Ineffable

ineffable by Mary Flanagan

Mary Flanagan "ineffable" (2005)

Summary

"ineffable" is a computer program that translates emails between two communicators and displays their correspondence in an interpreted map, both audibly and visually, showing the use of their language. A collection of factors play into what sounds are made and what images are generated. Time between correspondence, length of replies, repetition of phrases, and phonetics of words used all play into the ‘user-generated’ artwork - individual to every pairing of email conversations.

Critical Analysis

Derived from the use of language, "ineffable" creates a pair of digitally animated maps representing each half of the conversation, split between a 'moving line map' and a ‘voice organism’ colour collage generated by the program. The line map interprets sound structures input through the system into illustrated forms - representing the frequency of the phonemes created by the email in the line's thickness and colour. The voice organism illustrates both time and the change in language (phonetics and structures) over time in the conversation. Dates between correspondence alter the complexity and transparency of the art while the input of phonemic sounds into the program outputs a consistent 'sound voice' and thus consistent visual mapping. The program also interprets 'sound signatures' within the emails and creates noises based on the fundamentals of the writer's most frequently used sounds. For example, if a lot of mmm's and err's can be found the program will likely murmur audibly to represent this.

Social Implications

While email at the time was being regarded as an increasingly popular and highly permeating form of communication, Mary Flanagan was wondering what was happening to our voice. Direct vocal connection was being replaced by text-based interactions. "The ramifications of the nearly wholesale replacement of our physical voice with a detached written text continues to be felt everywhere email is used, whether connected to work or play, intimate exchange or legal agreements." "ineffable" depicts real language text through a digital voice created by the program. It's a subversion of the physical voice being lost in the digital and spoken back via a computer-translated visual and audible platform. As emails, social media, and texting continue to overpower in their abundance, the initial social context of Flanagan's artwork stands with an even more impactful poignancy unforeseen upon its release.

Exhibition Technique

Although "ineffable" was first premiered via projection and split-stereo audio at SIGGRAPH 2004 Art Gallery it is now eternalized in a video-captured medium on YouTube

ineffable, 2005. Computer Application, Mary Flanagan

References

Wiki Authors

• Brock Newman and Silver Burla