Abstract
This Multimodal Sensations article explores embodied experiential metaphors. It focuses on the salient modalities of interaction with wood texture. As both an artist and researcher, I have been particularly concerned with how social semiotic theory can be applied to my work, and specifically, how concepts from multimodal analysis can be transformed into the process of multimodal artistic creation. This article reflects on an example linking a historic anniversary, the texture of ancient wood and interaction of a local participant audience. The analysis applies a combination of concepts gleaned from the theories of Theo van Leeuwen (2016), Juhani Pallasma (2012) and Kjetil Røed (2019) to participant reflections from an art project called ArtClimateRoad.
Keywords
Introduction
Throughout most of 2021, I have been responsible for various installations and performances to mark ‘1150 years of Tønsberg, the city of Sagas’ with a project entitled ‘ArtClimateRoad’. Among various installations is the work ‘Archaeological split trunk’. This work has a basic structure consisting of a street deck in wood, where trunk slices of ancient oaks are the central feature. This artistic work also had a research side, where I documented and examined the participant audience experiences when meeting history as reflected by the wooden material’s integral texture. In one of the performances, the audience drew themselves into the city’s history by colouring an annual ring. This gave rise to many interesting lines of thought, which I will share and reflect on in this article (Thorsnes and Veum 2013, 2018; Thorsnes 2015, 2019). The meaning potential for art expression in the project ArtClimateRoad are many, and a main question for me as an artist is the following:
How to use the potential encompassed in local history and make an art project, which generates awareness about identity and possibilities for good, environmentally conscious lives, leaving careful climate footprints?
The findings and reflections that follow are based on reactions of the participant audience and are framed by some of the concepts arising from the work of Theo Van Leeuwen (2016), Juhani Pallasma (2012) and Kjetil Røed (2019). I have found interesting connections between these writers, which I try to combine in reflection on this project.
Theory and methods
Van Leeuwen’s article ‘A Social Semiotic Theory of Synaesthesia?’ (2016) discusses whether different modes of expression have some common qualities, which make us perceive unity. The introduction with references to Aristotle, texture and metaphors, I find very relevant for this project. Van Leeuwen (2016) describes different textural parameters that can be perceived by touch, such as liquidity, viscosity, temperature, relief, density, rigidity, heterogeneity, regularity and roughness. He also describes metaphorical and other kinds of meaning potential in each parameter. In liquidity for instance, dryness may convey ageing. Van Leeuwen presents examples of embodied experiential metaphors stimulated by touch and texture.
Touch is also a keyword for Juhani Pallasma (2012). His book: The eyes of the skin, architecture and the senses (2012), presents interesting thoughts about materiality, texture and touching. Pallasma perceives that we live in a visual world, and that visual elements are volatile, not to be trusted and can even be seductive. He tells us that these elements in a visual world, and in modern architecture, can be used in a way that makes us feel lonely. The loneliness of real life combined with virtual fabricated dream worlds do not seem to be a way to achieve environmentally aware lives, where we have a sense of being part of the environment. However, Pallasma opens our vision to the potential of creating meaning in meetings with natural materials. Pallasma also explains how a kind of ‘common sense’ can be generated by the mind, which melts different kinds of modes into a unity. Our eyes stroke distant surfaces, contours and edges, and the unconscious tactile sensations determine the agreeableness or unpleasantness of the experience. The distant and the near are experienced with the same intensity, and they merge into one coherent experience (Pallasma 2012:46).
Kjetil Røed is one of the most important art critics and writers in Norway. He has written the book ‘Kunsten og livet, en bruksanvisning’ (‘Art and life, a user guide’) (2019). In this book, he questions the importance of art, asking why it exists and for whom. He explores Aristotle’s virtues in meeting art, and develops the concept of Aesthetic Virtues, with 11 different virtues including attention, judgement, withdrawal, curiosity, recognition, hope, cooperation, crafts, love and solidarity – all inspired through art, with the ambition of them becoming practice values.
There are interesting connections between Røed’s thoughts and Van Leeuwens references to Aristotle: Some have revitalized a line of thought which has existed since antiquity, when Aristotle asked a question that is still of central interest to multimodality researchers: how can humans perceive a unity in the multitude of sensory impressions? His answer was that there is a ‘koine aisthesis’, a ‘common sense’, which perceives common qualities in the input from different senses. (Van Leeuwen, 2016:106)
I wondered if it would be possible to facilitate art installations and performances (multimodal expressions), using the texture of wood and interaction between people, with different kinds of aesthetic virtues and ‘common sense’ in mind. What kind of embodied experiential metaphor will arise? And will these metaphors be connected to some of the virtues that I as an artist want to make space for? Touch and the tactile dimensions represent a key sense and a global communication we all share. Both Van Leeuwen and Pallasma emphasise this shared sense of touch. For this reason, it is important to understand more about how to inspire and analyse the communication of embodied experiential metaphors. It is interesting to try to combine the related concepts developed by the three mentioned authors and use them as potential tools to facilitate multimodal expressions, in other words, using their concepts both as reflection tools during the creative process, and for analysing the reactions of the participant audience.
The findings in this paper are based on an example of such a process, using the documented experiences (field notes) and dialogues with a selection of participant groups, my students among them. Through theoretical abstractions, especially the three metafunctions; the ideational, interpersonal and textual function (Halliday, 1978, 2004), I try to externalise, interpret and understand how meaningful messages are formed and perceived. In analysing and describing events from the ArtClimateRoad project, I am also thinking in terms of the situational and cultural context, which together constitute what Halliday refers to as the ‘social context’ (Halliday, 1978). In addition, I use the term ‘frame of action’ developed by Gunther Kress (Kress, 2010:133), which helps me identify social and active communication that is going to happen or has already occurred.
In the following sections, I will first describe the events of the ArtClimateRoad project. Then, I will present some of the results and conclude with a synthesis at end the article, that makes mention of further implications.
The frame of action
Norway’s oldest city, Tønsberg, celebrated its 1150th anniversary in 2021. The main street of the medieval city of Tønsberg stretches from Scandinavia’s largest round church, Olavskirken (The Church of Saint Olav), to Lavranskirken (The Church of Lavrans) at the foot of Slottsfjellet, the hill where there are the remains of Tønsberg’s fortress. The main street is still the same as it has always been, and under the asphalt, you can find parts of the ancient wooden street. As part of the anniversary, several art projects were developed under the title ArtClimateRoad. The aim of these projects was to highlight hope in social interactions in the current span of history, including the Covid pandemic, climate change and mass migration, and instilling dignity.
As a city of trade and shipping, Tønsberg has a rich history, and therefore much potential for art projects that may generate curiosity and awareness around the above-mentioned issues. I was a project leader in an interdisciplinary group consisting of nine artists and three researchers from other disciplines, in collaboration with the Vestfold Art Center and Tønsberg Library.
An important discovery in the history of Tønsberg was the finding of two semi-split logs dated approximately between years 770 and AD 1000. The logs are considered to be an important historical discovery, because they say something about the city’s age. It is unknown whether the logs were originally part of the street surface, or if these logs were laid down later, perhaps, for example, they were reused from the remains of older buildings. From the photo documentation of the excavations (NIKU 1 ), it appears that there are several building remains that were reused for the street decking.
One of the installations I made is a street deck out of wood, just above the finds in the main street, Storgaten (Figure 8). I was curious about the metaphorical potential of the old wooden street as a part of the hidden story. The installation Stræti (Figure 9) was placed on the asphalt above the original excavated street covering and just below the original location of the old pharmacy, Løveapoteket. Medicinal healing herbs were important in the work of the monasteries of Tønsberg in the medieval times. In the ArtClimateRoad project this holds metaphorical meaning potential, pointing towards respect for the environment with climate aware lives and careful climate footprints. The installation is between 1.5 and 2 meters wide and 12 meters long. The street surface is made of semi-split 100-year-old logs, about 7 cm thick and laid out with the old side facing up. This side of the log has surfaces that are chopped by hand. 7 cm is about the height of the sidewalk, so that Stræti becomes a kind of natural extension of it. The art installation Stræti opened in the spring and was dismantled in the autumn.
In addition to Stræti in itself being an interesting installation, various events took place around the installation through collaboration with the municipality, Træleborg School and Tønsberg Cathedral. Stræti was activated in different ways for different events and days of celebration. A main event was on 17th of May, Norway’s National Day. In a symbolic event, pupils of different nationalities from Træleborg School placed ‘their flag’ on the street surface. This was an event to highlight solidarity and inclusion. Historically, this international diversity coincides well with historical discoveries in Vestfold, the region where the city of Tønsberg is located. There was a multicultural society with people living side by side on the wooden streets of Kaupang 2 and Tønsberg. There was trade, even with imported goods, including glass, wine, jewellery and clothes and the residents from many different countries of origin, with a multitude of specialised professions and skills. It is particularly important to highlight the richness of this diversity currently in order to counterbalance a rise in exclusive nationalism and radical groups, who want to connect their ideology to the Viking Age. For this reason, a highlight of the event on the 17th of May was the placing of international flags by young school children in Stræti, and a ceremony emphasising climate change, the role of migration and the importance to respect the dignity of all.
Another installation, The Archaeological Split Trunk (Figure 1), was mounted in a small square next to some trees outside Tønsberg library and near Olavskirken (Saint Olav’s Church). It again had a basic structure like a street deck of wood approximately 2.5 by 6 meters with integrated wooden plant boxes. In the period between spring and autumn, three installations with associated performances were organised on this street deck. The split oak trunks were central in each arrangement. Oak represents, among other things, strength, wisdom and vitality. Trees have many essential derivations in terms of memory, identity, dignity and meaning. The following text underlines this; it was written as a result of my own embodied metaphorical experience with trees and wood: Tree trunks grow and spread Transitions increase tensions Dignity is at stake It is felt in the centre of the tree Splits in the bosom of the tree runs to its core Openings are created Cracks are left on the surface Revelations was placed on a wooden deck in the square outside Tønsberg’s library and near to Olavskirken (Saint Olav´s Church).
The split trunk sections of the oak are about 10 cm thick. The sections provide insight into the interior life of the old tree, a kind of revelation or archaeological perspective. Each longitudinal section tells a story, about good and bad years, new branches, cut branches, wounds, healing and the like. You can also read the effects of climate change from the tree. Even after the trunk has been sliced up, the material lives on with various drying movements, it cracks and constantly changes according to the surroundings. The art project opens up meaning potential in the meeting between history, material language, bodily actions and tactile sense. How can the tree’s texture and people’s interaction through touch inspire curiosity, attention, hope, love and solidarity with others and with nature, as well as enable reflection on time and lived life?
The first installation and performance took place in April, together with students from the University of South-Eastern Norway. The longitudinal section of oak trunk placed on the street deck (Figure 2), can be associated with a kind of Tabula rasa. Tabula rasa can mean a clean blackboard or an ‘uncarved block’ in philosophical Taoist terms and holds different references with metaphorical potential in this project. ‘Archaeological split trunk’ outside Tønsberg Library, Easter 2021.
The performance consisted in me initially giving some information about the project and then inviting people to participate. At the start people were encouraged to wash their hands and seeds were distributed. People could select a coloured pencil of their choice. On the street deck, I demonstrated how the participant could draw with coloured pencil on the tracing paper lying over the longitudinal section of the tree. The drawing started at one end of the trunk by placing the coloured pencil on the annual ring selected by an individual and tracing that ring with the chosen coloured pencil all the way to the other end (Figure 3). People were asked to write their initials at the end of ‘their’ line. After this, they were encouraged to sow their seeds in the plant boxes, before they went on to the reflection part of the interaction. They were also invited to have tea together to talk and write about their experiences. The drawings from the performance were later exhibited in Gallery BKD in Tønsberg (Figure 4). Interaction by drawing inside an old oak. One of the drawings.
A change was made to the installation for Midsummer’s Eve, which is a big celebration in Norway. Two longitudinal sections of oak trunks were mounted next to each other on the street decking in such a way that they resembled the shape of a book or book pages (Figure 5). The chosen title Revelations was inspired by the sawing and opening up of the longitudinal-sections of the oak trunk, combined with the mystic and poetic verses that were sung in the fields of Norway on Midsummer’s Eve (or Santhans/Saint John’s), in the hope of a good season: ‘Wake up, Wake up fields and meadows; The Virgin Mary does not have a bed; Saint John’s night is just one night; Hurry away from snow and rain; and Away from the cold autumn night’ (Dybdal, 2021). The installation Revelations in ArtClimateRoad in the autumn.
The integrated herb boxes in the installation were harvested for cooking and making a meal together at the third installation, called The road of hope. This was set up outside Tønsberg Cathedral at the end of the main street, close to a wall of the church. It was possible for the visitors to lay down flowers, stones, scallop shells or other shells or signs (Figures 6 and 7). A performance integrated in this installation was organised in the autumn with the collaboration, amongst others, of Susanne Moen Ouff, a chef specialised in food made with herbs and plants. A Harvest Festival service took place in the church focusing on thanksgiving. Outside, at The road of hope after the service, Susanne Moen Ouff served three kinds of porridge, made with rice, wheat and corn and incorporated the herbs of the harvest of seeds planted in the Summer installation event. This autumn event was called Seeds and food along the road of Hope and connected to the themes of the ArtClimateRoad project. The interaction involved dining on porridge and engaging in dialogue and reflections about food, power and climate change. The road of hope. The road of hope at Easter. The hidden old street deck under the asphalt. Stræti.
The findings I will focus on were collected during the performances in the installation Archaeological split trunk where I instructed the audience about what was going to happen by introducing three dimensions: • The time and space dimension • The tactile and texture dimension • The reflection dimension
The participants from the audience drew a line with a colour of their own choice on a transparent paper placed over the longitudinal section of an old oak trunk. The participants followed the annual ring they had selected themselves, from one end all the way to the other end of the plank, and then they signed their initials at the end of the line.
Participant audience reflections
I will now showcase some of the audience’s reflections and connect them to different kinds of aesthetic virtues mentioned previously.
Curiosity and recognition
Above all, the work can raise the curiosity of those who pass by. The installation offered the audience the possibility to use their sensing potential in their encounter with the work. You can walk on the wooden street, feel, see, hear and even smell the wood.
Hope, love, attention and recognition
As life offers ups and downs, we as participants are allowed to choose a coloured pencil and draw ourselves into the annual rings of the inner life of an old oak tree. The colour represents us, and an annual ring can represent a part of our lives. It can be straight, bumpy, with cracks or ruffles, as one has encountered barriers and broken through them, things that have been difficult or easy.
Recognition, judgement and solidarity
I interpret the work as a reflection on the understanding that we are all a part of our cultural heritage. It represents a symbolic meeting between our time that shapes "us" and the older past time, represented by the timber and the inner life of the old oak.
Recognition, judgement and attention
I like the symbolism of the installation being located in front of the library. It is nice – a place where new and old knowledge meet.
Recognition, attention, withdrawal and solidarity
I felt a kind of symbiosis with wood and nature, that one through feeling and hearing the story of the tree gets a different view of generations. It felt important to reflect on my own starting point in connection to the lines and irregularities of the tree.
Attention, recognition, solidarity and judgement
I thought a lot about history and imagined the way people lived before. I looked around and reflected on the development of Tønsberg. Tollef trampled on the wooden street while he was telling us about the old city. Suddenly, in my imagination, I heard children and adults walking, running and jumping on these streets. This helped to set a clear cultural context between performance and urban history. I, who grew up in Tønsberg, got new perspectives on places I’ve visited a hundred times.
Withdrawal, recognition, solidarity and attention
Drawing in the inner life of the old oak became a type of meditation, a retreat process. I had to concentrate to follow the line with the pencil. On a busy day, which we all had had before Covid-19, this would give a good sense of the ground we walk on. But now the performance also opens space for a breath of fresh air, a sense of new interaction. An interaction and a community where you do something together with others. It is more and more important, now that we have been isolated for a long time from the free life we used to live.
Attention, recognition, solidarity, hope, judgement, crafts and love
The installation may provide an opportunity to stop and reflect on the fact that materials also have a history, and that in our society they have been given more of a role as consumer goods. Previous generations had to reuse available materials and therefore also gave them new life, as with the logs that were laid to build the road. Maybe it is possible to feel more respect for what we consume, and maybe contribute to build modern culture in a new way, both to help the environment and change the economic inequalities in society.
The results are drawings with associations to lifelines, waves, northern lights, networks and heartbeats. The youngest of the audience who drew was 7 years old, and the oldest was a man over 70 years old. Both were deeply concentrated and present in their action.
Discussion and implications
Connected to the ArtClimateRoad project, I wondered if it was possible, and, if so, how to facilitate art installations and performances of multimodal expressions by using texture in wood and interaction between people. During the artistic shaping, I had different kinds of aesthetic virtues and ‘common sense’ in mind.
Most of the participants experienced a type of multimodal communication, with the texture of an old oak tree and interaction between people as salient modal resources. Different persons described different kinds of aesthetic virtues in their interpretation of their interaction.
Encounters with wood, texture and bodily action requires more than the visual senses. Touching and handling wooden texture present different challenges, which require presence and concentration that comes by touching, reading the tree in some way, by being part of it. Interaction by reading and touching and drawing inside an old oak opened up a rich metaphorical meaning potential for the participants. The experiences offered many different kinds of aesthetic virtues. A result of this experiencing is the building of awareness, identity and community.
I previously asked if there could be a connection between Røed’s aesthetic virtues and van Leeuwen’s parameters in texture in this focus case. Van Leeuwen’s texture parameters of relief, liquidity, roughness, regularity and rigidity combined with Røed’s aesthetic virtues have functioned as reflection tools in the creative process. Røed’s virtues represented the ideas and content of the reflection tools, which the communication of the installation is about, and van Leeuwen’s texture parameters represented reflection tools in the practical use of embodied metaphors.
In summary, I think the project touched people through using their senses and interaction and this is a dignified outcome. I believe the connections between the theories suggested are important, but I have really only glided over the surface with the focus on one specific project. I look forward to further elaborations, discussions, explorations and research in this dynamic multimodal realm of inspiration. Touching wood can be like a good handshake Smelling the tree can open the hiding places of memories Hearing the tree can be like the sound of time Seeing the tree’s drawings can be like seeing an infinite universe The eternal cycle of trees Take and give
Footnotes
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) discloses receipt of the following financial support for the artistic research, research and authorship and/or publication of this article: This project was supported by the University of South-Eastern Norway, Public Art Norway KORO, Vestfold and Telemark county municipality and Tønsberg municipality.
Notes
Author Biographies
Tollef Thorsnes (born 1965) works as dosent and artist in arts and crafts at the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN). He has written several textbooks and published a number of articles, the latest being ‘No mercy no dignity’ (2019) about making an art installation for the Ål church in Hallingdal.