HIDDINGH LIBRARY C22 0031 8217 IIIIIIIUII il~ ~, "~ ~ ! ': Town THE ENIGMA MACHINE: Cape UNRAVELLING THE/DOMESTIC EXPERIENCEof NICOLA GROBLER University --\ \ \ _J A DISSERTATION SUBMITIED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF FINE ART FACULTY OF HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN 2004 The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the University ofof Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University Town Cape of University ~ "....u u o ..ca 0.. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisors, Johann van defder Schijff and Professor Gavin Younge for their tremendous support and expert guidance throughout the period spent producing the work and the accompanying exegesis. Thank you to Daan de Beer for his engineering work and technical solutions. Thanks also go to Ashley Shearar forfOf her insights on this dissertation.dissertation, to Moeneeb Dalwai for his assistance in the computercompurer lab, and to Cha.rlieCharlie van Rooyen and Martyn Adams f()ffor their assistance with the practical body of work. Thank you to my family and fi-iendsfriends for tbeiftheir encouragement and support. I acknowledge, with appreciation, financial assistance fromrrom the following butsars:bursars: McIver Scholarship, Jules Kramer Scbolarship,Scholarship, K.W. Johnston Bequest and W.JB.W.J.B. Slater Award. Town Cape of University Town Cape of University Town For my nart::IU3 Cape of University CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 THEORETICAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT 5 A. SPATIAL THEORY AND THE EMBODIED SUBJECT 6 CONTEXTUALISING OOMESTIC SPACES AS DYNAMIC 6 THE PERFORMANCE OF GENDER THE EMBODIED SUBJECT 7 B. DOMESTIC ROUTINE - MAINTENANCE AND OBLIGATION 8 DOMESTICIlY. MORALITY AND THE ILLUSION OF THE IDEAL HOME 8 A MUNDANE REVOLUTION: EVERYDAYTHEORY AND RESISTANCE 10 C. MACHINES AND THEIR MAKERS - PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY 14 THE CREATIVE POSSIBIlITIES OF TECHNOLOGY 15 THE AMBIGUOUS MACHINE: GENDER ASSOCIATIONS IN THE BACHElOR MACHINE PARADIGM 16 D. THE FICTIONAL HOME - FEAR AND DESIRE MADE VISIBLE 19 AN IMAGINED SPACE: DOMESTIC SPACE AS METAPHOR FOR EMOTIONAL STATES 19 THE THREAT OF THE DOMESTIC INTERIOR 20 THE LIMINAL EDGE DFTHE REAl 24 CONTEMPORARY REFERENCES 25 A. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE INSTALLATION AS ART PRACTICE 26 Town B. CONTEXTUALISING THE HOME IN CONTEMPORARY ART 28 BODY OF WORK 33 A. THE TUPPERWARE DAYDREAM - DOMESTIC SPACE AS CONTAINER Cape34 B. THE UNDESIRABLE MACHINERY OF THE HOME C. THE STATUS OF THE READYMADE of 35 D. ANIMATION, HUMAN BEHAVIOUR AND CONTROL 35 E. CONNECT, EXTEND AND ENTANGLE - THE TRANSGRESSIVE FUNCTION OF THE LINE 38 METHOD AND PROCESS 41 A. CHOICE OF MATERIALS 42 HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS AND APPLIANCES 12 FABRIC 42 CABLES. PLUGS AND ADAPTORS University 43 B. CONFIGURATION OF THE WORK THE THREAD THAT HOLDS THINGS TOGETHER 43 C. TECHNICAL INFORMATION ON THE MECHANISATION OF THE WORK 13 CONTROL BOXES 43 APPLIANCE CONTROL SYSTEM 43 HAIR DRYERS 44 DISHCLOTH MIXERS 14 KITCHEN TOWEL DISPENSERS 44 ORANGE SQUEEZERS 44 THE PULLEY SYSTEM 45 INDIVIDUAL WORKS 47 MONDAY 49 TUESDAY 535.3 WEDNESDAY 55 THURSDAY 57 FRIDAY 59 SAruRDAYSATURDAY 61 SUNDAY 63 CONCLUSION 64 SKETCHES 67 SELECT REFERENCES 92 Town Cape of University Town Cape of University ..- • f Nothing is contained I need the Universe as background. We float. 1) Think atmosphere Scratches, scrapings. TVs going on, switching off. Ghost wriring on the wall Strange occurences The lights flickering onloff II) Think noise Town Think big THUMP Think heavy boots marching Think TV screen pyramids, from wall to ceilin Think bigger Capethan Think a speaker, with a microphone and the soundof of rhundering applause. A little dog hops once, twice and jumps through a flaming III) Think quiet! There's a dripping, dripping, constant rattles, constant goings-on, Universitywatch ticking A mixer switches on, twirling a netted knotted skirt, and switches off. Someone coughs. On the TV screen, a tiny glimpse of fear followed by the sound of hundreds of shopping trolleys. The sound of a piano drifts on the hot evening air. Scales, arpeggios, a simple melody. INTRODUCTIONIINTRODUCTIDNNTRO DUCTIO N fiG.flG.lFIG. 1 ,IPREVIOUS(PREVIOUSPREVIOUS PAGE):PAGE!PAGE I :~ MONOA'!'MONOAVMONOAY AND TUESDAVTUESDA'!'TUESDAY 100,:III"'''nIM,3JJ."In~raJlari Ion'~ ..view,,,~ " .... UpsrairsUp""'lUp'''''' &0"«""gallery,j;lliorry. MiM.Mrct h.><l.sh~hhaeli l) Sc"S<SchtII.,1ou", 1I onl~ofnl~"t1.0p<T Fine .... At!.An. c.pcCapt: TuwhTown~ "'h . In todaycoday'smclay's capitalistcil.plC'ol pltalisccabsr $()('"iery,society, chethe environenvIronmenenvironmentmentt ooff tht.tht:the hohomhomeme has buomebecome increasinglyIncreaslnblymera-sHlgly insular.Insular. ThougThoughh cherethere mmamayayy be tdevl5lontdevlsiontelevision, !ntnnnInternet!ntnnet andlind ototheotherhe.r formfo rms of technologyttee-hnolosyec hnology that connconnectect one toco chethe 'outSide'oucside world', time !pespentSpentnt indoorsHldoors 1ISis5 for(or many peoplepeopl!!' timelImI,mee spent aalone.lone.one. MMyy body of work is coconcernedncerned wichwith an individual'sHldlvldual'smd.vidual's experienceexpenenceel(~rience withinwwiitthinhin the coconfinesnfines of the home.homhome,e. wherewhere the exterior (physical spacspace)e~ ) ~comt's~,omesbecomes IIa rdleccionrtilecrionreflection of therhe individuaindivindividual'siduall's imerloriinteriormerlor experic-nce.experirnceexperience,. ThTTn.ehee homehome takestakes on cheththee functiofunctionn of an eenigmanniiggmmaa mammachineachinechine''l whewhenn it becobecomestx-co mes~ a devicedevIcedevICe trhacthathat constantlyconscandytantly encodesencodes huhumanmanman responses.~sponses.responses, liIrItss workings can becomeb<oocome mysterious.mysterious, forfot instance,inscanc(:, whwhentn one ordinary household activi[}'actlvicyactivity SCOtSsC'tSsets off a screascreamstreamm of events, oorr when ititss familiar· aspectsaspectSaspects become strange.strange. At iCSItSits extremeeXTreme the homehome. can bebe: aa 'IethalIetlethallandscape'2hal landscapf'!andscape'l when (amiliarfamiliafamiliarr objectsobj~ts taketake-on on a memenacingnanng character.chhaaracteracterr_. UnravellingUnmvelhng (hrhthee domestic eexperiencexperience becomes a meansmeans tor:o revealrt"Veal rhethe undercurrentsundercurrenrsundercurren rs ofo( a 'no''normal'normal'rmal' exexistence.istence. In my lIiewview (hethe homehome isis notnOt at. nneucraleut!"...!unal sstagetage on00 whichwhich eve~eeventsnts~ unfOunfOldunfoldld.. InsteadInsInstte-adead rhrhl"thee homhomee shape'Sshl~shapes us, as wewe conrinuecannnUI"continue WHOwith ourour daily liveslIVeslives. The homehOllle becomes an arena in which physlralphysicphysicalal and eemotionalmotionalnal energy is15 transferredcramferredcrani(erred sodand anImaanimated. red . InIn mymy view,lIiew, domestic space Is-theISis thethe semngsetting for(or dynamic interchangeinterchange.inrerchange. A domestic Town space'space> isISis nornot fixed - it isis conStandyconstantly (rreinterpreted1"lnterpretedeinterpreted conctptconcepconceptually,tuually, I"motionallytmotionallyemotionally and inIn the imaginationImagination.imagination.. I argue thatthat aaalthoughlthougoughh a domestic spacesp3C1" is often accepted ;uas synonymoussynonymous with boredoboredomm and thrthehee mundane,mundane, itH offersOff'l"rS the potcruialpotentpotentialial for(orfor crearivityccrearearivltyrilllty and liberatedlliibefiHedberated (fformsaorms of ecxexpression.xprespression.slOn. IInn my in1/C'Stiga[ionin~sti8ainvestigationtj on ofo( domesdomestictic ! space.space, I tooktooookk intoinfOintO accountaccoum my expencnceeXpc'nenceexperience oof(isolarion isisolationolation aandnd emoemotionaltit ionalonal inreraniooiinteractionorCapeeranion with my environment.environmentenllironment. I also coconsiderednsidered therhe tradiuouadiuonaltraditionalnal ffemaleemale presence within the homehome,, andIlf)d how thisthis mmayay impactlmpllq oonn my owownn (female)(fe(femail")intemale) interpretation.interpretatioreoftation n. Itlrl$ isis thisrhis IIVvisionIISlOnsion thatrhat animaanimatestes and empowers the sserieseries of interlinked, and .separate,separate, artworksanwoanworksrks described in tthishishii dissertation.dissertarion. InIn thethl" first chachapter,pter, I examinee:oramine tthehe theoriestheories tthathat support mymy creative body ofof work.work. The firstfirs!firsr section offi-rsoffi.-rsoffers an eexplanationxplanation ofof 'lived'li1!C'<l'l iv~'~4 sspace.pace. SubjectsSubjects arcare affected by rhelrtheir relation to spaces, thereforet herefore domestiCdomestic spaces are dynamICdynamlCdynamic becabecauseuse thertheree isII, an iinteractionnteractionntel"decion beberweencwtweent'(n subi«tandsubsubjectject and envienllienvironmentronmtntonment. .AsAs my conceconcerconcernrnn lieslies withwitb a subjesubjtcrivesubjectivecrivc: experienceelo.:perienttc:xpc:rience within thethe home, IJ WIWillwillll est:ilbesestablishublishhsh rherthehe hum.:inhumJlnhuman subsubjectiject~r as embodied - one that is aalwayslways imimpimplicatedUniversityplilicacated iinn her/her/hisher/hhisis surroundings - and en,seerJgeengendered)nderedde:red !l - whc:rewwherehere gegenderndrderr forms an 'importantimportimportantant part of chethe subject'ssubject's identir:yidentityidentity.. The:The mythmyythth of thethe objectiveobjective'