Biography

irrtum n. error, mistake; mangel n. fault, defect

Keywords

• Apocrypha
• Errors
• Mythopoeia
• Systems
• Theft
• Typography

Themes

• The Aesthetics of Failure
• A Second Generation Digital Aesthetic (~2000)
• Exit-Level Design

Artist’s Statement

Emphasis in citations is mine.

1.1

Adrian Shaughnessy, in an article titled ‘Laptop Aesthetics’ that featured my work, states:

There is a small school of designers who are actively engaged in challenging the tyranny of software through the considered misuse of technology. Designers who are happy to allow errors to appear in (and inform) their work, things that are normally anathema to the formal graphic designer who hunts down and eradicates mistakes.

This idea – of actively misusing technology and embracing ‘brokenness’ – is what informs my work. I am interested in what I term the ‘aesthetics of failure’, embracing what others might term ‘imperfection’.

I am also interested in removing the hand of the maker as much as is humanly possible. I use systems, primarily built with code, to create parameters that I then design within. Once a system is established and the machine has been set in progress, my role is – to a degree – diminished. I am no longer responsible for the outputs.

By relinquishing control to machines (computers) I am able to create works that are ultimately beyond my control. I establish boundaries, but the machine determines the finished work.

1.2

Ed Fella – reflecting on his period of study at Cranbrook – states:

It was the beginning of the ‘exit-level’ idea for me: this was the next generation and I wanted to be apart from it and at the same time be a part of it by co-existing with it as a helpful and ‘awed’ partner.

I interviewed Fella for 8 Faces and the use of his term ‘exit-level designer’ appealed to me. I’ve shamelessly stolen the term from him.

Fella characterised this period as being one of, “continuous formal experimental practice.” As of 2018, my focus has shifted primarily to this, de-emphasising client work.

1.3

Marcus Boon, in his book ‘In Praise of Copying’, states:

In spite of the laws, stigmas, and anxieties attached to it, the word ‘copying’ permeates contemporary culture […] yet as a philosophical concept, copying remains poorly understood.

I have consciously adopted a digital approach that is underpinned by historical sensibilities and influences. In my teaching I believe in the master-apprentice approach towards education. Copying is under-rated: it served its purpose well in the 17th century and it’s long overdue a revival.