Mini Session
This mini-session features a short creative project in which labyrinth patterns were used as templates for creating a diverse array of other pattern designs. The session highlights the process used to analyze various labyrinth patterns within the framework of the project and will present images of the final results.
Abstract
This mini-session will present a short creative project in which various labyrinth patterns were used as templates for creating a diverse array of other pattern designs. Specifically, the project focused on the following questions as guidelines for exploration:
- What patterns are generated from the physical and temporal experience of walking or tracing a labyrinth?
- Are these patterns meaningful, and might they hold significance in their contemporary applications, material culture, and the built environment?
- How can these patterns be documented and visually communicated?
In order to begin analyzing labyrinth patterns to answer these questions, a set of rules were established, providing a framework for generating the visual results of each labyrinth pattern analyzed. These rules addressed variables such as: the labyrinth type (classical, medieval, etc.) and size (number of circuits), how visual results would be presented (media used), and whether the presentation would feature a two-dimensional or three-dimensional representation of the ‘new’ patterns. Before pattern generation could begin, a “motif” (a distinctive and recurring form, shape, etc. in a design) was generated by analyzing a labyrinth pattern within the context of these rules. Once a motif was established, it was then repeated using standard pattern repeat methods (brick, block, half-drop, mirror, radial, etc.). Once repeated, each motif created a unique pattern inspired by the original labyrinth analyzed.
Ultimately, a range of interesting and diverse patterns emerged from this process. It is this process and the patterns generated which will be shared during the mini-session.