When using Hybrid Practice as a
starting point for a physical body of work, my intentions were to use a machine
in an unexpected way in order to produce an end result that raised questions
about how it was conceived and produced. I became interested in Freud’s theory
of the Uncanny in relation to the visual arts:
‘…the “uncanny” is that
class of the terrifying which leads back to something long known to us, once
very familiar' Freud, S p1
To produce something that brought
this feeling of unease to the viewer led me to focus on producing on one or a
series of one off edition prints that would emphasize the auratic qualities of
the limited edition and thus immediately heighten the perceived value of the
piece. The context of the limited edition undeniably connotes the world of fine
art and then in turn to the handmade, the crafted and that, which cannot be
produced again.
Concept and the learning of a new
craft quickly took precedence over subject matter. Whatever was to be produced
must use digital technology alongside a tangible and human process and finish. I
was keen to mine the ‘…desire
to gain understanding through making.' (Dormer, P p152) that Dormer spoke of in
The Culture of Craft and so chose a
process that I had no previous experience with; the digital cutter / plotter.
As a tool, the plotter was conceptually
suitable to the project for a number of reasons. Firstly, the machine follows –
to a degree beyond human application – digital paths that can be manipulated
thoroughly in Illustrator. Secondly, while the machine was originally intended
for vinyl-cutting purposes, any number of drawing instruments can be used in
place of the scalpel to create what is in essence an extremely accurate drawing
machine. This crucial addition of pen and ink solved a large problem in that
the inconsistency of line and finish could now be achieved in tandem with the
accuracy of a plotting tool, thus hitting the mark in terms of true hybrid
practice. This overlapping of human skill and digital perfection creates a ‘…'fuzzy
logic' [that] makes it possible to loosen up perfection and give an appearance
of the differentiation of patten and surface that we have hitherto associated
with crafted work.' (Dormer, P p144)
Finally, this was a tool that I would
have to learn as a complete beginner, emphasising and realising the ‘tangible
reality’ and ‘pride in [one’s] work’ that Sennett alludes to and believes to be
crucial factors within craftsmanship in The
Craftsman.
The steep learning curve became
apparent 30 minutes into the first attempt at a print. I used an image of my
own hand as the subject matter and set the Illustrator Scribble preferences to
produce an extremely dense, accurate pen drawing of a hand. The result was a
two and a half hour wait watching the machine meticulously plot out a drawing
with little-to-no depth but certainly some charm and interest. In a wonderful
case of serendipity – aside from the perfectly chiseled, undeniably digitally
plotted borders - choosing such a dense Scribble gave the end result a sketch
like quality, which was echoed by the way in which the machine went about
drawing the piece. Instead of the expected endless line drawing, the plotter
moved around the page with no apparent rhyme or reason, mimicking the
unpredictability of human craft with eerie accuracy.
For the second attempt, I split the
imagery up into three layers. The layers served two purposes; adding depth to
the image and allowing colour changes. This layering produced mixed results and
allowed human error into the fold. Initially, there were problems with
alignment but leaving the machine to continue regardless produced skewed
results and proved the necessity of human interaction within the process. 'In other words, when something malfunctions, it doesn't
necessarily mean that something is working against it, but rather something is
working in tandem with it to maximize its unforeseen potential.' (Gerber, A p10)
This second attempt not only highlighted the ‘unforeseen potential of
the machine but also saw a shift in my learning of the craft and as a reaction
to the first piece; I went for a much lower density of line. This lower density
freed up the imagery and allowed each layer to sit atop the other whilst being
easily distinguishable.
I was happy with my progress but
felt that the chosen subject of hands was limiting the potential of the process
and so decided to experiment even further with the Scribble tool. Again, by trial
and error I stumbled upon a way in which a regular shape - say for instance a
square - could be warped into a beautiful new shape with flowing curves and
cutting straight lines. I was inspired to create the kind of beautiful order
and ‘regularity’ referenced by Dormer in The
Culture of Craft , in which he affirms that:
‘…regularity is as much a human desire
as irregularity and some people feel warmly emotional towards the precision of
a motor vehicle... as others do towards carved stone or textured pots.' Dormer,
J p143
The complex shapes were incredibly
easy to make and manipulate once the method was settled on, highlighting the
efficient artistic brilliance of the computer when paired with the designer. From
here, I began experimenting with choice of stock and drawing implements, most
notably the calligraphic marker pen that brought an inconsistency of line,
undermining the supposed precision of the method beautifully. Eventually I took
the decision to use silver and gold ink onto black stock in order to emphasise
the forward-looking, futuristic aspect of the project. The silver ink seems to
at once sink into the stock and shimmer beautifully on the surface, recalling
Freud’s theory of the Uncanny – in The Uncanny
in which he describes an ‘…intellectual uncertainty
whether an object is alive or not, and when an in-animate object becomes too
much like an animate one.' (Freud, S p9) Whilst of course never actually
‘animating’, the effect is instead unnerving due to the uncertainty as to the
amount of human intervention within the creation piece. The lines certainly
appear to have been drawn as apposed
to printed but the pattern is surely too mechanically accurate and technically
difficult to achieve through the human hand. The result is perhaps most evocative
of Alex Garland’s 2015 film Ex Machina
in which Ai robot AVA produces a series of line-and-dot drawings that appear
nuanced and considered enough to evoke human feelings yet contain far too much
detail and perfection to have been produced by anything other than a machine. Garland
speaks of this uncanny perfection in a 2015 interview with Roger Ebert, ‘Alicia’s performance was meant to mimic the uncanny
valley. Rather than perform human actions in a way that looked overtly robotic,
she would simply do them perfectly.’ This returns us to the point that Dormer
makes wherin 'the
model of perfection that technology delivers is not set by machines but by
humans.' Dormer, J (p143) To strive for perfection is human, to achieve that perfection
is the hallmark of the machine. Machine
Drawn Articles is uncanny because of our instinctual knowledge that the
hand controls the pen but that the hand could not have produced the imagery we
are faced with.
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