Susan Krause- Artist / Educator

ICONODOKU SERIES  2009-2012

Iconodoku is a series of work influenced by the writings of the late author Michael C. Ruppert embodied in the form of the popular problem solving game called Sudoku.

   I began this work out of a growing awareness of global topics and a deep desire to communicate more clearly relevant issues effecting everyday life. To gain participation and contemplation regarding these concerns in a gallery setting and beyond I was interested in creating an environment were these ideas were not just observed in a gallery but engaged with in the form of an invitation.

Iconodoku is constructed to focus on strategy and logic. The viewer is compelled to participate based on simple game psychology. It is a combined process of elimination, deduction, compatibility, balance, collaboration and regulation in-conjunction with awareness. 

   The nine recognizable icons are carefully selected to provide the viewer with meaning in relationship to the others. This allows the viewer to create a personal narrative for them self while problem solving using critical thinking. Inside each work small environments are housed related to the game above. The viewer cannot process both at the same time having to shift focus and consciousness between the surfaces while playing.

 The series is meant as a strange form of petition, the viewer can chose to participate or not, but participants who do, band together quite freely and interact differently than in a traditional gallery setting based on an end goal. The participants freely touch the work, draw on it, interact, contemplate, collaborate, solve and correct.

                            Over the course of a month, a new board and topic was displayed each week.