ISTRUMENTS FOR POLYSEMANTIC GRAMMARS: GRID, MODULE, STRUCTURE, PROGRAMME, ENVIRONMENT, CODE
These are some of the coordinates useful for an understanding of the nuances of research that were translated into a programming of art (Programmed Art) and the roots of the method characterising all of the research processes undertaken by Mari. To this end, he writes that “the concept of programme first becomes the backbone then the final objective of my work”.
PRELIMINARY RESEARCH INTO RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN COLOUR AND VOLUME: INSTRUMENTS AND MODEL SEQUENCES
In order to pursue his investigation into the phenomenology of three-dimensional space and its relationship to its surroundings – its environment – Mari creates the instruments that can be reused to analyse the relationships between colour and volume, in other words, the observation of the coloured surfaces determining a volume. The method used to pursue this research involved building identical environmental models, applying different colours to their internal surfaces and then noting the variations emerging from the observation and comparison of these models. The Instruments for research into relationships between colour and volume (1952) and the thesis on the Reciprocal influences on relationships between colour and volume (1952), would form the grammar for future experiments. The work should be observed in terms of the evolution of the single cubic modules. The instruments comprise a visor and a system of 7 cm cubes; each three-dimensional model is an independent virtual environment. The ideal condition for the verification of this research would be the construction of real environments that could be physically entered by the observers but, in order to contain the costs of his research, Mari was forced to create scale models with dimensions (7 cm per side) corresponding to the average distance between human pupils, an indispensable condition for the perception of depth. Examples of these verifications are Struttura 244 (1955), Struttura 245 (1956), Struttura 249 (1956), Struttura 250 (1956), Struttura 301 (1956), Struttura 315 (1956).
RELATION OF DEPTH OR DIMENSION
“By varying the depth of a three-dimensional space, you also vary its environmental perception”. This premise gave rise to a new line of research in which the models of comparison no longer maintained their original characteristics, becoming diversified and progressively varying the dimensions relative to depth, as revealed by Struttura 725 (1963), Struttura 726 (1963), Struttura 728 (1963), Struttura 1059 (1964) and Struttura 862 (1967). In order to broaden this research, Mari created a new Strumento per le relazioni di profondità (Instrument for relations of depth) (1965).
THEMATIC VARIATIONS
In order to exemplify the verification of his research, Mari created a series of models made up of the programmed aggregation of prefabricated modular elements. During the verification phase, the aggregation property of the prefabricated elements – their modularity – allowed him to discover the potential of unforeseen relationships implicit in their structure. The thematic variations of these exemplifications include Struttura 793 (1965), Struttura 795 (1965) and all the structures made from prefabricated anodised aluminium modules(some of which have already been mentioned, like Struttura 725, Struttura 726, Struttura 728, etc.).
GOLDEN OR SYNAESTHETIC SERIES
In these first research studies, Mari tried out the programming potential of the golden ratio in two-dimensional pictorial representation. The objective was to make an artwork that could be experienced diachronically (in space and time), in the same way as music; the surface of the painting features successions of golden modules whose ambition it is to visually portray the passing of time. Examples of these works are Pittura 109 (1952), Pittura 114 (1953), Pittura 116 (1953).