Systems and Codes: 6.0, 6.0, 6.0 the number of the Beasts.
When, in his youth Taylor found himself embroiled in the world of horse racing for the first time, his primary interest fast became finding a code or system to make as much money as possible out of gambling in order to escape the perceived “hell” of being stuck in a “dead end job”. He believed that this would allow him to make money whilst also allowing him to continue indulging in his favourite pastime.
Of course he soon found out, like many before him, that finding a successful new system was easier said than done. The problem is he tells me that “Even if you design a system that works they only have a finite life span as they are ‘closed off’ as soon as they are discovered”. Also there are too many variables in a sport as dynamic as horse racing to expect it to fit into, as Taylor himself puts it a “straight jacket” of a system.
However as Taylor searched tirelessly for a system he found that as in the words of Thomas Jefferson, (or any of the many golfers it has been ascribed to) “The more he practised the luckier he became” and that as a happy by-product he developed an extensive knowledge of the form book very quickly. Taylor soon realised that this was the ‘real system’ and the only one that seemed to work long term, finding many more winners were produced by going through this process than with any system he had produced thus far. One interesting character trait that emerged from this time was that Taylor developed a distinct strength for recognising patterns in everyday things not only in the world of sport and gambling.
Taylor mentions with reference to his image of the chess set that for example many things in sport can be referenced by the number 6 he realised that a chess set is broken down into six component parts (rather than as most people would perhaps see it as two sets of teams of sixteen) i.e. rooks, knights, bishops, Kings, Queens and of course pawns. Also he reminds me of the six sides on a dice and the six jacket colours of his beloved racing greyhounds which he brought to life on the face of his clock which he designed always in the knowledge that to make it work it needed to be broken down into components of six.
Dogs of War, Taylor’s Chess Set Design.
There are many more references to the number six in sport we could have explored but at this point in our conversation Taylor is keen to tell me that he is also very interested in exploring win/lose sequences, how they occur, and wants to incorporate this and also lottery based codes and matrices i.e. 7x7 =49, into his art in the near future.
Taylor acknowledges that producing his daily speed ratings column for Attheraces.com, and making sense of it in the process, is all about recognising patterns within the form of the horses. Also he informs me, with the typical enthusiasm he always shows on this subject, “you can examine an environment in which a horse has not raced before in order to “project” what may happen during the race”. This use of imagination and thought projection is one of the many things that inextricably link the art to the sport for Taylor.
I reflect as I write that it is ironic in the extreme how the two worlds of art and racing now not only co-exist, but provide a type of positive cross- fertilisation.
When, as we have seen from previous entries, Taylor spent a good many years thinking that, out of seeming necessity, his pursuit of success in racing and gambling and his love of art needed to be forcibly kept apart!
Taylor tells me that he believes there are very many codes, sequences and associations such as in “perfect score” that he has yet to use in his work, and he is looking in the future to make as many connections with these as possible. After all as Marcus Du Sautoy says in his BBC programme “The Code”, “All things are connected”.
Taylor was certainly no mathematical genius at school; he scraped by but did not have the correct mental discipline at the time to hold the necessary formulae in his head. He, like myself, came to appreciate the beauties and practicalities of mathematics after leaving school when it starts for many of us to make sense, when we can apply it to something meaningful.
Above, Taylor’s ‘Greyhound Clock’. A Mathematical Triumph! See Taylor’s blog for a detailed description of the calculations used in its design. http://stored-images.blogspot.com/
Other things of important note that I really should mention in this Entry are:
Parallax Art Fair 2011
Loz Taylor will be displaying his Limited Issue Prints and new 3D Demo Pop designs at La Galleria, Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, LondonSW1Y 4UY from Friday 14th October 2011 to Sunday 16th October 2011.
This is a fantastic annual event showcasing both established and emerging international contemporary artists and Taylor is at present working hard on putting together a catalogue listing most of his works.
Demo Pop Art Label
Also over the past few weeks Taylor has designed a label for the production 3D works, footstool, cushions playing cards etc. it features the greyhound jacket colours and perfectly portrays the feel of Demo Pop Art.
Next time on Demo Pop Art Diaries I will be exploring with Loz Taylor the impetus currently being put behind Demo Pop Art as a brand and it’s perceived impact on the market place. See you then and thanks for reading.
