Being Linguistic (gj)

In the areas of crafts, where there are certain particular parameters and rules that need to be followed because of the way the machine/tool was invented/designed/fabricated.

The recognition of the embedded history of a task, whether relevant or not, as the core problem-solution driving force that has shaped it,  becomes the first step to be able to create beyond this set of parameters.

Going back to the table saw example, one of the most important milestones in the development of the tool, happened in the early 1900s:

When Wilhelm Altendorf developed “the first Altendorf” in 1906, he actually only wanted to design a machine that would perform a straight edging cut on a plank of wood. But with the addition of the 90-degree cut, the principle of the sliding table saw, which is still valid today, was born – a groundbreaking invention and the first milestone in a success story that has already spanned more than eleven decades.

Despite the fact that you do sometimes see people holding a large piece of wood freehandedly running it through a table saw here or there, we do know that, the first and foremost rule of using table saw, is that it makes straight cuts, just as the early developers hoped and expected it to be.

As a piece of “hard fact” of the tool, any one who would like to experiment creative expression, using the table saw, will need to set “straight lines” as a datum and work from there. The idea of a datum means that it is a starting point, like a co-ordinate system, positive, negative, additive, subtractive, the creative ideas will need to be translated into this co-ordinate system, as if it is design language.

Here the analogy and adoption of a mindset of a linguist, makes sense again.

Here, the possibility of operating like a painter, yet on the table saw, safely, emerges again.

The transition from “typical tasks” of table saw, to a series of operations that are possibly breaking away from “typical aesthetics”, is not the default outcome of teaching such a tool with specific history of functions. 

To make this leap, one of the methods would be abstraction, and here, similar to  to Abstract Expressionist paintings which focus on the process:

The abstraction in the tool-based craft process is fundamentally making changes to a sequence of operations that can be recorded regarding how the tool has been used. 

The difference is that unlike 2D canvas, the link between the marks made by painters and the actions that “caused” them are not immediately perceivable, and thus are not up to intuitive adjustments. 

The time-distance between an action by the hand, and a visual perceived by the eye, when we are working on a table saw, is so much longer than using a brush to paint a stroke on a piece of paper. This becomes a problem because artistic creativity depends both on logical thinking and intuitive thinking. When the time-distance between an action and a visual is too long, it is not possible for the artist to intuitively maneuver their hands and adjust with signals sent from the eye as it goes. 

Thus, it needs a type of abstraction or translation, 

that converts the actual outcome (For example, a series of  miter angle pieces) 

to a visual system (For example, simple lines forming angles), 

where we can “play with” intuitively like we make sketches on a napkin. 

Starting from the “datum” I just discussed, that is inherent in the set up of the tool, 

The linguistic characteristics of (the translation to/the abstraction to) the visual system, 

need to make sure what comes out of the system abides by all the rules set by the datum.

So much for the "restraint" part of the translation game.

This translation system, will need to fulfill two fundamental goals:

1, (The restraint) when the visual system translates back to concrete steps of operations, it creates a sense of clarity and alignment with the inherent way of using the tool.

2, (The opportunity) when the concrete outcomes translate to the visual system, it connects to an intuitive sense of meaning within us, and we get to test and trial intuitively.

Rigid as it might sound, there is much space left for an artist to create their individual interpretations, because it is the person who is doing the translation that is ultimately giving meanings to this process.

To then review this post side by side with “analogue intelligence” would be great way to have a more in-depth evaluation understanding the boundary of being linguistic in the creative process.