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Sense   of sensory
 
Early work
 
Still under de•re•construction 
                   
 
 
 
  Based on Sense of touch and within the same assignment from the 'plastic morphology' class of the Rotterdam Academy of fine arts, I pushed the idea of the 'touching sense organ' to the limit of what the master of this class could bear.
 
  Once again I used a box, this time with a trivial but - in the sense of it's properties to invoke a sense of sensory - very powerful small object: a push button.
 
The project was accompanied by the following text:
 
PHOTO BOX II
 
 
Technical description: 
Sense of sensory
 
Text  
February 11, 1976
 
'Sense of sensory'
  • Ex. 2 - Box with a push button
  • The box is showed in it's open state.
A box with a customary push button (bell button).
 
A passer-by or looker-on will eventually recognize the 
button, which looks normal but alienated and without any hint/clue to it's function.
 
As a logical consequence of the inquisitive mentality of 
most people - which is stimulated by the object: one 
wants to know what or if [anything] should happen after pushing the button etc. - the result will or will not be the invocation of a touching impulse.
 
Events   Normally a push button of this type is unconditionally connected to a (sequence of) event(s): for instance the tinkle of a bell - followed by the opening of a door; the welcome; entering of a space etc. - or switch on a light and any other electronically induced event.
 
In any case the push button is widely known as a means to let things happen or function, but because of the alienation of the push button from it's usual context, the outcome or purpose will be very uncertain.
 
Because the push button is isolated in a box it would be expectable that nothing at all would happen after pushing it; that it's there with no other purpose than to be there. 
(in art it would be possible nowadays)
 
Goal   The goal here is not to be certain whether or not a touching impulse would arouse from the object, but 'if' it would, what the follow up should be then.
 
If the button was pushed and nothing would happen, this object would be merely about inquisitiveness and not so much about 'sense' or 'sensory' (perception).
 
Is inquisitiveness coupled to the touching sense organ?
 
I would say yes, but it would be a poor implementation of it because 'pushing a button' is hardly a sense of feeling and it would only relate to - concern - the component sight / vision as one of the five possible components of the touching sense organ:
  1.  > sight / vision
  2.  > hearing
  3.  > taste / sample
  4.  > feeling
  5.  > smell
Feeling here is mainly grope with a hand, but it's of course more than that. It could also be a deep experience of something: for example an unexpected effect or an unknown sequence or burst of events. There are undoubtedly profound theories about sensory, but through manipulation (surprise effects) one can be forced to participate in all sorts of events, or for instance make it impossible to ignore a certain form or something similar.
 
 
    'The follow up'
 
Phase 1:   (if) the push button is pressed, a start signal will be send.
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Phase 2:   The existing (fluorescent) light will be switched off and as a replacement two red lights starts pulsating (on /off) in a predefined rhythm. Approx. 30 sec.
 		  
Only the first few times the unravelling of events was successful, but because the word spread quickly a spontaneous reaction wasn't possible after that.
 
Phase 3:   The red light extinguishes and a blazing blue light* will take over. At the same time low tones are generated from an 8 track audio tape device, in the same rhythm as the red lights were pulsating from phase 2. A strong scent of forest (artificial) fills the space. Approx. 45 sec.  
 
Phase 4:   The blue light dims and 16 red lights start to pulsate in the rhythm of the sound from the 8 track audio tape device. Approx. 90 sec.
 
Phase 5:   The red lights extinguishes and the blazing blue light* will take over again. At the same time the low tones generated from the 8 track audio tape device, will now die out. Approx. 30 sec.
 		  
The installation took place at the Rotterdam Academy of fine arts, in the classroom of 'plastic morphology'. It was never installed anywhere else.
 
Phase 6:   After a little while the (fluorescent) light will be switched on again and the event cycle is over; the system will enter it's starting position again. Approx. 5 sec.  
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Blue light*   The intensity of the blue light depends greatly on the available current of the location. Halogen lamps - with a blue filter - will be used, which can range in power consumption rates from 3 x 300 Watt to 3 x 1000 Watt at 220 volts ~. The blue light will be aimed at reflective surfaces (walls and /or ceiling) and not to spectators.   BACK
 
 
 
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