A glitch

Glitch occurs when there isn’t a clear motive or direction for a collaborative piece of artwork. In this case, we started the photo-editing in the style of the game “Telephone”, passing on the bare minimum of information for the others to work on. The intentional lack of communication in this collaborative work functions (or doesn’t function) as a computer receiving data to portray an image, without information this creates misinformed graphics. This relay eventually leads to different perspective of how the artwork should look like, having little or large inconsistency that can be taken as a form of glitch art, seeing the perfection in imperfection.

In the photographs shown below, each transformation has its own identity as it was made with different intentions. The first transformation was done to create a distinct layer between the foreground, background and subject matter. The second transformation adds in a variety of geometric shapes to separate out the organic form like the hand, also adding a tint of glitchy pixelated effect. The third transformation creates a more abstract plane with more distorted form while the last edit enhances the vibrancy of the composition.

Foreground, background, subject
geometric shapes and pixelation done by Jiaying
abstract forms done by May Thu
vibrant colours

A walter mitty nightmare

In this assignment, we explore the relationship between typography and graphic: creating a typographic portrait using our names. These names consider typeface, style, size, weight, case letter and even elements of art/ principles of design to highlight a specific occupation of our choice.

 

 

 

The story of Walter Mitty tells a fantastical tale of an ordinary man spending his time daydreaming. The moral of the story tells of an ineffectual dreamer who indulge in over-fantastical dreams of personal triumph. He snaps in and out of his dreams, completely oblivious to the scrutiny of strangers. He is a wartime pilot, he is a sniper, he is a surgeon, he is a criminal.

 

He is a     d    r    e    a     m            e                   r             . 

paying homage to Walter Mitty‘s narrative, I wanted to incorporate this theme of sequential dreaming into my typographic project. Hence, instead of sequential daydreaming, it is a sequential nightmare instead- each scene depicting a specified occupation.

N i g h t m a r e

I realised that

                        understanding

                        how a nightmare occurs

will allow a more consistent story-telling

 

                                          on my part,

 

                             in

 

 

                       depicting each scene of typographic occupations.

                         A nightmare occurs when a person (artsy, creative people) have a         thin boundary of mind, thus they are more susceptible to nightmares. This      causes their head to go into a metaphorical cycle, without directions, move                             from one nightmare to another, each with recurring themes from the          previous.

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Conceptualising the final narrative, I decided that I wanted to tell a story of a person’s mind trapped in a sequential nightmare.

Brendy is a plague doctor who sees dead people everyday because of the nature of his job, therefore dark thoughts build up at the back of his head and nightmare occurs, The desensitisation of death creates an objectification of human flesh, made him wonder what it would be like to be a cannibal. While pushing back his dark thoughts, the glistening of blood reminded him of the stars, thinking of the limitless boundaries of space. He wants to be a milky way milkman, sending happiness to all species in the universe. However, evil ideas still creeps up to him in recurring themes, seeing patches of red everywhere. He wanted to leave this planet, turning into a formless entity that no one can control, bigger than life itself- a Planet Eater.

 

presentation day

 

plague doctor   >   cannibal    >    milky way milkman    >    planet eater

 

Throughout this series, I wanted to connect each typographic portrait according to the narrative, and create a more unified theme, I also strived to link the explanation to principles of design and elements of art.

 

From the start to the end, there will be a change from realism into something fantastical. The form changes from 3-dimensionally realistic (photography) into 2D and viscous, struggling to materialise. (graphics)

The colour scheme turns from tamed and muted colours with dots and splashes of red to vibrant and fantastical colour schemes. The gradation of colours parallels to the ascending narrative.

The usage of space increases, from a focused and narrow perspective to a wide perspective that sees the whole environment. It creates a more suspenseful theme.

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Plague Doctor

Plague Doctor, final

This composition is the first of the series. It is done through photoshopping and superimposing found images on the Internet.

It is a plague doctor standing in front of a dirtied wall, with little embellishment, focusing on the plague doctor. There is use of little colours, with only black and red, red being the point of focus. There is movement created using the scratching hand, emphasising on the mask of the scarred plague doctor. The scratch lines on the plague doctor’s mask creates a visual rhythm, which brings focus to the largest scratches, which is the typography. The value used in this portrait is dramatic, with contrasting shadows and light used, seemingly shining a bright light over the shoulders of the plague doctor.

The purpose of this graphic is to incite fear and suspense, much like a mystery serial killer movie poster. It should look mysterious and almost a tint of danger.  I would reference to posters like “Friday the 13th”, where there is little embellishment, but only focusing on the main lead, which is the serial killer. It uses strong values to create the suspenseful scene.

The typography of this graphic should therefore be suspenseful and seemingly dangerous. In doing so, I used sharp lines, that are disconnected, creating a staccato effect. It is suppose to reference to the scratch marks made by the hands depicted in the graphics. The usage of different tonal values and colours (red) in the scratch marks shows a difference in pressure of inscribing. It creates the tension necessary in the thriller element aimed for this graphics. The difference in pressure should also tell of the emphasis on different weights of the alphabet. The usage of uppercase letters for the name “Brendy” allows more room for exploration of the pressured inscriptions, it also gives a stronger and sinister appearance due to the enhanced weight.

 

Friday the 13th
Other attempts
1st attempt of scratching

I tried to create alternate perspective of the hands clawing out the scratch marks on the plague doctor’s masks, but I realised that the usage of too many hands can be visually overwhelming, taking the attention away from the typography.

 

attempt of vintage look

I also experimented with a vintage theme as plague doctors are occupations that no longer exist due to extinction of time. However, I couldn’t find a better way to style the typography, losing the meaning of the narrative with it.

 

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Cannibal

Cannibal, final

This composition is second in the series. From the Plague doctor typographic portrait, it has the recurring theme of using red as emphasis. The usage of texture is on a more dramatic scale. The black humour and surrealistic element used draws reference to the narrative, whereby the main character is desensitised to the idea of eating human flesh.

This graphics is done through flat lay photography with photoshop editing of the muscle fibre of real pork, drizzled with strawberry sauce.

It is a photograph of a bowl of flesh that is supposed to resemble human thigh meat, drizzled with red substance that resembles blood. It is accompanied with a comb and a ruler, in a dining room scenario. The usage of colour, as mentioned, uses red as the main focus. It is accompanied with white and blue to create a fantasy-like scene, but not too overwhelmingly jarring. The surrealistic element is brought out with the usage of a comb and a rusty ruler by the plate, implying that these tools are substitutes of the utensils. The usage of texture also transcends into the background, with a blue, weaving table mat as the background, covered with a white floral cloth, followed by a blue printed ceramics bowl. The usage of texture creates a highly detailed narrative within the photograph. There is balance in this photograph despite the comb being larger than the ruler, this is because of the usage of the blood to draw out the alphabet “Y”, which will be explained below.

The purpose of this typographic portrait is to create a visually stimulating layout, that is on the verge of dangerous cannibal and black humour. There should be a subtle element of danger, but also a humorous backdrop, this “humour” is brought about by the surrealistic element mentioned earlier. I would reference to most movie posters, but specifically “Silence of the Lambs”. It has an element of tamed silence, but it also has a strong implied narrative that audience will expect, as if more action is taking place outside of the camera’s perspective. Surrealism is also emphasised in the graphics.

We Are What We Are
Silence of the Lambs

In linking the typography and the purpose of the graphics, I wanted to use the muscle fibre to spell out the name. This uses the context (cannibal) to frame the typography, which tells the audience that the story revolves around a cannibal and flesh. The usage of muscle fibre is also easier in spelling out curvy alphabets like uppercase “B”. However, in shaping the narrative of  surrealism, I went one stage ahead by deconstructing the form of the typography. I took away the middle section of the letter “E” and even used blood to substitute the muscle fibres for the alphabet “Y”. This obvious substitution and subtraction brings focus to the elements of inconsistency that the audience should notice. The usage of blood to spell out Y, that eventually mixes in with the background, tells the audience that there is an implication of surrealism, whereby the typography is dematerialising.

Other attempts
inclusion of foot, scissors and actual utensils

In this attempt, I tried to juxtapose actual utensils that would be used in a dining scenario to enhance the black humour. There is also a foot.

set up

The usage of one light source creates a dramatic vignette.

crazy lights
spelling out with muscle fibres

I also tried to use the contouring of the muscle fibres to outline the name Brendy, but this was not obvious and it did not have the intended dramatic effect compared to the previous composition.

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Milky Way Milkman

Milky Way Milkman, final

This is the third composition in the nightmare series. It has recurring themes like the shining of the stars, compared to the glistening on the red liquid on the meat. The play of texture is also apparent, comparing the movement lines to the muscle fibres of the previous composition. In accordance to the narrative of the series, the main character is denying the evil thoughts, therefore the elements of red are the resurfacing of his subconscious evil thoughts. The stark contrast of surrealism to graphics indicates his thoughts dematerialising into a fantastical genre.

This is created through hand drawn illustrations put through the Illustrator for additional paint and textured effects.

In this composition, the usage of colours becomes more loose. There are galaxy colours used, but mainly complementary colours of green orange and purple violet. This creates a fantastical environment. The usage of red, as mentioned earlier, indicates the implications from the previous composition. The orange and red portions are the main focus of the graphics as they are bright and steals the audiences’ focus. The usage of movement lines brings emphasis to the typography, which is spelt out on the side of the milkman’s van. This composition is also bolder compared to the rest with the variety of shapes and forms used, like organic shapes and geometric shapes in different scenarios. Theres an attempt to shape the udders of a cow. The idea of movement is also apparent as the scenario is in space, and the usage of overflowing milk helps to redirect the audiences’ eyes into the central, which is the typography.

The purpose of this typographic portrait is to follow through with the narrative of subverting your evil thoughts, hence, this scene has to portray a positivity that is befouled by insidious thoughts. The primary characteristics has to be the magical element of a flying van that everyone in the audience will be excited to see, but is slowly poisoned by the blood capturing it.

I am referencing to the movie “Nanny McPhee”s poster, which tells a tale of a magical nanny that travels around and teaches children the right from the wrongs. I find the composition magical and fantastical with the play of colours, using only the darker colours to highlight the main lead. The usage of floral and curvy patterns enhances this element of fantasy as well.

Nanny McPhee
ofo logo

In the typography of this composition, I wanted to reference to the “ofo” logo since they have a brilliant logo that uses the from to highlight the function. The letter “ofo” effectively becomes a bicycle. I wanted to use the letters of the typography as the form instead, creating a van with the name “brendy”. “Brendy” in this composition is spelt with small letter casing for this purpose, it is also to incite positivity, since lower case letters are visually less taunting and bold. The usage of block and thick letters create an effect of harmlessness and friendliness, as there isn’t any sharp edges in the font. The circular forms of the letter “b” and “d” goes really well to highlight the movement lines I wanted to be apparent in this composition. In particular for this graphics, I wanted to incorporate textures in the letterforms to create a linkage between the previous composition and this one, hence, I patterned the letterforms “n”, “d” and “y’ with lines and marks. There is also an emphasis using contrasting sizes, by making the “Y” bigger than the rest, and moving towards the van, it gives emphasis.

 

Other attempts
Vector attempt

I attempted to create the composition using vector illustration. However, I found that it did not have the desired appearance, and it was too time-consuming.

Found image attempt

I also attempted to use photoshop and found images to create a graphics, but this was difficult in terms of including the typography, although I did like the appearance of the graphics.

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Planet Eater

Planet Eater, final

This is the final composition in the series, and it is the most fantastical and vibrant one out of the four, in accordance to the narrative. With the recurring themes of space, it follows the main characters thoughts of being free after being a Milky Way Milkman, thus looking into the distance of space. The colours used are the same, but in an exaggerated hue and saturation. Compared to the previous graphics, which is solid and outlined by lines, this one is flowy and viscous, enhancing the dream-like effect.

This is created through hand- drawn illustrations, thereafter painted in Illustrator and added additional effects through Photoshop and Lightroom.

In this composition, the colours are as mentioned before, much more vibrant and saturated. This gives a stronger dream-like effect. This is because as the narrative progresses, the main character is deeper into his nightmare and thus the colours are more vibrant as it is supposed to provide a positive message of freedom. There is emphasis placed on the colour green as most of the composition is predominantly purple and pink, bringing focus to the typography. There is harmony as the  entire composition is superimposed with a translucent layer of textured stars and clouds. There is also balance as the texture of the milky way is placed at opposite ends to create visual balance. The tonal values are also dramatic in this composition, with darker values to depict the deeper end of space while lighter values used to highlight the foreground and typography.

The purpose of this graphics is to incite a sense of freedom, telling the audience that the series has gone full-blown surreal. There is a strong element of dropping reality down (following the narrative), the audience is travelling into space as a formless entity. The colours used in this composition is rarely found in reality, hence the effect of otherworldliness is more apparent. However, the convergence of space, whereby the typography is trapped within a thick vignette, implies a slight sense of danger, which is one of the key point in this story.

Guardians of the Galaxy poster

In the reference of otherworldliness, I chose the Guardians of the Galaxy poster. Specifically referring to the colour scheme used, with predominantly saturated blue and purple with tints of yellow. I find the colour scheme appropriate and paid extra attention to my composition in terms of bringing out the fantastical quality.

In the typography of this composition, I wanted to emphasis on the fantasy-like otherworldly quality as mentioned above. Hence, the typography is flow and viscous, in the form of clouds to spell out the name “brendy”, in lower case alphabets. The kerning in this typography is different compared to the other three, especially the alphabets “b”, “e” and “n”, where “b” has a big space to the other alphabets, and “e” and “n” are coiling around each other. “e” is represented with the shadow of the planet while “n” is the coiling smoke. This inconsistent kerning creates a life-like quality to the alphabets, as if they are moving on their own.  This non-human touch enhances the narrative of finding freedom in space. The flowy and viscous quality I sought to represent here can only be produced by the curved parts of the lower case letters of “brendy”, hence the selection of lower case letters. The space in between “b”, “e” and “d” are also juxtaposed with stars and galaxy patterns, to enhance the theme of space aesthetics.


watercolour attempt

I really wanted to do something hands on and I gave a try on water colour, since watercolour provided a quality of chalky and blended colours that other mediums cannot provide. However, it seemed off represented when placed together with the rest of my compositions as the tonal values are a stark contrast. It wasn’t as vibrant as I would like as well, hence, I decided to stick with a digital medium instead.

 

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Learning Point
It was difficult in linking up the narrative intended and the main purpose of the project, telling a story through typography. However, it was interesting in seeking out solutions, such as understanding how the wording are placed in a particular way or done so in a specific manner, ultimately creating the typography seen on screen. It was a whole new ball game trying to tell a story not only through graphics but typography as well.
I also learn to play with proportions as my initial drafts barely focus on the typography, instead represent a large proportion of space on the graphics, which later Joy advised me on cropping out- essentially giving a stronger focus on the typography.
Joy also pointed out that there could be more room to play with the interaction between the muscle fibre in the second piece with the comb, enhancing the element of surrealism.

A fertility deity (updated)

Content
1. Frog hearing versus human hearing

2. Chosen human body part and its movements

3. Two sound and sound fabric analysis

4. Kokopelli's "first fabric" incorporated with

   human movement and sound

5. Sound lexicon

Researching on how frogs and humans hear, I realised that there is a great deal of similarities on how both auditory system function. Represented by the diagrams below, it is apparent that frogs do not have outside ears to direct the sound waves into the inner noggin, in comparison to the humans who have outside ears that act as funnels. However, both humans and frogs have central ears, inner ears and ear drums that carry out the hearing capabilities.

In scientific terms, humans have the outer ears, which is the pinna that acts as a funnel that tunnels the sound wave into the external auditory meatus (central ear), which then creates the sound in the tympanic membrane or ear drums. In comparison to the frogs, this organ is absent and auditorial function happens without it.

Anatomy of Frog ears

 

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Assigned body parts: eyes and arms

Researched eye movements:

Smooth pursuit movements are slow tracking movements of the eyes designed to keep a moving stimulus on the focus. Such movements are under voluntary control in the sense that the observer can choose whether or not to track a moving stimulus.

Saccades are rapid, ballistic movements of the eyes that abruptly change the point of fixation. They range in amplitude from the small movements made while reading, for example, to the much larger movements made while gazing around a room. Saccades can be elicited voluntarily, but occur reflexively whenever the eyes are open, even when fixated on a target.

Vestibulo-ocular movements stabilize the eyes relative to the external world, thus compensating for head movements. These reflex responses prevent visual images from “slipping” on the surface of the retina as head position varies. The action of vestibulo-ocular movements can be appreciated by fixating an object and moving the head from side to side; the eyes automatically compensate for the head movement by moving the same distance but in the opposite direction, thus keeping the image of the object at more or less the same place on the retina.

  • Vergence movements align the focus of each eye with targets located at different distances from the observer. Unlike other types of eye movements in which the two eyes move in the same direction.

research: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10991/

Researched arm movements:
Action of the Shoulder What the Action Looks Like (Try It Yourself!) Primary Muscles
Shoulder abduction Lift your arms out to the side Deltoid: all fibers and supraspinatus
Shoulder adduction Lower your arms to your side Pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi
Shoulder flexion Lift your arms in front of you Pectoralis major, and anterior fibers of the deltoid
Shoulder extension Return (lower) your arms from shoulder flexion or lift your arms behind you Latissimus dorsi, teres major (“little lat”)
Internal shoulder rotation From the anatomical position, rotate your arm so that the elbow faces forward.
This action at the shoulder can occur when your arm is in different positions (flexion, abduction, etc.).
Subscapularis
Latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major
External shoulder rotation From a position of internal shoulder rotation, rotate your arm so that the elbow faces backward. Also, anatomical position requires the shoulders to be in external rotation.
This action at the shoulder can occur when your arm is in different positions (flexion, abduction, etc.).
Infraspinatus and teres minor
Horizontal abduction For the start postion, lift your arms in front of you. The action occurs as you then move your arms out to the side. Latissimus dorsi and posterior fibers of deltoid
Horizontal adduction From the starting position, lift your arms out to the side. The actions occurs as you then move your arms in front of you Pectoralis major and anterior fibers of deltoid

 

 

 

 

research: https://www.acefitness.org/fitness-certifications/resource-center/exam-preparation-blog/3535/muscles-that-move-the-arm

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Kokopelli, the spirit of music, has arrived in the emptied out City of Voids est. 2017. Everywhere Koko went, accompanied magical melody that turned sound into organic matter. The dormant citizens of the city laid in awe as the sound they feared and loved transformed into beautiful sculptures, blossoming around the city
sound of projector shutter
sound of handicap lift

Sound fabric

The sound of the shutter is a positive reference while the handicap lift is a negative reference.

The shutter sound is beautiful to many people as it symbolised artistic creation. It is not a sudden screech with staccato rhythm. The sound ascends the moment the shutter clicks, and descends once the photograph is shot. The rhythm is also not a full linear melody, with voids in between each shutter, displaying melodious positive and negative space.  This ascending and descending rhythm as well as negative spaces can be seen in the sound-wave.

The lift sound is horrendous as it is heavy and confusing. It has a deep sound that is very muffled, as if a monster roaring out continuously. It has a solid punch with each vibration visualised as a curve shaking on its own. The vibration and solid composition can be seen in the sound-wave.

With the presence of Koko, the film projector and lift merged into an organic form that could be physically touched by the citizens. It was otherworldly.

 

sketch diagram
origami sketch tutorial
the otherworldly amalgamation
closeup
the sound of shutter and lift echoed
amalgamation
closeup of “lift”
the citizens were in awe, and Koko explained the amalgamation.

 

Non-coloured

The “shutter” is represented with the white paper, while the “lift” is represented with the brown paper.

The shutter can be seen as a composition that is positive, that ascends and descends in rhythm (but is likeable due to its symbolic value of artistic creation), depicted by the sharp edges of the tips. It is a sharp sound that has sequential negative voids amidst each shutter clicks, shown in the negative space on the paper.

Negative void between each shutter click

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Reference to body part and movement

Researched eye movements:

The eye allows light to enter since it is translucent. It has lids that open and close, becoming a barrier at times, but sometimes clear as day. This motion of barrier is sometimes slow, sometimes fast, frequent and even random. The micro-movement extends to how the pupil dilates and contract, something we can feel but not see. There could be controlled and uncontrolled actions, how an eye blink to wash away dust, and how an eye blink because it senses an imminent threat of fight or flight.

The radial composition references to the way the eyes function, with a circular system that funnels light into the iris that allows the eyes to work. There is a strong sense of direction into the center that brings out that idea. The sound of shutter also reminds me of the blinking of eyelids. The central twirl of paper reminds me of the decentralised veins of the iris. The eye is also a translucent organ that uses light to function, hence, the design is filled with holes to allow light to pass though. The design below looks like an otherworldly door of sorts, with many opening that utilises light. It accentuates the subtlety of how light interacts with the eye, creating micro-movement of blinking or dilating. The central twirls depicts the micro-movement of the complex rigidity of the pupil, dilating and contracting.

 

Combination of “lift’ and “shutter”
Closeup of “lift” mass and depth

The composition of the lift is as explained, muffled and the vibration of the sound can almost be physically felt. It is also a strong sound with deep base. Hence, I made it into a twirling ball of curved paper that is intertwining. The action of shining a light onto the curves gives off a strong and dark mass onto the base that heightens the sense of depth, like the lift’s sound, shown above. This was because the light creates a strong contrast of shadows below the twirls.

side shot
closeup
top down
strong light

 

    chosen lexicon: muse, porosity, kokopelli.

Muse: I find the word “muse” relatable to my sound fabric as the concept and structure of my sound fabric originates from the ideation of the shutter. I found it inspiring especially with the meaning behind the shutter of a camera, symbolic of artistic creation.

Porosity: The word “porosity” is relatable especially because of the majority usage of holes and negative space. I used holes in this sound fabric to create the staccato rhythm in the sound fabric.

Kokopelli: The word “Kokopelli” relates to my sound fabric as I wanted the final product to be geometric and mystical in nature, in tune with my perspective of Kokopelli as an entity. The slightly curved geometry of the stars seems mystical, especially with the curved and overlapping negative space in between. The geometry is half-artificial and half-terrestrial.

A chocolate fossil (updated)

 

As we revisited the narrative of Pandora’s box, we combined the usage of modules from the last assignment with our new found knowledge of various design themes. The new Pandora’s box becomes an ice tray that encases our carefully designed modules, creating our individual ice moulds.

By the blessings of Pandora, I was given the theme of “Inscription, Intersection and Array”. Inscription, becomes the concavity of the surface, a micro-perspective of inscribed carvings focused onto a small module. Intersection happens when two axis crosses one another, especially when one crosses into the surface area. Array is a pattern occurring along a curved axis, easily arranged as a modular pattern.

We explored with clay due to its malleability, creating the first drafts shown below.

First Module
First Module

The first module pays homage to the themes of inscription and array only. It resembles a melted Toblerone in a sunny day bent at an angle. The ridges are concavities that can be inscriptions if placed at a wider angle or numbers. The array is presented by the protruding ridges slanted along the curved base. The theme of intersection was deliberately missed out as I found the module to be awkwardly structured if inserted with another form.

First Module
Second Module

Unfortunately, the second module did not survive the trip home and it scattered into millions of tiny pieces. The above drawing depicts the various drawings of the second module. It is a thin arch with tiny cylindrical pointing out at three different points. It fulfils the themes of array and inscription, very similar to the first module.

 

Third Module
Third Module

The Third module features an arrangement of rectilinear forms placed parallel to one another, curving at the tip. There is a thicker block intersecting through the four panels. I found visual favour in this module as it was arranged parallel to one another, symmetrical when placed at the front, as if four gigantic walls penetrated by a huge pillar. It also extends perfectly into the themes of intersection, inscription and array.

Exploration of materials and forms

Using blue foam, I experimented with different forms that the rectilinear forms could possibly evolve into, for visual purposes as well as how well it fits into the themes of inscription, intersection and array. I found that a curved form is more suitable for the theme of array as it is more organic and curvilinear.

First trial of modules

I made my first round of modules using clay as I found clay to be more suitable to create the curved form than blue foam, since blue foam is more time-consuming in achieving a organic form.

However, problems surfaced as I realised that such a complex form would not be ideal for the context of an ice tray. In a theoretical situation, the area of intersection between the pillar to the curved form would interrupt the ice tray’s ability to mould into the design that I envision.

Hence, it was back to the drawing board.

Sketches
Working Sketch
Orthogonal Sketches
isometric drawing of three modules

I read up on how the silicon would be used to make the ice tray. Hence, I decided to go for a peaking conical shape in exchange for the rectilinear walls, this would allow the final ice cube to be taken out quite easily. There is still a strong theme of intersection, inscription and array. With an in depth exploration of forms, I realised  that there is a resemblance of the form to a spinal structure, and this led to my decision to make the modules resemble a Nautilus spiral or a fossil spine, adding on a narrative to the ice tray.

Artist Impression
Making the Modules
Clay modules
Different Arrangement
Piling the modules
Clump

Using clay, I made the modules that would eventually be used for the moulding of the silicon ice tray. The arrangement of the clay modules were a difficult process to finalise as one of the reasons why I chose not to make the modules out of mould was to achieve different length amongst the modules, creating an organic quality in comparison to something man-made and tessellating.

Randomised arrangement
Different Arrangements
Lights shaping the curves
Lights shaping the curves
Lights shaping the curves
Making the Silicon Tray
Upright position
Silicon mixture

As mentioned above, there would be a need to design a structure that would be easily taken out when the silicon solidifies, making the ice tray serve its purpose. Hence, I arranged the clay modules upright by shaving the bottom, allowing it to stand within the tray.

I decided to curve the silicon casing for two reasons: One, to reduce the wastage of silicon as it was a precious resource. And two, to create a more organic form compared to a rectangular tray, fitting with the theme of my narrative.

 

Final Product

Removing the silicon mould
Ice
Removing the ice

It was a difficult process removing the ice as my module was curvilinear in nature, thus it broke easily. It took a few attempts of freezing the ice to have a module that was not broken, attempts are shown below.

First attempt
5th attempt

However, picking up the final product did not feel right as the ice was translucent and did not express the aesthetic quality that I had yearned for since the idea of nautilus fossils dawned on me. This led me on to the idea of using molten chocolate to form the cast within the silicon. This was a justifiable action as the final product is, I believe, quite similar to real fossils in terms of appearance. It was also an interesting throwback to Gaia’s Ikebana plus Pandora’s box.

Final Final Product

Difference in visual quality between ice and chocolate
chocomodule
Crushed cookies to give a patch of earthy tones
Close-up
Close-up
Final Layout

 

A 3rd space (Micro-Project III) with Research Critique 2

The Third Space exists as the interaction between two individuals, unbounded by the limitations of time and space. As we attempt to dwell into network culture, we investigate this relationship through Facebook Live split screen feature, played out by a few people.

Posted by Joseph Tan on Monday, 5 February 2018

(Begins at 1:30)

In our work, we attempt to visually represent the interaction of different individuals in cyber space. At every moment, there will be one person in the screen, taking turns to jump in and out of the screen. This is as if the individuals are communicating within a network forum, leaving their cyber footsteps behind. At the same time, different individuals can transcend through multiple 3rd spaces, interacting with one another. The closeness and intimacy of the 3rd space can be shrunk by doing actual physical contact, such as doing activities of progressive intensity. We can collapse the barrier of 3rd space by creating an illusion of one identity jumping from the screen. This can be done through a process of wearing identical clothing, masking our face and also doing the same actions.

Process

This project was primarily difficult as we had technical difficulties making the Facebook Live function work. We had initially arranged for the project to be done in a secluded area to minimise the background understanding of our project environment, since our targeted audience is ADM population. This unfamiliar environment would create the necessary effect of jumping through space and time since they cannot visualise the distance between the two environment.

We mitigated this issue by moving back to ADM for this project, which has a stronger WIFI connectivity.

The coordination of this project was also a hassle as we had three members to coordinate the jumping scenes. It took 4 tries before we finalise the arrangement and achieved the desired outcome. However, the extra members did give us an additional manpower to create the effect that we intended to feature. We realised that communication was key in this concept, where we would look at the screen to initiate the command of jump sequentially by a left-right jumping direction.  We finally achieved a level of coordination we thought was ready to be uploaded as our final video, although speckled with a few glitches.

 

Boundaries of Third Space

In the exploration of the different questions posted to us regarding the third space, I went haywire in the research and went into some additional but somehow relevant information. In the questioning of boundaries within the Third Space, I felt that net neutrality and specialised new media company is worth mentioning. Net neutrality is essentially the action of making internet data equally accessible without control or restriction. Since this has been a highly debatable topic revolving around the Federal Communication Commission’s repeal and John Oliver’s vigilante fight for internet equality through Youtube. (A debatable net neutrality supporter) In relations to the Third Space, net neutrality would kill off the sanctity as it creates a specialised tiered data service that limits the freedom to explore within the Third Space. Specialised new media company like Netflix can profit off of net neutrality by paying for the tiered service, driving up competition, prohibiting access of the Internet. This effectively scales down the infinite space of the internet down to what the organisation allows you to.

Digital Divide

I also explored on digital divide, the concept of inequality in the data distribution around the world. This is highly contended especially in the artwork “Guilty Landscapes”, where the artist connects  to the audience live via the Internet to execute his artwork. This artwork could be stumped if the location he was carrying out in had really slow internet connection due to a weak Internet services provider, or even any providers at all. Essentially, digital divide creates a cyber landscape that only hovers around the developed countries, making the Third Space non-existent to the less developed countries. This can be salvaged through sharing of information and resources. The investment of MNCs in such less developed countries could drive up the need to have strong Internet in such places and in terms expand the Third Space’s connectivity.

Essay

A diwo (Micro-project II) with Research Critique

This week we explored on the concept of Do-It-With-Others (DIWO), referencing to many artworks and artists to understand the complexity of this theme. We strive to learn more about its logicality and function, thereafter apply it to our own mini-DIWO project, and provide some after thoughts.

Fear-Love

With our understanding of DIWO, we narrowed down a few pointers that we envisioned for our DIWO project, being: extensive participation of audience that can affects the final artwork, social interaction between audience and artist as well as negating the importance of aesthetic quality.

We came up with our work “Fear-Love”, which is an experimental artwork where we invite audience to draw out the first thought they have when given the themes “Fear” and “Love” separately. The drawings are done in black and pink ink;”Fear” drawings done in pink ink while “Love” drawings done in black ink to reverse the colour psychology. The goal of this artwork is for audience  to comprehend the fundamental process of psychological functions like fear and love, and comparing it to one another when they see each others’ drawings.

Outcome

With the final work presented above, we split the themes into two panels. The post-mortem review for the audience would indicate the effectiveness of the artwork, whereby audience can look at one another’s deepest fear or love, thereby making interaction with the fear/love as a conversation starter.

Drawbacks

In the spirit of being truthful to the purpose of art as DIWO intends, we have many improvements to be made for our experiment after the first trial. Firstly, there should be a controlled environment to prevent audience from interacting before the execution of the artwork, thereby making the final work biased as the project aims to be spontaneous in nature. Secondly, the aforementioned biased discussion would take away the artist’s control of the artwork due to a unintentional curating through the audience’s discussion, this would be discussed in my essay listed below. Lastly, there is no anonymity when audience are taking turn to draw out their greatest fear/love, preventing the impact of the post-mortem review.

(Controlled environment to negate shifting responsibility of artist and curator)

 

sheep
Possible solutions

After the readings on various artists, we have seen many examples of DIWO, and that provided a great inspiration on how DIWO projects should be ran to eliminate problems and expedite effectiveness. We can reference to the “Sheep Market” (http://www.thesheepmarket.com/), where the drawings are uploaded to the web to include anonymity in the participation, as well as garner effective labour instead of asking the audience to draw one by one. This solution eliminates all the issues mentioned above.

Afterthought

In the after thoughts of making our own DIWO project and understanding its roots as a participatory art movement, I have gained insights of how labour-intended artworks proceed. This is especially because our work required the involvement of other people to draw for us, which is similar to the “Sheep Market”. After reading Marc Garrett’s essay, we were exposed to the idea of trickle down authority over the art industry and this led on to the monetary facade of the art world. This prompted the thought of how DIWO can be an outlier off-shooting from the main economy of commercial art.

spots “by” Damien Hirst

In this sense, there is a difference between how Damien Hirst or Andy Warhol hires people to execute their artworks for them. Andy Warhol (who explored mass-produced art in the 1960s) explored art with his friends in this art studio called the Factory. Damien Hirst, a contemporary artist, who is famous for his spot paintings, hires other people to paint his most famous art pieces. According to Business Insiders, out of 1340 paintings, he only made 25 pieces himself. In this situation, how does one Do-It-With-Others art piece differ to another if there is monetary transaction involved, even if the people painting the works are so called volunteering,  especially for a notable artist like Hirst, where even an internship possibility could mean a career boost?

I would assume that the only difference in the artworks in relation to DIWO stems from a perspective argument. DIWO is a highly saintly process that inculcates a more holistic approach to art-making compared to the economic drive in Hirst’s works. If and when we approach our audience with money to draw for our project Fear-Love, the work itself should and no longer be categorised as DIWO as the sanctity of volunteer-based participation is corrupted.

Overall, it was a diwow.