MORNING DISCUSSION: INDEXING
Indexing is a way to make a picture of something. The picture is a trace of the original object. The picture is impossible to make without help from the real object. A footprint is a picture that is made with the help of a shoe. It isn’t a picture of a shoe, but it is a trace of a shoe. The shoe leaves a clue. Smoke is a picture of a fire. It isn’t the fire, but it is a trace of the fire. The fire leaves a clue.
We have probably made indexes before. Dumping wet sand out of a bucket makes an index of the bucket (and a sand castle). We’ve all tracked through snow. Making a crayon rubbing over a leaf is an index.
Artist Richard Long made a trace of his walk back and forth through a field. Artist Janine Antoni made an index of her whole body by dipping into a tub of lard and leaving an imprint. Julia Mandle makes chalk shoes that trace the path of the wearer.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: INDEX YOUR NAME OUT OF THE CITY
Your name is hidden in the city. No one knows where it is except you and you can find it if you want to. Find the letters of your name anywhere in the city on plaques and signs. Rub them into onto paper with crayon and latter arrange them into your name.
Anne Thulson 