E X P E R I E N C E N O T H I N G i n s t a l l a t i o n - f i n a l e

By R. Sumner

PREFACE From the first discovery of the olfactory fatigue gaps [part 1] to the completion of the installation titled experience nothing [part 4], I have developed an aesthetic vocabulary that draws freely from cinema, medicine, anatomy, philosophy, neurology, literature and art among other areas. These references are blended into fluid and allusive narrative structures that are articulated through sculpture, prose, film, drawing, photography and animation. Virtually every avenue is meandered down to realise the narrative thrust of the design topic. This thesis focuses on the experience nothing installation. The work was exhibited in the atrium of the SOAD. In this environment the encapsulation of sound in a vacuum metaphorically summarised and completes the entire gaps project, in company with the following dissertation:

Fig.1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Gaps are an expansive void, which span their giant black wings over a gaping fissure. They are an entirety of their own momentum. A force field that consumes all whom brushes past its vortextural[1] surface. As its creator, I have developed and nurtured the very beast, with passion, commitment, humour and attention to detail, that can only be described as a case of shadow autism. My obsessive nature rubbed off on the following talented people, who devoted equal passion and dedication to the projects: I would like to thank, firstly, Andrew Mitchener for his ear which although may have sometimes been un-tuned, was always there to listen to my arguments with myself about issues in the projects, and also his unending support and unfaltering care and of course for his strong muscles to carry that heavy-ass door for me. Thank you. A very special thanks is reserved for my amazingly talented family, whose skills with the written word turn my dyslexic banter into a logical stream, and of course for all their constant love and support in any far-fetched project I throw myself into. I would also like to extend my appreciation to the tutors of 389, who provided invaluable assistance and inspiration, with extra special thanks to my tutor Holly Beals for her support, dedication and enthusiastic creative input.

Fig.2

INTRODUCTION The Gaps projects utilised words in the dictionary beginning with E.X.P: expression, exploration, experiment, experience, (sans expand, expanse, expansile, expansion, expansive, expat, expatiate, expatri-ate, expect, expectancy, expectant, expectation, expectorant, expectorate, expedent, expedite, expedition, expeditionary, expeditious, expel, expend, expendable, expenditure, expense, expensive, expert, exper-tise, expiate, expiration, expire, expiry, explain, explanation, explanatory, explant, expletive, explicable, explicate, explicit, explode, exploit, explore, explorer, explosion, explosive, expo, exponent, exponential, export, expose, exposition, expositor, expostulate, exposure, expound, express, expressway, expropriate, expulsion, expunge, expurgate.)

Fig.4

COMPARISONS At the extreme end of the answer, lies the leaning of lazy logic.[2] Part1’s expression was a first-person introspective olfactory graph. [fig.1] “First-person introspective access provides a rich and essential source of insight into our conscious mental life, but it is neither sufficient in itself nor even especially helpful unless used in a trained and disciplined way.” (Van Gulick, 2004) Thus an analysis of the graph commenced, unearthing the discovery of white spaces. (Aka Gaps) [fig.2] The white spaces are considered as the presence of an unconscious awareness in the reviewer. “Unconscious mental states are unconscious precisely in that we lack the relevant higher-order states about them. Their being unconscious consists in the fact that we are not reflexively and directly aware of being in them.” (Van Gulick, 2004) The comparison of part1 versus part4 are likened to fig3 versus fig4; E.g. When an exterior expression of the clime is required, the specifics of the condition can be sought via Metservice, [4] [fig.3] providing the punter with verifying data to either back a window-based claim, or as a reflection of an experience past. Reliance on an exterior (virtual) resource to provide sensory experience [fig.3] can be quick and easy, but pales in comparison to the authenticity of reality, e.g. the actual experience of a sunny day, [fig.4] the mild tan, sweaty armpits, hot tarmac and melting ice-creams are the conscious reality (experience) of it, thus this is the crux of the installation. [fig.5]

Fig.3

FINDINGS Olfactory has a strong connection with memory, “Doctors have determined conclusively that smell is one of the first senses to fail as Alzheimer’s Disease progresses. Therefore, tracking the onset of smell loss can play a vital role in early Alzheimer’s detection” (Doty, 2003). What are the mental triggers to remember where you’ve been? What you’ve done? With whom? The installation is a trigger system of recollection created from common household objects/sounds, and compiled in such a manner, that they are all suffering a mild to serious identity crisis. Where a light is a speaker, [fig.6] a vacuum is a musical instrument, [fig.7] a door is a wall [fig.8] and the switch [fig.9] operates best when turned off. The essence of the experience captured [refer to enclosed disc] is an audio recording, to be used as per the project brief.

What you experience of the installation in real-time cannot be replicated in digital form, therefore, how will the essence [of the installation] change as the tools to communicate the experience change? Visual data [fig.5] is hard-pressed in conveying the dissipating tonal range emanated from the light-vacuum; likewise, an audio-file struggles to articulate the aesthetic quality of colour and composition.

PROJECT BRIEF “We are redefining busy. Because we know that having a full calendar means having a full life.” (Microsoft, 2010) The project brief is a switch, the client is Microsoft. With their new marketing campaign the new busy, Microsoft may use the research as a tool to provide contrast to the demand of incessant connection from (and for) patrons. “…how to fill up that calendar in their quest for a “full life”. These range from the insane—“Would be open to taking a class in their sleep,” to the horribly twee and patronising—“Make pancakes into exotic shapes.” The new busy, we understand, “make beavers look lazy” and are schooled in the arts of aggressive optimism: “Have 100 good reasons why it will work.” As ever with such conditioning campaigns, we do not hear any mention of beauty or truth.” (Hodgkinson, 2010) The default mode is on for ‘tech-savvy’ clients of Microsoft. The research can be utilised to allow clients to switch off, and highlight this state of being. To make the transition between conditions a beautiful (aesthetic) experience, the incremental decline into a relaxed state is highlighted as similar to a journey as taking precedence over the destination. In this situation, the destination is the state of nothing. “To do nothing at all is the most difficult thing in the world, the most difficult and the most intellectual.” (Wilde, 1890)

ANSWERS A gap is a transition defined by boundaries, like a ravine between precipices. “In an experience, flow is from something to something. As one part leads into another and as one part carries on what went before, each gains distinctness in itself. The enduring whole is diversified by successive phases that are emphases of its varied colours.” (Dewey, 1934) The oscillating sounds [refer to enclosed CD] are the varied colours, in the transition (flow) from switched off to off. “Fully disconnecting is no longer a viable option or at the very least a deeply discomforting one – so ingrained are communication technologies in our daily life.” (Chipchase, 2008) In a society where on is the default mode, switching off is highlighted through this design, and thus the research (to switch off) is used as a tool for communication companies as an opposing means to their permanent state of on. “The time difference that you sense is due to the way sound and light travel. Light travels extremely fast (300,000,000 m/s). In fact, it is faster than anything else. Sound travels at a measly 343 m/s through air. Therefore we can see light in an instant, but it takes a while to hear thunder.” (Unknown, 2010) My installation [fig.9] looked at how to create sound through a vacuum, in a light. Yet sound cannot travel through a vacuum, thus we come back to part1 again; wherein a tree fell in the woods, and only those within the vibration range could hear it. Same goes here, if a tree falls in a vacuum, does it make a sound? And if black holes (vacuums) were in our domestic environment, what would they look like? How do they exist? What conditions allow this black hole [gap] to exist? The condition is the art of (allowing) adjusting to the presence of absence.

CONCLUSION The closer connected we become, the further disconnected we be. This takes it back to the comparison of part 1 with part 4, the difference of reading about the weather conditions via a website, than actually experiencing the clime real-time. It’s flipped, the disconnection is in the connection, and the connection results from disconnecting. The question needs to be viewed upside down also. [Q: What conditions allow the gap to exist?] The gap exists due to the condition of allowing. Hence there needs to be a gap to begin with, in which the condition can be born into. “In time the design, language and social norms for connecting, dis-connecting and re-connecting will have reached the point where [the] switch becomes the primary interface to our digital selves. […] Think of a world where everything is by default on, where the “record” and “capture” button is replaced by “pause”.” (Chipchase, 2008)

APPENDIX 1. Vortextural (adjective) negative feel of surface. 2. The leaning of lazy logic is that of a bourgeoning trend towards a reliance on an exterior source to supply the information, than that of seeking self-insight. 3. Van Gulick, R., Zalta, E. N. (Eds.). (2004). Consciousness. The Stanford Encyclopaedia of philosophy. Retrieved June 8, 2010, from http://plato.stanford.edu/ 4. Retrieved June 9, 2010, from http://www.metservice.com 5. Doty, R.L. (2003) Odor Perception in Neurodegenerative Diseases. Handbook of Olfaction and Gustation. New York, New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc. 6. Microsoft. (2010). Hotmail. Tools for the new busy. Retrieved 6 June 2010, from http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy/ 7. Hodgkinson, T. (5 May 2010). Microsoft’s ‘new busy’ campaign leads only to antidepressants. In The Ecologist. Retrieved 6 June 2010, from http://www.theecologist.org. 8. Wilde, O. (1890). Appendix C: from Wilde’s “The Critic as Artist”. The picture of Dorian Grey. The collected works of Oscar Wilde. Kent, Great Britain. Mackays of Chatham. 9. Dewey, J. (1934). Having an Experience. Art as Experience. New York, New York: The Berkley Publishing Group. 10. Chipchase, J. (17 July 2008). Staying under the radar may not be an option in the future. In New Media Age. Retrieved 10 June 2010, from http://www.nma.co.uk. 11. Author unknown. (2010). Sound waves vs. light waves. In Windows to the Universe. Retrieved 2 June 2010, from http://www.windows2universe.org