Response to Essay by Francis Halsall –Observing Systems – Art from a Systems- Theoretical Perspective

One of the points we spoke about when we discussed this essay this morning, was how systems theories overlap each other and how we could all define ourselves, within this course, as systems artists.

An example which was given was that of the “system of a street corner” overlapping with the “system of a gallery” to create something else. This overlapping is evident in the art of Banksy bringing art outside from the galleries and therefore combining two systems.

We also discussed the work of Simon Morse. His work is concerned with systems as a way of viewing the world and showing how they encapsulate our view of things. He has also compared systems, such as the system of a gallery to the system of a company. Comparing systems may give us a better, clearer view of the world and a way to make sense of things around us.

A piece of his work, which sprung to my mind when he was mentioned during the discussion, was his custard pie fight piece “We Do What We Do Best Best “, created in 2005. To create this piece he observed systems of interaction within an office, which he had worked at, and also considered social systems of interaction to create his impression of a mass custard pie. This fight took place within an enclosed environment which would otherwise be a calm and ordered system.

He mentioned, when he came to speak to us, that he took inspiration for this piece from a Laurel and Hardy film called “Battle of the Century”, in which a mass custard pie fight takes place when one person accidentally hits another with a custard pie which acts as a catalyst causing a chain reaction which culminates in chaos.



On this course it is very important to study different systems to help us to create interesting and intelligent work and acknowledge the wider world around us.

A quote in the essay we were discussing was by Jack Burnham describing systems-aesthetic as:

‘An attempt to bring together artistic, technological and social conditions under the rubric of systems and a concern in them shared by a variety of groups including artists, scientists and social theorists.’

This describes the sharing and overlapping of information, which is what I am doing at the moment with my project. I’m looking at various other systems and thinking about ways to combine them within this design for interactivity brief. Some of the systems I have been observing for this brief include scientific and philosophical systems.

We also discussed the focus on the process and idea being more important within Systems Art. This was as opposed to Renaissance art, where the final creation itself was of utmost importance. This important point about systems art is mentioned in a quote at the start of the brief for this unit:

'…Design boundaries can be thought of as very elaborate systems of control'.
'The users of new media are becoming the content of the form'.
(P. Marshall, 2004, New Media Cultures, Arnold Press: London Pp.18)

The other quote, shown above, mentions how systems can be used to control the individual with a set of rules. Control is an important point involved with interactivity. How much control does the user want or need? Do people enjoy adhering to rules? Evidence that they do is clear from the popularity of video games, which can only be played by conforming to these rules...