel’, ‘seeing an object’

(002) arrangement narrative, language, deliberateness | projects: ‘catalogue of perceived ugly places’, ‘making object narrative’, ‘text space’

(003) frame aesthetic, abstraction, image | projects: ‘ugly object playground’, ‘broken/ unbroken’

(004) site relation, structure, expansion, assemblage | projects: “an object is a vessel: a site’, ‘perceived ugly places: a site’

conclusion appendix

contents

reference, information | bibliography, acknowledgement, terminology

T h i s b o o k i s a n o b j e c t a n d a n o n s p a c e . B e f o re it was filled with information, it was blank.

A book is a specific type of object, that is the structural placement of images and text o n p a p e r, a c u r a t o r i a l p ro c e s s i n a g r a p h i c s e n s i b i l i t y, w h i c h i s w h y I h a v e a l s o c o n s i d e re d i t a n o n s p a c e . L i ke a g a l l e r y o r a t h e a t re , i t w a s d e s i g n e d f o r m e , t h e a u t h o r, t o c o n s t r u c t , a n d y o u , t h e re a d e r, t o i n t e r a c t , t o o b s e r v e , t o l e a r n - t o c o n f ro n t t h e o b j e c t s c o n t a i n e d i n s i d e .

A b o o k i s u s u a l l y t h e p ro c e s s o f t a k i n g a l o t of historical information - things which have h a p p e n e d i n t h e p a s t - a n d c o m p re s s i n g i t i n t o a t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l f o r m a t , w i t h a s t r u c t u re , a narrative, a consistency and an assumed s u b j e c t re l a t i o n s h i p ( t h e a u t h o r a s s u m i n g t h e re a d e r a l re a d y k n o w s h o w t o u s e a b o o k ) . A b o o k i s u s u a l l y t h e l a s t t h i n g i n a p ro j e c t , y e t i t ’ s p e r f o r m a n c e i s a p re s e n t a c t i v i t y. T h i s analysis of objects and nonspaces is housed i n i n f o r m a t i o n i n t h i s b o o k f ro m a n u n d e r t a k i n g o f a t h e s i s . W h i l e y o u re a d t h i s b o o k , c o n s i d e r h o w y o u a re u s i n g i t - a re y o u h o l d i n g i t , i s i t d i s p l a y e d o n a c o m p u t e r, w h a t s u r ro u n d s i t , w h a t s u r ro u n d s y o u , w h o e l s e s u r ro u n d s i t , w h o e l s e s u r ro u n d s y o u ? p re f a c e

01

foreword A verb i s the word w hi ch d e s c ri b e s a n a cti o n . In l a ngu age we have a seri es of c on stra i n ts a n d c o n stru cts wh i ch a l l ow us to form sen ten c es an d c o m m u n i c ate w i th o n e a n oth e r.

To make a sen ten c e we as s e m b l e n o u n s , ve rbs , a dj e cti ve s , a r ticles , c onj u n cti on s etc . , to o l s w i th wh i ch we b i n d ve rb a l c o mmu n i c ati on .

Site as a Verb emerged from the curiosity of investigating objects in an expanded and analytical process of making place. Rather than seeking out site (location, place, area) as a basis from which to design, this research project looks at the use of a source (object, nonspace, narrative, situation) to draw out and conduct site. Coming from a fascination of object and subject relationships and the way in which objects and things are used and displayed in society, the investigation questions how site is built and how subjects approach space and objects.

A heavy engagement to making was explored throughout this process, using an abundance of different everyday objects, materials and model making techniques.

Deliberate processes of aesthetising arrangements and image making and an immediate use of language were important tools in conducting the work, allowing for complete expansion of ideas around communication.

Site as a Verb aims to expand the concept of site from the role of the designer and maker, the process of assembling and arranging and the approach and interaction of the participant, viewer and subject. By constructing and investing site as a tool, the designer has the ability to form indeterminacy and action in both the object and the subject. Just as the way language is formulated, we can shape site in much the same way.

0 2

how can i expand the notion of site as an assemblage from objects and nonspaces? how do we, as designers, arrange or assemble site to create indeterminacy in subject to object relationships?

03

0 4

05

introduction T here is a large deluge of objects out there and while there are many that are useful, there are some which require either an immediate and desirous at traction or a deep impending memor y projected through them . How do we value objects?

notes J o h n B e r g e r, “ 1,” i n W a y s of Seeing, by John Berger (London : Penguin Classics, 2008) , 09.

1

H u d e k , A n t o n y. “ I n t ro d u c t i o n // D e t o u r s o f O b j e c t s .” I n T h e o b j e c t ; documents of contemporar y ar t, edited by Antony H u d e k , 1 4 – 2 7. U n i t e d S t a t e s : M I T P re s s ( M A ) , 2014.

2

Immanuel Kant argued that objects ret ain their ‘ thingne s s’ w ithout a subject , that they exist beyond our reach and that we ‘no longer at tempt to c onform ’ to them . Yet , Edmund Huserl rejected this notion st ating that objects ‘c an onl y be perc ei ved through their phenomena’. If we were to c onsider the objects that surround us , are we defined by them or are they defined by us? 2 At first , I del ved into pret t y interesting territor y and researched uglines s , or in es senc e at traction and repulsion . I read texts discus sing things like the shakers vs baroque, the kitsch , and philosophic al rules on beaut y. Inherentl y, the subjectific ation of bad t aste. And so my earl y projects sor t ways to eradic ate uglines s ; to abstract ornaments and ever yday objects to a point where they lose function and bec ome interesting topic s of c onvers ation or tools w ith which to relate. T his idea of uglines s and object value was the dri v ing forc e for most of my explorator y projects .

Realising I was either replacing or transforming

0 6

“ We never look at just a thing ; w e a re a l w a y s l o o k i n g a t t h e re l a t i o n b e t w e e n t h i n g s a n d o u r s e l v e s .�

Joh n Be rge r 1

things in an ef for t to rethink how we value objects and mostl y thinking about them in relation to c ommodities or c onsumerism , it was clear that I was obses sing over objects and c onsidering les s about spac e.

Rather than seeking out a sited loc ation to direct an interior stud y, I wondered what it would be like to investigate the pos sibilit y of c onstructing site in an expanded notion of an object or a nonspac e, to explore ways in which subjects approach site and objects .

I’ ve c ome to an underst anding that w ithout a subject , objects are valueles s and as designers it is our role to create narrati ve around things in order to underst and why and how we have them . Yet , it is also the entire c ollection of things in one plac e that determine a relationship bet ween people and things . I have est ablished an interest in nonspac es through my bridging projects - galleries , museums and theatres , explicitl y use objects to underst and, c omment or ac c ount for the world around us and more specific all y human beings . T hey act as objects , in that they are t angible, specific plac es w ith a sense of c omprehensi venes s , yet indetermina cy - the behav ioural approach to them is c onsistent , yet the acti v it y and arranged situation c onst antl y changes .

07

001 002 003 004

va lue i n orn amen ts de sk obj ect c at alogu e us ele s s ves sel s e e ing an obj ect

“ T h e o b j e c t i v i t y o f t h e o b j e c t c a n n o t b e c o m p a re d t o a c o n s t a n t e n t i t y.

I t i s c h a r a c t e r i s e d b y a l l m a n n e r o f f r a c t u re s a n d w h a t i t p re s e n t s i s t h i s f r a g i l i t y, t h i s i n s t a b i l i t y a n d c o n t i n g e n c y. C l e a r l y t h e q u e s t i o n o f the object is tied to the subject, so long as the subject is defined as t h a t w h i c h c a n b e c o m e a n o b j e c t i n i t s o w n r i g h t , n a m e l y b e re f l e c t i n g u p i t s e l f a s a c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f o b j e c t s .”

MARCUS STEINWEG 1

notes M a rc u s S t e i n w e g , “ W h a t I s a n O b j e c t ?,” i n T h e o b j e c t : d o c u m e n t s of contemporar y ar t, ed. Antony H u d e k ( U n i t e d S t a t e s : M I T P re s s ( MA) , 2014) , 42.

1

Susan Stewar t, “Separation and R e s t o r a t i o n ,” i n R u i n s : D o c u m e n t s of Contemporar y Ar t, ed. Brian D i l l o n ( U n i t e d S t a t e s : M I T P re s s (MA) , 2012) . 37-40 2

Neil Leach, The Anaesthetics of Architecture (Cambridge, MA : MIT P re s s , 1 9 9 9 ) , 5 .

4

B i l l B ro w n , “ T h i n g T h e o r y,” Critical Inquir y 28, no.

1 - 2 2 ( J a n u a r y 2 0 0 1) , doi :10.1086/449030, 4.

5

Joseph Holtzman, Nest: A Quar terly of Interiors, (n.p., 1998) .

3

8

( 0 0 1) o b j e c t s

(001)

objects value memory temporality thingness ( 0 0 1) o b j e c t s

9

site as a verb

10

( 0 0 1) o b j e c t s

site as a verb

( 0 0 1) o b j e c t s

11

site as a verb

value in ornaments

Ornaments are these interesting sorts of objects; mass produced, under-whelming, not quite art but displayed as such and often ignored on shelves left to gather dust. They sit as reminders of past events, situations, places or people - they keep and hold onto memories.

Gazing upon an ornament, you are transported back to that moment in which it reminds you.

You are not reminiscing about the past, but you are reconstructing ‘a’ past through the present.2 Rarely do you look at an ornament and consider it beautiful nor do you look at the object in itself. Ornaments are mediators of meaning.

Take the ‘ornamental decorative vase’. Joseph Holtzman in issue 20 of Nest Magazine says that no ‘home should be without one’.3 It is not the memory keeper ability of the empty vase that gives it meaning, but the iconic nature of it, the emptiness of it, void of its use stands no longer as a vase but as an ornament. Grayson Perry uses the prototypical awe of the vase in his artwork, the actuality of narrative is painted onto the vessel rather than it just being a signifier. He changes the ornamental nature of the decorative vase, displaying his work in galleries rather than the mantel.

is to give valuable meaning to its owner, what happens to the object when that ownership is void or memory dissolves? I traversed several second hand shops, spending most of my time at Savers on Sydney Road and I discovered that most of the objects there, even those with a particular use were discarded ornaments.

How does one gain the intentional commodity of an ornament in a shop whose purpose is to sell unwanted items?

Value in Ornaments was a project that involved collecting a selection of kitsch ornaments and trying to re-purpose them for a different function. By abstractly piecing the ornaments together, the process removed the singularity of the objects and blurred them to a level of curiosity - where the objects are less of an advocacy and more of an interest in themselves.

Manipulating them further in an image-based context, they became completely abstracted from their origin. I questioned whether the collective became uglier than the ornaments on their own. Fundamentally, the now singular object, made up of an assembly of objects, was still an ornament, but its functionality had changed.

So if the ornaments sole function as an object

12

( 0 0 1) o b j e c t s

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( 0 0 1) o b j e c t s

13

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14

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“ T he functio n o f the tou r i s the estrange m e n t o f o bj ects - to m a ke what i s v i si b le, what i s s u r fa c e, reve al a p ro fo un d i n teri ori t y through n a rrati ve.�

Susan Stewart2

( 0 0 1) o b j e c t s

15

site as a verb

desk object catalogue

Following Value in Ornaments, I began to see function, not as an object’s innate or designed use, but in how it relates to a person. In Desk Object Catalogue, I categorised every item on my desk to analyse why I purchased it and it’s role in my everyday life: how did I personally value the objects I own, how did I see them?

On my relatively tight desk measuring 40cm x 170cm, I had accumulated just under 50 objects! The critical analysis of each object, ‘what was it made from’, ‘why did I buy it’, ‘do I still have the same attachments to it?’, made me realise how the things I own felt removed and obscure.

“This culture of reification objectifies the whole act of viewing, such that any appreciation of depth, perspective, or relief is reduced, p r o m o t i n g i n s t e a d a g a ze w h i c h sweeps over objects without seeing in them anything other than their o b j e c t i v e n e s s .”

Neil Leach4

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CATALOGUE OF OBJECTS ON DESK

ITEM

NAME

USE

MATERIALS

001

MUG

A VESSEL FOR LIQUID

002 003

CUTTING MAT COMPUTER

004 005 006 007

KEYBOARD MONITOR CONCRETE BLOCK MOUSE

A PROTECTIVE SURFACE A TOOL FOR COMMUNICATION, ENTERTAINMENT + WORK METHOD TO TYPE LARGER SURFACE AREA ELEVATE MONITOR

PAINTED + GLAZED CERAMIC IN GREY AND MADE BY LE CREUSET, GREY SALMON BLACK PLASTIC, WHITE PAINTED GRID BLACK ALUMINUM, BLACK PLASTIC, GLASS, HARDWARE MADE BY APPLE

008

PENCIL CASE

TO HOLD STATIONERY

009

CARDBOARD BOX 2016 DIARY

STORAGE CONTAINER

POST-IT NOTES BASKET BASKET PHONE

PAPER NOTES

012 013 014 015

NAIL POLISH

016

PENCIL SHARPENER PEN PEN PEN PEN PEN PEN PEN PEN PEN PEN MARKER STYLUS

010 011

017 018 019 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 027 028 029 030 031 032 033 034 035 036

RULER ARCHITECTURAL PEOPLE RULER SCALE RULER SCISSORS SCISSORS

TO CONTROL COMPUTER

MADE BY APPLE DUEL MONITOR, INEXPENSIVE CONCRETE AESTHETIC

PINK + WHITE PLASTIC, PINK RUBBER, SMALL PINK + INEXPENSIVE GLOBE, BATTERY BLACK COTTON + PLASTIC ZIPPER, BLACK MESH MESH, ‘MINIMALIST’, BLACK FABRIC, BLACK COTTON STITCHING, BLACK COTTON TAG, BLACK METAL ZIP CARDBOARD, WHITE PAPER TO COVER WHITE, CARDBOARD, SIZE PAPER, PLASTIC COVER, GREEN + GREY RIBBONS, CARDBOARD, BLACK COTTON FABRIC WOOD PRINTED ON PAPER, GLUE

BLACK, NEAT, LAYOUT

WIRE ENAMEL PAINTED BLACK PAPER, COTTON STITCH, PRINTED WRITING WHITE PLASTIC, ALUMINUM, GLASS, HARDWARE

TREND ITEM ‘SUSTAINABLE’ ITEM MADE BY APPLE

GLASS, PLASTIC, PAPER + GLUE STICKER, CLEAR + BURGUNDY LACQUER RAZOR, ALUMINUM, METAL

DECORATIVE, BRAND

DRAWING + WRITING TOOL DRAWING + WRITING TOOL DRAWING + WRITING TOOL DRAWING + WRITING TOOL DRAWING + WRITING TOOL DRAWING + WRITING TOOL DRAWING + WRITING TOOL DRAWING + WRITING TOOL DRAWING + WRITING TOOL DRAWING + WRITING TOOL DRAWING + WRITING TOOL DRAWING + WRITING TOOL FOR TOUCH SCREEN COMPUTERS/ TABLETS/PHONES MEASURING MODEL MAKING TOOL

ALUMINUM, INK, METAL, PLASTIC BURGUNDY PLASTIC, METAL, INK BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, INK BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, INK BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, INK BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, INK BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, INK BEIGE + BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, INK BLACK PLASTIC, INK GREY PLASTIC, METAL, INK SILVER PLASTIC, INK BLACK RUBBER, METAL, WHITE PAINTED ALUMINUM

COPIC BRAND EXPENSIVE INEXPENSIVE, UNIPIN BRAND INEXPENSIVE, UNIPIN BRAND INEXPENSIVE, UNIPIN BRAND INEXPENSIVE, UNIPIN BRAND INEXPENSIVE, UNIPIN BRAND EXPENSIVE, MICRON BRAND FABER-CASTELL BRAND STAEDTLER BRAND SILVER INK, SHARPIE BRAND SIMPLE, WHITE

METAL WHITE PLASTIC, PLASTIC BAG

SMALL, METAL 1.100 SCALE, WHITE

MEASURING MEASURING CUTTING TOOL SUPPORT PAPER ON PIN BOARDS CUTTING TOOL

METAL WHITE PLASTIC METAL, BLACK PLASTIC METAL, WHITE PLASTIC, PURPLE STICKER WITH BUTTERFLY DECORATION METAL, WHITE PLASTIC, CLEAR BLACK TUB YELLOW + BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, BLADES

ORGANISE TIME

STORAGE STORAGE COMMUNICATION, ENTERTAINMENT PAINT FINGERNAILS SHARPEN PENCILS

WOODEN EFFECT

SILVER

METAL

037

PUSH PINS STANLEY KNIFE PENCIL

038

PENCIL

CUTTING TOOL

039

042

STANLEY KNIFE SCAPEL WATER BOTTLE HIGHLIGHTER

043 044 045 046 047 048 049

PEN PEN PEN MARKER PEN PEN PEN

DRAWING DRAWING DRAWING DRAWING DRAWING DRAWING DRAWING

040 041

ALUMINUM, WHITE PLASTIC, CORD, HARDWARE BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, HARDWARE, GLASS CONCRETE [CEMENT + WATER]

FUNCTION

DRAWING + WRITING TOOL

STAEDLER BRAND STRENGTH LOST FUNCTION, KEPT FOR USE WHITE, CIRCULAR HEAD OLAF BRAND STAEDLER BRAND

CUTTING TOOL

RED + BLACK PAINTED WOOD, GRAPHITE, CLAY BINDER RED + BLACK PAINTED WOOD, GRAPHITE, CLAY BINDER GREY + BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, BLADE

CUTTING TOOL VESSEL FOR LIQUID

ALUMINUM, BLADE, PLASTIC PLASTIC, ORANGE PLASTIC

WRITING TOOL

PINK, BLUE + WHITE PLASTIC, FLUORESCENT PINK WAX CRAYON BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, BLACK INK BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, BLACK INK BLUE PLASTIC, METAL, BLUE INK WHITE + BLACK PLASTIC, METAL, BLACK INK BLUE PLASTIC, METAL, BLUE INK GREEN PLASTIC, METAL, GREEN INK BLACK + BEIGE PLASTIC, BLACK INK, METAL

X-ACTO BRAND FLAVOURED WATER, CONVEINIENCE PINK, CRAYON

DRAWING + WRITING TOOL

+ + + + + + +

WRITING WRITING WRITING WRITING WRITING WRITING WRITING

TOOL TOOL TOOL TOOL TOOL TOOL TOOL

( 0 0 1) o b j e c t s

STAEDLER BRAND GREY, SMALL

ARTLINE ARTLINE ARTLINE ARTLINE ARTLINE ARTLINE GRIP

BRAND, BRAND, BRAND, BRAND BRAND, BRAND,

FELT TIP FELT TIP FELT TIP FELT TIP FELT TIP

17

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https://vimeo.com/171939133

18

( 0 0 1) o b j e c t s

site as a verb

seeing an object

This was a small test project that was an observation on the way we perceive paper as an advocate for communication - it’s this object that we observe and use but never really look at clearly. In the same sense as a shop window, we look through it to the objects beyond or we look at ourselves in reflection, but never at the window itself.5 Two pieces of paper house the same image, one is clear, the other crumpled - making obvious the paper it sits upon. However, there is a slight bit of indeterminacy in the clear image, the backdrop is crinkled.

useless vessel What happens when you s o l i d i f y a v e s s e l a n d t a ke a w a y i t ’ s p u r p o s e?

The making of this object was research into whether the value of an object consists in its use or its function. What resulted was an exploration into vessels which you will find further on in this book.

( 0 0 1) o b j e c t s

19

0 0 5 tex t spac e 0 0 6 m a king obj ect n arrati ve 0 0 7 c at a logu e of perc ei ved ugl y p l a c e s

“ I f o b j e c t i t s e l f l a c ke d s u b j e c t a s a m o m e n t , t h e n i t s o b j e c t i v i t y w o u l d b e c o m e n o n s e n s e .”

T H E O D O R W. A D O R N O 1

notes T h e o d o r W. A d o r n o , “ O n S u b j e c t a n d O b j e c t ,” i n T h e o b j e c t : Documents of contemporar y ar t, ed. Antony Hudek (United States : M I T P re s s ( M A ) , 2 0 1 4 ) , 3 0 .

1

L e o n a rd Ko re n a n d N a t h a l i e d u P a s q u i e r, A r r a n g i n g T h i n g s : A Rhetoric of Object Placement (United States : Stone Bridge P re s s , 2 0 0 3 ) , 3 7.

2

Rhetoric of Object Placement (United States : Stone Bridge P re s s , 2 0 0 3 ) , 5 0 .

S t e p h e n B a y l e y, U g l y : T h e Aesthetics of Ever ything (London : Goodman Fiell, 2012) , 194.

4

L e o n a rd Ko re n a n d N a t h a l i e d u P a s q u i e r, A r r a n g i n g T h i n g s : A 3

20

(002) arrangement

(002)

arrangement narrative language deliberateness (002) arrangement

21

site as a verb

22

(002) arrangement

site as a verb

O n F l i n d e r s S t t h e re ’ s a s u b w a y. To g e t t h e re you must walk down a flight of stairs. It’s easy t o m i s s , t h e g re e n m e t a l V i c t o r i a n s t y l e s i g n s b l e n d i n w i t h t h e b u s y M e l b o u r n e s t re e t s .

When you look down the stairs, blush pink tiles line the entrance. Their subtlet y bouncing l i g h t f ro m c o r n e r t o c o r n e r a n d o f f t h e t a n wooden railing. The door way is coated in a d a r k s h a d e o f j a d e g re e n . R e m n a n t s o f w h i t e a n d y e l l o w p a i n t f ro m s t re e t a r t a b s t r a c t l y frame the right hand side. Reflections of these a b s t r a c t s h a p e s g l i n t o f f t h e p i n k t i l e s c re a t i n g a s l i g h t m i r ro r i n g . N o t m u c h o f t h e s u b w a y c a n b e s e e n f ro m t h e s t e p s . T h e f l o o r e d g i n g carries on the blush pink and compliments t h e g re y c o n c re t e . F o r a s u b w a y, h o w e v e r, i t appears bright, as if the exit is not ver y far a w a y.

(002) arrangement

23

site as a verb

24

(002) arrangement

site as a verb

W H AT

DID YOU IMAGINE?

(002) arrangement

25

site as a verb

text space This was a project in which the visualisation of objects and/or spaces was removed and descriptive, narratorial text was inserted in its place. I was questioning and researching how language plays a role in our understanding of objects. “A n a l m o s t i n f i n i t e n u m b e r o f words can be used to describe a par ticular arrangement of objects, and still the essential being ness of the arrangement will go u n c o m m u n i c a t e d .�

L e o n a rd Ko re n 2

Visual and verbal communication are not synonymous: for example, it would be difficult, and perhaps unnecessary to visually illustrate the excess that language narrates and visa versa. Yet, throughout this research process, language became such an important tool.

In the first iteration of Text Space (see previous pages), I took an image of a subjectively ugly space and wrote about it in a way that creates an air of uncertainty. In the second iteration, I designed a retail space that sold items purely by textual language, would an item be purchased without having been seen?

26

(002) arrangement

site as a verb

comes in sizes This mattress from single-king.

This is an orange. I am round, orange, textured, and edible.

This is a sponge. I am soft, I am used to clean up mess.

This is a paper cup. I am a temporary vessel, I am single-use.

This is a bag made from paper. I am durable, steady and come in tan and black.

rated at Comfort has been You may feel a 9 out of 10. a sense of weightlessness, you were as if relaxation and a cloud. The dreaming on firm. It yet mattress is soft, body and moulds to your into shape after springs back should never every sleep. You se another have to purcha mattress again.

This is a bag made from cavas. The print has a geometric shape. The bag is white, the shape is black.

e, please like to purchas If you would staff. see our friendly

Typic

TEXT S PAC E _

al us e of a follow trolley is as s: storag portin e g go ods from pin plasti e wood, c wh metal eels. , 3 tie rs.

trans made

If you would like see our to pur friendl chase, ple y sta ase ff.

(002) arrangement

27

site as a verb

28

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making object narrative In an attempt to add site (location) into my work, I conducted a process of casting clay objects within Literature Lane - currently a relatively forgotten and abandoned laneway in the Melbourne CBD. I cast small handheld objects in the corners and nooks of the laneway and the objects within it, creating then, a diagram to illustrate and abstract the placement of the objects. Using the technique of categorising, each cast object has a number written on the back correlating to the diagram, these castings were then specifically arranged in a way that displaced them in their original positive locations. Essentially, this project had no external value, yet a deliberate sense of arrangement came through in the work.

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“B ut sinc e m ea n ing is o n l y i n yo u r mi nd and n ot in h e re n t i n t h e o bj e c t s o r ar rang e m e n t s t h e m se l ve s , w h at e l se c an you d o b u t t a ke i m ag i n at i ve , c reat i ve l ea p s in to t h e u n k n ow n? �

Leonard Koren 3

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003 007 008

006

002

005 001

004

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001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008

WHEEL OF BIN SEWAGE PL ATE DISCARDED PALLET POLYST YRENE GUT TER [MOSS] METAL KEG HANDLE OF GATE WALL JUNCTION

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a catalogue of perceived ugly places My understanding of ugly is different to your understanding of ugly.

For me, ugliness is dirt, grime, grit, hoarding, discomfort, clashing, excess, rudeness, intolerance, ungratefulness, discrimination and subjective personal aesthetic displeasure.

Yet nothing is really ugly.

“Ugliness is rarely accidental. Fundamental to the idea of the ugly are notions of deliberation, intention and purpose… to consider something u g l y, y o u m u s t b e a w a r e o f t h e a l t e r n a t i v e s .”

Stephen Bayley4

Ugliness is a societal and positional misunderstanding and/or miseducation and/or ability to feel attraction and repulsion.

Devaluing space, place, things, objects, situations, is a case of reification; a gaze, an act of looking through things, ‘seeing without seeing.’3 In valuing space, place, things, objects, situations, regain an understanding of thingness; we see potentiality, we see a thing, we are able to consider and think about that thing rather than immediately disregarding an/or discarding.

Perceived Ugly Places [spaces, objects, things, situations] is a catalogue of images that from my societal and positional assumption, are considered ugly.

This book is an object. From this object the things that are considered ugly come to some value. Instead of gazed over, they are seen.

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The act of constructing this book came about as a way to collate all these images I had taken in a short study on whether ugliness was pertinent in the value of objects. Inherently, what emerged was a curatorial process and a systematic layering of image and text - relationships started to form in the labelling and the descriptive language used. What is also interesting is how we handle an object such as a book, the difference is quite strong between a confrontation with the body and one without.

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0 0 8 ugl y obj ect playgrou n d 0 0 9 bro ken /u n b roken

“. . . i n a n y d e p i c t i o n o f t h e re a l w o r l d , a r r a n g e m e n t s a re re m o v e d f ro m the context of a specific place and transpor ted to ‘ vir tual pictorial s p a c e .’ ” LEONARD KOREN 1

notes L e o n a rd Ko re n a n d N a t h a l i e d u P a s q u i e r, A r r a n g i n g T h i n g s : A Rhetoric of Object Placement (United States : Stone Bridge P re s s , 2 0 0 3 ) , 8 - 9 , 5 0 .

1

S t e p h e n B a y l e y, U g l y : T h e Aesthetics of Ever ything (London : Goodman Fiell, 2012) , 138.

2

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(003) frame

(003)

frame aesthetic abstraction image (003) frame

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ugly object playground

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As with most early work, there was particular interest in the pursuit of ugliness as a form of research. Ugly Object Playground was a response to a list of errors in ugliness by philosopher Gustav Pazaurek. He divides this list up into five categories; Material Mistakes, Design Mistakes, Decorative Mistakes, Kitsch Mistakes, Contemporary Mistakes. The list is rather long, so I drew from it several ideas and made them into items and arrangements; Objects made from human or animal parts including bone, skin, fingernails, rhino horns, ostrich eggs, antlers, teeth, vertebrae, feathers, fish scales, lizards, lobster claws, butterflies and beetles, egg membrane, nits, spaces, ferns, fungus, coloured sand, ice, bread; One material crafted to aid the character of another; surrogate materials pretending to be more valuable ones, or vice

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versa; anything made either too heavy or too light; anything with sharp edges, a vessel that does not pour, a handle uncomfortable to hold; frivolous inventions; obtrusive or odd proportions; surface invasions: marbling wood or paper, gilding porcelain or glass; any decoration created by accident; ink blots, poured glaze, melted wax, pictures drawn in a trance; originality; anything made for children.2 The outcome, however, was an enjoyable experiment that was an act in arranging, yet also one in framing. Several moments were captured in quick continuous time, which ultimately created a designed and considered outcome. The conduct of framing, arranging and aestheticing within imagery is the action of creating a visual interior.

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broken/ unbroken This project was looking at perceived feeling within the viewer at the action of destroying an object and then reversing the film as if it is being rebuilt. The film is meant to be watched on loop as if this endlessness of destruction and construction becomes so mind-numbing that it no longer affects the watcher. It was a test into why we so readily discard objects with little concern for the objects objectiveness.

In the construction and framing of a film, the designer is perpetuating the content, specific choices are made to deliberately direct the viewer. The technique of image framing was a strong tool I was gathering in my work.

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https://vimeo.com/171947860

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0 1 0 a n o bj ect , a ves sel : a si te 0 1 1 p e rc ei ved ugl y plac es : a si te

“. . . c a n w e l e a r n t o l i s t e n t o t h e m u s i c t h a t l i e s i n t h e m y s t e r i o u s s p a c e b e t w e e n o u r s e l v e s a n d t h e o b j e c t s w e u s e? " BARRY M KATZ 1

notes B r a n ko L u k i ć a n d B a r r y M . K a t z , Nonobject (United States : MIT P re s s , 2 0 1 0 ) , x x i i .

1

J o h n B e r g e r, “ 1,” i n W a y s o f Seeing, by John Berger ( London : P e n g u i n C l a s s i c s , 2 0 0 8 ) , 0 7.

2

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(004)

site relation structure expansion assemblage (004) objects

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an object, a vessel: a site Working now with the constraints of a site, I wanted to pursue a making of site and questioned whether one could be constructed from unpacking a singular object. I chose a vessel with which to work from as I had used vessels in previous exploratory works - both in Useless Vessel and Ugly Object Playground which were tests in the value of an object if its use had been removed. I bought a second-hand cup from Savers and unpacked and analysed its value.

It followed both a product narrative and an ideology of a vessel, explorations in holding, resisting and containing were carried out in object making studies. Other readymade vessels were destroyed, some put back together, some that were made, began to decay with the movement of time. Ideas around scale, human capacity vessels like a chair were investigated as well as junctions with the body.

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C re a t i n g s i m u l t a n e o u s l y o n e o b j e c t , one site and a collection of things.

Vessels seem to dominate throughout my work. They are interesting everyday objects as they are both useful and functional. Often we purchase vessels as souvenirs from vacations, we gift them as well as display them. Almost all objects are vessels, they are the most consistent and continuously used object throughout society, history and personal activity.

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Assembling and arranging all of these objects onto the limitations of a small table, meant that the assemblage of objects read as an exhibition.

surrounds

original object

assemblage contraints

frame, subject, fourth wall

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"Seeing comes before words...

But, there is also another sense in which seeing comes before words. It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it."

J o h n B e rg e r 2

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The connections and links with objects, images, drawings and text that were happening within the exhibition was something I had similarly conducted in a graphic sense within the project A Catalogue of Perceived Ugly Places. So for the second iteration of a project in a similar manner, was the spatialisation of the book.

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perceived ugly places: a site (004) objects

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Both Sarah Sze and Bianca Hester work with arrangement and the everyday object within a gallery space. Site specific installations that utilise everyday objects. These are artefacts and remnants of human behaviour, relocating them to the gallery space and removing their functions. The scale shifts from objects of nothingness, to objects with a thingness value. Sze uses the gallery as a drawing space the empty space as in the blank page. Hester, on the other hand, creates displays of performance.

She then takes images from installations and makes collages to indicate that everything is still continuing in motion. However, the surrounds of these exhibitions are not confined to the nonspace; the surrounds, the subjects and the relationships all encompass site.

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An important thing to observe is that the arrangement and making of objects is deliberate, so the disassembly or a random arrangement of objects does not conduct the same types of relationships that the complete structural exhibitions denote.

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Certain situations which came out of the act of taking the photographs, in and around the Melbourne CBD, constructed interesting situations which were not explored within the book. This is an object construction, assembly and spatialisation of a situation in which passers-by became fascinated and confused by the images I was taking.

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B o t h t h e s e p ro j e c t s c a n b e s e e n a s 1: 1 o r a s p ro t o t y p e s f o r l a r g e s c a l e m a n i f e s t a t i o n s .

W h a t ’ s re a l l y i m p o r t a n t w i t h i n t h e s e w o r k s , is the way in which all the technologies work cohesively and the unclear position I am taking as the designer - the narrative is nond i d a c t i c . A s m u c h a s t h e s e p ro j e c t s h a v e been about the act of making and arranging, t h e y h a v e e s s e n t i a l l y f o rc e d m e t o b u i l d a s e t o f s m a l l s t r u c t u re s , t h i n k i n g a b o u t m a t e r i a l , q u a l i t y, f r a m i n g , a e s t h e t i c a n d a l s o t h e fabrication and planning of construction.

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76 conclusion

To c re a t e a n i m p l i c i t , y e t i n d e t e r m i n a t e re l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n o b j e c t s a n d s u b j e c t s a s i t e m u s t b e e s t a b l i s h e d t h ro u g h a n a r r a n g e m e n t of objects, both familiar and abstracted. The connections of image, text, object, frame and s t r u c t u re a re d e l i b e r a t e a n d p u r p o s e f u l . A s t h e ro l e o f t h e d e s i g n e r, t h e s e c o n n e c t i o n s n e e d t o b e s e t u p s o t h a t t h e a p p ro a c h t o s i t e i s u n c l e a r. T h e i n v i t a t i o n f o r t h e s u b j e c t t o i n t e r a c t w i t h t h e a r r a n g e m e n t i s i n f e r re d , y e t n a r r a t i v e is undetermined however autobiographical for t h e d e s i g n e r, a s a l l a r r a n g e m e n t s a re a w a y i n which we understand the world.1 What also must b e c o n s i d e re d i s t h e s u r ro u n d s o f s i t e , h o w d o they come into play ? This is the trajector y of the re s e a rc h , a c o n t i n u a t i o n i n t o t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f S i t e a s a Ve r b .

L e o n a rd Ko re n a n d N a t h a l i e d u P a s q u i e r, A r r a n g i n g Things : A Rhetoric of Object Placement (United States : S t o n e B r i d g e P re s s , 2 0 0 3 ) , 5 0 .

1

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a re l a t i o n t o body

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appendix

acknowledgements

I’d like to acknowledge

the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation as the traditional owners of the ground we stand on.

I ’d l i ke t o t h a n k

Anthony Fryatt and Olivia Pintos-Lopez for your abundance of knowledge and guidance.

Timothy Dalton and Isabel Holloway for keeping me sane with your willing and generous support.

Rae Fairbairn, Tim Percy, James Carey, Phoebe Whitman, Roger Kemp, Megan Morgan, Mum - you’re all amazing.

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terminology r e i f i c a t i o n b r i d g i n g t h e a b s t r a c t a n d t h e re a l .

To m a ke s o m e t h i n g c o n c re t e , g i v e a n o b j e c t m o re s p a t i a l v a l u e . object something tangible, yet unspecific. f u n c t i o n a re l a t i o n s h i p t o a s u b j e c t . nonspace spaces which per form as o b j e c t s , t h e g a l l e r y, t h e m u s e u m , t h e t h e a t re , t h e b o o k , a s o u rc e . v a l u e i m p o r t a n c e , m e m o r y, n a r r a t i v e . things encompassing all and nothing, specific unspecificities, nameable unnameables. s i t e a n a s s e m b l a g e o f o b j e c t s i n re l a t i o n t o subjects.

82

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B e r g e r, J o h n . “ 1.” I n Wa y s o f S e e i n g , b y J o h n B e r g e r, 7 – 3 4 . L o n d o n : P e n g u i n C l a s s i c s , 2 0 0 8 .

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C a a n , S h a s h i . “ C o n s e n s u s o r C o n f u s i o n .” I n T h i n k i n g I n s i d e t h e B o x : A R e a d e r i n I n t e r i o r

D e s i g n f o r t h e 2 1 s t C e n t u r y, b y t h e I n t e r i o r s F o r u m S c o t l a n d , e d i t e d b y E d w a rd

H o l l i s , A n d re w M i l l i g a n , A l e x M i l t o n , D re w P l u n ke t t , J o h n G i g l i , a n d Fr a z e r H a y, 4 9 – 5 5 .

L o n d o n : M i d d l e s e x U n i v e r s i t y P re s s , 2 0 0 7.

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G a l l e r y, 2 0 0 9 .

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t h e f r a m i n g o f t h e e a r t h , b y E l i z a b e t h G ro s z , 1 – 2 4 . N e w Yo r k : C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y

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o f C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t , e d i t e d b y S t e p h e n J o h n s t o n e , 1 2 – 2 3 . C a m b r i d g e , M A :

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M o r r i s , R o b e r t . “ T h e P re s e n t Te n s e o f S p a c e .” I n S i t u a t i o n : D o c u m e n t s o f C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t ,

e d i t e d b y C l a i re D o h e r t y, 2 7 – 2 8 . C a m b r i d g e , M A : W h i t e c h a p e l G a l l e r y, 2 0 0 9 .

O b r i s t , H a n s U l r i c h . Wa y s o f C u r a t i n g . U n i t e d S t a t e s : F a b e r & F a b e r, 2 0 1 4 .

P e re c , G e o r g e s . S p e c i e s o f S p a c e s a n d O t h e r P i e c e s . E d i t e d b y J o h n S t u r ro c k . L o n d o n ,

E n g l a n d : P e n g u i n C l a s s i c s , 1 9 9 7.

P o p , A n d re i a n d M e c h t i l d W i d r i c h . “ I n t ro d u c t i o n : R e t h i n k i n g U g l i n e s s .” I n U g l i n e s s : A r t i s t s a n d

t h e R e p re s e n t a t i o n o f t h e N o t - B e a u t i f u l , e d i t e d b y A n d re i P o p a n d M e c h t i l d W i d r i c h ,

1 – 1 4 . L o n d o n : I . B . Ta u r i s , 2 0 1 3 .

S t e w a r t , S u s a n . “ S e p a r a t i o n a n d R e s t o r a t i o n .” I n R u i n s : D o c u m e n t s o f C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t , e d i t e d

b y B r i a n D i l l o n , 3 6 – 4 1. U n i t e d S t a t e s : M I T P re s s ( M A ) , 2 0 1 2 .

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M e r r i a m - W e b s t e r . 2 0 1 5 . s . v “ D e f i n i t i o n o f V E R B .” A c c e s s e d J u n e 1 5 , 2 0 1 6 . h t t p : // w w w. m e r r i a m - w e b s t e r. c o m / d i c t i o n a r y / v e r b .

1

M o r r i s , R o b e r t . “ T h e P re s e n t Te n s e o f S p a c e .” I n S i t u a t i o n : D o c u m e n t s o f C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t , e d i t e d b y C l a i re D o h e r t y, 2 7 – 2 8 .

C a m b r i d g e , M A : W h i t e c h a p e l G a l l e r y, 2 0 0 9 .

2

[ o b j e c t , s i t e , s u b j e c t , re l a t i o n , s u r ro u n d ]