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Real and Imagined Explorations of Self: A Conversation with Katarina Ranković
No full textKatarina Ranković interviewed on her creative practice by Christina Reading in "Conversations on Creative Process, Methods, Research and Practice: Feminist Approaches to Nurturing the Creative Self" by Christina Reading and Jess Moriarty (2024)
Monotype MIDI
Get PDFThis article examines the creative research undertaken by Edwin Pickstone and Paul Maguire, in conversation with Frances Robertson. Edwin and Paul’s exploration of how ‘text events’ can become ‘sound events’ came from an initial starting point considering the history of print technology and graphic design within circuits of knowledge and invention. Their collaboration began with the Glasgow
School of Art (GSA), School of Design Research Cluster project The Visible Word, based in GSA’s Caseroom (Letterpress collection), and has run from June 2022.
This interview offers a commentary on work in progress from June 2022 to the present. Since the Visible Word group exhibition in September 2023 their work has continued to develop independently, but it remains poised between the materials and processes of typography and sound composition, informed by both and developing new insights through cross-medium transcoding. There is ambition to realise an album of audio recordings made using the software tool created through the research partnership.
Monotype is a casting system for moveable metal type using a keyboard, punch-tape and matrix (mould). Patented in 1885, this revolutionary technology greatly improved the speed and often quality, of typesetting for Letterpress printing. Due to the complexity of the Monotype system, it is almost impossible to take a punch-tape from an unknown printing house and decode the text which has been encoded onto it. There are approximately 30,000 possible arrangements of the moulds which correspond to the holes punched in the tape according to the needs of the job at hand.
Inspired by these encrypted patterns of binary holes, this custom software application maps and transcodes the language of mechanical typesetting into musical space. The project takes cues from early binary inputting systems for electronic music equipment such as RCA Electronic Music Synthesizer of the 1960's (developed with Columbia and Princeton Universities) at a time when punch card technologies and Letterpress itself were just beginning to phase out of commercial use. The software reads input text and implements various mappings including the numbers associated with traditional 'lay of the case', frequency of letter use, word aggregates. Ultimately these numbers are used to generate pitches and durations of notes as MIDI events which are used to trigger external synthesisers. Letters and words become sounds and spaces are silence. Texts with varying typeset details express their inner musicality – body copy rhythm, poetic meter and structure.
The work was created in Processing using the MIDIbus Library and would not be possible without the generous support of the Open Source community
Does Postmodern Mean Capitalist? On Postmodernism and the Planned Economy in Poland and the German Democratic Republic
Get PDFDoes postmodern mean capitalist? This article attempts to answer this question by comparing postmodern neo-historicism in two late socialist contexts: the People's Republic of Poland, where in the 1980s the planned economy was progressively eroding and postmodern architecture mostly sponsored by non-state clients (private individuals, small housing cooperatives and the Catholic Church), and the German Democratic Republic (GDR), where in the 1980s the institutions of the state-planned economy remained in power and commissioned prominent postmodern projects.
The inception of postmodernism in the early 1980s is commonly linked to the rise of neoliberalism in Western countries, characterized by figures like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Many iconic postmodern buildings celebrated “capitalist values” such as private capital, entrepreneurialism, and consumerism. Theorists of the time identified postmodernism with the “neoliberal turn” in Western Europe and North America, marked by the decline of the welfare state, the privatization of housing and public assets, and increasing wealth disparity.
However, the article explores the notion that postmodern architecture in Eastern bloc countries, including Poland and the GDR, had different motivations and values than its Western counterpart. Despite operating within planned economies, postmodernism was influential in these countries.
In both Poland and East Germany postmodern architecture shared certain characteristics: a critique of modernism, the use of historical references and quotations, and the incorporation of vernacular models. In both countries the overall output of construction was comparatively small due to an ailing economy, which was nonetheless still stronger in East Germany than in Poland.
There were nonetheless important distinctions between postmodernism in East Germany and Poland. In East Germany, the institutions of the planned economy remained intact due to comparative political stability. State control over construction was inflexible.Poland, in contrast, implemented quasi-capitalist structures earlier and more gradually. Non-state entities, such as cooperatives and the Catholic Church, gradually gained approval for construction projects. Within the limitations of the slumping economy this allowed young architects to experiment with postmodern ideas beyond ideological constraints. These initiatives eventually led to a diverse architectural environment that continued even after the socialist regime ended.
The article highlights the role of the Catholic Church in Poland, with numerous postmodern churches built during the 1980s. These buildings often had strong connections to the longstanding discourse on the Polish nation, which under socialism continued to hold positive connotations among both socialist officials and members of the opposition. They also reflected a desire for spiritual truth, providing an alternative to the perceived superficiality of socialist ideology. At the same time there were next to no postmodern projects financed by state institutions under the control of the ruling socialist party, the Polish Unified Workers’ Party.
In this context, the article mentions churches such as Ascension Church in Warsaw-Ursynów (1980-85, Marek Budzyński, Zbigniew Badowski, Piotr Wicha), St Jadwiga in Kraków (1983-89, Romuald Loegler, Jacek Czekaj), or Our Lady Queen of Poland in Głogów (1985-89, Marian Fikus, Jerzy Gurawski). The article also discusses cooperative multi-family houses such as the infills on Legionów Józefa Piłsudskiego 2 in Kraków (1985-89, Wojciech Obtułowicz, Danuta Oledzka-Baran) or Przestrzenna 19-19A in Wrocław (1986, Anna Bożek-Nowicka), and the rebuilt old town of Elbląg (1979 master plan by Wiesław Anders, Szczepan Baum and Ryszard Semka, from 1983 revised and implemented under the influence of conservationist Maria Lubocka-Hoffmann, building design by various architects).
In East Germany, postmodern projects were primarily initiated and financed by state institutions, aligning with the goals of the ruling Socialist Unity Party. The Nikolaiviertel project in East Berlin (1979-87, Günter Stahn and others) for example, recreated an old town using prefabricated concrete slabs, aiming to improve the state's image. However, such projects were less innovative and more utilitarian. Next to the Nikolaiviertel the article discusses projects such as the Friedrichstadt Palace (1983 Manfred Prasser and others) and the Zentrum Marzahn (1978, Wolf Eisentraut, Dietmar Bankert and others) in East Berlin, the Marktplatz area in Halle (1984-1989, Oswald Arlt and others) and the Five Gable House (1984-1986, Peter Baumbach and Erich Kaufmann) and surrounding buildings in Rostock.
The economic underpinnings of postmodernism differed significantly in both countries. Poland's postmodern architecture largely emerged from private clients and non-state entities, reflecting the influence of capitalist pluralism. In East Germany, postmodern projects were predominantly top-down initiatives aimed at projecting an image of plurality, but firmly rooted in the institutions of the planned economy.
The article argues that while the different economic regimes in Poland and the GDR did not lead to prominent stylistic discrepancies, they strongly influenced significance and perception of these projects in their particular national contexts. Challenging the notion that postmodernism is solely a product of advanced capitalism, the article argues that postmodern architecture in Poland and East Germany was shaped by capitalist ideas and values absorbed by non-capitalist regimes. Furthermore, it highlights the role of postmodernism in these countries as a reflection of their unique historical, political, and cultural contexts, distinct from the Western narrative
Views of Specialist Clinicians and People With Multiple Sclerosis on Upper Limb Impairment and the Potential Role of Virtual Reality in the Rehabilitation of the Upper Limb in Multiple Sclerosis: Focus Group Study
Get PDFBackground: Finding enjoyable and effective long-term approaches to rehabilitation for improving the upper limb (UL) function of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) is challenging. Using virtual reality (VR) could be a solution to this challenge; however, there is a lack of reporting on the views of people with MS and clinicians on VR-based approaches and recommendations for games for rehabilitation.
Objective: This study aims to identify common UL problems and their related current therapeutic approaches for people with MS and to explore the opinions of people with MS and specialist clinicians on VR and obtain suggestions for the development and design of VR games.
Methods: Separate focus groups were conducted with people with MS, recruited through the MS Society UK’s research network, and clinicians, recruited through the United Kingdom’s Therapists in MS network. A total of 10 people with MS (2 focus groups) and 8 clinicians (5 physiotherapists, 2 occupational therapists, and 1 MS nurse in 2 focus groups) were involved. The focus groups were recorded and transcriptions were analyzed using theme-based content analysis.
Results: People with MS commonly reported that their UL problems interfered with activities of daily living and resulted in the loss of meaningful hobbies such as writing. Many people with MS neglected UL exercise and found strategies for adapting to the UL impairments. Similarly, clinicians stated UL rehabilitation was neglected within their service and that it was challenging to find interesting
treatment strategies. VR was suggested by both participant groups as a solution, as it was convenient for people with MS to access and it could provide a more engaging and disguised approach to exercise. There were shared concerns with cybersickness and disengagement with using VR approaches. Both groups agreed games should be meaningful and adaptable for users but suggested different VR activities, with clinicians suggesting games directly reflecting activities of daily living and people with MS suggesting more abstract activities.
Conclusions: VR was well received by both people with MS and clinicians for UL rehabilitation. Recommendations were made for the development of VR rehabilitation games which are personalized and customizable for the varying abilities of people with M
Wellbeing is no object: Exploring the role of object-based practices to support conversations for mental health and wellbeing
Get PDFThe growing challenges presented by the current mental health crisis provide opportunities for alternative interventions to support social and community healthcare practices. One such example is engagement with physical objects, which has been found to be beneficial in a variety of these contexts. These “object-based practices” elicit sensory experience and provide a stimulus for communication, both of which can effectively support mental health and wellbeing.
Despite the multisensory potential of materiality and the impact of this on affective response, few examples exist of object-based practices which incorporate deliberately crafted objects.
Concurrently, the concept of “hybrid craft” is developing, whilst a variety of digitally enhanced vibrotactile objects continue to show promising implications for mental health and wellbeing across a variety of HCI contexts.
This project employed a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology underpinned by Creative Reflective Practice to create newly crafted objects which were used as “enticatypes” to open up conversation around the potential for handcrafted and digitally enhanced objects to contribute to further development of object-based practices. A series of non-digital artefacts were created in the first phase, which were used in activity-based interviews with professional participants working in a variety of mental health and wellbeing contexts within Scotland.
Digitally enhanced cultural probes were produced in the second phase for the same participants to reflect on individually. The research culminated in a focus group where a series of recommendations were co-produced between participants and the researcher.
Findings showed that handcrafted objects could be more successful in these contexts than those traditionally used in object-based practices. Value was also found in the creation of diverse object-based “communities of practice”, and the possibilities for handcrafted objects to facilitate difficult conversations in other areas of social research
Closing Gaps in Plastic Recycling: Co-Design Methods Applied to Unaddressed Waste in Moray
Get PDFThis Action Research project explores how geographically remote communities can make creative use of waste polymers for which there is no economical supply chain available to recycle them, using social enterprises in the Scottish Highlands as case studies for development.
Each year, 5 million Scots purchased 3 new electrical items on average, weighing an average 5.9kg, from which only 1.8kg of waste was recycled, according to Zero Waste Scotland in 2012, and the UK generated 1.6 million tonnes of E-waste per annum according to the Global E-Waste Monitor 2020.
ReBOOT, a charity in Forres that recycles IT equipment from across the Grampian Highlands, observed that the majority of materials they processed, by volume, were the hard polymers commonly used to encase electrical goods.
The cost of shipping this material exceeds its value for the size of delivery batch that ReBOOT are able to store, so alternatives are needed, as sending the material to landfill costs the charity money, while Moray's landfills are now closing in favour of a planned incineration facility in Aberdeen, adding to the country’s carbon footprint.
Other works considered include the Precious Plastic project, a global Open Source Hardware movement to tackle similar problems, which has developed some key tools for processing polymers at a small town scale. This is being experimented with by Plastic@Bay, a Community Interest Company trying to make saleable products from polymers recycled from beach cleans in Balnakeil, the most north-westerly village of the North-West Highlands.
This study investigates how Co-Design methods may be able to find appropriate ways to recycle such unaddressed materials, aiming to reduce electronics polymer waste by making it available as a higher value product or as raw materials for local craft businesses. Particular attention is paid to ethics and the value of reciprocity in generative research
Work exhibited at Photiq Gallery Print exhibition 2024
No full textParticipation in Photic Gallery Phoitojournalism Exhibition
Publication of one work, part of the 'Broken Windows Project'
Social scientists Wilson and Kelling introduced the ‘Broken Windows Theory’, where visible signs of disorder create an urban environment that encourages further disorder. There is an implication that the urban landscape allows a communication of lack of authority and this, in turn, proliferates a disregard for social norms and law. A new social geography emerges leading to a continuous deterioration of culture and community, as disorder becomes more common. The works scrutinize the nuanced relationship between causality and correlation and advocate a complex response to how the urban landscape ultimately can become a site of resistance of marginalised communities and how disorder reflects the complexities of class dynamics. Disorder is reframed as a complex phenomenon, imbued with transformative potential and latent opportunities for societal renewal and magical opportunities. The images in the series speak of a set of conditions that exist now in what was a failed gentrified portion of the city of Athens, Greece. They weave interpersonal narratives and hint at biographies and conditions that are at once difficult and wonderful. An inherit aesthetisation of the photograph (is not every photograph a tableau of some sort?) confronts a reality that has a hard edge. The narratives that spring from the images are suggestive and attempt to speak towards a biography of self, and the site they are made as well as chronicle life’s of people that occupy it
MacMillan Revisited
No full textAt the very first ICHC in 1990 I was invited to present a paper on Kirkpatrick MacMillan’s invention of the bicycle, supposedly in 1839. I had no reason to doubt the ‘facts’ of the story, my concern was that it should have been seen as a dead end. It was very clear that MacMillan had nothing to do with the invention of the bicycle as it was to develop after 1860 and the claim that he was ‘the inventor of the bicycle’ was fundamentally mistaken. However, as I looked at the available evidence, its paucity was very clear, whatever the story was, what was commonly understood as fact was largely myth.
Although many were convinced that the MacMillan story was bogus, no-one then went on to publish anything that developed the ‘case against’ the MacMillan story beyond what had been said in 1990. Indeed, some sixteen years later the opposite happened when Andrew Ritchie’s definitive survey of the evidence relating to Kirkpatrick MacMillan, Gavin Dalzell and Thomas McCall was published. While Ritchie was assiduous in assembling the evidence, the survey was far from objective, effectively creating a case for the defence. Thereafter, Ritchie’s work has been used to propagate the popular acceptance of the story.
Also in the last fifteen years there has been a significant increase in cycling activity in the UK. The MacMillan story comes up, unquestioned, almost every time a significant event is held in Scotland, indeed even the National Museum still propagates it. The time has surely come for the evidence that Ritchie presented to be reviewed from the position of those who question the veracity of the MacMillan story.
This paper considers Ritchie’s approach to the topic and the analysis it offers. It distils the approach to what I hope will be a far larger publication that, read beside Ritchie’s work, aims to provide the balance that is required to understand the nature and validity of the evidence that he presented.
This is a reassessment of what evidence there is to suggest that rear driven bicycles were invented in the South-West of Scotland in c1840. It takes a contrary position to that of Andrew Ritchie and much popular history
Birdsong and a bathroom
No full textBirdsong and a bathroom is a solo presentation of artworks at LUX, London, with exhibition subjects explored further through a series of public events.
Birdsong and a Bathroom explores the legacy and life of a housing estate, founded in 1924, through a community of past and present residents during its centenary year. The exhibition considers how the estate and its community have navigated survival, tenant led activism, housing and homes, and the enduring impact of chronic housing issues in a critically altered environment, as well as the depletion of council housing stock. The centenary of the estate coincides with the centenary of 16mm film and the estate was also where Circles, the feminist film distribution network (now Cinenova) was founded. Circles operated from curator Felicity Sparrow’s flat during the 1970s. The exhibition comprises digital and 16mm film, oral history recordings, estate archive papers and photographic work.
The events included a living history workshop led by Alia Syed, and a screening of films from Cinenova followed by an in-conversation on the subject of the exhibition between Anne-Marie Copestake and Cinenova Working Group member, curator Louise Shelley, presented in collaboration with the Holly Lodge Community Centre. Cinenova’s founding organisation Circles was established on the Holly Lodge Estate in 1979
Taxi for Purse
No full text1. Just Show up 06:29
2. Where’s the director 14:36
3. That object we saw 33:24
4. Last train to somewhere 25:45
5. Direct from the bbc 19:49
I remember from childhood; my favorite section of a river walk we’d do most Sunday afternoons. The path became stonier, it started twisting, the trees and undergrowth became taller and denser, enveloping the space. I loved the feeling that I was leaving the familiar. I would always imagine that the path itself could decide to change and then I could move to a different river, a new town.
Rob is coming from Australia to stay with me, and we make preparations to record together. Emails and phone calls ensue as I try to confirm where and when to record, and who is available. The dates, times, location and personnel evolve and change, and even on the day itself I am not quite sure exactly who will be there and what instruments will be played. As the day unfolds people come and go as their schedule permits. Surprise appearances are made, and the music ebbs and flows in response to the arrivals and departures and, of course, the banter.
My train was canceled so I find myself in Glasgow for an extra day. I need some clean clothes and more importantly some piano preparations… Off I go to the local friendly hardware man who is baffled by my explanation of looking for things for inside the piano. I find a lovely orange three piece suit in the charity shop. I spill coffee all down the front of said new suit and I dig about in the piano with clothes pegs and steel rods… grateful there are string players with some rosin to share.
Going out to work with my bass is moving down three flights of stairs, making tiny changes in angles, carefully carrying, left hand tracing the wall on the way down. We move together.
My experience of this collaboration feels like an extension of friendship. It began with Raymond through our ongoing musical and research collaborations, then extended to Maria, and more recently to Jessica and Una. I met David on the day of the project! The lead-up was centered around the idea of coming together to create something – improvisation is how we function, and that’s exactly how it unfolded. We improvised every step of the way, from planning to recording. The music we created was entirely improvised, with each of us bringing our shared belief that improvisation lies at the heart of our creative expression. We thrive on the chaos of getting the studio organized and then arriving. Excitement about what is possible. Creating new extensions and understandings of our relationship with one other. Total trust in the music, the process and each other. Is there any other way?
Out of the door, one of hundreds of ritual journeys walking towards the space, not knowing, never knowing exactly how it will be. The walk is time traveling, the space connects to all of the other improvisations, and creative connectivity. The people, the stream of music.
Searching over a bridge crossing the river, a tunnel over the trains, bike over the road, following a feeling and a burrito.
I returned to lachunky, or as I call it “my living room” for what must have been the 100th time. I am used to rehearsing and recording fixed repeatable protest songs for activism… but I was so excited as the room filled with string instruments, synthesisers, saxophones, hardware store contraptions, childrens toys, world instruments and multiple saxophones to play whatever arises – playing the theremin led me to weave my arm over, round and under other players, our limbs tangling like branches, the cables like vines…
From start to finish two constants keep our confidence and spirits high. The friendships that we all share, and our trust in the process of improvisation. The music is improvised, and any situation that arises becomes an emergent feature of our recording and gently folded into the music. We trust this process completely and implicitly. Our friendships not only mean we trust each other with our artistic vulnerabilities and give each other permission to be what we want and need to be in the moment, but our friendships also facilitate the music to flow from the joyful community we are part of. We look forward to and revel in the joy of being together in the music. Improvisation and community are what makes this encounter joyous and rewarding.
Crossing the road, through the tunnel, the cobbles are uneven. On the wall someone has graffitied ‘shaking voices raised together are loud and beautiful’
As I dash off to my new train I realize I have forgotten my purse… another missed train.
credits
released October 8, 2024
Saxophone and objects: Raymond MacDonald
Saxophone and objects: Robert Burke
Double bass: Una MacGlone
Theremin and cello: Jessica Argo
Percussion: David Robertson
Piano: Maria Sappho
Recorded by Murray Collier on April 10th 2024 at La Chunky Studio Glasgow
Mixed and Mastered by Robert Burk