I wish to present my mini-series dedicated to symbolic spaces: digital as well as timeless. In this series, I highlight the roles and place of symbols and consciousness in virtual spaces.

Symbolic navigation in digital spaces

I cover basic and common kit to navigate in digital worlds, as I imagine it: to search information, interact with others, and exchange through digital market. But by doing so via acausal method, which works by analogies, associations and interpretations in comparison with cause-consequence method. In this case, a symbol has infinite interpretations and multiple links, trails and connections by which it crosses closed classifications and links to information blocked in class, index or id attributed to it.

***

Symbolic search method

I dedicate the first part of the series to symbolic search method, which I develop for niche collections of texts, visuals and objects.

The symbolic method deals with the common problem: when you don’t know the id of the artwork (title, author, date, style), you cannot find it, even if it is showcased in a next hall of the museum or in a scrolling page of this community on Reddit.

I think that we name, think and imagine the world by states, phenomena, symbols and images. And at the same time we learn by heart social theories and mental concepts, which often does not describe perceptions. Naming is a tricky thing in itself, which often based on unnamed and invisible intentions.

Example of the artwork’s search by the symbolic method

Let’s take an example of the symbolic artwork, probably never exposed in this community: Remedios Varo, Creation of the Birds, 1957

Remedios Varo, Creation of the Birds, 1957

Now days, there is an option to cross by this painting in the internet and the artist, by searching the ‘surrealist’’ artworks. But in the mid 20-th century, she wasn’t considered surrealist and had no particular style classification. And anyway, what is exactly surrealism and who really defines it?

So, I suggest that by adding a symbol, its interpretation and a personal association to an artwork, it creates a trail, a path to this artwork even if the author or a title is unknown, forgotten or non-existent.

Symbolic search tool:

In case of the artwork Creation of the birds, I personally add:

Owl as symbol;

Spirit as an interpretation for the Owl symbol;

1)Twin Peaks; 2) Renaissance; 3) Alchemy; 4) Enigma music group; 5) Loreena Mckennitt music as personal analogies to this symbol and artwork.  

This symbol, interpretation and analogies link to the artwork every person who knows and uses them for the search. This method also creates personal associations, which may play a great role in context search for the ideas, projects and partnership in digital spaces. The reason of it is that this way highlights not only a keyword (like owl) but also an intention or accurate interpretation (Owl as a spirit).

I currently develop a software application for niche collections; you may read more about it on my website.

Feel free to exchange and give a feedback.