This image was taken from my sketchbook.

Alphabet Project

The evolutionary track of our language is intriguing. The path that began with a series of pictographs created to record or document what one literally sees in the physical world in order to communicate ideas grew into a complex symbolic language in which letters when grouped together come to mean different things.

The question I have in this project is how these individual letters which set alone have a single definition or a single root, depending on the origins (whether you look at Hebrew vs. Greek. vs Latin), come to mean something more than that simple definition? Before this question is approached a more epistemological question that needs to be addressed is: how did letters derive from pictographs? Was each pictograph broken down into contextual elements or single pictographs which were then made common in relation to other pictographs and then out of this pool were individual letters conceived?

The Hebrew alphabet is interesting in that individual letters and words when group together hold their original meaning and gain more significance and gain more associations and complexity with each added letter. For example two root words are father and mother, when placed together they create the word for offspring or son or daughter. When all three are placed together then the word family is created.

Visualizing language is an intriguing concept. Language is spoken and is written and from both the written and language come abstract ideas that can be then visualized. Spoken and written language is transfered internally first from the mind then to paper then back to the mind when it is read, comprehended and then the abstract (or not physical but mental) idea becomes regurgitated back into conceptual from visually through art. This process is like the formation of pictographs all over again but instead of founding your visualization on something perceptible thing that you sense in reality you are using an abstract source that at one time was a pictograph; or the very thing that you are trying to create. However unlike the Egyptians or the Aztecs we have what seems to be two separate language, one visual one written. Both feed off of each other, sometimes the written is based off of something that is seen and sometimes the visual is based off of a written idea, concept or story. However even with this said which came first? The literal and the visual senses are based off of the sensual nature and capacity of man.

I think I can go on forever so i am going to stop here. The book Mysteries of the Alphabet is interesting in that it breaks down our modern alphabet letter by letter describing the origins and what they mean cross-culturally. This would be a good start to this project. Look up my initials, find out what they mean and branch out from there.

Artist: Natalie Bookchin, Combining High Art and Video Games

Video games are becoming an significant force in today's younger generations and as a result there has been much debate as to whether this facet of culture has been detrimental or positive. Video games and digital technology warp reality and abstract it creating new interactive worlds in which users can explore and become enveloped in. Video games have potential in the realm of art but due to the corporate and economic stranglehold that has tied its hands around video games producers of games tend to sell products that will make money. Today's video game market is flooded with items that sell solely on their use of violence and sex simply because violence and sex sell; look at the grand theft auto series or the call of duty games which seem to be tools for propaganda used by the military to desensitize and romanticize the effects of war.

Natalie Bookchin brings all of these ideas to the forefront with her piece entitled The Intruder. Even though this piece was completed in 1999 it still holds relevance and is still a poignant reminder of the essence behind video games. This piece is an interactive video game that combines literary sources with odes and references to older video games such as Space Invaders to create a "grim tale of prostitution, jealousy and violence against women." This piece is overtly political and as a result is a scathing indictment of the video game industry. It does however hint at the wealth of potential that lies untapped at the hands of video game makers. Video games can become an artistic medium when they are constructed and configured in a manner that separates the sex and violence from the product. When video game makers learn that they have the capability to create pieces analogous to movies and photography and how these two mediums present us with images and ideas then maybe then video games to can transcend the superficial and become art.

Link to game

Artist: Natalie Bookchin Art and

Torolab's Region of the Transborder Trousers was an interactive map that documented the physical movement of a handful of individuals over the span of five days. The participants wore clothing that was designed by Torolab who implanted GPS transmitters to record the members movement as they crossed the border between San Diego and Tijuana. The information taken from the transmitters along with records of fuel consumption were then placed in a computer program which visualized the movement in an animated map with the participants appearing as tiny dots. Time was speed up and the five day track was shown in an eight minute loop. In an aesthetically pleasing fashion Torolab was not only able to create a piece of fine art but was also able highlight a poignant social political issue. This piece is another way of approaching a problem or another way to visualize movement and human interaction in space. It uses science, technology and the gathering of information to create something that is politically and culturally sensitive. It is aslo a testament to the infinite potential of art as not only something that is aesthtically pleasing but something that is has a purpose and a clear function. The line between science and art is a very fine line and one that is evoporating and begining to overlap primarily due to technolgoical advance and increased capibility to visualize and conceptualize scientific data in abstract visual form.

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