Hostile Surfaces by Alexandra Abranches

Throughout our artistic and artistic-research collaboration, we explore strategies to reflect on the experience of writing and drawing. Gestalt psychology often focuses on sensory phenomena, particularly in visual arts, which provide ample opportunities to test our Gestalt-forming abilities. However, much less attention has been given to Gestalt formation in linguistic media such as poetry, literature, or drama. The Gestalt potential of texts is vast, especially when we consider elements of form and rhetorical devices like alliteration, repetition, and metaphor (Bakhtin, 1991). These features structure language in ways that guide our perception of coherence and unity, echoing the principles of Gestalt in visual arts. In linguistic media, alliteration and repetition create rhythmic patterns similar to visual symmetry, while metaphor allows readers to form holistic images by linking disparate ideas. When reading a text, we assemble fragments of meaning, tone, and structure into a cohesive whole, much like how we organize visual elements into recognizable patterns. This active process shows that Gestalt principles can shape our understanding of both images and language. In our work, we experiment with micro-narratives paired with visual objects (Davis, Essays One, 2019) (Davis, Essays Two, 2021) to illustrate how each medium enhances the other. Text can illuminate visual objects, providing context and shaping interpretation, while visuals can add depth to text, grounding abstract concepts. A visual object might seem fragmented in isolation but gains coherence when accompanied by narrative. Conversely, a text’s impact is heightened by a visual that anchors or contrasts with it. This interaction taps into our brain’s innate drive for unity, revealing how text and image can mutually reinforce our Gestalt-forming abilities. The “hostile surfaces” of text and image create a tension that compels us to find connections, enriching our engagement with both (Jameson, 2024). Each medium acts as a Gestalt anchor, drawing out layers of meaning that would be inaccessible if each stood alone. REFERENCES: Bakhtin, M. (1991). The dialogic imagination: Four essays by M. Bakhtin. Austin: University of Texas Press. Davis, L. (2019). Essays One. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Davis, L. (2021). Essays Two. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Jameson, F. (2024). Mimesis, Expression, Construction: Fredric Jameson's Seminar on Aesthetic Theory. (O. Esanu, Ed.) London: Watkins Media Limited.

contents
navigation
abstract
Throughout our artistic and artistic-research collaboration, we explore strategies to reflect on the experience of writing and drawing. Gestalt psychology often focuses on sensory phenomena, particularly in visual arts, which provide ample opportunities to test our Gestalt-forming abilities. However, much less attention has been given to Gestalt formation in linguistic media such as poetry, literature, or drama. The Gestalt potential of texts is vast, especially when we consider elements of form and rhetorical devices like alliteration, repetition, and metaphor (Bakhtin, 1991). These features structure language in ways that guide our perception of coherence and unity, echoing the principles of Gestalt in visual arts. In linguistic media, alliteration and repetition create rhythmic patterns similar to visual symmetry, while metaphor allows readers to form holistic images by linking disparate ideas. When reading a text, we assemble fragments of meaning, tone, and structure into a cohesive whole, much like how we organize visual elements into recognizable patterns. This active process shows that Gestalt principles can shape our understanding of both images and language. In our work, we experiment with micro-narratives paired with visual objects (Davis, Essays One, 2019) (Davis, Essays Two, 2021) to illustrate how each medium enhances the other. Text can illuminate visual objects, providing context and shaping interpretation, while visuals can add depth to text, grounding abstract concepts. A visual object might seem fragmented in isolation but gains coherence when accompanied by narrative. Conversely, a text’s impact is heightened by a visual that anchors or contrasts with it. This interaction taps into our brain’s innate drive for unity, revealing how text and image can mutually reinforce our Gestalt-forming abilities. The “hostile surfaces” of text and image create a tension that compels us to find connections, enriching our engagement with both (Jameson, 2024). Each medium acts as a Gestalt anchor, drawing out layers of meaning that would be inaccessible if each stood alone. REFERENCES: Bakhtin, M. (1991). The dialogic imagination: Four essays by M. Bakhtin. Austin: University of Texas Press. Davis, L. (2019). Essays One. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Davis, L. (2021). Essays Two. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Jameson, F. (2024). Mimesis, Expression, Construction: Fredric Jameson's Seminar on Aesthetic Theory. (O. Esanu, Ed.) London: Watkins Media Limited.
Alexandra Abranches, Pedro Alegria - Hostile Surfaces - 2024
Meta
Comments
Terms

The antiphon echoes catholic and salvific through atriums, cells and buildings. The meteor that crossed the skies, harbinger and danger, confirms the darkest hypothesis, cosmic and monosyllable. The geranium in the window, withered. The pages of the codex, asymmetrical. The pendulum of the incense burner, irregular. So many indices, signs and warnings. The camphor that doesn't soothe the illness. The hemp that doesn't numb the limbs. The chapter that doesn't end. The metaphor that doesn't suggest. The semen that doesn't preserve. The censer that doesn't rescend. The trade that doesn't please. The clergyman's expertise that doesn't convince. The parish priest's technique that doesn't change. The lilies, the chrysanthemums, the asters that don't adorn.

The fateful Nordic season is approaching and it will come as no surprise when there's a crash and a bang, a shake and a tumult. Tomorrow belongs to the vandals.

Azure

Tip

Tip