The Art of Deconstruction #4

How can one go from being a student trying to make a great work to being the master who practices it…?

The dictionary meaning of Deconstruction states that it is- "the act of breaking something down into its separate parts in order to understand its meaning, especially when this is different from how it was previously understood".

From the perspective of Art scholars Deconstruction is a form of criticism used which asserts that there is not one single intrinsic meaning to be found in a work, but rather many, and often these can be conflicting. It was first used by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in the 1970s. In Derrida’s book La Vérité en peinture (1978) he uses the example of Vincent van Gogh’s painting Old Shoes with Laces, arguing that we can never be sure whose shoes are depicted in the work, making a concrete analysis of the painting difficult.

From the generic point of view the word deconstruction isn’t always associated with Art & Design movement “Deconstructivism”, it could also be about how one approaches his/her practice in search of new forms, surface finishes, material technology, manufacturing processes or research methodologies. In this context (my research), it’s more about how you deconstruct the methodology of ‘research through practice’ based upon the case studies of Artists/Designers/Makers who struggled in search of or to create new forms in their relevant fields. For me it’s the 5 essential steps through which one can develop their analytical lens to breakdown, understand, and learn from the success of others before you.

1. Identify the Purpose

What do you want to do? It’s very important to identify your goal before you start anything.

2. Research the subject and platform

Find the top performers or best examples on a subject and particular platform.

3. Deconstruct, Analyze, & Understand

If you’ve gone to art school, you might be familiar with the “masterwork copy” assignment.

You take a popular piece of art and simply copy it. Stroke by stroke. Color to color.

The purpose is to help students develop their skills quickly by understanding how the Masters made such great pieces of art. Through this process, they train their eyes on how to see and their hands how to make. Students add new tools to their toolbox as they solve the challenges of their own work.

4. Become A Reverse Engineer

Being able to reverse engineer something is one of the most effective ways to understand how great things are made and why they work.

You can do reverse engineering, but you can’t do reverse hacking

- Francis Crick

5. Emulate and apply

When you can decode the ingredients that makeup something great, you demystify its ge-

-nius into elements you can understand. From there, you can begin to emulate and adopt

these pieces into your own work. Based on the learning retention pyramid, this method of

active learning will help you cement the information for you to use later.

6. Improve Upon

Don’t just take from culture; contribute to it. The last step of this process is to apply your

new found knowledge towards the goal you’ve identified in step 1. Take the most relevant

elements of the best things you’ve consumed and improve them. Combine them together.

Make something new built off of what came before you.