Traveling Indications

Traveling Indications
Submitted by Ray Cook and Charlotte Wile - January 7, 2000

We have been discussing some ideas for generic traveling. indications Following are notes on that discussion.

CHARLOTTE'S COMMENTS:

I am interested in developing an indication that just says "travel." In other words, the salient aspect of the movement is that it travels through space; the path of the movement is irrelevant. For instance, the structure of a movement sequence might contrast traveling with movement in place (e.g., travel, then move in place, then travel again). For the traveling portions of the sequence, the mover just focuses on locomotion. He doesn't think about moving on a path.

Question: Could this idea be depicted with the indication for "meandering"? I don't think so.

Ann Hutchinson Guest describes meandering as follows:

"Meandering paths usually result from a state of mind in which travelling is not planned; there is just the enjoyment of 'going'. It may be a general looking around (perhaps searching for a lost object?) or indulging in a general aimless moving through space. Such meandering may include some straight path travel, but this is not the intention; there is a general aimless quality. It serves the mood of the wanderer." (Your Move, third printing with corrections, 1995, p.21)

According to this definition, meandering has an aimless, wondering quality. In contrast, the sign I am interested in would not denote a specific quality; it would just say "travel."

Also, the sign for meandering contains curves that I think suggest a curved path. (Ex. 1a) I would like a sign that does not evoke a specific path design.

Maybe the sign I want could be similar to the sign for "any path" (Ex. 1b), except the wavy lines in the proposed sign would be dashed (Ex. 1c). Note that the straight line in Ex. 1c is not dashed, because that would indicate passive traveling.

RAY'S COMMENTS:

You just want to say "travel." Therefore you need

1. A symbol without direction
2. A symbol that indicates a surface on which to travel.


You could use an action stroke and a space indication. (Ex. 2a-e)

What else is there?

You could add a support bow as a support, or a sign for the space beneath you. (Ex. 3a-h).