1. Strengthening with structure

Let's start with perhaps the most basic property of a frame. As I mentioned before, structure is an important quality that all frames possess. In this context, structure can be seen in the literal sense, as an almost architectural quality: A tangible structure or system, serving as a physical support as part of another object with a greater function. Think for example, about the frames in sunglasses and bicycles. A painting doesn't only have a frame for aesthetical purposes, but also to protect the canvas during transport, or other outside influences (fig. 3). In the context of talking about the characteristics of a frame as an anatomy, it should also be said that the structural qualities of a frame are not dissimilar to the properties of a skeleton (either endo- or exoskeleton) (fig. 4).

But the idea of structure also applies to less literal instances of frames. If I would have a conversation with one of my peers, I might colloquially mention the term "covid times". We would both know that we are talking about a period that lasted from 2020 to somewhere around 2022/2023. In this case an event or experience is framed by a certain calendar system. The structure in this example comes from a (hu)manmade system, invented to help us understand time more easily. Not only would the event be framed by a calendar system, but our understanding and usage of this system would also be shaped by cultural and geographical frames. If somebody else from a different culture (or even planet), that measures time by a different metric, would have the same conversation, they might reach different conclusions. In this case culture can also be seen as a frame. It is a collection of contexts and backgrounds that form a rigid blueprint for traditions, values, and ways of understanding.