Fehler vs. 12k/LINE | Vs.
FUJI Proofs/LCD Monitors + SWF | F.0035.0001 - .0002
The sound clash - an audio battle between two competing DJ crews - provided the blueprint for the first ever remixes. An extension of the distinctly Jamaican culture of dub, in which music was rarely allowed to settle, the sound clash evolved new musical forms built on-the-fly and layer upon painstaking layer.
Today, remix culture is second nature. Reconstructions, out-takes and extended versions proliferate like viruses and the distinctions between the 'original' and 'copy' seem increasingly redundant.
In the digital domain, nothing remains fixed for long. As we increasingly situate ourselves in the soft, intangible world of networks and data packets, the endpoint or the final mix or edit is being called into question. Design itself is perpetually shifting as formats proliferate and dissolve - vinyl giving way to CD, CD giving way to .mp3 and with it the possibilities of pure digital distribution. When data reaches this level of fluidity, nothing is set in stone.
'Vs.' explores this scenario via a series of graphic remixes, an exchange between Fällt designers Fehler and 12k/LINE designers Taylor Deupree and Richard Chartier. The results are the visual equivalent of the audio remix, with approaches varying from subtle interventions to pixel level reconstructions.
The end products - like the divergent audio of the respective participants - rarely, if ever, bares resemblance to the original material. Teased apart at 1,600 % magnification, they underline the fragility of the originals and, in turn, themselves.
'Vs.' comprises two components: a software version, for display on adjacent LCD monitors; and a hardware version, printed as full colour Fuji Digital Proofs (an online version of the hardware version in preparation).
Fällt are grateful to Taylor Deupree, Richard Chartier and Fehler for their invaluable assistance in the creation of both the online and offline versions of 'Vs.'.
What the critics say...
"Nice works of minimal graphic design. These remixes are either wildly experimental, or conceptually clever. Not a dud to be found, sheer pleasure for the eye."
David Turgeon, No Type
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