ADM-HEA Teaching Fellowship 2010-11
The Museum of (x) – Collecting as Creative Practice

What is a collection?
Museum of Online Museums at http://www.coudal.com/moom/

Noticing linguistic local accent in the written word (‘arfters’)

Noticing unusual content in a familiar format

At art school, information gathering, such as the collection and archiving or visual materials in sketch books or collections of ephemera, are part of the acquisition of visual skills often regarded by more academic disciplines as eccentric. These practices constitute a method of learning that carries on through the working life of most designers, juxtaposed, for many designers with more formal learning.
(Edwards, Lockheart, Raien: The Codex Project, 2002)

Aims of the museum of (x)
1. To increase visual awareness of the everyday environment
2. To actively explore and re-position materiality in the digital age
3. To demonstrate the attributes of primary research beyond the internet
4. To explore common ground and specialisms across disciplines through the same collected object/subject

Example 01. spray paint in diverse contexts
1. As official street scripture
2. As protest graffiti
3. As happy but unofficial statement
4. As official home-made signage

Process and Purpose of Collecting

Example 02. sign to an unknown person
1. On a Post-it note, hand-drawn rapidly
2. On an A4 sheet typed in Times New Roman, using A LOT of exclamation marks
3. In chalk, directly into the space where the person lives

Example 03. elastic typography
1. Observation of elastic bands as letter forms
2. Collection of whole alphabet made from chance shapes of elastic bands

Example 04. numbers
1. From elastic band observation
2. As 3D devices and/or toys
3.
As one of a series of tickets
4.
Hand-painted where digital form is impossible
5.
Hand-painted and painterly by accident
6.
As 3D letterpress forms

Rules:

Information and inspiration
1. Collecting can facilitating collaboration

Transformation and interpretation
1. The collection is a means to an end: it has a purpose

Primary research in the digital age

Taxonomy // classification and order

Taxonomy // LATCH

Animals are divided into: (a) belonging to the Emperor, (b) embalmed, (c) tame, (d) suckling pigs, (e) sirens, (f) fabulous,
(g) stray dogs, (h) included in the present classification, (i) frenzied, (j) innumerable, (k) drawn with a very fine camelhair brush, (l) et cetera
Describing a certain Chinese encyclopedia from Bo
Without a system of taxonomy or classification, random objects have little meaning .

The Museum of (x) is a work-in-progress.
The (x) stands for anything and everything.
The museum is intended as a multi-institution site for debate and exchange of research methods.
The designer/curator (Cathy Gale) will retain control of content (using creative commons agreement) until partner-curators can be found.
Content and structure ideas are welcome.

Cathy Gale c.gale@kingston.ac.uk