Suspended on a Road from Here to There

Choice Segments from the Thesis Paper

From section 1.2 The Thesis and the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP)

Much of what is unique to ITP is part of the thesis itself; namely incorporating technology in service of the the final work...ITP has allowed me to translate a single idea through a multitude of mediums, using a multitude of techniques. I was never asked to choose a particular thematic path or a single medium. For this reason, I do not believe that "Suspended on a Road from Here to There", employing traditional drawing, 3D rendering software and rapid prototyping could have been created anywhere else.

From the section 2.3 Dimensional Typography

The extrusion, rotation, tubing and other methods of creating three dimensionality out of two dimensional typographic forms was beautifully presented in Dimensional Typography by J. Abbott Miller. As Miller..."Suspended on a Road from Here to There" builds on this conceptual framework - using similar digital solutions - to realize the typographic letterforms in tangible terms and embed meaning in shape, material, color and spacial arrangement.

From section 3.1 "Encounter"

Each syllable of the Marathi word has been collided with it's Eng- lish equivalent. The resulting Marathi letters have the English word embedded in the negative space of the sculpture, which represents the impact of language on the individual. The individual Marathi letters have been deformed and duplicated to look like people running and to represent the mobs that fled in the wake of both the bombings and riots. I chose to make each letter the same color in "Encounter" to enforce the idea of the connection between individual members...

From section 3.2 "Bombai"

The Shiv Sena, a political party, won control of the state government in Maharashtra in the wake of the Bombay bombings on a platform of Hindu nationalism. With the approval of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, the Shiv Sena changed the name of the city in 1997 to Mumbai. When I went 'home' in 2000, I saw a completely different world from the one I had experienced since my last visit in 1991.

From section 3.3 "Cowherd"

The English word "governor" is extruded and morphed to form its root, the Marathi word "govardhan," which means literally cowherd (Ganesan) I chose to use the word governor and its root govardhan because of the responsibility of governments to protect their citizens while maintaining basic human rights. The rough transition between letters of each word, and the physical depth of the piece is representative of the difficult transition from pre- to post-riot Mumbai ("Mumbai"). The deep blue color and the shape chosen for the piece were inspired by the Ashoka Chakra, the Wheel of Dharma.

From section 5.1 Conclusion

"Suspended on a Road from Here to There" is the culmination of two self-imposed challenges. The first is a purely technical challenge: could I learn a new software package, Maya, in a short amount of time for the purpose of creating very specific sculptures realized through a 3D printer...The second challenge, creating an aesthetic set of sculptures that also conveys a set of information to the viewer is every artists's goal.