The archive is conceived as a four-dimensional space, in which research is a four-dimensional body, and projects, series and individual works are two-, one- and zero-dimensional elements within it. Each work, realized or potential, is a point on a line; these lines define series of works; and these series lie on surfaces that define projects. Projects exist in three-dimensional spaces that are themselves projections of the four-dimensional body that determines a research field. Where two research fields overlap, a work can belong to both, and nothing forces a choice between them. In such instances the same work can also belong to separate projects and/or series — this is more often the rule than the exception.
Mathematically, this four-dimensional body is called a 4-simplex, or 5-cell — the four-dimensional counterpart of a tetrahedron, bounded by five tetrahedra the way an ordinary tetrahedron is bounded by four triangles.
A work is defined by three coordinates: Element, Form, and Locus. Element is what it’s made of, in the broadest sense, which can include non-material substances like words. Form is the shape it takes, including forms that unfold in time. Locus is what it’s about.
In this model a discipline or an artistic medium — e.g., sculpture, photography, painting, printmaking — isn’t a fourth coordinate. It’s a particular combination of the other three: a material practice (Element), a formal practice (Form), and a discursive practice (Locus).
Beyond those three coordinates, there’s one more distinction: how far along something is toward being made. A proposal is a project that’s been posed but not yet built. Once it’s actually built, it’s realized.
Browse the archive through the morphospace, or by axis in the archive.