Research-theorectical Text Draft

City University of Hong Kong
School of Creative Media
Critical Intermedia Laboratory
Graduation Thesis, BACM, 2009

Research-theoretical Text Draft of

 [ 遊七圖牆 ]
( Wallpain7 )

Installation

 by

Vivi BONG
50685035

http://seven7neves.wordpress.com/

Special thanks to adviser, Phoebe MAN

 2 April 2009

 

KEYWORDS:

numbers, 7(seven), lucky 7, unlucky 7, wallpaper, pattern, image, graphic, text, collage, processing, generate, code, photoshop, wall, surrounding, space, beauty, decorative, sign, site-specific, symbolic, repetition, art deco, addition, image, signified, signifier, life, semiotics, concept, co-incidence, magic

 

‘

All around us are facts that are related to one another. Of course, they can be regarded as separate entities and learned that way. But what a difference it makes when we see them as a pattern! . . . They begin to make sense. The world becomes a more comprehensible place.

’

Murray Gell-Mann (1929-), American physicist.

  

ARTIST STATEMENT

Life is like a pattern. All things happen in a pattern-liked structure. What we perceive is all signals that go through our vision and then interpret as a pattern. Number is the same. Number appears in our life anywhere and anytime. We use number to display the time, the date, use number as counting, as identity, as password assessment, etc. Number relates to all aspects in our life thoroughly. Pick out number 7 to develop this project because it is a magic number that makes me interested to figure out the secret of it. Through the Wallpain7, as wallpaper, to express the idea of being surrounded by numbers, like a wall.

 

MOTIVE

This is a project that fulfils my personal fondness. Why? First of all, what is the inspiration of doing this project? One day, I had forgotten about my login password on the Internet. Suddenly, it stimulated my thought about “numbers”. I started to think why there is existence of number. Numbers apply to our life totally. Number is on our ID card, is the date of birth, the student number, the phone number, the money, the ranking, the IP address, the password, etc. Most of our identity are applied with numbers. How come? Without numbers, what will be the world? It is a hard question and I think no one can answer it definitely. Then I started to think about the power, the fun and the secret about numbers. At first moment, I think of number 7.

Why do I choose number 7 but not others? It is due to my subconscious thinking deeply on my mind. It is mystical that number 7 is always on my mind. Number 7 is not my lucky number, but every time I was asked to pick  a number from 0 to 9, I would choose 7. When I see an athlete who wears a number 7 coat, I would feel appreciated with no reason. Therefore, I want to know more about number 7. Why do I like it so much? I began to search information about it on the Internet. I found that number 7 is a magic number that I have never known. I also found that number 7 appears on many aspects, it relates to the science, technology, religion, literature, psychology, mythology and many other fields. I feel very interested and curious on it. What a mystery number! So I decide to do a project on it.

BACKGROUND

The project is entitled as Wallpain7《遊七圖牆》. It is a research-based installation work which is site-specific to wall. The final product is wallpaper and which will be installed on the wall for display. 

The purpose of this project is to rethink the existence of numbers in our life through a mild action. By using graphical visualization, to create a new sign and duplicate it as a pattern, a wallpaper is produced. Wallpaper, usually no one look at it in detail, it is always skipped from our vision or just have a general idea of what its pattern is. What exactly the component of the pattern is? It is rarely to be known. Put the number 7 graphic on wall as components of the pattern aims at similar approach. Numbers are always besides us, however it is taken for granted that no one would realize how it works and exists. Number 7 is a number that people always use because of their own favour. Many people are fond of number 7 as it is a lucky number to them. But why? It is the query that I want to know.

 

CREATIVE CONCEPT

Wallpain7 is a wallpaper installation which based on the research on number 7. From the research, it is found that number 7 is a magic number that appears in all aspects, in culture, religion, science, mythology, history, psychology, literature, etc. For example, there are Seven days of Creation, Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Virtues in Christianity. The 777 jackpot of a slot machine, the seven colours of rainbow, Seven Wonders of the World, 7 as a lucky number, etc. Many historical events, wars, disasters or big affairs are related to number 7 too. Number 7 is fully applied in both Asian and Western culture. It is not only a signifier but its signified affects the people mind too, that is the meaning behind number 7.

Some people like number 7 subconsciously, to them, it is a lucky sign. Therefore it is put in priority in use. From time to time, the experience and habit turn it into a significant signature. It spreads out from one to one also. It becomes not one self’s fondness but a group of likes. This is just like a pattern. Duplication of fondness.

Numbers can be classified as text and sign. In this project, I would like to concentrate to the sign part. In semiotics, sign is very important. the Swiss linguist, Ferdinand de Saussure stated that a sign is a combination of two parts, signifier and signified. Signifier is the sound image, while signified is the concept. A signifier can lead to many different association of signified. For instance, when we say seven(signifier), it can be signified as a number, a brand name, an adjective, a movie name, etc. The same signifier can have different signified. That’s why number 7 can be developed in such a magical way that to become a significant number in life.

Using real image as component of the graphic generation since it is seldom seen in wallpaper. Usually wallpaper is just plain graphic. Why not use the number 7 itself? It is because I would like to use “signified (concept)” of number 7 rather than its signifier. It would be much more fruitful.

 

METHODOLOGY

This is a research-based project, so research is the first and long-term thing that I done. Then the second thing is to figure out the research, anything special that can be further developed. Finally I choose to do Wallpain7. 

Then, What I need to do is to find images that related to the number 7. Then I write a program by processing in order to generate graphics by using of those images. The generated graphic is a component of the pattern. It is refined in Photoshop and then duplicated as a pattern to be a wallpaper at last.

 

DIFFICULTY

Before doing the project, I know nothing about number 7. Then I started to explore it out from the web. Then I found that there are a lot of posts and article talking about number 7. It is out of my expectation. Many people have listed out the things that related to the magical number 7. Thanks to the web, I have found such adequate information about number 7. Afterwards, I rearranged the information and managed it into categories like 7 in religion, in culture, in science, etc. It is very successful to have such a lot of information but the difficult part is what to be used as my project? From the research, it is found that although there are a lot of thing about number 7, however, most of them are neutral factor. I got difficulty to think out a final idea. Therefore I changed my idea three times.

 

CHANGE

At first, I would like to do a book as my project. A book of number 7. Initially I want to set 7 rules for taking photos and then randomly choose 7 pphotos from each set and write a passage of it. The purpose is to play on rule-based work. It is just to fulfill my fondness of photography and writing. Yet, the total thing doesn’t include my research and book seems not a suitable media for my project. The impact is not good enough. So I change to second idea which is an installation called “Tangraph”. It is inspirited from the Tangram game. It is a little bit related to my research because Tangram contains seven pieces also. Similarly, I set 7 rules for taking photos, but this time I cut all the photos into seven pieces like a tangram. Then make se of them to rearrange the pieces into new shape .The purpose of this is to play on the medium of image and self-destructive based work. But it is not really related to my research also. It is somehow a waste if I cannot make use of my research to do the artwork. So I change to the third idea which is also my final idea, Wallpain7. This time I can make use of the research to develop the artwork. From all these changes, I found that it is not easy to develop a good idea even though there is a good start. It is not as easy as I thought. Without trial and error, it won’t be good enough. For my topic, number 7 is really a nuetral factor that is very difficult for me to think out a suitable idea. I have never have this difficulty before. Lack of ideas makes me feel frustrated and lost the direction. So what I have learnt is try whenever you face any difficulty. When think out an idea, try it at once to see if it can be further developed or not.

 

REFERENCE:

Books:
Richard Phillips. Numbers: Facts, Figures and Fiction, UK, Badsey Publications (2006)

張莉莉,《視覺符號完全手冊》, 上海書店出版社(2008)
Catherine Grenier. Annette messager,, France, Flammarion (2001) 

Website:

Cassandra C. Jones Installation:
http://cassandrac.googlepages.com/installation2

Yuk King Tan Installation:
http://www.suecrockford.com/artists/images.asp?aid=41 

Wallpain7 Blog : (on-going project)
http://seven7neves.wordpress.com/

 

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