Post 56 -by Gautam Shah
These 21 articles are from my Micro Blog site https://wordpress.com/ The Topics relate to #Minimalism, #Functionalism, #Frugality, #Brevity, #Abstract #Reductionism. The second list are articles of post Dec2021 period which are NOT included here.
105 POINT or BINDU
192 MINIMALISM IN DESIGN
219 FRUGALITY IN DESIGN
275 BREVITY in DESIGN EXPRESSION
316 APARIGRAHA and MINIMALISM
426 FUNCTIONAL ADEQUACY
455 FUNCTIONALISM in DESIGN
569 SYMBOL to SYMBOLISM
595 ABSTRACTION for COMMUNICATION
640 ABSTRACTION in ART
649 ANEKANTAVADA
700 MEANING of ABSTRACT
780 CONVERGENCE vs DIVERGENCE
840 HORROR VACUI versus AMOR VACUI
934 HORROR VACUI
978 STATE of NOTHINGNESS
1226 SHUNYATA or NOTHINGNESS
1151 EVOLVING CONCEPT of FUNCTIONALISM
1159 SUPERFLUOUS in DESIGN
1175 SPARTAN LIFESTYLE
1203 MICROCOSM
1262 VACUI and BUILT SPACE OCCUPATION
1295 MAXIMISING and MINIMISING the INCLUSIONS
1339 FUNCTIONALISM to MONUMENTALISM in DESIGN
1350 SILHOUETTE -minimalist presentation
1362 MINIMALISM versus MAXIMALISM
1524 MINIMALIST EXPRESSIONS
1678 PHENOMENOLOGY and REDUCTIONISM
1679 IMPLICIT-EXPLICIT ASPECTS of DESIGN
1682 BREVITY in EXPRESSION
1683 DISRUPTIVE THINKING
105 POINT or BINDU
According to Indian traditions point is the Shiva, a Bindu where consciousness (all senses), converges, and from which creation begins. Bindu (centre of the forehead) is the focal point of all perceptions (like two eyes (seeing), two ears (listening), nose (aural) and mouth (taste), and the pervasive sense of touch) converge here to complete the cognition. Hindu ritual design of Yantra and Mandala have a focus. A bindu is the portal, not an edge of a threshold but a point. It is beyond or out of the mind, a realm, from where time, space, and causality manifests. Bindu means point or dot; the word is derived from the root verb ‘bhid’ or ‘bhind’, which means to burst, to break through. Piercing, breaking, or bursting through the bindu is the last stage of attainment. A bindu is described as the Void or Shiv (the Nucleus) suffused with the Shakti (Electrons?).
192 MINIMALISM IN DESIGN
An Expression to be effective requires condensation and rearrangement of the content. The minimalism takes many different forms, in Art, it takes abstraction of form or story, in Writing, it turns to recitable poetry, and in Built forms (product design and Architecture) it needs to remain steadfast with sheer functionality.
In audio-visual expression, the re-enactions are never faithful to the original, and yet the improvisation can be creative. For minimalism, the productivity is just the frugal use of means, but efficiency of the process. Minimalism is the distinctive impression created through the space and time scales. ‘In design, clarity trumps the brevity’.
The word Frugality stands against Substantial. A thing, substantial, is more ‘down to the earth’, but conversely a minimal entity is infinitesimal or spectral.
Bauhaus was about rejecting the unnecessary things that had begun to undermine the functionality of designed objects. Minimalists ask, What can we strip away without losing the purpose and identity? This is in stark contrast to Redesign Engineering ideology, which ask, What can be redefined? And the search is not a “Eureka”, but adopting and improvising the operative efficiency available in competitive offerings.
219 FRUGALITY in DESIGN
Striping entities of all unnecessary elements has been a design attitude since nearly a century. The attitude formed in an age when decorations had become cumbersome and concealed the purpose or meaning. The stripping reduced the mass of both, the space and materials. This in turn made the operations (movement, carriage, handling) efficient.
In arts, literature, performing arts and design, lot of empty or ethereal spaces were left over, due to use of fewest and barest essentials for expression. The process, however, affected the meaning that elemental vocabulary offered. Earlier, vast array of elements camouflaged the chances of multiple interpretations. But striped entities were prone to multiple and de-constructive interpretations. These proved devastating. Some allowed such destruction as the game of abstraction and privilege of the ‘other party’.
As furtherance to the ‘stripped or minimal approach, creators stop short of adding any interpretive expressions. Creation is left to the perceiver or the stakeholders. ‘Frugality in Design was never inspired by poverty or carried out for austerity’.
In reality the Frugality in Design has been more a superfluous process. Instead of removing the unnecessary, simplicity is achieved by adopting simple shapes, monochromatic primary colours, directional textures, greater use of intervening spaces, anonymous styling.
275 BREVITY in DESIGN EXPRESSION
Brevity in Design relates to two fundamental measures, the TIME and SPACE. And the calibration of both, leads to efficiency. Brevity in architecture is a reflection of minimalism. It comes from a yearning to ‘shed weight’ so as to be less ‘substantial’. In architecture (and also other forms of design) ‘substantial’ translates into monumental or elaborate. A monumental entity, must confirm to the stabilizing force of gravity, and so should be large and wide-based. An elaborate entity could be multi-functional or multi-faceted, satisfying many needs.
The superfluous ‘becomes intense and dense’ in ‘classical ages’ that reappraisal becomes necessary not to discipline it but to discover the ‘new’. But such pursuit for Brevity starts at personal level, and is initially a preconception. By the time the originator and followers understand the means and methods of it, it may become a style weighed down by ‘substantial’.
Brevity as a doctrine has many subscriptive forms, like, ABC art, minimal art, reductivism, rejective art, De Stijl, neo-plasticism, Bauhaus movement, minimalism, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’ Less Is More and Traditional Japanese art.
Brevity (First attested in English in 1509)has origins from Latin -brevitās or brevitātem, Anglo-Norman brevité, Old French brieveté (=br -brave + evity -evidence).
316 APARIGRAHA and MINIMALISM
Aparigraha means non-possessiveness or being non-greedy. Aparigraha is the opposite of Parigraha, which means, to amass, crave, seek or seize material possessions.
Aparigraha is one of the virtues in #Jainism. It is also one of the five vows that both the householders (Sravaka) and ascetics must observe. Aparigraha is a desirable self restraint and sincerity (as a fellow citizen) for possessing what is absolutely necessary and so minimum.
(#Jainism -a religion in India, originating in roughly the same time span as Buddhism).
American scholar Richard Gregg coined the term ‘voluntary simplicity’ to describe a lifestyle purged of the inessential. My space is small but my life is big.
The concept of minimalist design was to strip everything down to its essential quality and thereby achieve simplicity. Thereafter nothing can be eliminated ‘to simplify or improve the design’. Minimalists not only ‘reconsider’ the physical qualities but spiritual meaning also.
This usually creates a design statement that is very frugal and personal. And it requires converts, who can understand, believe and accept it. If you are a design service provider that needs spirit and energy of a crusader.
426 FUNCTIONAL ADEQUACY
A space is perceived to be small, adequate or large in terms of the ergonomic facilitation for various tasks. Occupation of spaces with unusual proportions (combinations of lengths, widths, and height) and sizes require extra efforts of functional accommodation.
Functional adequacy of a space is checked for: tasks conduction, social interactions, degree of proximity for intimacy and privacy, security, cognition, physical reach, communication and expression.
A space must offer adequate sensorial responses, such as echoes, reverberation, reflection, illumination, glare, vision. Space adequacy offers social interactions, and supports expression and communication. Space size and shape bear upon the intimacy and privacy inhabitants need.
Same space may be experienced to be of a different size depending on the recent experience. Functional adequacy of a space is also determined by the physical and cognitive reach. Former is important for functional needs, but the later one offers sensorial satisfaction. For both, the quality and depth or extent can be modulated by reach tools.
455 FUNCTIONALISM in DESIGN
In the wake of World War I, an international functionalist Design movement emerged, riding on the wave of Modernism. This was triggered by consumer product periodicals that had wide base of female subscribers.
The movement was for achieving purity in design of a product through functional relevance. This was gaining momentum with a similar trend in art, architecture and craft-artefacts. It was for reduction and restrain with the aim to remove the unnecessary and put the essential in the spotlight. These trends in Design were confirming to than current ideas of socialism and humanism.
Louis Sullivan’s 1896, idea of ‘form ever follows function’ was more metaphysical than being practical to users’ needs. It was more reflective of ‘lack of (‘excessive’) ornamentation. Some treated as ‘bald and brutal’ manner. Philip Johnson daringly ‘held that the profession has no functional responsibility whatsoever’. The postmodern architect Peter Eisenman was more extreme, ‘I don’t do function.’
From all these personal interpretations products, art and architecture began to rely of structural stresses as expressed through straight line and right-angled geometry. This was bereft of emotion, as good design should be ‘clear and unobtrusive.’ The success of functional design was in the rationality and cost effectiveness, as it removed wastage of space and materials.
569 SYMBOL to SYMBOLISM
The word symbol derives from the Greek word σύμβολον symbolon or symballein which means to put or throw together. An object like decorated pottery was cut in half and given to two different people, who were to reassemble (throw together) the two halves for the acknowledgement of the alliance.
Symbol was a token used in comparison to determine if something is genuine. A symbol is a mark, sign or expression that meant something that stands for something else. It indicates an idea, object, or relationship.
First symbols were linked representations of the original, but over a period and after profuse usage, multiple conversions take place. Each such conversion diffuses the original trace, and changes the meaning and intention. Each such transition made the symbols extra ordinary brief and economic expression. Symbols have region or culture specific relevance and so serve a finite purpose in a time-space frame. Symbols have transient relevance.
Symbols are essentially meant for abridgement of expression, where both, the conveyance (time) and storage (space) are to be economized.
Symbolism as a style of expression was exploited in literature, painting and many other fields. It was largely a reaction against the naturalism and realism, anti-idealistic styles of 1800s ‘Symbolists believed that art should represent absolute truths that could only be described indirectly.’ Symbolists, were not kind to ‘plain meanings, simplistic interpretations, over-sentimentality and matter-of-fact description’. Their agenda was to ‘depict not the thing, but the effect it produces’.
The symbolist painters relied on imagery which was very personal with unusual forms. They ended up supporting a philosophy, than launching an influence. Symbolism in art influenced the expressionism and surrealism.
595 ABSTRACTION for COMMUNICATION
Communication occurs through writing, orally, gestural deliveries and through metaphors or graphics. Authors usually have some knowledge about the target audience.
All communications use spatial or temporal assets and so need to have minimal content. The tradition is ancient one, as knowledge was conveyed orally as Shrut Gyan’ (Vedic mantras are in easy to remember and in recitable form).
For content rationalization several strategies are resorted to. The contents are abstracted by removing all time-space gaps and less important information. The language in Internet chat-rooms, whats-app, etc. shows the nature of abstraction spreading across the world. Here common words are shortened by eliminating vowels and are denoted by their phonemes. Symbols and metaphors are also used to squeeze the contents.
The contents are sequenced, with time as the operative element. Oral or gestural deliveries are sequenced in time and so are lineal. Writings can have non-lineal arrangement if aided indexing. Graphical formats are impressionistic, rely on the holistic effect.
The focus of abstraction and communication are through the retrieval and re-enactment of content. So what one strongly feels, desires, believes, becomes the force-de-majeure.
For frugality of expression beginning with a pre declaration or concluding with a definitive statement
The contents can be minimized by forming bridges (e.g. hyperlinks, bibliographies, index) to create a seamless statement or a larger concept. A well linked or cited content vouches its authenticity through circumstantial referencing.
640 ABSTRACTION in ART
Abstraction is a process of removing irrelevant appendages from the idea, thought or concept. This reduces the complexity and increase efficiency.
Abstraction in Art began with the removal or de-emphasis of the background or the context. This allowed the thematic concept to be perceived not just distinctly but in a different manner. The abstract Art was more concerned with the later. The newness of the object independently of its associations or attributes provided an exciting option to impressionism and expressionism. Both the -isms were substantially dependent on negation through colour, texture, form depiction, foreground-background delimitation, depth representation with intensities, perspective or scaling, and environmental connections like light and shadows.
Word Abstract derives from the Latin Abstrahere =to divert and Aabstractus =drawn away, drag away, detach, pull away, divert. It is an assimilated form of Ab =off, away from + Trahere =to draw.In computer programming abstraction hides all but the relevant data about an object.
Acute abstraction takes away the reality. The subject is not sought or to be recognized. It has no bearing of perception like top-bottom, left-right, real or mirror. But on massing the abstract creations, do reflect the creator and that becomes the style. It is the mannerism that becomes universal. But before that universalism sets in the Art moves to something New.
649 ANEKANTAVADA
The word ‘anekaāntavāda’ is a compound of two Sanskrit words: anekānta and vāda. The word anekānta itself is composed of three root words, ‘an’ (not), ‘eka’ (one) and ‘anta’ (end, side). These three together connote ‘not one ended’, ‘sided’, ‘many-sidedness’, ‘manifoldness’ or ‘many pointedness’.
According to ‘Jain’ (Indian religion that originated in roughly the same time span as Buddhism) doctrine, there is no absolute truth or reality. Anekantavada has also been interpreted, to mean non-absolutism. It is said no single concept can describe the nature of existence and the absolute truth.
Every truth is incomplete, and at best a partial truth. The ultimate truth and reality, if any, are complex and multi faceted. All knowledge must be qualified in many ways, including being affirmed and denied. Anekantavada is a fundamental doctrine of Jainism.
According Jainism reality has many facets, which are difficult to be perceived by one person or through several cycles of life. Different people interpret different aspects of it. Their conclusions are good for them and in the time-space context.
Reality is what we perceive and also of what we do not perceive. We cannot understand the reality unless we are ready to accept both. So all conditions have potentials of many truths.
700 MEANING of ABSTRACT
The word abstract in fine arts is something that lacks representational qualities and so difficult to understand or obscure (since 1400AD). Expressionism in art was conditioned representation but it graduated to ‘uninhibited approach’ for expression of things that were essential, minimal and carried a personal meaning. A personal meaning that the creator perhaps branded with a title but never had to elaborate or justify. Abstract refers to creations not concerned with the literal depiction of things from the nominal world of perception. The tag abstract is being substantively used since 1920 (for works of Kandinsky and others).
Abstract is meant to be withdrawn, separated, pulled away or detached, content in ‘metaphoric’ form. But the other realm of the metaphor is unavailable. Abstraction is a graduated process. The creative person, perhaps has already seen several sequential earlier versions, and that offers not just greater maturity but more an abstractive result.
The abstraction though detests confirmation of any order is now getting classed into several categories. Intensional deconstruction of scale, form, proportions, colour, texture, motifs, geometry, etc. have led to new ways of abstractions. An abstraction is seen as a process condensation and selective or experimental elimination. But synthesis leaves out some trail of process and so not favoured. It also abhors the specification or explanation. But as said in Architecture, ‘one cannot conceive anything that is un-contractible’. Reality is omnipresent.
Abstraction generates images that are not easy to connect to the past, in the same manner things that are unfamiliar seem to be abstract.
Medieval Latin word abstractus, and its past participle of abstrahere means to drag, pull, take away or remove. Abstraction, from the Latin, is the process of taking away or removing characteristics from something in order to reduce it to a set of essential characteristics. Abstraction turns physical things to nonphysical entities like ideas. In science abstraction involves synthesis (several) theories into one general theory.
In programming software the process of abstraction means identification of routine processes and indexing them as objects.
780 CONVERGENCE vs DIVERGENCE
Convergence means bringing together many different things together for a conceptual or real whole. The ideal for convergence is Bindu or Point. In Indian philosophy a Bindu is described in two distinct forms, Jyot (light) Bindu & Naad (sound) Bindu. Both, as sensorial phenomenons are perceived through dual nodes, but cognised as a single entity.
Convergence is assimilation of things or energies, and reducing or condensing to a point. The act of focussing forces one to reject the unessential. Convergence is a process of rationalization, where connections have little meaning. Connections are time and space interventions with own protocols of negotiation. When the connections get converged, there is greater chance of calescence.
Design rarely emerges from convergence of ideas, concepts about styles, manners, materials or processes. Design emerges from radical divergence, something that is not mundane, presupposed or expected. To include that element of divergence, one must create a conceptual whole and then try to intervene with a divergent element. Divergence allows one to move far and apart.
Convergence is the ability to turn the two eyes or ears to focus -Jyot (light) Bindu & Naad (sound) Bindu. The question arises here, Why only these two senses are involved in convergence? The Vision and Sound are the two sensualities that can configure the space and time.
Convergence stimulates one towards inclusive design. But these can be irrelevant and without meaning. It may even be lost or forgotten. But some inspirational indulgence can endow a new character. It becomes the design signature.
840 HORROR VACUI versus AMOR VACUI
Horror Vacui denotes a ‘fear of empty space’, and its antonym Amor Vacui is the reverence for emptiness. The later are White Spaces, meaning ‘unoccupied intervening spaces’.
In the Victorian, Baroque and Georgian eras, affluence was seen in embellishments, and poverty was reflected in absence of the ‘superfluous’. The embellishments reflected resources, culture and experience. Emptiness was ‘Spartan’ or simplicity.
In all forms of expressions, arts, crafts, literature, music, drama, the space, time, opportunities or media were few and expensive. Oral knowledge or ‘Shrut-Gyan’ was crammed as recite-able stanzas, composite words and metaphoric expressions. Writing media paper and printing were once scarce, resulting in choked paper layouts. Art paintings, mosaic murals and stained glasses were packed with characters, animals, angels, motifs, background scenery with buildings and trees.
It was Aristotle who theorized that ‘nature abhors an empty space’. It was observed that a physical vacuum is impossible or a state of nothingness does not exist.
Italian art critic and scholar Mario Praz used ‘Horror Vacui’ as term to ‘describe the excessive use of ornament in design during the Victorian age’. Islamic mosaic decorations on building were at both extremes, as a simple wall colourant and motif laden patterns. Other examples ‘Horror Vacui’ includes carpets, Victorian interiors, and modern day Road signage in Tokyo and New York Times square plaza.
Now during the past two centuries decoration has become a dirty word followed by concepts like form follows function and less is more. The value of the whitespace or intervening time-space distancing has emerged vigorously. The ‘busyness’ of content is not necessarily attention catching. Leonardo da Vinci had foreseen this by saying, ‘simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’.
On stage, physical set properties are now ‘thinner’ replaced by sound, illumination control, use of visual dynamics of movements and inclusion of VR. In music silent gaps have become emphatic.
White space is to be regarded as an active element, not a passive background.’- Jan Tschichold.
934 HORROR VACUI
Horror Vacui is a Latin term meaning ‘fear of empty space’. Its near equivalent term Kenophobia, is a Greek term meaning ‘fear of the empty’. It relates to art, architecture, science, music, stage performances and many other expressions where unused spaces or moments abound. It is a very old recognition of human mentality, to fill up entire space. Aristotle ideated, the term saying ‘vacuum is impossible as nature abhors an empty space’.
The term has been interpreted differently and often recognised subconsciously. The problem of emptiness has primarily been an issue of tension that occurs ‘when spaces and moments do not connect’. The immediacy of neighbouring elements is defined by many things like the sensorial distancing, thematic identity (size, form colour, texture, etc.), characteristic indicators of direction, movement, etc. To imply emptiness, these may be avoided consciously or misplaced. One must recognise the intermediate emptiness for its value of tensileness.
The creator’s mentality, even if it is to persist with formation of the emptiness, the next generation will not tolerate the intermediate silence and fill it up with some thing. ‘Horror vacui uses high levels of detail to contrast with the sublime unknown.’
Horror vacui meant the fear of an empty space, so its antonym was Amor vacui -the worship of emptiness. White space is to be regarded as an active element, not a passive background.’ -Jan Tschichold.
978 STATE of NOTHINGNESS
Nothingness has been often the pursuit to reduce the content (physical and metaphysical). To achieve a state of nothingness, one needs to achieve voidness, vacuity, emptiness or hollowness. Buddhist Pali Canon terms nothingness as a state of Sunyata (emptiness), in three different context 1. as a ‘meditative dwelling’, 2. as an attribute of objects, and 3. as a type of awareness-release.
According to Shi Huifeng, the terms, void (rittaka), hollow (tucchaka), and coreless (asaraka) are used to refer to words and things which are non essential, worthless, deceptive, false or vain.
The sense of nothingness emerges with realization of worthlessness and vacuousness, being the form of Maya (illusion or appearance of the phenomenal world).
Since the times of Parmenides (5th BC ), there is a debate, if an empty world is possible, whether there are vacuums, and about the nature of privations and negation.
Nothingness, as a concept has become part of the ‘meditative dwelling’, to discard things that are irrelevant.
Kazimir Malevich developed the concept of Suprematism, to gain primacy of pure feeling in creative art. He created ‘a suprematist grammar based on fundamental geometric forms, the square and the circle’. These ideas were in contrast with positions of Constructivism and Materialism. Former was concerned with utilitarian strategies of adapting art to the principles of functional organization, whereas the later, expected the artist to be a constructor ‘of organizing life in all of its aspects’. All three ideological movements were reacted through, Deconstructivism. This was a movement of the1980s. It intentionally gives an impression of the fragmentation to break the formal order by absence of obvious harmony, continuity, or symmetry.
To achieve state of nothingness one has to form a meditative dwelling, a metaphysical object. But Artists, Architects or Designers who express things through the attribute of objects, cannot realize a real or unreal (Maya) dwelling out of nothing.
1226 SHUNYATA or NOTHINGNESS
There is classical Buddhist text Milinda-Panha (1st C BCE), where Milinda =King Menander of Bactria, Greece and Panha =questions or queries in Pali. It describes a dialogue between King Menander of Bactria and a sage named Nagasena.
Menander administered a large territory in the NW regions of the Indian Subcontinent from his capital at Sagala. He was a covert to Greco-Buddhism. Many of Menander’s coins have been unearthed in the region.
Nagasena asked the King about his chariot and then described taking the chariot apart. Was the thing called a chariot still a chariot if you took off its wheels? Or its axles? At exactly what point does the chariot reaches a state of Nothingness? The chariot is a designation given to a phenomenon, and there is no inherent chariot-nature, dwelling in the chariot.
Nagarjuna (born 150BCE) was Indian Mahayana, Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. Nagarjuna’s major thematic focus is the concept of Shunyata (Shoonyata =emptiness, vacuity, voidness, devoidness, hollowness, coreless).
In Buddhist texts, Shunyata or emptiness is described, 1 as a meditative dwelling, 2 as an attribute of objects, and 3 as a type of awareness. Similarly the manifestations of emptiness are form -‘a lump of foam’, sensation -‘water bubble’, perception -‘mirage’, formations -‘a plantain tree’ and cognition -‘magical illusion or maya’.
Emptiness is a Nirvana like state. But in visual and other performing arts, emptiness in time and space, both are abhorred. Horror Vacui (Latin for ‘fear of emptiness’ -Kenophobia), is occupying every moment and extent. Ref: Horror Vacui -https://designsynopsis.wordpress.com/2021/01/07/934-horror-vacui/
1151 EVOLVING CONCEPT of FUNCTIONALISM
Functionalism in Design is a concept as old as the human civilization. Every human creation over the age stagnates, refuses to change for new materials and rediscover new technologies. The society also fails to adopt new forms or even accept new functions for the impressive new experiences.
The Greek, Egyptian, Mycenaean, Roman, each culture had own comfortable materials, technologies and favoured forms. Each culture though perceived these to be lacking in something. It was realized that some logical deduction was necessary to adopt it. The rational of simplicity were in the form reductionism.
The need to work on the ‘basics’, was defined by Vitruvius as ‘utilitas’ (translated as ‘commodity, convenience or utility). And the ‘utilitas’ were to offer ‘venustas’ (beauty) and ‘firmitas’ (firmness). He claimed buildings needed to be useful, stable, and beautiful.
Gothic buildings rose to modify the cumbersome and claustrophobic Romanesque buildings with spaces of ‘simpler’ configurations’. Augustus Welby Pugin (Gothic Revival stylist Architect 1812-1852) wrote ‘there should be no features about a building which are not necessary for convenience, construction, or propriety’ and ‘all ornament should consist of enrichment of the essential construction of the building’.
The historical revivalism of architectural styles had little to offer in 19 C to the new needs of developing world, in terms of what Vitruvius had said for the ‘utilitas’.
The ‘form follows function’ by Louis Sullivan, in the 1880s, in 1920s ‘house is a machine for living’ by Le Corbusier, and many others have defined the functionalism with diverse and partly contradictory artistic and social terms. Everyone began to justify their creations to be more functional. There were many similar concepts, reductionism, austere-ism, functionalism, minimalism, formalism (form for form’s sake).
1159 SUPERFLUOUS in DESIGN
It is very difficult to isolate any part, component, element or a system as superfluous from an enacted Design. The isolation could be physical dissection or metaphysical disregard or delusion. An enacted Design is an integrated entity that has turned holistic, complete and unique in every sense. The Design process has nothing ‘beyond what is needed, un-necessary, extra, too much, or obsolete.
The word, superfluous comes from Latin, it derives from, super (‘over’) + fluere (‘to flow’), literally =‘overflowing’.
In simple terms, ornaments or embellishments are elements that are not structural, that is perceived to be >less purposive, functional or relevant<. Three categories of superfluous entities in any enacted design can be sensed, such as, Mimetic, (Imitative), Symbolic (metaphoric significance), and Extrinsic (emergent).
The Mimetic entity is the imported one, as the best fit into a situation or experimental. The content is gestated, so is difficult to trace the origins. There is rare realization that it is not ethnic, because of its impressionistic character. The process matures to uses for new materials, geometry, form and spatial configurations.
The Symbolic entity is well-matured design enaction, in part or whole. To accept, it needs to be separated from original setting, and customise it. Such transplantation could occur as the motifs forming new patterns that can free it up from the metaphoric moorings.
Extrinsic entities are products of adaption, usually post enaction of the Design, carried out by non-designers, other designers or users. It is an instant gratification for change, new experience, additional functionality or being relevant to the surroundings.
Superfluous entities can also be classified as
1 Things that follow building’s fundamental geometry, shape, size, contour, form, etc., and enrich them.
2 Things that reinforce the symbolic value of the design by helping build certain type of narrative.
3 Things that modulate the form and functionality of a design, by offering values like style, theme, consistency, novelty, etc.
1175 SPARTAN LIFESTYLE
Sparta, ancient Greek city-state had a reputation of military culture, with a severe and highly disciplined way of life, lacking many means of comforts. Greece had two city states, Athens, with rich or affluent life versus Sparta with ascetical life. The Spartans lived in southern Greece, from 650BC to 396 AD. Today Spartan life reflects sternly disciplined and rigorously simple, frugal, or austere living.
For Spartans, character, honour and virtue were important. They did not trust philosophers or intellectuals, believing that wisdom should be displayed through deeds. The Spartans were notoriously Laconic (=use of a minimum of words, concise), a word which comes from Laconia, (the region of Sparta). Spartan king ALCAMENES led an austere life, because a noble man lives according to reason, rather than according to his desires.
Spartan art and architecture were beautifully rendered, which is fairly contradictory to belief about the lifestyle.
Spartan way of life was frugal or minimal compared with the Athenian, the substantial. A minimal entity, is not necessarily infinitesimal or spectral, but rather selectively eliminatory (strip-down the unessential) or of denial. For such enforcement, a strong and singular belief must prevail. For Spartans, it was a case of survival as much as political proliferation.
1203 MICROCOSM
Microcosm is a perceptual entity that replicates a larger system. It is often considered as a contrasting concept of Macrocosm. A Tamil (Indian Language) line explains as ‘Andaththil Ullathu Pindathilum Ullathu’ and a Sanskrit line describes ‘Yat Pinde Tad Brahmaande’, both meaning the same =. What is in you, is the same as the Universe.
Microcosm and Macrocosm, both reflect the complexity of things, at whatever the scale. This shows the limitations of human thought and distinct incapacity to understand the complex processes. At both the levels, things that cannot be comprehended easily, explained ‘logically’ and universally applied, to all conditions and situations, find an inclusive approach or justification.
The analogy between the whole and its parts (or parts and the whole) served many purposes, such as to develop cosmology where the metaphysical relationship between man and universe can be perceived. Such a postulation helped find a space for the God and place for the smallest live thing, material objects or even metaphorical things like ideas, beliefs or concepts. It helped universe for the soul to exist.
The word microcosm has been discussed in many cultures over the ages. Microcosm derives from Latin microcosmus where mikrós=small, and kosmos =world. The concept of microcosm was known in Arabic as ʿālam aghīr, in Hebrew as olam katan, and in Latin as minor mundus.
DESIGN ACADEMICS 