IPL-02 Disegno Lectures / Starting from Coordinates
1. Objectification
Listen, watch, read, and work through the theoretical material provided to develop an understanding of what is objectified by coordinates and how coordinates work as a tool for objectification. In addition, conduct your own research on the topic.
Our general key question is: “How to use the coordinates and the therefore given measurements and proportional relations of a real object in order to let the lively movements of the multiple possibilities of this object become actual?”
To describe the world as it is, in terms of what we call reality, we need coordinates. We compare, weigh, and organize. None of this would be possible without using coordinates to set a starting point and an end point, to measure the distance between them, and to relate them to other distances, other areas and other spaces.
We divide the world into proportional relationships, good and evil, right and wrong, poor and rich, sick and healthy, always worrying that the negative might be proportionally predominant. In order to eradicate the negative and increase the proportion of the positive in the world, we have to subjugate the world, dominate the world, put ourselves at the centre of the world.
This is our vocation, we have been convinced of this for centuries: Man is the centre of the universe.
But what is the universe? The term as we understand it today: “the whole world, the cosmos, the totality of existing things”, comes from the Latin universum “all things, all, all men, the whole world”, a nominalisation of the adjective universus “all together, all in one, whole, complete, referring to all”.
But what is to be applied to all? What is equally valid for all?
The Latin adjective universus corresponds etymologically to the statement “transformed into one”, from unus “one”, derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *oi-no- “one, unique” and the past participle of vertere “to turn, to turn round, to be turned round; to transform, to change, to translate; to be changed”, itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *wer- “to turn, to bend”.
The common universe, at the centre of which man sees himself, is therefore the movement that turns, reverses, transforms, transforms everything.
The determinations we make by means of coordinates ultimately serve to measure change, which we can only measure when the movement of change has destroyed all predetermined definitions.
Thus, from the perspective of human culture, the fundamental object is the constellation of stars that appears unchanging to us in the sky. This is where the coordinates come from. In reality, it is the incomprehensible speed of light of the stars, which appear to be fixed, but in fact have been extinguished for billions of years.2. Deconstruction
First, we need to define the term deconstruction in the sense of Disegno. When we perceive something with our senses, we involuntarily deconstruct what we perceive. We break down what we see into its basic forms. We do this without being aware of it.
When we draw, we consciously draw on this natural ability. Drawing, then, is both deconstruction and reconstruction in one interrelated act, transforming the deconstructed elements into what the viewer can identify through reconstruction.
In order to decode the coordinates inherent to each object (or, more precisely, the way we understand and encode what we call objective reality) with the means of deconstruction, we need to find suitable methods of decoding and encoding the coordinates.
For this, we work with the means of drawing (in the sense of Disegno).
Overview
Your task is to develop three different methods to decode and encode the objects of our reality.
Since every object created by man is based on coordinates, the corresponding coordinates must be found and isolated in every object. Thus, designing a material object, including a media object, requires deconstructing an existing object (natural or artifact) according to its inherent coordinates.
Purpose
Each of your methods (that is, your formalizations) should be seen as an experimental setting.
You have to find out which one is best suited for which purpose. So the first thing you need to do is define a purpose. For example:
In the case of relating two moving objects, you want to examine how the coordinates of the space between the objects change when the distances change.
To define the coordinates of an object that moves and morphs in time.
Measure the coordinates of my body in different positions, such as sitting, standing, lying, walking, squatting, and so on.
Basic question
The purpose must be related to a question you have asked, for example:
“How do I use the coordinates of one object to design another, perhaps completely different, object from it?”
“How can I design a static object based on the coordinates of a moving dynamic object?”
Or the other way around: “How do I design a dynamic object based on the coordinates of a static object?”, and so on.
Once you have defined your purpose and your basic questions, you need to find and arrange an appropriate setting.
Settings
Defining the spatio-temporal settings: How long you will work on a piece (if there is a set time or if you are working with an open end) and the size of the format.
In general, the measurements of space and time are the framework or grid of our basic coordinates.Define the physical aspects of your object(s), the position in space, the transformations in time. Specify the different types of coordinates, such as coordinates of a static object, coordinates of a self-movable object, coordinates of time, coordinates of space, and so on.
Define the materials you plan to work with; what surface (paper, canvas, directly on a surface such as a wall, floor, etc.), what tools you will use (brush, pencil, etc., in addition to those, perhaps also the use of apps), what colors, binders and other materials.
Assignment
Elaboration of three different methods (of deconstruction):
By formulating a specific purpose (the answer to why you are pursuing this purpose is determined by the question you provide),
by providing basic questions (one question for each method),
by defining the appropriate formal setting.
Begin by sketching out possible ways in which you will proceed methodologically.
Session 1
Outlining your methods (including purpose, your questions, and your settings) will be the topic of the 1st seminar session.
The session is a two-day onsite event. Online participation is available.3. Formalisation
We use the term formalization in its double sense: First, by defining the formal elements of the method (of deconstruction), and second, by using the results of deconstruction as forms (elements) for your composition.
Formalizing, then, means shaping (correcting, if necessary) the form of the methodological process as you practice it. Formalizing in this sense is identical with working on the method in terms of making it more precise step by step through actual experience.
Formalizing also means using the elements (and particles) obtained from the deconstruction to form different segments for your composition. So you can use the elements and particles directly from the deconstruction as well as the segments formed from them for your composition.
When you are sure that the method will work, formalize it, that is, describe the methods in a short text and add a score for each, showing how the settings and execution will work.
4. Composition
What Artistic Compositions Are –
Philosophical Considerations
Artistic composition is far more than the mere arrangement of visual or sonic elements—it is a deeply layered act of meaning-making that spans aesthetics, perception, and politics. Across philosophical traditions, composition has been seen not just as technique, but as a powerful gesture that shapes how we experience, understand, and inhabit the world.
From a phenomenological perspective, composition is the intentional forming of experience. Thinkers like Husserl and Merleau-Ponty emphasize that the way an artwork is composed affects how it is encountered. It is not simply about form, but about guiding perception—shaping how a world appears to consciousness through expressive structure.
In classical aesthetics, composition is defined through the ideal of unity in multiplicity. For philosophers such as Aristotle and Kant, a successful composition brings diverse elements into harmonious relation, creating a coherent whole that pleases both the senses and the mind. This is where beauty often resides—in the balance between variation and unity.
A structuralist or semiotic view shifts the focus to composition as the grammar of meaning. Thinkers like Roland Barthes and Nelson Goodman suggest that artworks function like languages: their parts (lines, colors, tones, words) are signs that follow certain rules or conventions. In this view, to compose is to construct a readable system of meaning.
But for thinkers such as Heidegger and Gadamer, composition is a more ontological act—a gesture of world-making. Here, artistic composition is not just representational or communicative; it is poetic in the ancient Greek sense of poiēsis—a bringing-forth of truth. The artwork composes a world that did not exist before.
Finally, critical theorists such as Adorno and Rancière highlight the political and ethical dimensions of composition. The choices made in any composition—what is included or left out, which voices are heard or silenced—reflect and shape social power. Composition becomes an act of framing the sensible, of determining who or what gets to appear in the shared space of meaning.
In this way, artistic composition is never neutral. It is always an act of intention, relation, revelation, and resistance—a dynamic interplay of form, meaning, and world.
Assignment
Create at least six compositions using each of the three methods. You can also combine the different methods, that is the respective forms (or elements).
The most important goal of the compositions is aesthetic quality, that is, to ensure that the composition has a neurophysical as well as an intellectual impact on the viewer.
You must have at least 18 compositions.
Session 2
The presentation of your compositions (including the way you formalized the parts of your composition) will be the topic of the 2nd seminar session.
The session is a two-day onsite event. Online participation is available.
5. The Theoretical Part
Overview
After making a series of works with different intellectual and technical approaches, you will be able to articulate your experiences throughout the process, from deconstruction to composition.
Experience is to be understood as the conscious adoption (and acceptance) of one's individual way of being drawn into the world, that is, one's way of drawing.
The assignment is to relate your final composition to the text on objectification as provided here.
Which positions of the text can be related to your experiences? Which are different? Focusing on the composition you have created here, what does it mean for you to be drawn into the world and what are the consequences?
The point is to connect your individual way of tracing and encoding what you perceive with the intellectual position.
How to approach your theoretical task
First of all, the aim is not to intellectually grasp and categorise the full complexity of the text on first reading. This will happen involuntarily, the more you read, the more you understand.
The philosopher Gilles Deleuze says that if you start reading philosophical texts as a beginner, you will not be able to grasp the whole image of thought in its multidimensional relations. It is much more important to find a passage or just a few sentences that resonate with you.
This is your starting point. Mark what strikes you, think about why, and write down your thoughts.
Now look at your compositions. Can you see a connection between your thoughts on the text and your artistic and creative results?
Since they both relate to the same object and its objectification, there is undoubtedly a connection in terms of content. You just have to recognise it. You are the link.
Assignment
Relate the results to the theoretical considerations given here to describe your experience with the methods you have chosen and how they relate to particular positions in the text. Do this by writing an essay.
An essay is a structured piece of writing that presents an argument, analysis, or interpretation of a specific topic.
Use a simple structure for your paper: introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Your essay should be between 10 and 12 pages (approximately 2,500 words) in length.
All written papers must be submitted at least three weeks before the official end of the semester, which is March 31 or September 30.
6. Design a Product
Design a product that communicates your work, such as a brochure, book, Web site, or of other kind.
Your product must include and relate methods, compositions, and essays. Begin with the basic questions and unfold the entire process of your elaboration as an interesting and compelling way to give the corresponding answers.
Session 3
At least the draft (or prototype) of the product to be designed will be the topic of the 3rd seminar session.
The session is a two-day onsite event. Online participation is only available upon request and justification.
Assignments Overview
Objectification: Listen, watch, read, and study the theoretical material provided. In addition, do your own research on the topic.
Define your purpose, your questions, your settings.Deconstruction: Develop three different methods (of deconstruction). Outline your methods.
►Session 1: Working together on the outlines for
Objectification and DeconstructionFormalization: Formalize your methods by describing them in writing and creating a score for each.
Composition: Create 6 compositions based on the methods. In the end, you will have at least 18 compositions.
►Session 2: Presenting the compositionsTerm Paper: Write an essay of between 10 and 12 pages.
Communication: Design a product that communicates your work, such as a brochure, a book, a website, or something else.
►Session 3: Presenting the product
The entire assignment (essay, final composition, and design product) must be submitted at least three weeks before the official end of the semester, which is March 31 or September 30.