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From Object to Field –

“‘The field describes a space of propagation, of effects,'” (Allen, 92). In other words, the field is a matrix or network of events happening one after the other a specific area of study in the natural world. The relationships and connections between individuals within a common field are known as field conditions, which focus more on collective groups and pairings instead of one individual. Field conditions are “capable of unifying diverse elements while respecting the identity of each,” where the web that is created between these elements builds a stronger picture than just the elements alone (92). Formally, field conditions are more about the overall composition and each individual element working together in a matrix or web of concepts and repeated events.

Geometric vs. Algebraic Combination –

In classical Western architecture styles, the use of geometry, or “figures (lines, planes, solids) organized in space to form larger wholes,” combines individual elements within the design to create a singular whole (94). In this case, smaller parts are less significant than the larger whole and the design itself works as a closed system. Alternately, other styles of architecture use an algebraic system that works with “numerical units combined one after the other,” and focuses on adding onto and expanding upon the original design (94). The reiterations and changes to the design are added onto without transforming the whole, whereas geometrical designs change entirely with the addition of new elements.

Walking out of Cubism –

Cubism is described to be composed of both geometric and algebraic planes, where works are created part by part but with consolidation. Minimalism developed out of a want to move beyond Cubism into a more reductive form, where “the minimalists are concerned with underlying structures and ideas” that exist within the space between the object and the viewer (96). From there, Post-Minimalism goes a step further from Cubism and focuses on “the conditions within which the material will be deployed and then directs its flows,” creating a variety of forms through a sequence of points or events (97). There is a newfound variety of materials used as mediums with Post-Minimalism, which strips the artist of formal control and precision while simultaneously establishing a system by which the piece functions.

Thick 2D: Moirés, Mats –

In this section of the reading, a moiré is defined as an abstract figural effect produced by the layering of field conditions along a 2D plane and combining them based on the rules from each field. This effect begins to question what a surface is as the formal elements become more complex and defined, resulting from “the combination of elements that are in and of themselves repetitive and regular,” (98). Emerging intensities and repetitions create the backbone of moirés, which in turn creates a connection between the field and the formal figures that are generated by field conditions.

Flocks, Schools, Swarms, Crowds

Within a virtual field, generalized elements were given three rules to follow: to keep a certain distance between individuals and others, to maintain the same velocity as others within the environment, and to move towards the center of mass of the individuals as a collective. None of these rules explicitly told the elements to form a flock, proving that the phenomenon of flocks are an example of field conditions coming together to create a certain event. The phenomenon is “defined by precise and simple conditions, and [is] relatively indifferent to overall form and extent,” (99). This same idea applies to swarms, schools, and crowds, in which these phenomena are also field condition-based but are actually more complex and allow more patterns and routes to emerge.