This is an invitation for artists and writers, creators of any medium, to participate in a group exercise.
A group exercise performed in the comments.
A symbol is provided, and participants are asked to share at least twice to generate an amplification of that symbol.
Regarding the value of amplification of symbolic content, CG Jung writes:
“An archetypal content expresses itself, first and foremost, in metaphors. If such a content should speak of the sun and identify with it the lion, the king, the hoard of gold guarded by the dragon, or the power that makes for the life and health of man, it is neither the one thing nor the other, but the unknown third thing that finds more or less adequate expression in all these similes, yet– to the perpetual vexation of the intellect– remains unknown and not to be fitted into a formula.”
Jung, CW, V. 9i, p. 267
Jung also championed approaching unconscious symbolic material with an ‘as-if’ attitude. Jung taught that meaning may be circumscribed, but not described.
The Process
1. Participants self-select.
2. Responses are placed in the comments to this post.
3. Each participant replies with an amplification of the symbol.
4. Each participant replies with an association to another participant’s amplification.
5. Participants are encouraged to repeat steps 3 and 4 as often as they wish.
6. Participants are encouraged to reflect on the group results of the exercise to provide an impetus for future creative work.
Postscript: Consider linking back to this post with any work this exercise generates. Links from this post to any work generated will be shared below.
(For further information, as well as an example of a completed group response mind map, see the inaugural Amplification Effect)
Week #2 Amplification Effect Symbol:
A white line dots the sky.
Join us in the comments below!
Group Response Mind Map (updated throughout the exercise):
Links to Works Generated:
Passerby, by Richard Reeve (translated into Italian by almerighi)
To kick things off, I will point to dotted and dashed communications forms. The two that come to mind are the dots and dashes of Morse Code. The second is the broken, unbroken lines of the hexagrams in the I Ching.
SOS , telegraph
An SOS written in the sky…
Ah, I guess SOS doesn’t make much sense on its own. I was thinking of all those Titanic movies when I wrote that … — …
SOS is totally fine.
I think I have misunderstood the rules. I’m starting to get it now. Sorry about that.
Code Alert/Elopement Risk (sign at a hospital)
Contrails
The white streaks you see coming off high-flying jet airplanes are called contrails, which is short for condensation trail. Contrails are clouds that form when water vapor condenses and freezes around small particles (aerosols) in aircraft exhaust.
So, that for me brings up the huge impact of humans on the world, this An·thro·po·cene, /ˈanTHrəpəˌsēn/, and the ugly (non-arcadian) way we are painting the world.
Contrails account for roughly 2% of global warming because they cause cirrus clouds to trap outgoing infrared radiation.
Looking at this photo the first thing that popped into my head was the Leonard Cohen song Bird on a Wire. My amplification is connection. Humans seek to be connected to something/someone but sometimes connections can be elusive or easily broken.
I need to check out the tune! Great topic connections, and it seems one of the main draws to this platform as a place for those committed to the craft to meet and work in unexpected ways. So. I’ll put the code of WordPress as a connection to your connection.
“The shape of our love that twisted me…”
some powerful lines in those lyrics
A master.
Broken communication?
Even at the scope of a line of poetry, the breaks and pauses seem essential to communication.
Yes it does, sorry…this is very interesting but I’m also trying to understand 🙈
It’s all just play!! No wrong answers!!
body language – the inability to read it
Can gesture convey the opposite of a sign?
could be reassurance
But broken communication, in itself, a huge topic.
Vast on various levels
snow storm, iced power lines leading to power outages, broken telephone wires
Birds, also generally fly in a straight line to conserve energy… I know I read that somewhere. From a distance could look a broken line…
Permanent fractures in family dynamics.
Interesting how the topic of understanding how to do this exercise, also relevant for this symbol. So those feelings of not knowing what to do, or being an outside, or an imposter.
How about a new direction…
Let’s play around with portents and prophecy, which emerged out of the I Ching.
It all comes down to how the questioner interprets the response. What about the analogy to that of a pinball machine, some of the fate is in our hands and sometimes the ball just hits the pit
So engagement in the field, step one of this exercise…
The image also makes me think of spaceships burning up upon reentry.
On or off, broken or unbroken, dots or dashes, in rhythm is communication. Only in our separation, can we be together.
SOS – Dad – the Da Dee Da’s (my sibs and I) our names in morse code. Off on a tangent but good memories are always calling.
Nice! Thanks for adding the good vibes.
Hi Richard. Thank you for visiting and following HoB. Much appreciated!