Classified Digits

2016 - Film & Video (Film & Video)

5:27 minutes

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader


Indexes that either allow or inhibit the establishment of communication exist in both signed as well as spoken languages. Some differ radically depending on a variety of social, economic and geographical factors, while others are universally understood. Seemingly small and fleeting gestures can determine a sense of affiliation or a feeling of rejection. American Sign Language (ASL) is a language in which nuances like face markers (eyebrows, lip movement, etc.) can radically alter the context of one sign or re-contextualize meaning entirely. The commonly recognized hand shapes that are typically used to show different classes of things, shapes, and sizes are called “classifiers”. The index finger is a classifier for “person”. This single finger is enough to identify every possible individual and also for the observers to recognize themselves in it. It is a placeholder that can be manipulated at will. For the video Classified Digits, by Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader, this finger is hurled into a series of awkward yet commonly experienced social situations.


Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader have been collaborating for the last 5 years, covering communication in a variety of formats such as recording an overnight shipment from Berlin to New York ( Recording Contract , 2013), compiling 24 hours of invited contributors’ studio time ( Busy Day , 2014), and using the arm game, a combination of body and face, in order to describe a series awkward situations ( Classified Digits , 2016).


Colors:


Related works sharing similar palette  
» see more

Five-Hundred Twenty-Four
© » KADIST

Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis

2022

Five Hundred Twenty-Four, a single-channel video installation by Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis, features singers from over twenty Cleveland-area choirs counting numbers in an iterative process: one person sings “one”, then two people sing “two”, and so forth, to 524...

Royal Velázquez Portrait Expected to Shatter Auction Records
© » OBSERVER

Royal Velázquez Portrait Expected to Shatter Auction Records | Observer A portrait of a Spanish queen painted by Diego Velázquez, the 17th-century artist celebrated for his depictions of Spain’s royal family, is expected to shatter his auction record when it goes up for sale early next year...

Italy donates replica of Bull of Nimrud destroyed by Isis to Iraq
© » THEARTNEWSPER

Italy donates replica of Bull of Nimrud destroyed by Isis to Iraq Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Heritage news Italy donates replica of Bull of Nimrud destroyed by Isis to Iraq The 3D-printed reproduction of the Assyrian statue was previously displayed at the Colosseum in Rome and the Unesco headquarters in Paris James Imam 9 February 2024 Share The replica of the Bull of Nimrud at the Colosseum © Museo Archaeologico del Colosseo Italy has donated a reconstructed Assyrian statue to Iraq in what has been described as a “miracle of Italian cultural diplomacy”...

7 Shocking Incidents of Mona Lisa Vandalism & Theft
© » ART & OBJECT

7 Shocking Incidents of Mona Lisa Vandalism and Theft | Art & Object Skip to main content Subscribe to our free e-letter! Webform Your Email Address Role Art Collector/Enthusiast Artist Art World Professional Academic Country USA Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Ascension Island Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canary Islands Cape Verde Caribbean Netherlands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Ceuta & Melilla Chad Chile China Christmas Island Clipperton Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo - Brazzaville Congo - Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czechia Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard & McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao SAR China Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands North Korea North Macedonia Norway Oman Outlying Oceania Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka St...

Related works found in the same semantic group  
» see more

Hand Palm Echo 1
© » KADIST

Christine Sun Kim

2022

Hand Palm Echo 1 is a digital animation based on Christine Sun Kim’s staircase mural at The Drawing Center in New York (10 March – 22 May, 2022)...

Sign series, #1, #2, #3
© » KADIST

Bjorn Copeland

2009

Sign #1 , Sign #2 , Sign #3 were included in “Found Object Assembly”, Copeland’s 2009 solo show at Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco...

Mounira Al Solh & Nada Ghosn: NOA (Not Only Arabic) magazine #4
© » KADIST

Evolving feminism: a rereading in the light of the Arab revolutions KADIST is happy to welcome artist Mounira Al Solh for an online research residency, in collaboration with writer and translator Nada Ghosn...