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April 5 - May 3, 2008
Opening Saturday, April 5, 5 - 8pm
The Dept. of Shape Research (known also as DSR), founded in 1995, has been chartered with the discovery, analysis, preservation, and synthesis of shapes, in all their myriad forms. Privately owned and funded, but with a determined, philanthropic mission, the Dept. of Shape Research holds itself, whenever possible, to the highest professional, ethical and scientific standards, during the course of its manifold activities.
The mission of DSR can be further articulated as follows:
- to discover and analyze so-called seed shapes
- to produce and synthesize shape types, instances, and variants
- to organize these shapes according to a proprietary classification system
- to preserve these shapes in a state-of-the-art archival database (for the benefit of future generations)
- to produce necessary expository materials (posters, models, etc.)
- to recruit and train additional shape scientists to continue our vital work
- to develop community-oriented education and outreach programs
A Quick Summary of Our Process
The process begins with a hunt for rare and precious seed shapes. Using sophisticated technologies and equipment, scientific teams are dispatched into the field to perform this often painstaking, at times fruitless search. These teams are able to gauge, with varying degrees of accuracy, the approximate location of these hidden shapes. The shapes, when located, are carefully collected and brought back to the laboratories for study and analysis. From these initial seed shapes, technicians in the lab develop types, instances and variants, in a painstaking effort at understanding the true nature of these ephemeral forms.
These synthesized shapes are then organized according to a proprietary classification system, with each shape assigned its own distinct serial number. Each shape, it should be noted, is absolutely unique. In its extended form, the serial number indicates, in order: supertype, type, instance, and variant. Each of these terms is defined below:
Supertype: A supertype is a meta-classification of shape types according to general shared qualities, specifically the nature of the interior and exterior perimeter. Examples of supertypes are A, AA, B, BB, C, CC.
Type: A type is a shape family, composed of a potentially infinite quantity of structurally similar shapes. Examples of type include 003, 004, 015.
Instance: Instances are the individual shapes contained within each type. Think of each instance as a different member of the same family. Sometimes, the difference between one instance and another is very slight - sometimes it is more noticeable. Look closely - can you tell?
Variant: Finally, variants are the minute permutations of a particular shape - think of these variants as frames in an animation. We develop variants of a shape to understand its plasticity and elasticity.
Well, that?s a lot of information to encode in each shape. Luckily, the short-form serial number is used in most situations, and consists merely of type and instance. Thus - one might refer favorably to shape DSR.006.045, which is a very nice shape indeed.
We hope that we have been able to answer at least some of your questions regarding the important and necessary work performed by this little known organization - The Dept. of Shape Research.
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