If diagrams are objective, unnuanced representations, is it possible then to represent intangible, subjective relationships in a diagram? Sociograms is an ongoing series of interviews that asks individuals to diagram a relationship of their choice. Providing only a limited toolset of colored string and a pair of scissors, I ask individuals to describe a relationship of their choice while diagramming it with string. Each sociogram—a term first developed by sociologist Jacob Moreno to describe the patterns and structure of group interations—demonstrates the difficulty of capturing human relationships in a linear, straightforward manner. The complexity of the links between two people is more accurately understood here through the fibers of colored string. The resulting child-like string diagrams—some literal and others more impressionistic—are enigmatic-looking but truthful representations of human relationships that a static diagram can hardly replicate.
—
Appeared in the MFA 2008 collaborative publication, Fourteen Days, 2 Weeks, One Fortnight
Quicktime movie, 4'38''
