Making Meaning
Blueprints for Future Outlaws: Architectural Drawing as Art Practice in Times of Change
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Liz Swanson
Blueprints for Future Outlaws is a mixed-media art project that centers on architectural drawing and exhibition as a mode of physical, psychological, and social construction. Developed over the course of eight years from 2016 – present, the project examines the complex relationship between national politics, collective trauma, and personal identity through drawing, photography, the display of interactive objects and contemplative video. Rooted in traditional drafting techniques, the project explores how architectural representation can serve as an orienting strategy for navigating and measuring the constancy of change. Contextually, architectural drawing is a fascinating visual language that brings to life an imagined world by providing instructions on how to build it. Optimistic by nature, blueprints begin with a survey of existing conditions and proceed through a series of interdependent vantage points linked by shared convention and code. Plans, sections, and elevations situate the body relative to earth and sky yet each on its own remains incomplete, limited and longing for the axis cannot contain: any single drawing tells but one part of story, its fullest meaning only revealed by the presence of its companions and one’s careful reading over time. This paper reflects on the creative process of producing this multisensory work; and discusses the experience and impact of exhibiting this work with specific emphasis on the site-specific storytelling aspects of its presentation to the community, within a former abolition-era home and refuge in Lexington, Kentucky.
Ephemeral and Entropic Properties of Ice as an Image-making Method
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Iwona Abrams
The paper explores the ephemeral and entropic properties of melting ice as a means of experimental image production and the impact of ambient data on image making processes. With reference to research and examples of a fieldwork developed in Sweden, the paper examines how natural phenomena can be apprehended and represented through unique image making methods and how these can be translated into aesthetic experience. The paper discusses first: How the transient and contingent qualities of ice can be employed in the process of making images on paper? Secondly: What if environmental and ambient data could be a part of the actual image production? The illustrated paper demonstrates a case study, conducted on locations, examining how creating images with fragments of ice from the lakes, can allow for the actual landscape to become physically an integral part of the image in a literal sense. Contrary to the traditional ‘mirror of reality’ pictorial conventions of the landscape, the paper examines the ability of ice-made images to capture the fragments of the landscape within the work. Through an investigation of irreversible and spontaneous change of melting ice and pigments applied to paper and observation of the relationships between different forms and systems, the research draws our attention to the way we consider the role of the environment in image construction. It also seeks to advance existing approaches within image media through the development of methodological, conceptual and aesthetic contributions to the environmental concerns of contemporary image making production.
Heritage in Motion: Digital Perspectives on Cultural Identity
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ilze Eklsa (Loza)
Heritage in Motion explores the dynamic relationship between tradition and innovation through digital artistry, emphasizing the UAE’s architectural heritage. This digital collage reimagines iconic elements like arches and geometric patterns, blending them with advanced digital techniques to create a dialogue between the past and present. The artwork transforms high-resolution photographs—captured in Abu Dhabi in the UAE—into abstract compositions that highlight the evolution of cultural identity. The project delves into continuity and transformation, reflecting how Emirati heritage evolves amidst rapid modernization. Traditional Islamic patterns and futuristic aesthetics juxtapose, symbolizing the balance between preserving history and embracing progress. The digital medium becomes a metaphor for this idea, simultaneously safeguarding and reinterpreting heritage. Heritage in Motion also emphasizes the UAE’s role as a cultural crossroads where local and global influences converge. By blending historical symbols with international design trends, the artwork demonstrates how cultural authenticity can coexist with global relevance. The abstracted forms invite viewers to reconsider the cultural significance of familiar elements, encouraging new interpretations of heritage. This project celebrates cultural heritage as a living, evolving force that continues to inspire contemporary design. Through its innovative approach, the artwork bridges the gap between tradition and innovation, honoring the past while shaping a forward-thinking vision for the future. It offers a fresh perspective on how heritage informs identity in a rapidly modernizing world.
