Seminar Presentation

I am interested in translating / transferring notions of the complexity of knit to re-present them in a Digital form in a Virtual World.
Initially I thought it might be possible to mimic the motions of folding, convoluting, involuting a knitted substrate virtually on a computer which would involve a degree of interactivity, but,
I am not a machine coder and I quickly came to the conclusion that this was beyond my capabilities.
I have come across a very interesting program written by Tung Ken Lam, a member of the BOS who is writing his PhD thesis based on this program. He is a mathematician and his coding is based on mathematical principles. In fact, the art of Origami is underpinned by mathematics and a number of ‘folders’ are mathematicians. [e.g. Alex Bateman, Ian Harrison, Tung Ken Lam] Furthermore, there has been quite a lot of work done in this field. However, interestingly, the addicted paper folder, interacts with the materiality of paper in a very haptic way, in spite of the mathematical theories that underpin the discipline. I think the problem with Tung Ken’s program is that it removes the haptic element and thus defeats the whole principle behind Origami… but I’m not going to tell him that.

Digital Art, for me, is about creation and the communication of ideas and concepts in a visual field. I know there is a great deal to be said about interaction and participation, and, in a sense, the invitation I am interested in offering is one of introducing [putting forward/ suggesting] an altered perception of the role played by a knitted substrate. So, in that sense, a form of interactivity is implied in my work. However, I don’t consider it a fundamental element of my research.
At the moment, I am gathering together a variety of material which I hope will relate to form my final submission. I’m not sure, yet where this will lead me.
I only know that specific qualities will help to open avenues of vision.
The elements that I am considering at the moment are:
1. The graph - Maximum
2. The Stitch - Minimum
3. The formulation of the substrate - Construction
4. The manipulation of the yarn - Folding
5. The manipulation of the substrate - Interfolding
6. Additions, Deletions and Superimpositions - Accumulations
7. Alterations of a.Scale b.Speed c.Perspective.
In my presentation, I have assembled a number of still images which comprise of Sketches, Swatches, Samples, and videos of a piece of knitting and Riki Donachie [a Jubilee train driver for the London Underground] folding a ‘Kawasaki Rose’. I hope to manipulate these elements in a more interactive way to illustrate the concepts of multiplicity and the dynamic contained in the original constructions.
I think the timing of these elements needs adjustment, and there are other processes I would like to pursue i.e.; filming the unravelling of a piece of knitting and attempting to construct a model in a 3d modelling program in order to explore the visual possibilities of moving through this construction… i.e. generating the folding and interweaving of a piece of yarn to realize a knitted substrate.