Modularity, Grid, Pattern

 “Grids function throughout society.” (Lupton 187)

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untitled, Dan Flavin 1987

One of my favorite art pieces utilizes grids in their form. I took this photo when I was at the SFMOMA last winter. This untitled, work by Dan Flavin plays with red, pink, yellow, blue, and green fluorescent lights and places them parallel to each other. Perpendicular, are white support panels. Although they are there for support, my favorite thing about this piece is how the light reflects off the walls, panels, and even the floor.  Flavin's “grid offers a rationale and a starting point for each composition, converting a blank area into a structured field” (Lupton 543). The pattern of light still continues and extends off the actual physical piece of art and onto its surrounding environment. 

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This reading has really taught me that grids are everywhere. Sidewalks, buildings, streets, and even on our devices while scrolling through social media. Over the Summer, social media consumed me. It allowed me to stay "connected" with friends and family I could not see during this pandemic. I was scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Tiktok, Pinterest, and etc. The scrolling was endless, and my time was taken up by obsessing over media in tiny rectangles, that were placed in grids. It felt like I was a servant to my device. It was not until this Fall where I decided to take a leave from all social media (with the exception of this blog's Instagram). Taking this break has honestly, been a breath of fresh air. I feel productive, recharged, and weirdly just as if not more connected with those I cannot be physical with.

This week I attempted to recreate the scrolling experience through grids.“Grids for digital media are often built on the fly to organize chunks of content into collections of data that users can quickly scan” (Lupton 576). I organized each of my photos by color and included a corresponding color blocking grid. The color blocking grid creates a color story that most influencers utilize to organize their images. Color stories are an essential strategy for making your audience think and feel a certain way or take a specific action. I've created and demonstrated two color stories that give off different aesthetics.

  

Excerpt From: Ellen Lupton. “Graphic Design.” Apple Books. 

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