NGUYEN_MINH_222_1.1A
FROM OBJECT TO FIELD
Field condition consists of any formal or spatial matrix that can unify different elements while still maintaining a respect to individuality. This idea focuses on the interconnectivity aspects between components through repetition and seriality rather than categorizing or viewing elements through an overarching lens. Instead of focusing on what makes a component, we see what ties them together.
GEOMETRIC VS. ALGEBRAIC COMBINATION
This idea of parts creating a larger image may seem familiar to us in the modern time as we see additions being added onto buildings as a possibility. However, this concept contrasts the Western classical architecture idea of closed unity. A historical example of the use of mathematical systems in architecture, that looked at structures merely as parts that could be altered and replicated, is seem in The Great Mosque in Cordoba. The mosque was formed in different stages, each geometrically adding onto the other. “Parts are not fragments of wholes, but merely parts” (Allen 94). This ties into the field connections as we see the parts of a structure as field configurations, which are inherently expandable, connected by field connections of mathematics.
WALKING OUT OF CUBISM
Artists involved in the Minimalism movement such as Donald Judd, Robert Morris, Carl Andre, and Dan Flavin sought to engage the space of the gallery and the body of viewers rather than sticking with formal or compositional variants. By creating that involvement, I see the artwork as a tool of field configuration to formulate field connections within the artistic environment. Allen also credits Barry le Va for moving towards the direction of field conditions with his artwork. Le Va refers to his work as “distributions”, where objects or materials have an intended relationships with one another. In addition, le Va often uses materials that are incapable of precise control rather he can only establish conditions for which the materials will be deployed.
THICK 2D
Lines can be used to represent many things which means the relationship between lines can hold significance, whether that is meaning or information. A moire is a figural effect of two regular fields superimposed together. Though seemingly random the lines shift in scale and repeat through complex mathematical rules, showing underlying stresses. Thickness of lines or within the lines evokes intensifying points and experiences.
FLOCKS, SCHOOLS, SWARMS, CROWDS
Craig Reynolds created a simulation to analyze the flocking behavior of birds. His data shows that even with variants in his trials, the simulated flock behavior tends toward similar configurations, forming a flock, even under localized rules applied to each bird. In comparison, “crowds [of people] present a different dynamic, motivated by more complex desires, and interacting in less predictable patterns” (Allen 100). Yet, researcher Elias Canetti who has analyzed many varieties of crowds boils it down to four primary attributes: “The crowd always wants to grow; Within a crowd there is equality; The crowd loves density; The crowd needs a direction”. Composer Iannis Xenakis created his work Metastasis as an acoustic equivalence to the phenomenon of crowds by forming a graphic notation of sounds and translating the graphics into musical notations. These ideas show that crowds and swarms act at the edge of control. Overall we see that field conditions can act as a tool offering and opening to “address the dynamic of use, behavior of crowds, and the complex geometries” (Allen 101).
