This Braille, vision, perception, whatever you want to call it piece has been alive for the majority of the semester. The concept has continually brewed over time and a few different avenues have passed me by. The problem with this is that it has been difficult to gauge when to call it complete. What I presented earlier in the semester as a prototype (The alphabet presented in Braille code with interchanged images) could arguably be just as finished as what I have posted below, it is just slightly different.
Each new addition or adjustment to the video tended to be a variation of an outcome rather than a step towards an idealised project though. I had these great aspirations of attributing each letter of the alphabet to a distinct relatable image, which I was somewhat conscious of, but it just wasn’t to be. The tendency to edit towards something that looked and sounded more rhythmic took control and what is now left is in my opinion, a nice, easy to digest package of potentially informative pleasantness. I think it is my mathematically inclined nature that lets me enjoy precise editing like this that sits exactly on the grid. And it has become obvious throughout the semester that my work is taking this route.
Braille Alphabet Refined from Gabriel Strachan on Vimeo.
Maybe after this semester I will keep making adjustments in hope that I get a better result than I have now, but that seems like far too much effort and pain. Why should I bother getting stuck so deep in to something that already looks completed when I have the ability to just step away from it and start something else?
EDIT: I showed the video to a few friends, and within a few letters, it became a guessing game of how each snippet related to each letter. It seems that there was a nice balance of obvious relations and ambiguity which made for an “I spy with my little eye” game. The hint is first planted at letter B where Belford Street is visible on a street sign. This being the only text in the piece stood out as it was something to latch on to.
Just watching the reactions of my friends trying to figure out how to respond to the video was interesting. It is pleasing to know that what I have created and continue to create is engaging.
– Gabe