Phantom Walk (The Linear Cube)

For full documentation with pictures, click here.

PROJECT INFORMATION

My interest in developing a walking project grew out of both, a personal rebellion against the creation and promulgation of flat art as well as a desire to further extend my explorations in to the ether of translucent/psychic space. Although my own theories and previous work were the only forces governing the construction of this walk, I feel as though I have unearthed a deeply personal and stimulating medium in my studies of the walking works of other, previous artists. This essay, however, is more of an attempt to express the two main considerations/problems that I grappled with in order to fashion the specific methodology/solution (not to mention the method itself) that I was implemented during my stay at the White Mountain Research Station.

Problem #1: Ideology

In general, my art centers around the belief that the human brain, as the fundamental organizational complex of human perception and consciousness, constantly and instinctively attempts to restructure itself, via man-made constructions, outside of the body. It is the brain that coordinates and determines our experience of the world via the various sense mechanisms. The brain takes these fragmented aspects of the world and reorders them into a unified and continuous/linear perception of the world— within the mind. This reassembly of information received from various parts of the body is, therefore, a process inherently reliant on and influenced by the brain’s actual physical structure; i.e. brain structure shapes the very nature of our consciousness and of our shared concept of reality.

If the collective perception of the world and of reality is simply a function of the physical nature of our perceptual organ, and the majority of our actions in this life are mere reactions to our constructed perceptions, it is possible to say that our actions, too, are inherently tied up with the physical structure of the brain.

If our actions are determined by the structure of our brains, then so are the things we act to create. These constructions, often ordered by logical formulations devised by the mind (the working’s of which are intrinsically linked to the structure of the brain) often follow a similar pattern to that of the brain reorganizing our perceptions into a mental semblance of reality. Therefore, as we attempt to interact and add to our reality, or as we try to create a new reality around ourselves, we draw on and physically recreate organizational parameters rooted deep in the unconscious framework of the brain, the neural networks responsible for the very construction of human thought.

Interestingly, the neural networks that gather external information directly from the sense organs as well as those involved in the outward expression of thought, either physically or mentally, are organized in a highly structured, linear pattern. Those networks that process perceptual data and stimulate the generation of true, raw thought, however, are structured in a distinctly non-linear, mathematically chaotic manner. This has many implications that dictate the ways in which humans interact with one another.

For instance, it occurred to me while reading Reginald G. Golledge’s Human Wayfinding and Cognitive Maps, that those conceptual models he terms as configurations are the precise archetype on which humans have based the design of every city in the world. Golledge’s configurations can be briefly defined as mathematically rigorous structural complexes that offer the mind “the greatest amount of supplementary information to ensure that correct route following and path completion is achieved.” Keeping this in mind, it is not entirely preposterous to postulate that humans have created an external, physical system (based on the structurally-inherent navigational tendencies of the mind) that allows massive concentrations of people to move throughout their environment and, therefore, interact with their world in the most efficient manner possible. It is interesting to note the parallel patterns of linearity in both, the neural and urban networks that deal most rigorously with our interactions with the outside world— both of which color our concept of efficiency itself. Metaphorically speaking, it is also interesting to note that just as the mind consists of various structurally-rooted states of self-awareness (i.e., the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind. . .), the world we’ve ordered around ourselves is also comprised of various gradations of linear and cultural cohesion (urban, suburban, rural and wild landscapes).

Because my walking performance was to take place in what could be considered the wild, I wanted to develop a strategy that would represent the randomness inherent in the “wild”, quasi-conscious or generative/thinking portion of the brain mediated by an ordered, linear system representing the conscious interaction of mind with the external world. Explicitly stated, my problem became a question of how to implement a walk that would evoke these concepts in an interesting and site specific way.

Problem #2: Continuity

Thus far, my work has consisted of various installations (what I call set-ups) meant to define space in such a way as to utilize the brain’s natural affinity for spatial/geometric form/configurations to express/convey thought in a non-linear fashion.

FIGURE 1

A Space Within a Space Within a Space. . .

Because these pieces are not under direct consideration here, and their explanations can be quite lengthy, I will leave their description at that. What I do want to call attention to is the use of translucent or transparent materials in order to compose what I consider to be phantom structures meant to represent various aspects of subconscious reality. Because I do consider mine to be a pointedly spatial art, I try to use diaphanous substances that work to deemphasize the structures themselves in order to accentuate the actual spaces defined by the structures.

FIGURE 2

Within a Space. . .

Also, there is a fundamental dynamic existing between geometric shapes that stems from the Constructionist view that the interaction of geometric form constitutes all of the symbolic and meaningful characteristics of language; the main dynamic I have been dealing with so far is that between domes and cubes, or the infinite and the finite.

FIGURE 3

Thought Construct

There are more set-ups to show, but not enough space to show them. Anyway, the problem here was to design a primarily two dimensional walk that would somehow generate the same notion of phantom structure or psychic space that I have been steadily developing so as to solidify some sort of continuity with my own artistic trajectory.

Solution: The Tarot Walk

Needs: a stopwatch, compass, tarot deck, notebook, pen, dome tent, and possibly a GPS device to collect specific global/spherical data.

The strategy that I ended up stumbling upon is actually somewhat elegant in its simplicity and straight forwardness. Using Dr. Paul Foster Case’s adherence of the mystic, Hebrew Cube of Space to the component-based systematic of the tarot, I can satisfy all of the precepts that I have laid out for myself. Case’s work assigns each of the twenty-two cards of the tarot’s major arcana to a particular face, edge, vertex or central axis of this imaginary/ethereal cube. All aspects of this cube are imbued with various elemental attributes— one of which is terrestrial direction. This means that each individual tarot card delineates not only a meditative vector but a directional one as well.

My specific plan of action, then, was implemented as follows: on the morning of the performance, I arbitrarily designated a point of origin in the rugged flat lands just above WMRS; this point seemed to me to be a central location surrounded by many natural land formations. At this point, I randomly chose one card from a thoroughly shuffled tarot deck and then recorded all significant data accumulated at that point (such as, coordinates, landmarks, card, card number, and indicated direction, etc.). Once chosen, each card was put into a separate pile so that it could not be chosen again. If I were to pull a card that would have lead me in an impossible or impassible direction, however, I would place that card blindly back into the selection pile so that it can be chosen again at a (hopefully) more suitable vertex of my journey.

The number of each card selected denoted how long I walked in each direction— in terms of minutes. Cards zero through ten, for instance, required me to walk, incrementally, from zero to ten minutes depending on the number of the card chosen— with the number of minutes walked corresponding directly to each individual card number (supposed walking time for this half of the deck equaling fifty-four minutes). Cards eleven to twenty-one, on the other hand, were reduced to single-digits by adding each of the two original digits together; card number 12 (1+2), for example, required me to walk for 3 minutes, card number 13 (1+3) was reduce to 4 minutes, and so on (with the total approximate walking time for this half of the deck equaling fifty-nine minutes). I also stopped at each point I came to at the end of each card-designated walk time for approximately four to five minutes to document any notable thoughts or occurrences specific to the immediately preceding line of travel as well as to pick another card and record all data corresponding to that newly chosen card and to my current location. These interstitial moments added up to a total average time of 120 minutes which brought my total travel time somewhere nearing four and a half hours.

Implications: The linear Cube & Poetic Permutation

First off, I would like to add a small note here about the tarot. My interest in the tarot grew tangentially from an interest in primitive computational systems in which a wide array of conceptual data is broken up, incrementally, into a series of dense, symbolic elements. The practice of randomly selecting various elemental symbols from a methodically segmented whole in order to assemble or divine some sort of ethereal message is an ancient human practice. Whether or not these messages are divine, however, I will not venture to say, but the process is a deeply suggestive phenomenon that coincides harmonically with the way the human mind processes information and, in turn, generates thought. If nothing else, the tarot is a format that allows the mind to draw connections between various subsets of information that may not have otherwise been considered in conjunction with one another. This facilitates a subconscious process that is able to bring some interesting conclusions into the light of our linear (or what I call foveal) consciousness.

Now, it was my intention to make formal use of this subconscious process to create a walk that would metaphorically articulate a single thought or mental/psychic configuration. As I have already mentioned, much of my work is based on an adapted view of Constructivist ideals that imbue the interactions of geometric form with the characteristics of language. If language can be considered a human construct that allows us to externally express thought, then in my Constructivist view, a single geometric form can be seen as a complete thought or an aspect of a compounded complete thought. If a complete thought is seen as a concrete grouping of fragmented concepts, then, in geometric terms, each vertex, line, and face of a geometric form (or complete thought) would stand for one of these conceptual fragments. Therefore, as I set out on my walk (because each line of motion I traveled represented a planar aspect of the Cube of Space) it was my impression that my physical body metaphorically assumed the identity of my linear/foveal/lingual consciousness as it articulated a complete internal/psychic thought, concept by concept, outside of the body.

This, I thought was an interesting notion in itself, but another thought occurred to me while reviewing the data collected from my walk. It is the idea that man not only physically navigates through the necessarily finite spaces surrounding his body (by any number of means including maps, landmarks, or grids), but he also navigates through time via the permutation of possibility surrounding (found within) these necessarily finite spaces.

It was the randomized yet finite structure of my walk that led me to this conclusion. For instance, at point zero, the beginning of my walk, there were 1124000727777607680000 possible routes I could have followed. At the end of my journey, where I was forced to turn back, there were six possible outcomes. This has relatively little to do with my final temporal conclusion, but thinking of my walk in terms of nodal-based, linear navigation and possible permutative outcomes brought me to a place where I began to think of time as a nodal entity wherein each successive/individual moment exists as nothing more than a finite set of possibilities leading us from moment to moment on our ineluctable journey through time. This notion has many theoretical implications that I do not care to elaborate on here, but the idea in itself is worth some mathematical consideration.

Representation: Collected Data

FIGURE 4

The Tarot Walk

All (numbers) above refer to nodal points along my journey (figure not to original scale).
All notes referenced below were notes taken at these points along the journey.

Point: 0
Location: 11 S 0396808
Notes: Arbitrary point in flat land centered btwn many natural land formations.
Card Chosen: 12 The Hanged Man
Direction/Time: E-W axis (I chose East)/3 min.

Point: 1
Location: 11 S 0397009
Notes: Led me to a small gathering of rocks- camera battery dying-
cell phone dead. Clocking myself now via GPS. Was able to roughly follow creek bed.
Card Chosen: 0 The Fool
Direction/Time: Above-Below axis/0 min.

Point: 2 (located w/in pt. 1)
Location: 11 S 0397009
Notes: Stood briefly with arms upstretched meditating on my purpose here.
Card Chosen: 5 The Hierophant
Direction/Time: SE/5 min.

Point: 3
Location: 11 S 0397199
Notes: Led me to a rocky mound and lone, spindly trunk of a tree, the exact landmark I was using to lead me SE.
Card Chosen: 19 The Sun
Direction/Time: S/10 min.

Point: 4
Location: 11 S 0397024
Notes: Led me to a rocky hill w/ healthy, hollowed out bristle cone pine tree. Concentrating on navigating too much to ruminate. Heavy winds blowing.
Card Chosen: 2 The Priestess
Direction/Time: Below/2 min.

Point: 5 (located w/in pt. 4)
Location: 11 S 0397024
Notes: Small chair-like rock directly below where I was sitting when I pulled The Priestess (she is sitting on chair in archetype) so I sat there. Winds died down as I sat.
Card Chosen: 8 Strength
Direction/Time: N-Above/8 min.

Point: 6
Location: 11 S 0397200
Notes: Led me (roughly) back to pt. 3. Thought often retraces itself in linear patterns.
Card Chosen: 11 Justice
Direction/Time: NW/2 min.

Point: 7
Location: 11 S 0397139
Notes: Led me to a small, brown depression in the earth.
Card Chosen: 7 The Chariot
Direction/Time: E-Below/7 min.

Point: 8
Location: 11 S 0397429
Notes: Led me precisely to a large rocky hill.
Card Chosen: 10 Wheel of Fortune
Direction/Time: W/10 min.

Point: 9
Location: 11 S 0397082
Notes: Led me to a patch of orange moss on a large rock mound that, from further away, I hoped was a rock painting.
Card Chosen: 18The Moon
Direction/Time: S-Below/9min.

Point: 10
Location: 11 S 0396930
Notes: Led me through screeching winds and a passageway between two large rock formations to the base of a massive rock mound. Stopping here to eat lunch.
Card Chosen: 20 Judgement
Direction/Time: N-S axis (choosing S)/2 min.

Point: 11
Location: 11 S 0396930
Notes: Front portion of sole of my right hiking boot is coming detached. Tied my shoelace around sole to keep it on. Sandwich, however, was delicious. Silent while I ate, but windy as I walked. Walk led me to peak of a rocky mound which I am naming “marmot peak” because of the incessant squeaking of some unseen marmot. From here I can see a black, wild horse grazing.
Card Chosen: 17 The Star
Direction/Time: S-Above/8min.

Point: 12
Location: 11 S 0397096
Notes: Led me to another rocky peak through drizzle and then snow; both have stopped now. Hard to tell where I am between peaks. Saw a dark cloud touch the earth in a funnel-like finger. Sitting between two squeaking marmots.
Card Chosen: 9 The Hermit
Direction/Time: N-Below/9 min.

Point: 13
Location: 11 S0397195
Notes: Led me to another rocky peak Card Chosen: 16 The Tower
Direction/Time: N/7 min.

Point: 14
Location: 11 S 0397219
Notes: Led me to another rocky peak.
Card Chosen: 21 The world
Direction/Time: Center/3 min.

Point: 15 (located w/in pt. 14)
Location: 11 S 0397219
Notes: Sat here for a moment meditating in howling wind.
Card Chosen: 6 The Lovers
Direction/Time: E/6 min.

Point: 16
Location: 11 S 0397399
Notes: Led me to a ridge overlooking valley. Afraid to go anymore East.
Card Chosen: 14 Temperance
Direction/Time: W-Above/5 min.

Point: 17
Location: 11 S 0397350
Notes: Led me back approximately to pt. 16. Sole of right shoe fell off completely; considering abandoning project.
Card Chosen: 1 The Magician
Direction/Time: Above/1 min.

Point: 18
Location: 11 S 0397350
Notes: Stood here for a minute contemplating my sole.
Card Chosen: 3 The Empress
Direction/Time: E/3 min.

Point: 19
Location: Unknown
Notes: Project abandoned (only three cards left— six permutations).
Card Chosen: None
Direction/Time: None

For more information on this project click here.

Jose Luis G. Lopez Jr.

ARTIST BIO

Jose Luis is a permutative practitioner theorizing out of San Diego.