Systems of Problem Solving: A Study of Problems

Systems of Problem Solving:

A Study of Problems

By: Robin Koch

As you transform from one state

to another.

I will document your existence.

We breath in intervals so that we can both see what we’ve done. But you won’t stand up for the chaos you’ve caused, so I will stand for the both of us.

We multiply in stagnation.

Problem: How to

add scultpural elements to extend the idea of multiple states of mind, one that will occupy the space of the viewer.

Ideas of methods and materials of display.

Survey I: an extended study involving voluntary Participants: 4 females, 1 male, average age of 28, BFA students

Problem: Was approaching

the use of sculptural elements that connected conceptually but never physically to the painting(s). Something that would act as an altered state or three dimensional shadow. Something that references the human body or aspects of the psyche, based on the idea of Multiple Personality Disorder, altered mental states, and/or disassociation.

Notes from live action critical evaluation: Question wasn’t clear, needed clearification

participants

Suggestions on how to go about connecting these elements without one element dominating the other or a disconnection.

Specifically, but not limited to, formal qualities, materiality, space/distance:

Subject 1: Response

May want to incorperate figures (not necessarily figurative) in reference to the body Leah in Painting (her studio is in 379) Skin, hair, skin tones.

Tia Halliday latex Other observations/ potential problems:

Mor chaotic - may add to theme, may make mor overwhelming?

No plynth plz Subject 2: Response

Poured latex paint which hardens but is pliable – skinlike What about looking at the image through “fly eyes” Through kids toys that fragment things Silhouette of figures or body parts Wants to move paintings into 3D – wants seperation Ref. Multiple Personal Disorder Surgical tubing

* Photo documentation of Subject 2’s drawn thoughts as notations

Subject 3: Response

Suspended Viewer Sculptures – don’t do plinthes Paintings Skin coloured nylon Latex skin casts? Face cast?

Medical supply store Francis Bacon (Artist) * Photo documentation of Subject 3’s drawn thoughts as notations

Subject 4: Response

Continue colour Continue material Forms that are recognizable but abstracted bodily forms Go to medical supply

Subject 5: Response

Clear nail polish Nylons/leggings - different skin colours Layers of latex

Subject 6: Response

Make sure there is a direct visual relationship betweenthe paintings and physical objects. This can be done by forcing a line of sight from object to painting, by using a similar colour pallet, or using the same cloth as the paintings as a tablecloth, etc.

Other observations/ potential problems:

Having a distinct object too far from a painting, it will lose association

Material Exploration: Balloons (latex)

“For Jung, the psyche was a many-splendored thing: fluid, multi-dimensional, alive, and capable of creative development. He understood synthetic representations as projections of humankind’s inner psychological processes, fantasies about the biological and physical world, and symbolism of movement of consciousness.” (Young-Eisendrath, 57) Within the context of this statement, I will record a video of a shallow bucket, half full of water, carrying a selection of skin-toned balloons. The texture of the balloons, their positions within the water, the shapes and folds that the balloons create, and the neutral colour tones that the frame holds will reference the human body. Their movements imitating soft breathes as they move within the water, as if they were alive. A synthetic representation of the area of my psyche I use to recycle the gestures, postures, and unsettling movements that I retain, filter, and store. The figures I draw are born from this swamp.

Physical Description: Video projection onto classroom wall The video image will be a birds-eye view of the contents within the bucket, capturing their movements through time Neutral colour palette Title: Swamp Length: 52:09:39

The Evolutionary Course of Latex in Water

Morphing into structural beings that hold contents from a source outside of themselves.

“We cannot help but note this attention to the minimal relation between two phases of a movement, two stases as the inscription of time ensuing from a discontinuity, for which we can suppose that it grew out of these same experiences and undivided temporal unfolding� (51)

Exploration Problem: unnecessary physical contact between elements, though an interesting relationship, will not be used together as a method of display

In Object

n t

Relations Feedback from critical evaluation:

Carried weight, held the essence of gravity Resembled organic life Embryotic Development Net as material was effective, rips add to the idea of endured time Decay within birth

Material:

balloon/latex, burlap, netting, metal, wire

Display: suspended Relationship: compatable Problem: temporary within

the degration of material (latex) used

Conclusion: references the figure, from shoulder to head, but not enough to use

The form of the formed subject informs the subject.

Problem: Human is morphing into a mix of plastics and sand.

Problems in process

Trying to objectify one’s se intentions, and prevent pot within this concentrated ex present.

Problems with writin

using the viewer as the sub is me.

sing ideas and themes. elf to justify their tential self-destruction xchange of past and

ng in third person or bject, when the subject

“Now you will notice,” the Lions Club host said, “that you can barely see this individual... because he is wearing what is called a scramble suit...

“Let’s hear it for the vague blur!” the host said loudly....”

Scramble suits work slightly differently in the novel: they cycle through images so quickly that people looking at them don’t really see anything but a vague, unmemorable blur.

Examining the act of Protraction

The camera becomes the portrait, providing an intimate view of the subtle movements that my body makes within an hour of focused attention. This idea that the portraits I draw, paint, or record are essentially a personal perspective of the subject I am focusing on. That the time I spend with them blurs the line between which movements are mine and which are theirs. In this video, the doll stands still as I try to hold the shot, but the movements of the frame echo mine and the doll reaches every side of the image. I practice the act of protraction as I linger on this image for an extended amount of time, and it becomes a record of obsessive stasis.

Michael Snow’s Solar Breath (2002), and Bruce Nauman’s Mapping the Studio (2003), hold onto these spaces created within the act of waiting and presents them as the work itself.

The doll is a form of morphology within its array of altered states, from one personality to another, it contains multiple versions of itself. When opened, it looks like rings of a tree or a baby being born from its mother and inherently becomes a timeline.

Physical Discription: Video of a contained Martyoshka doll sitting on a camera lense case in front of a white wall with scuffs and and an outlet.

Title: Dolls Length: 58:51:00

Idea:

to cast my face using liquid latex, or a material that would that would appear to sag within the force of gravity; a maluable material that would be suspended from the ceiling and slowly spin and move within the circulation of the room that it was in.

Focusing on the self, the portrait, and the subtle movements of trying to stay in one place, or within one state.

Material: television, image of hanging latex masks/ faces Display: on floor

The projected image as it merges with sculptural elements.

Material: projected image, latex mask/ face on projector surface

Display: onto wall

Problem: Jason said that the process of casting my face would be too time consuming, and very expensive. I would have to cast my face in plaster or alginate, then make a positive mold from that, then another cast with the material (latex) that I want to use. I would have to add pigement to the latex for it to resemble skin tone, and would have to source the material and pigments from outside the school, inaccessible through transit. I have decided this goal, at this time, will not be obtainable. So, I will need to futher explore another material that has a similar effect, or come up with new ideas.

Material Exploration: A

Study of Latex, Wire, Movement, and a Fair Bit of Frustration

Material: latex, wire Display: on ground Relationship:

latex morphing into the shapes that the wire creates

Problem: looks unresolved

Conclusion: unresolved

A personal record of gestures, postures, and movements.

On display.

Project Statement:

The analysis of a tactile image. Gathering information and recording gestures that hold significance within repetition.

The video that plays on the T.V. will mimic an infomercial that doesn’t quite know what it’s selling. As the subject performs a familiar set of gestures they activate a vocabulary of movement without directly saying anything. The act is performed a number of times in similar manners so that the movements through this repetition will be observed, remembered, calculated, recorded, and communicated; movements that are also involved within the processes of memorization and learning, and it morphs into a documentary.

Physical Discription:

Video of a hand holding a preserved butterfly in a clear plastic dome.

Protracting and bending the wrist so that the object can be examined close up and afar, altering the angles so that it can be observed for a wider understanding, while keeping some angles hidden.

EXPLORATION of

TEXT

Survey 2.0: A Study of Translation Participants: 6 females, 1 male, average age of 28, BFA students/Professor Within the content of these two videos please identify:

a) Possible themes

b) Possible questions asked

c) Possible connection to the artist/pervious works

d) Weak points

e) Strong points

f) Additional qestions Subject 1: Response

a) - mortality, preserving, detail, contemplating, protection, repeition b) - the relationship between how delicate this object is and protecting the body c) - I have no idea - unaware of themes in previous work d) - I’m unsure how the two interact - if they compare or contrast e) - slow movement, clear picture - can follow easily, shape of screens f) - are they related?

Subject 2: Response

a) - containment, preservation, loss of identity/self, perhaps transformation, conversely to loss of identity - could also be cultivation of identity, alienation/outsider - an imported tropical butterfly taken and preserved b) - is the object in the Jar being a butterfly relevant to the themese being talked about? 3 marks on the bottom of the Jar, significant? c) d) - would like to see the 2 videos color corrected to the same tone, left one is significantly bluer then the other...I suppose if they’re seperate peices that doesn’t matter e) - visual harmony between the 2 channels, - similar movements happening simultaneously, rocking forward of the the body and bell Jar coming closer to screen, some similar compositions happening at the same time as well, enjoying the double screen, really adds complexity + visual interest f) - In an ideal presentation setting would the carts and cords be visible or tucked away in the ceiling? Is seeing the method of projection important to the viewer’s interpretation?

Subject 3: Response

a) Confinement, Gesture, Meditation/Spirituality, Entrapment, Preservation, Internalizing of emotions, Soffocation, Self-preservation b) The line between confinement & protection/ self-preservation c) The object (butterfly + container). Appears to have personal meaning. d) Are these 2 seperate works OR a diptych. Ambiguity e) The phrase “Cultured Tropical Butterflies” invites the viewer to speculate on potential meanings.

Ambiguity f) Symbolism of the 3 marks on bottom of container?

Subject 4: Response

a) disconnection? self identity? object/viewer relationship. despair? artist/object interaction. hurt/sad/depression. documentation b) Why Butterfly? what does folding over signify? any relation or response to Vito Acconci? or Lisa Steele? are you going to drop it c) I’ve only seen a couple previous crits of yours & I cannot remember any of your topics or themes discussed. d) No reference points, no titles, no concept (artist statement) having them play side by side/ distracting e) color tone of left video f) does viewing size have any relation to your concept. have you thought of multiple video feeds together on one object/ subject/ ask me!

Subject 5: Response

a) vulnerability, fragility, being on display, judgement b) what is the moitvation behind what areas and when certain areas of the butterfly are shown/ not shown? c) Self-portrait, personal d) maybe adjust the colors of the videos so they are more similar, the butterfly video has a lot warmer light than the other, unless that was intentional? e) Strong acting, display of emotion f) would you add any sound?

Subject 6: Response

a) - comforing oneself, anxiety, stress, obsession, repetition, life+death, preservation, loneliness, fake vs. real, transformation b) how do we find comfort? do objects give us comfort or anxiety? can beauty be preserved? c) - self-reflection, identity d) the work is too coded for me. a title would help me read it e) Very emotional. I think it’s about personal struggle + transformation f)

Subject 7: Response

a) emerging - larvae stage - pupa, trapped under glass at full potential b) after emerging, how to avoid trap of beauty under glass. c) balloons, analysis of a moment and how change is affected over time d) hand manipulating glass - possibly have camera move around object - mount on clear shelf to see base e) physical positions of the artist rocking motion with arms on shoulders + view of top of head very effective f)

And as I watch myself walk back and forth over the wire I can feel the old childhood games we used to play.

Balloons strung around the yard, playing games and relay races to celebrate someone’s birthday. The constant repetition and back and forth motion of the hoops we would jump through. A ritual of survival that was masked by the invitation to play, by trials that looked like games.

Redemption

The movements in this video confront notions of redemption, the act of ritual in the hopes of renewal, as a gesture of repentance, and being cleansed through the biblical symbolism of the washing of feet.

The subject’s movements repeating indefinitely within the uncertainty of one’s own fate. The bucket signifying God, the projected image of the bucket on the bucket signifying Jesus, and the shadow presented as the effect of this unity, as the Holy Spirit.

Problems with size of image produced by the ultra-short-throw projector. Regular shortthrow was booked.

Upon tilting the projector to line up the bucket with the bucket the multi-dimentional image appeared to be in the process of ‘folding’. The image existing on multiple planes became essential. Upon this discovery I went to book out the ultra-short-throw for the critique that would take place the following week, which was unavailable. So experimentation with the regular short-throw will ensue shortly.

Upon closer observation, the reflection of the projected light on the surface of the water in the bucket sitting in the viewer’s space created a ripple of light around the ankles of the subject within the video. Replacing the idea of the shadow being the embodiment of the Holy Spirit.

The projection of the bucket on the bucket, only possible with the regular shortthrow projector, is in fact the best representation of the holy trinity.

The evolving science of attachment and loss, and the nature of love.

I’ve been looking at the psychology behind Harlow’s monkey experiments. The monkeys are placed with a surrogate mother made of either cloth or wire. These elements becoming symbols of the divided mind. A concept explored by Karl Jung and through video performance by Douglas Gordon. Whether holding opposing impulses such as instinct and intellect, comfort and survival, fight and flight, and body and soul, these conflicting characteristics continuously duel within our minds.

Influenced by the predominant characteristics that won in the minds of those who raised us.

I brought cloth and wire into a singular structure to further explore the ideas of the divided mind and multiple personalities existing within a singular body. Again, using latex balloons to reference the body.

I continue to explore multiple personalities and identities co-existing within a singular body, the effects of childhood games, and the body itself as space.

In response to all of my problems I have concluded that I cannot, in fact, save myself.

I am destined to die the same death we endured as we breathed our first breath.

#2k17