Martin Summers Essay Included in "Speculative Coolness: Architecture, Media, the Real, and the Virtual"

Essay titled “20220202_02"

Martin was invited by Bryan Cantley based on their friendship, mutual respect, and their prior collaborative drawing and modeling series ( objectspaces[s] + [ _  & Improbable Object[space-s] + ) to write an essay that added some theoretical context to the nature of Bryan's work. There were no guidelines other than a suggested set of possible themes and Martin was given freedom to take the essay in any direction desired. After many failed attempts to capture a unique way of contextualizing the work, Martin finally gave up, and let the words flow without any organization. After multiple iterations and rounds of editing, what emerged felt organic. It was an attempt to build the essay around a self-referential, hypertext like structure that tried to emulate Bryan’s drawings, his process, and how one communicates ideas that deny complete resolution while always leading to new ideas. The body of the text is supplemented by a series of footnotes that are critical to the understanding of the essay itself. Ideally, the reader follows the footnotes, and the footnotes within the footnotes, and comes back to the text when that detour is complete. The footnotes act like “rabbit holes” in a very Alice in Wonderland way (a favorite Cantley reference) that loops one through a variety of tangential territories, alluding to the concepts and visual references in his drawings, but leave you energized and inspired but without resolution; and hopefully like his work, it leaves you wanting to explore more.

Martin says, "This conceptual strategy for the text was further enhanced by the incredible graphic design of Mark Stanley. The visual layering and subtle decisions resonate with Bryan’s work and I hope with my essay. I imagined that a person who takes the time to read the 20220202_02 essay will notice the nuance and complexity of the journey I was trying to weave, and will connect the dots with a visually stunning book of deep nuance, complexity, and intelligence. It was an honor to be included and after a tumultuous struggle to find the path, I am very proud of how the essay turned out."

Speculative Coolness: Architecture, Media, the Real, and the Virtual

Additional contributors include: Foreword by Neil Spiller and essays from Rana Abudayyeh, Peter J Baldwin, Helen Castle, Nat Chard, Dora Epstein Jones, Wes Jones, Thom Mayne, Bob Sheil, and Martin Summers with graphic design by Mark Stanley.

Book published by Routledge, April 4, 2023 - Essay written in Spring 2022