A Form Study: Process, Repetition, Iteration, and Pattern

TASK

Using your thesis, choose an action to repeat every day for 28 days. You will begin this project by selecting an action/verb that is feasible to repeat every day. This is an opportunity to be making, writing, doing non-stop consecutively; you must be holding yourself accountable. Document this process in its entirety.

1 Object | 10 Rules | 28 Days | 4 Weeks

MY THESIS

Authorship in the Age of Meme Culture

The term ‘meme’ was first introduced in biologist Richard Dawkins’ 1976 book ‘The Selfish Gene.’ ‘Memes in Digital Culture,’ written by Limor Shifman attempts to “bridge the gap between academic and popular discourse about memes.” Shifman defines Internet memes as “(a) a group of digital items sharing common characteristics of content, form, and/or stance, which (b) were created with awareness of each other, and (c) were circulated, imitated, and/or transformed via the Internet by many users.”

When ordinary people interpose their perspective into their version of the meme, social discourse begins to take place; in an era marked by “network individualism,” memes give people the opportunity to express both their uniqueness and their connectivity simultaneously. The uploaders are the medium and also the message; they are the connectors that expand the reach of memes!

Thus, while memes may appear to be unimportant bits of mainstream culture, they are indeed worthy of further consideration because they provide a democratic avenue for polyvocal digital discourse.

MIND MAP & OBJECT

Jotting down a couple of ideas, I finally decided on going ahead with KNOTS as my object. Knots symbolize memes which have the ability to form strong connections, bringing different people together and creating a mass movement.

ACTIONS

1. To knot
2. To tie
3. To untie
4. To bond
5. To loop
6. To bow
7. To fasten
8. To lace
9. To link
10. To splice
11. To braid
12. To entangle
13. To twist
14. To entwine
15. To interlace
16. To interweave
17. To connect
18. To join
19. To continue
20. To carry forward
21. To extend
22. To expand
23. To grow
24. To increase

RULES

• Join 2 pieces of medium resulting in a knot
• Each day must be a different type of knot
• The distance between consecutive knots may decrease gradually
• Material of medium must change every day
• Must use 7 different materials (Each material repeats 4 times)
• Scale of medium goes from small to big, big to small, and so on
• Mediums used must not be of the same color consecutively
• Change action every 7 days

• WEEK 1: To expand
• 3 knots on the first day
• The number of knots must increase by 2 every consecutive day

• WEEK 2: To untie
• Untie 1 knot of your choosing every day for 7 days

• WEEK 3: To extend
• Continue extending the medium from the breaking points
• The number of connections for every breaking point increase progressively by 1 and repeated for the next 6 days

• WEEK 4: To braid
• Braid neighboring extensions of your choosing to form plaits – 1 each day

OBJECT MAP

MATERIALS

ASSIGNING MEANINGS

• Knots: Memes
• Ropes/Strands/Materials: Medium/People
• More distance between consecutive knots: Shared less often/Less frequency
• Less distance between consecutive knots: Shared more often/More frequency
• Scale: The bigger the medium, the wider is the reach and vice versa
• Breaking points: New interpretations

MEANING OF TYPES OF MATERIALS

• Invisible Hanging Wire: Anonymous/Untraceable
• Paper Wire: Reflective of everything that can be
• Jute Thread: Freshness/Reposting
• Rubber bands: Resilience
• Lace: Stability 
• Chenille: Power
• Satin: Popular