Photography

This is a reminder that all photography relating to this blog can be viewed by clicking on the slideshow in the upper-right hand corner of the blog. This will take you to a Google Picasa web album with all the relevant photos.

Final Piece

Here is the final mdf construction. After constructing most of this I realised I had used a similar design to Calatrava in his winery; after seeing a side view of the building I realised that all of the protruding cuboids are straight lines, lines which rotate as they are repeated along the front of the building. This is almost exactly what I have done, I have taken a line of fixed length and rotated slightly in each profile. Giving the effect of a laterally curved surface.
I am very pleased with the way this has turned out. I avoided major complications by avoiding the ‘central spine’ construction and opting for the more elegant ‘acrylic support’ option. These are small plexiglass clips that fit onto the bottom part of the pieces (my aim was, after all, to keep the focus of the piece on the trapezoidal cross-sections). I think I have taken elements from Calatrava’s winery and integrated them successfully into a flowing form. I think Thomas Heatherwick’s beach café and the way he had used ‘slices’ to provide the basis for a curved form also influenced me. On reflection, my ideas have developed a long way from the earlier studies and experimentation; consequently I have covered quite a broad range of media and looked at about eight artists. I also feel this diversity has increased my awareness of sculptural forms has broadened my knowledge.

Sculpture from Calatrava’s Winery

I wanted to explore the way Calatrava had created his winery so I tried to imitate the protrusions using sliced ends of board. Because of the thickness of board I used, steeper edges along the profile guide cause larger gaps between protrusions creating empty space that is Calatrava has avoided.

Straws

This maquette is made of about 250 coloured straws stuck into a piece of board. Once again, I am creating an inferred surface, this time through the use of points in space. The translucent nature of the straws also gives the piece a sense of volume. I can relate this work to a piece by Thomas Heatherwick who suspended balls of glass on high tensile wires to create a representation of lead flowing through water.

Final Piece 2

I have decided to go for this design. The image should give an idea of the scale of the piece. Using a central spine option has the advantage of being very rigid, though I will have to damage my trapezoidal cross-sections. I would prefer to use small clips, possibly laser-cut, with tolerance fittings. However, I predict that I will need about 80, this could consume a lot of material and take a long time to cut.

Plaster

Here are some of my earlier experiments with plaster. I started by filling a takeaway box and I mixed in some blue paint, this didn’t mix properly, but gave me a nice marbled effect. From my experiments I also discovered that plaster mixed with paint also causes the drying process to take a lot longer but it seems to solidify to the same degree. I learnt this when I accidentally fractured a light blue slab before it had had a chance to fully solidify.

Final piece ideas

I want to make a large sliceform using cross-sections similar to some of my earlier experiments. I intend to use balsa wood pieces cut using a laser and mount them onto a central supporting spine. This work was largely influenced by Calatraca and his use of many individual profiles to create a single form. Pictured are some ideas for the sliceforms.

A hand

Again, more experimentation, this time with a hand. I started by gluing polystyrene pieces to the plate without any idea what I would create. The hand evolved subconsciously from an idea I had had in a previous project.

More Experiments

I have been doing lots of experimenting lately and thought I should post the reslts. First, here is the final result of a plaster casting I made. During its creation I mixed in small pieces of metal wire and polystyrene foam. I finished by cutting the 'brick' I had made into slices to observe the behaviour of the plaster around the objects.

My Bath

Recently I've been considering the work of David Mach who made this train using bricks. I like the way he has represented a complex, smooth form, using discrete units (bricks). This has inspired me to make an illustration based on my bath at home. My individual parts are less uniform, giving a more abstract feel, but the effect is similar. I created a mesh using Blender and lit using area lights and ambient occlusion. I completed the effect by overlaying (using 'dodge') my fabricated image over the original photo of my bath.

Calatrava and Judd

I want to look at the way Santiago Calatrava makes decoconstructivist buildings, more soon...

update: From my observations of Santiago Calatrava I created these sculptures using cross-sections to make curved surfaces.

Calatrava uses hundreds of individual triangular forms to give the overall impression of a smooth, flowing form. This also has the side effect of producing interference patterns between the units and gives the surface a regular texture.

I intend to use the school laser to create more complex and precise 3D forms. This kind of work lends itself to the use of foamboard and balsa wood.

Face Illusions

I stumbled upon this page of face illusions arising in various settings and thought it quite relevant. The faces are not only eerily vivid, but they also have character and personality, particularly the faded pink bath about halfway down the page. Some of the faces appear to be in some kind of anguish, others appear the be shocked, happy or content. I like the idea that an inanimate object can express its feelings.

Pictured is a door handle I found in Kenya.

Experiments and Frances Trombly

Pictured is a small experimental sculptural work made using a polystyrene bowl and chips. They are painted various bold colours. The idea is that they resemble sweets and are eyecatching. I am trying to appeal to the childlike feeling of an overwhelming sense of excitement and greed at seeing 'pretty' things. The idea is of course subverted by the fact that the 'sweets' are literally made of plastic.

This piece of work was inspired mainly by Frances Trombly, who uses bold, primary colours and childlike imagery. I am particularly referencing his compositions that seem to resemble the aftermath of a party or fair. His work can be found at: http://www.francestrombly.com/

Introduction...

I want to examine how the above artists explore form and alter it to create new meanings. This interests me because I enjoy observing my own surroundings and identifying objects and arrangements that allude to non-obvious or hidden ideas. I like discovering that seemingly innocent or innocuous images can have sinister or important meanings. I want to explore this idea by looking at simple forms and the way that they go together, forming positive and negative space. Also, the way several simple forms can create a single more complex one, and the way the reorientation of one element can change a composition completely.
In particular I want to study Anselm Kiefer’s large concrete structures and the ideas behind them. I want to look at Damien Hirst’s literal approach to dissection of form. I want to examine the subversive techniques employed by the Chapman brothers to express new meanings and investigate the way Jac Scott and Frances Trombly use objects from life and alter them to create new compositions. I also want to look at the way Bill Woodrow uses sculpture to bring inanimate objects to life.
I intend to explore the work of the above artists and create critical studies to gain a deeper understanding of their motives and intended purposes of the works. I will use some of the ideas I find to adapt my own observations. I will experiment with various 2D and 3D media to create forms that fit the criteria of my investigation.
I expect that my investigation will lead to outcomes based on something I experience in my everyday life, altered in some way to infer new meaning. I intend to carry out my work largely through sculpture and computer aided illustration.