ANIMAL’s feature Artist’s Notebook asks artists to show us their original “idea sketch” next to a finished piece. This week, Portland, Oregon-based artist Brenna Murphy shows detailed notes, 3D renders and workflow screenshots — the artifacts that make up “the states of pattern consciousness” inside her “cohesive ecosystem” and the piece Moon Cavern from her solo “Lattice~Face Parameter Chant” show at Upfor Gallery.
I try to organize my workflow so that each task is an end in itself but also feeds into a larger cohesive ecosystem.
I design shapes and textures in 3D programs. I use images of these shapes to make web page collages, prints and videos.
I convert the shapes into physical objects using digital fabrication tools like laser cutters, 3D printers and CNC routers. I arrange the shapes virtually and physically into intuitively resonant formations.
For me, the act of designing and arranging shapes is a form of meditation. It’s a way of expanding how I engage with the structure of reality. Inventing processes for accessing states of pattern consciousness – molding my mental pathways toward vibrational sensitivity.
These images are mostly screenshots from my workflow over the last few months.
A lot of these shapes and images are related to the installation, but they also live on as singular elements in my lil’ ecosystem… a stockpile of monads that I can continue to weave between virtual and physical space.
BRENNA MURPHY, MOON CAVERN (2013)
“LATTICE~FACE PARAMETER CHANT” AT UPFOR GALLERY, PORTLAND (2013)
Previous Artist’s Notebook selects:
Artist’s Notebook: Jonathan Monaghan
Artist’s Notebook: Rafaël Rozendaal
Artist’s Notebook: Kate Torn
Artist’s Notebook: Adam Ferriss
Artist’s Notebook: Genevieve Belleveau
Artist’s Notebook: Andrew Ohanesian
Artist’s Notebook: Buff Monster
Artist’s Notebook: Saoirse Wall
Artist’s Notebook: Jesse Darling
Artist’s Notebook: Melissa F. Clarke
Artist’s Notebook: Tristan Perich
Artist’s Notebook: Yoshi Sodeoka
Artist’s Notebook: Rollin Leonard
Artist’s Notebook: Don Hertzfeldt
