Reviewing practice-theory: A reflection on key aspects of research findings.
In this post I am going to be reviewing progress made so far in the research project, drawing out aspects that I am currently considering significant turning points in the development of the research project.
This post begins with the 'Big picture', situating practice to establish a position from which the research questions have been formulated. I will then outline the parameters of the research project and draw together a chronology of significant developments that have lead to the current position of the research project, Examining, in detail, the 'micro picture', the specifics of the project.
This structure is interesting in that my approach is a practice methodology, or sensing space in a mode I would refer to as 'out of focus', to one in which the eye becomes a laser 'in focus' examining detail. The method or research process is a shifting between 'in focus' and 'out of focus', thinking and Making (Theory-Practice).
This shifting, plasticity is what makes practice based theory so interesting, and a challenge as one can only take a snapshot at a given moment (a report or review) with the knowledge that practice process is continuously feeding back to current research, and current research is constantly evolving... but one must start somewhere, or at least finish somewhere, at some point.
Situating Practice
Practice is located at the triangulation between Art, Technology and Ecology. It engages with the tension between Transhumanism/Humanism, Mechanism-Vitalism-Organismic Biology (currently situated more towards organistic Biology than Mechanism but not in Vitalism). Practice could be described as 'Cyborgian' in as far as systemic communication but not in regards to giving over power to technological evolution, the work is for 'humanism'.
I feel a need to position the gender association of the work but will not mention this in the report as I do not see Feminism as a critical aspect of my work at this time, however I believe Donna Haraway's 'The cyborg Manifesto', describes my position on this. I am woman and have worked in equal wage to my male counterparts in male-dominated industries and professions within the motor trade, legal professions and financial industries, with the animation industry being the latest while also having made a choice to remain at home for a six year period to raise my children, I do not suffer for being woman but I do see my experiences as a strength.
Accepting there are certainly inequalities positioning woman in a place of minority and disadvantage, this is never acceptable on identity alone. The feminist movement have improved the lives of women and I support this unquestionably. My problem is with oppositional binaries, tension created by polemic positions is one that I feel should be avoided only taken if the dialogue requires it. The method of debate could be one of dialogue (dialectic) steered by affinity in response to tension in relationship to issues raised, but that fixed positioning of argument is not helpful. Making a water tight case for argument has it's roots in combat, legislation and academia creating binary identities on the basis of winner/loser dichotomies. Progress is slow and hard won, only to be negated after future battles. My position responds to a much more open and fluid system than this and I call on Haraway to support this position hoping not to attract conflict but to work towards an equal and free society, however utopian, naive and idealistic this may seem. Having made an attempt to answer my critics in relation to feminism and polemic argumentation I move on to the subject matter of the practice work.
The subject matter is an exploration of evolutionary processes found within nature, computation and human thought processes, nature-culture, forms of nature representation in the field of animation and the technological convergence of computational material and organic material. This begins to connect with the current research project that is an exploration of contemporary animation on the cusp of computer generated modelling and craft materiality.
In consideration of this review and the current practice interests I am currently looking to expertise in the area of evolutionary biology and morphology in plant and animal life.
I am turning from nano surface exploration of natural materials towards the deep structure/surface structure information discussed in Weiners theory of cybernetics and engaging with Organismic Biology Theory directly through Leicester University, and am beginning to make optimum use of plant specimens grown at Leicester Universities Botanic Gardens and its online repository of DNA plant Data.
Leicester University also has a research group engaging in neuroscience, studying the social insect, the locust, its morphology between it's isolated state and it's social state, insect swarming and also, interestingly, the structure and function of limbs.
I am keen to continue examining limb function and rapid prototype armature modelling and so have appointments with the necessary people.
Practice samples
I will now examine how the work has developed by drawing out significant moments of development in the last two academic years.This will be ordered from the post recent to the most distant but should not be viewed as linear, but that lines can be drawn that connect between works. The picture is also very much incomplete as I am currently in the middle of an intense period of practice work at the moment.
Binary soup: This process uses plant material obtained from the papermaking process that is used to create a 'cloud' of organic material. Added to this is binary information carrying the code for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Stars are the lights of the universe they tell a story of time. We are made of the same components as our star and we can infer the story of humanity in this verse while also acknowledging a sense of infantilisation and dependancy. This process forms part of an animated film and the creation of paper sheets containing the binary code in new form. This new code formation can then be studied for new binary formations and subsequently translated back to common language (English Language). This concept has formed partly from the papermaking process and partly from it's synchronicity in the the discovery of (99.99999 discovery of)the Higgs Boson. This was touched upon in practice four years ago.
Binary Soup
Locust: A simple Life-form (non-human), apsects of interest are social insect biology, physiological transformation, sound creation mechanism, limb structure studies for armature construction, material transparency.
Haeckel's Heliosphera: Aspects of Interest are Light and transparency functions of the CGI modelling tool, silica body modelling and systematic relationship between physiological diversity and environmental change.
Newtonian and Bergsonian Time
Deep Structure/Surface Structure
Daylight Fractal
Recycled Web archive material
Transparency-Light-Structure
3D Studio Max constraints: Back-face culling Glitch Illustration
3D Studio Max constraints:Ray Trace lighting effects relation to Production value
Wire Frame Structure
Ice formation as a diagram of forces (Information)
Mam Tor 360: Observation of Weather Phase changes effects on landscape
Mam Tor 360: Atmospheric effects
Methodology
Visualisation of an Integrated Systematic Pattern: feedback loop in motion
Illustration of a Double Feedback Loop
Walking methodology
The Organic Diagram: Location C
Location C Aerial View
Diagrammatic Mapping of expanded cinema methodology
This post begins with the 'Big picture', situating practice to establish a position from which the research questions have been formulated. I will then outline the parameters of the research project and draw together a chronology of significant developments that have lead to the current position of the research project, Examining, in detail, the 'micro picture', the specifics of the project.
This structure is interesting in that my approach is a practice methodology, or sensing space in a mode I would refer to as 'out of focus', to one in which the eye becomes a laser 'in focus' examining detail. The method or research process is a shifting between 'in focus' and 'out of focus', thinking and Making (Theory-Practice).
This shifting, plasticity is what makes practice based theory so interesting, and a challenge as one can only take a snapshot at a given moment (a report or review) with the knowledge that practice process is continuously feeding back to current research, and current research is constantly evolving... but one must start somewhere, or at least finish somewhere, at some point.
Situating Practice
Practice is located at the triangulation between Art, Technology and Ecology. It engages with the tension between Transhumanism/Humanism, Mechanism-Vitalism-Organismic Biology (currently situated more towards organistic Biology than Mechanism but not in Vitalism). Practice could be described as 'Cyborgian' in as far as systemic communication but not in regards to giving over power to technological evolution, the work is for 'humanism'.
I feel a need to position the gender association of the work but will not mention this in the report as I do not see Feminism as a critical aspect of my work at this time, however I believe Donna Haraway's 'The cyborg Manifesto', describes my position on this. I am woman and have worked in equal wage to my male counterparts in male-dominated industries and professions within the motor trade, legal professions and financial industries, with the animation industry being the latest while also having made a choice to remain at home for a six year period to raise my children, I do not suffer for being woman but I do see my experiences as a strength.
Accepting there are certainly inequalities positioning woman in a place of minority and disadvantage, this is never acceptable on identity alone. The feminist movement have improved the lives of women and I support this unquestionably. My problem is with oppositional binaries, tension created by polemic positions is one that I feel should be avoided only taken if the dialogue requires it. The method of debate could be one of dialogue (dialectic) steered by affinity in response to tension in relationship to issues raised, but that fixed positioning of argument is not helpful. Making a water tight case for argument has it's roots in combat, legislation and academia creating binary identities on the basis of winner/loser dichotomies. Progress is slow and hard won, only to be negated after future battles. My position responds to a much more open and fluid system than this and I call on Haraway to support this position hoping not to attract conflict but to work towards an equal and free society, however utopian, naive and idealistic this may seem. Having made an attempt to answer my critics in relation to feminism and polemic argumentation I move on to the subject matter of the practice work.
The subject matter is an exploration of evolutionary processes found within nature, computation and human thought processes, nature-culture, forms of nature representation in the field of animation and the technological convergence of computational material and organic material. This begins to connect with the current research project that is an exploration of contemporary animation on the cusp of computer generated modelling and craft materiality.
In consideration of this review and the current practice interests I am currently looking to expertise in the area of evolutionary biology and morphology in plant and animal life.
I am turning from nano surface exploration of natural materials towards the deep structure/surface structure information discussed in Weiners theory of cybernetics and engaging with Organismic Biology Theory directly through Leicester University, and am beginning to make optimum use of plant specimens grown at Leicester Universities Botanic Gardens and its online repository of DNA plant Data.
Leicester University also has a research group engaging in neuroscience, studying the social insect, the locust, its morphology between it's isolated state and it's social state, insect swarming and also, interestingly, the structure and function of limbs.
I am keen to continue examining limb function and rapid prototype armature modelling and so have appointments with the necessary people.
Practice samples
I will now examine how the work has developed by drawing out significant moments of development in the last two academic years.This will be ordered from the post recent to the most distant but should not be viewed as linear, but that lines can be drawn that connect between works. The picture is also very much incomplete as I am currently in the middle of an intense period of practice work at the moment.
Binary soup: This process uses plant material obtained from the papermaking process that is used to create a 'cloud' of organic material. Added to this is binary information carrying the code for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Stars are the lights of the universe they tell a story of time. We are made of the same components as our star and we can infer the story of humanity in this verse while also acknowledging a sense of infantilisation and dependancy. This process forms part of an animated film and the creation of paper sheets containing the binary code in new form. This new code formation can then be studied for new binary formations and subsequently translated back to common language (English Language). This concept has formed partly from the papermaking process and partly from it's synchronicity in the the discovery of (99.99999 discovery of)the Higgs Boson. This was touched upon in practice four years ago.
Binary Soup
Locust: A simple Life-form (non-human), apsects of interest are social insect biology, physiological transformation, sound creation mechanism, limb structure studies for armature construction, material transparency.
Haeckel's Heliosphera: Aspects of Interest are Light and transparency functions of the CGI modelling tool, silica body modelling and systematic relationship between physiological diversity and environmental change.
Newtonian and Bergsonian Time
Deep Structure/Surface Structure
Daylight Fractal
Recycled Web archive material
Transparency-Light-Structure
3D Studio Max constraints: Back-face culling Glitch Illustration
3D Studio Max constraints:Ray Trace lighting effects relation to Production value
Wire Frame Structure
Ice formation as a diagram of forces (Information)
Mam Tor 360: Observation of Weather Phase changes effects on landscape
Mam Tor 360: Atmospheric effects
Methodology
Visualisation of an Integrated Systematic Pattern: feedback loop in motion
Illustration of a Double Feedback Loop
Walking methodology
The Organic Diagram: Location C
Location C Aerial View
Diagrammatic Mapping of expanded cinema methodology
