(Link to the article) (Link to the exhibit)
Overview
This abstract work has quite a bit to say about the very core of my senior thesis – collaboration and connection within a new paradigm of work. Spherodendron is a favorite piece of mine from a conceptual viewpoint, one that unsurprisingly fits within the context of work. For one, work is predicated on connection – on networking – and the power of the network effect. When taken with this constraint, we understand the power and complexity in the way people work together. From another constraint, we might see the complexity of the system of work, especially in the “digital nomad” work diaspora, where complexity stems from work, life, experience, and culture colliding into each other.
Key Takeaways
- This piece expands the general understanding of the complexity of the system we’re dealing with. Work, life, experience, culture, and so on are considerations of the system and the lifestyle I’m designing for.
- A key exponent of the Spherodendron is its relationship with understanding, reconciling with, and augmenting behavior.
- Closely related to work, the notion of network effect is put plainly and to great effect in this piece. There is power and complexity in the way people work together.
Excerpts
- “A Spherodendron is a three-dimensional network structure. It was created by using simple dichotomous branching.”
- “Complex networks are strong but also fragile, like an ecosystem. There is great strength in healthy non-linear forms.”
- “Understanding complex interactions is required for a positive future. Managing complex environmental-geopolitical-social-technological challenges requires a new interconnected approach.”
- “As the spherodendron structure expands from the center, the number of structural limbs doubles with each branching event.”
- “I hope to use art and engineering to create something that helps the public understand the interconnected, interdependent, mechanical character of our world.”
- “The interactions of the parts that make up all “life” systems are in essence mechanical. If we can understand the mechanisms that seed the origin of complex dynamic behavior, we can assume the interaction of the structure with the physics of the environment inclusively manifest the behavior. Structure + natural laws = behavior.”
