What is a whole? Dictionary.com defines whole as “containing all the elements properly belonging; complete.” But who defines if something contains all its elements? I think the Second Lives: Remix the Ordinary exhibition in the Museum of Art and Design gives a new meaning to the concept of “a whole”. I think it states that a whole can be also a part. It opens one’s eyes to see things differently from what they seem to be. Also it is related to Flash indirectly, as Flash is comprised of different components.
Some people will look at a shoe that they can walk in and will think it is a whole. They would never think that a shoe could also be a part of something such as a love seat (a piece in the exhibition). Every whole can be a part and every part can be a whole. This motif is stated repeatedly in the exhibitions’ items, as the artists used everyday things to create something new. For example, an army dog tag is a whole that every solider wears during his/her service, but in the exhibition we can see that it can be a part of a huge metal jacket. Not only can we see in the exhibition how everyday ordinary things transform into something else but also how they can be incomplete by themselves but a part of a bigger item or picture. For example, there is a huge beautiful picture of a woman sewing that at first glance seems like a real photo, but once you look really closely, you can see it is not a photo but rather a collage of clothing labels. Another example is the beautiful corals, which if you look at very closely you see they are actually made up of clear buttons.
Flash works the same way. If you go to a Flash website, all you see is the animation, but this animation is actually built from different components. For example, every animated button is built from different images, text, sometimes sound, and commands (action script). Also there are different layers. Each component is located in different layer in the animation. For example, layer of background, buttons, sound, commands (action script). Also many animations are built from different scenes. Even one component such as a video clip and can be built from different components (different layers of sound, visuals, action script). Maybe even the Flash website is not a whole but only a part of a different website.
In conclusion, as one can see from the exhibition, everything is a whole that is made up from parts, but a whole can also be a part of a different whole. Even this essay is made up by wholes that are actually parts of the essay. Every letter is a whole by itself, but a part of a word, which is part of a sentence, which is part of a paragraph, which is part of this essay, which is part of an assignment, which is part of a class requirement and so on.