interacting | processing

sigil n.

1. A seal; a signet.

2. A sign or an image considered magical.

A sigil can be understood as a symbol for a concept, complex meaning, or family seal representing the values that a family considers most important.

In the western esoteric tradition, practitioners created a symbol based on a statement of intent or something s/he wanted and then performed a ritual to attain a specific result.

In psychology we understand that we as humans filter our experience and derive meaning through the beliefs and preconceived notions we hold to create meaning from an overwhelming amount of sensory data. Other filtering processes exist at an evolutionary level, a cultural level, and an individual level.

Through certain filtering processes a person can create an “impoverished map” and unconsciously limit themselves or derive meanings and interpretations that simply aren’t there.

While the filters the brain uses to make sense of the world are not thoroughly understood at the level of neuroscience and how this is occurring in the brain, Neuro-Linguistic Programming provides a useful model for how this is occurring in the mind. So while we objectively don’t understand it, we can still influence it subjectively.

Meta-programs are the processes by which we as humans sort multiple generalizations. The simple meta-programs are taken from the Myers-Briggs type indicator, although NLP considers these processes to be malleable rather than hereditary.

Extroversion | Introversion
Sensing | Intuition
Thinking | Feeling
Judging | Perceiving

Other meta-programs include: proactive / reactive, moving towards / moving away from, in-time / through-time, sameness / difference, match / mismatch, self / other, and the representational systems.

Understanding the processes we use to make sense of reality are as important as knowing what is occurring, as much as that is possible.

Duchamp’s “Large Glass” suggests transparency, but allows the viewer none through the abstracted nature of the work. Instead of looking through a window onto the world, the viewer sees something incomprehensible, and is left with only his thoughts and more questions, and nothing to hold onto.

interacting | processing

sigil n.

1. A seal; a signet.

2. A sign or an image considered magical.

A sigil can be understood as a symbol for a concept, complex meaning, or family seal representing the values that a family considers most important.

In the western esoteric tradition, practitioners created a symbol based on a statement of intent or something s/he wanted and then performed a ritual to attain a specific result.

In psychology we understand that we as humans filter our experience and derive meaning through the beliefs and preconceived notions we hold to create meaning from an overwhelming amount of sensory data. Other filtering processes exist at an evolutionary level, a cultural level, and an individual level.

Through certain filtering processes a person can create an “impoverished map” and unconsciously limit themselves or derive meanings and interpretations that simply aren’t there.

While the filters the brain uses to make sense of the world are not thoroughly understood at the level of neuroscience and how this is occurring in the brain, Neuro-Linguistic Programming provides a useful model for how this is occurring in the mind. So while we objectively don’t understand it, we can still influence it subjectively.

Meta-programs are the processes by which we as humans sort multiple generalizations. The simple meta-programs are taken from the Myers-Briggs type indicator, although NLP considers these processes to be malleable rather than hereditary.

Extroversion | Introversion
Sensing | Intuition
Thinking | Feeling
Judging | Perceiving

Other meta-programs include: proactive / reactive, moving towards / moving away from, in-time / through-time, sameness / difference, match / mismatch, self / other, and the representational systems.

Understanding the processes we use to make sense of reality are as important as knowing what is occurring, as much as that is possible.

Duchamp's "Large Glass" suggests transparency, but allows the viewer none through the abstracted nature of the work. Instead of looking through a window onto the world, the viewer sees something incomprehensible, and is left with only his thoughts and more questions, and nothing to hold onto.

About Rachel's Knife

The “Rachel’s Knife” art installation involved acquiring found objects through chance operations using the “free stuff” section on Craig’s List.

We would randomly sign on to Craig’s List several times per day whenever we felt like it, and whatever minute it was on the clock of the computer we would go down to that number on the list, call or email the person giving away the free stuff, and go pick it up.

That was the first part of the project; acquiring a lot of free stuff and filling the installation space up with it.

The Second part of the installation was deciding what to do with it.

We threw a lot of it out, and arranged the rest. We did a photo and video shoot of Rachel and projected the edited footage on the wall during the showing.

We made an ambient soundscape with sounds created from the objects and motion graphics from the images of Rachel.

All of this was played during the showing of the installation.