Does form follow function or does function follow form ?
the answer to this is neither
form and function are illusions for example what came first the chicken or the egg I know in Grants speech he mentions it was the chicken but I beleive it was the egg the reptilian egg to be precise as chickens evolved from reptiles.
For me as a Maori carver Form and Function are 2 sides of the same coin the spirituality behind my work is the function behind the form and the form of my carvings brings meaning to the function.
confused yet ?
So was I until I realised that my greatest creations actually created themselves like witers who finish award winning novels and at the end say "It practically wrote itself" or when I carve a Taonga I have an Idea of what it will look like in the end but once it is finished it always looks slightly different which leads me to the theory that form and function come second to instinct and meaning .Emma mc Lellan is a prime example of someone who is slave to neither form or funtion and instead creates through a feral instinct in the dark not knowing what a piece may look like when the light is turned on.
Forming without function and creating function without form is experimenting learning growing and is the at the base of indulgence in the world of art.Creating just because.
Cheers Maha, I like the way you always manage to turn the question on its head! I like your introduction of "instinct and meaning" into the mix. But I wonder if after all it's a matter, not of "either/or" but of all these things playing a role in creation?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I never thought of Emma McLellan as feral, but I love it!
TX