dpstudiolab

I was recently in attendance at a Kansas City Art Institute Alumni reception where Jerry Saltz gave the keynote speech for the weekend. I had missed the opportunity to see him in St. Louis at the Contemporary Museum here, so this was a special treat as he spoke specifically to the KCAI community of artists. While he had a knack for being both inspiring and insulting at times–and sometimes at the same time–he was a good and entertaining speaker.

As I reflect on his speech, I find myself focusing on a few aspects, one of which was covered only briefly by the woman who introduced him, and by his follow-up of that introduction. The introducer had said that Saltz had instantly read and decoded the language she had been using and developing in her art, and Saltz comments were a variation on every artist having a language, every artist finding a language or some such thing. It got me thinking about a week later about the use of a visual language and I asked myself what visual language(s) I used. The answer was simple.

I use binary reduced to a simple line and circle. I feel it important to stress that this isn’t my language, but the language of machines. I have made it mine by said reduction to a visual pattern. Through this pattern, a pleasing (or disturbing) aesthetic is not just there for looks, but actually contains real information. There is no metaphor here, the message is indirect, but there. It is not weighted down by conception or deep internal meaning. It is what I say it is and present for all to decode should they desire it. It is also a secret (which I’m giving away at this point), in that a visual pattern is appreciated almost immediately upon just a glance, but the actual decoding takes work. Not that I’m saying the viewer is lazy, it just takes an extra/conscious effort to literally read the message. In a sense, it’s a message without expression when reduced to the line and circle–unless punctuation is encoded.?

Now it dawns on me that the expression of the line and circle could evoke a more metaphoric meaning, depending on the mode of application. A dramatic and ‘unstable’ line or circle could promote a related emotion. This however, is still separate from the actual message. In a very violent visualization of a line and circle could be read as a dramatic piece of art, but the combined sequence, when decoded, could be something innocent, like the word ‘ponies’. Now we begin to see more layers, and thus a deeper piece, than before.
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