0:00:07.899,0:00:09.360 ALLAN MCCOLLUM:[br]If you can draw these simple forms– 0:00:09.360,0:00:12.080 the ball, cone, cube,[br]and cylinder– you can draw 0:00:12.080,0:00:14.353 a real picture the very first[br]time you try. 0:00:15.978,0:00:19.760 - I had an Uncle– his name was[br]Jon Gnagy– who had a television show 0:00:19.760,0:00:20.891 Learn to Draw. 0:00:21.320,0:00:22.280 -Today we're going to draw 0:00:22.280,0:00:25.600 a snow scene, in which we make[br]the paper work for us. 0:00:25.600,0:00:27.580 We don't have to do too much[br]work ourselves. 0:00:27.580,0:00:31.520 - And he would design these[br]drawings that he could then 0:00:31.520,0:00:33.260 teach other people how do to. 0:00:33.892,0:00:35.680 - Just put in those ragged 0:00:35.680,0:00:41.480 strokes, always remembering that[br]a pine tree is a rough cone form. 0:00:41.480,0:00:43.960 That post, you know,[br]is a cylinder form, 0:00:43.960,0:00:45.640 so you shade it down the left, 0:00:45.640,0:00:48.160 like this, to really make it[br]Round out. 0:00:48.160,0:00:50.520 Remember, our light's coming[br]from the other– upper right. 0:00:51.400,0:00:55.560 Yes, it used to be that the[br]mailbox was the chief point of 0:00:55.560,0:00:59.080 contact, but, you know,[br]nowadays, a lot of these folks 0:00:59.080,0:01:01.086 have television. 0:01:01.560,0:01:02.600 -You know, I knew him, and 0:01:02.600,0:01:05.400 I just got the feeling that it[br]never occurred to him to come up 0:01:05.400,0:01:09.400 with a painting or drawing that[br]he couldn't tell someone else 0:01:09.400,0:01:10.920 step-by-step how to do. 0:01:10.920,0:01:14.226 So I was just a child,[br]but that influenced me. 0:01:15.400,0:01:17.040 Whenever I design a project, 0:01:17.040,0:01:19.280 it's in my head while I'm[br]designing it that I would be 0:01:19.280,0:01:21.331 able to show someone else how to[br]do it. 0:01:24.513,0:01:30.040 This looks a little bare up[br]here, but for now, it's okay, 0:01:30.040,0:01:30.640 I guess. 0:01:30.640,0:01:31.640 The drawings that I sent 0:01:31.640,0:01:37.080 to Sao Paulo were done in 1989,[br]and they were created from 0:01:37.080,0:01:40.400 templates that I made in 1988. 0:01:40.400,0:01:45.520 The stimulus for this particular[br]drawings were triggered by an interest 0:01:45.520,0:01:49.080 in heraldry and the way that[br]families come up with images to 0:01:49.080,0:01:50.915 represent their family. 0:01:51.840,0:01:54.160 And I was thinking about[br]symbols, and I was thinking, 0:01:54.160,0:01:57.720 "Well, okay, we typically create 0:01:57.720,0:02:01.200 singular symbols so that we can[br]all feel we belong." 0:02:01.200,0:02:02.680 Like, we look at the American 0:02:02.680,0:02:05.294 flag, and we say, "Oh, we're all Americans." 0:02:06.400,0:02:10.000 It occurred to me that if one[br]used a certain kind of logic 0:02:10.600,0:02:14.120 and really worked at it,[br]one could come up with a system 0:02:14.120,0:02:17.272 that would produce a shape for[br]everybody on the planet. 0:02:18.400,0:02:21.760 The idea of trying to picture[br]a billion or a million 0:02:21.760,0:02:25.000 Is something we think we can do.[br]But we can't. 0:02:33.600,0:02:36.240 Say you're a general in the 0:02:36.240,0:02:39.200 army, and you have to send[br]al these troops out to have 0:02:39.200,0:02:42.198 a battle, and you know only[br]so many are going to come back, 0:02:42.943,0:02:46.400 and it's gonna break your heart[br]and make you sick unless you 0:02:46.400,0:02:50.774 start thinking of them as[br]all alike in some way: 0:02:51.880,0:02:54.120 just soldiers, just units, you know. 0:02:54.120,0:02:56.680 And, I mean, that's an extreme 0:02:56.680,0:02:59.920 example, but there's times when[br]you have to think about people 0:02:59.920,0:03:03.295 in categories, or you'll go crazy. 0:03:04.920,0:03:06.480 But that can go wrong also, and 0:03:06.480,0:03:09.011 it's something you have to watch[br]and think about. 0:03:11.200,0:03:13.880 One of the things that I'm[br]a little concerned about is, 0:03:13.880,0:03:19.040 when you get, like, a whole[br]bunch of the same width 0:03:19.040,0:03:20.040 and the same... 0:03:20.040,0:03:20.580 - Mm-hmm. 0:03:20.580,0:03:22.240 - you know, that's just another[br]thing to... 0:03:22.240,0:03:25.327 - Wait, you mean like different sizes? 0:03:25.327,0:03:26.200 - Like, you don't want two the 0:03:26.200,0:03:27.566 same size together. 0:03:28.040,0:03:29.720 You don't want two the same[br]width together. 0:03:29.720,0:03:30.280 You don't want two... 0:03:30.280,0:03:30.910 - Yeah. 0:03:30.910,0:03:33.080 - I mean, it's so funny.[br]It has nothing to do with what's 0:03:33.080,0:03:35.479 in the frame, you know?[br][both chuckle] 0:03:39.000,0:03:40.000 Sometimes you can't do anything 0:03:40.000,0:03:43.213 about it, but if you can,[br]you know, shift it so that-- 0:03:43.213,0:03:44.320 -Okay, so I'll[br]double-check that. 0:03:44.320,0:03:45.768 -Yeah, I mean, that's just[br]one thing. 0:03:49.560,0:03:51.680 In my youth, I worked in[br]factories quite a lot. 0:03:51.680,0:03:54.464 I mean, I worked in industrial[br]kitchens quite a lot. 0:03:57.240,0:03:59.680 And my parents worked in[br]factories. 0:04:07.120,0:04:08.840 I found myself wanting to try to 0:04:08.840,0:04:12.440 work in quantities and make[br]things that were singular and 0:04:12.440,0:04:13.871 unique at the same time. 0:04:18.520,0:04:20.920 We probably define uniqueness by 0:04:20.920,0:04:23.280 thinking, "Oh, it's not[br]mass-produced." 0:04:23.280,0:04:26.280 I felt I wanted to resolve that[br]on a higher level. 0:04:26.280,0:04:29.240 But there is, of course, the[br]drama of thousands of things. 0:04:29.240,0:04:33.360 It can be nightmarish, or it can[br]be wonderful feeling of 0:04:33.360,0:04:36.680 abundance, and it can go back[br]and forth. 0:04:36.680,0:04:39.720 And there's a lot of[br]emotionality when you see 0:04:39.720,0:04:42.040 thousands of things. 0:04:42.040,0:04:43.360 Some people would want to run 0:04:43.360,0:04:45.760 out of the room when there's[br]too many objects to look at, 0:04:45.760,0:04:47.950 and other people would stand[br]there in awe. 0:04:52.960,0:04:56.240 There's also a kind of science[br]fiction element in here where– 0:04:56.240,0:04:59.560 of, like, something that sort of[br]takes over and grows. 0:05:11.600,0:05:15.000 When I'm juggling ideas of what[br]I'm gonna do next, 0:05:16.498,0:05:20.120 one of the considerations that's major[br]always in my mind is, "Does it 0:05:20.120,0:05:21.144 make a good story?" 0:05:23.920,0:05:25.240 I put it in my mind that it 0:05:25.240,0:05:28.423 would be interesting to work[br]with people I had never met, 0:05:28.942,0:05:32.258 that I only communicated with[br]over email or telephone. 0:05:33.680,0:05:37.295 Like, you go in to see the exhibit. 0:05:37.295,0:05:41.647 Well, it could just be looked at[br]as a bunch of little decorative objects. 0:05:44.240,0:05:45.760 But there's a story[br]that goes with it. 0:05:45.760,0:05:47.228 You can tell it rather quickly. 0:05:48.560,0:05:52.040 I wanted it to be: "Oh, the[br]artist went on the internet. 0:05:52.040,0:05:53.320 The artist found four people 0:05:53.320,0:05:57.120 from the state of Maine who all[br]of whom worked from their homes 0:05:57.120,0:06:01.440 and all of whom made shapes,[br]and he never met them. 0:06:01.440,0:06:07.840 It was sort of about the–[br]the exotic, faraway place, 0:06:07.840,0:06:08.840 I mean, which, to me– 0:06:08.840,0:06:12.240 I've only been to Maine once in[br]my life, and it seems very 0:06:12.240,0:06:13.609 exotic to me, Maine. 0:06:13.609,0:06:17.156 [low, deep rumbling] 0:06:17.156,0:06:18.996 And I started becoming[br]interested in people who had 0:06:19.560,0:06:22.640 businesses in their homes and[br]also kind of very independent. 0:06:22.640,0:06:27.200 And kind of like the contrary to[br]our obsession with globalism 0:06:27.200,0:06:29.880 right now, you know, is that[br]there are people locally all 0:06:29.880,0:06:33.085 around us working in their[br]homes, making thousands of things. 0:06:36.200,0:06:37.484 I looked on the web. 0:06:38.680,0:06:44.200 I looked up "Maine," you know,[br]On– googled, "Maine, craft, 0:06:45.160,0:06:47.920 home," you know, all the words[br]that would lead me to people who 0:06:47.920,0:06:51.040 worked at home and made craft[br]in Maine. 0:06:51.040,0:06:54.120 And I had to sift through[br]hundreds and hundreds and– 0:06:54.120,0:06:57.280 and slowly realized, "This is[br]a huge thing in maine: you know, 0:06:57.280,0:07:00.320 people working at home making[br]crafts and then selling them on 0:07:00.320,0:07:01.520 the internet. 0:07:01.520,0:07:06.120 I chose a narrow group of them[br]who basically did shapes, 0:07:07.880,0:07:11.920 Like rubber stamps,[br]ornaments, 0:07:11.920,0:07:14.652 silhouettes,[br]and cookie cutters. 0:07:16.683,0:07:20.320 And then I wrote them lengthy[br]emails about my work and what 0:07:20.320,0:07:22.960 my interests were and why[br]I wanted do to this, I mean, 0:07:22.960,0:07:26.820 emails that--much too long,[br]I'm sure. 0:07:28.039,0:07:29.839 - I had no idea who he was. 0:07:32.280,0:07:37.120 My first thought was that he[br]might be a kid claiming 0:07:37.120,0:07:37.920 to be an artist. 0:07:37.920,0:07:40.100 Of course, you don't ever know[br]on an email. 0:07:41.680,0:07:46.320 And then after I investigated[br]and went to his website, 0:07:46.320,0:07:49.336 I found out that he was quite[br]an accomplished contemporary artist. 0:07:55.317,0:07:57.760 [metal clicks softly][br]-The cookie cutter people? 0:07:57.760,0:07:58.240 I don't know– 0:07:58.240,0:07:59.040 I don't know how they– 0:07:59.040,0:08:01.880 I never watched how they did[br]what they did, so they– 0:08:01.880,0:08:06.080 If they invented a new–[br]a way they hadn't done before– 0:08:06.080,0:08:08.760 I do know that they used to make[br]snowflakes, and there's no way 0:08:08.760,0:08:10.920 this shape is more complicated[br]than the snowflakes 0:08:10.920,0:08:11.853 they were making. 0:08:11.853,0:08:12.962 [laughs] 0:08:14.000,0:08:17.400 -Some of his shapes were very[br]difficult. 0:08:17.400,0:08:18.420 It was challenging. 0:08:18.420,0:08:19.160 [chuckles] 0:08:19.160,0:08:24.960 And actually, I would say, after[br]making the shapes for Allan, 0:08:24.960,0:08:27.240 That I'm improved. 0:08:27.240,0:08:30.240 I mean, I'm better at what I do[br]because– because of that 0:08:30.240,0:08:35.850 project, because I actually[br]learned how to do some things better. 0:08:44.787,0:08:49.294 - I've been doing[br]combinatorial projects for 40 years. 0:08:50.400,0:08:52.920 All my projects have had[br]combinatorial elements, where 0:08:52.920,0:08:56.640 I'm taking a vocabulary of parts[br]and putting them together to 0:08:56.640,0:09:00.560 make something else, you know,[br]which is very computerlike, 0:09:00.560,0:09:03.720 but there was never any computer Involved. 0:09:03.720,0:09:11.320 The Shapes Drawings Individual Works Project, 0:09:11.320,0:09:14.600 neither of which[br]involved any computers. 0:09:14.600,0:09:17.840 The drawings even look like[br]the shapes that I'm working on 0:09:17.840,0:09:21.453 now, but they were all done by[br]hand with pencil. 0:09:23.033,0:09:24.890 And I didn't have a computer at[br]that time. 0:09:25.680,0:09:30.840 In those days, I was using[br]photocopiers and stencils and 0:09:30.840,0:09:31.752 things like that. 0:09:33.400,0:09:36.320 Whereas if I had to do this with[br]stencils, it would've taken me 0:09:36.320,0:09:40.760 an hour, but what I can do now[br]is just reach up here 0:09:40.760,0:09:47.600 and copy one shape, like that,[br]and then go over here 0:09:47.600,0:09:53.362 and copy another one,[br]and then I can put those together. 0:09:54.400,0:10:01.776 And then copy a bottom,[br]and put that together. 0:10:03.040,0:10:07.640 And then copy, you know,[br]a bottom that goes on the right, 0:10:07.640,0:10:09.451 and we'll put that together. 0:10:11.640,0:10:16.135 And then I have a shape,[br]and it has its own I.D. Number. 0:10:16.880,0:10:18.718 I mean, this just doesn't take[br]very long. 0:10:19.440,0:10:25.720 So with these four shapes, I can[br]make around 200 or so million 0:10:25.720,0:10:27.240 unique shapes. 0:10:27.240,0:10:30.600 But there's another system where[br]I use six shapes, 0:10:30.600,0:10:35.040 and then there's these things[br]I call necks, like your neck. 0:10:35.040,0:10:38.480 Like, this is a body with[br]a neck, and then the top part 0:10:38.480,0:10:39.680 is a head. 0:10:39.680,0:10:43.760 So then once you start using[br]this system, you can produce 0:10:43.760,0:10:45.416 60 billion shapes. 0:10:46.680,0:10:51.160 Once I got all the shapes made,[br]I started combining them into 0:10:51.160,0:10:52.760 tops and bottoms. 0:10:52.760,0:10:55.400 Then instead of making four[br]parts, I would only have to put 0:10:55.400,0:10:56.880 together two at a time. 0:10:56.880,0:11:01.280 Then I put them in what I call[br]arrays of 144. 0:11:01.280,0:11:07.280 So I can copy this array and[br]combine it with this array. 0:11:07.280,0:11:10.320 Then I'm making 144 shapes[br]at once, and that's called 0:11:10.320,0:11:11.880 a collection. 0:11:11.880,0:11:15.080 That's how I produce them:[br]in collections of 144. 0:11:15.080,0:11:18.840 The number 144, there's an irony[br]to it 'cause it's considered 0:11:18.840,0:11:20.312 a gross in industry. 0:11:21.869,0:11:26.200 This is one of the collections[br]that was sent to horace varnum 0:11:26.200,0:11:28.193 to do the wooden shapes. 0:11:30.440,0:11:32.560 -Every one is absolutely[br]unique. 0:11:32.560,0:11:33.933 Every one is different. 0:11:35.881,0:11:39.640 ome, you sit there,[br]and you work with them. 0:11:39.640,0:11:40.760 You cut with them. 0:11:40.760,0:11:44.280 And it's almost like sitting in[br]a psychologist's office, and you 0:11:44.280,0:11:47.560 see shapes: this is a wolf head.[br]This is an angel. 0:11:47.560,0:11:49.040 This is– 0:11:49.040,0:11:52.982 So it's fun.[br][machine whirring] 0:11:57.880,0:11:59.360 See, it's soft enough that it 0:11:59.360,0:12:05.886 won't cause any damage, unless[br]you're doing it for an hour or two. 0:12:07.511,0:12:10.483 It's what thieves do to take off[br]their fingerprints. 0:12:14.727,0:12:15.445 [laughs] 0:12:20.297,0:12:23.248 -The idea of making an object[br]for everybody in the world 0:12:24.760,0:12:27.640 is absurd.[br]Yeah, of course. 0:12:27.640,0:12:30.600 I mean, I couldn't possibly[br]do it. 0:12:30.600,0:12:36.960 But it would be nice if everyone[br]in the world– doesn't this sound 0:12:36.960,0:12:39.640 like a child talking–[br]if everyone in the world could 0:12:39.640,0:12:42.273 agree on a symbolic system,[br]You know? 0:12:43.040,0:12:46.800 And it hasn't happened yet,[br]but it's– I think it's– 0:12:46.800,0:12:49.777 it might, you know,[br]one day. 0:12:58.800,0:13:16.560 [soft electronic music]