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OUT
OF CONTROL
Cheryl
A. Beckett
University of Houston
Lorenz Attractor- sensitive dependence on initial conditions Ð otherwise known as the theory about the butterfly. The flapping of a single Butterfly's wings produces a tiny change in the state of the atmos-phere. Perhaps in a months time, causing a tornado half a world away.
Creativity, problem solving, concepts, content development, strategies, form giving Ð all important traits for the designer Ð are often accomplished by synthesizing or linking the seemingly unrelated. Placed in an environment which forces this methodology, students strengthen their ability for interconnectivity. Designing at the edge of chaos, without total control, with the unknown at the forefront, is a methodology which enables the student/designer to think on their feet. In this series of studies, control and chance work side by side. Like the roll of a dice, certain elements of chance predetermine part of the process. The student enters a world unfamiliar and not of their own choosing. Within this world of chance, unplanned discoveries are made. The mind atunes to find links,develop ideas, and personalize discoveries within any given environment. Accident and serendipity interact with synthesis and analysis. To set the stage, the assignment sheet displays only an unexplained diagram of Lorenz Attractor (see left). The dictionary is passed around and two words selected. In two days, interconnectivi-ty and a composition is expected. The process is not revealed at this juncture, nor additional explanations given. Uncertainty gives way to possibility as the student engages in the process. The entire series of 8 studies are rapid and intend to create variety of thought, location, methodology and media. They include: a site analysis determined by throwing a dart at a map of Houston, recontextualizing passages of randomly selected fiction, mapping memories of the previous day, diagramming a random process, a consumption analysis through gro-cery store items, composing with "found" objects, and creating a work of random kinetics. Order and control is reestablished in the final presentation. All compositions are refined and presented as a series. The student develops an iconography and process definition that appears on each composition. This establishes a systematic organizational structure. Most students additionally developed a conceptual link to interconnect all explorations. A designed folio contains the series.