FOUNDATION 4D PROJECT 4: POETICS OF TIME

PROJECT BRIEF

Choose a specific location in ADM, and create an encounter with any medium that expresses one of the following categories of time. 1. Measured time 2. Experienced time 3. Edited time 4. Biological time.

 

OVERVIEW

I started this project with research on two artists, Tehching Hsieh and Marina Abramovic who are the pioneers of performance art. I decided to have a performance art for this project after having a better understanding of it. Due to time constraints, my performance was recorded and presented in the form of installation. The purpose of this performance is to cause realization of the current issues. INDIVIDUALISATION

 

PROJECT PROPOSAL

PROJECT 4 PROPOSAL

 

PROCESS

I had 21 meals alone for 15 days, as I skipped some and there were technical issues for a few meals that were not recorded. All the video clips were edited to the similar scales to keep the consistency. The edited video was presented in the installation is 2 hours 11 minutes in clock time.

There is a speed up version of part of the original video. The scale and framing are able to capture my movement and the environment. There is no surprise in this artwork as all my movements are similar. The regular movement suggests my oppressive emotion, and also form a contrast to the irregular movement in the background. The contrast of an individual against the group emphasized my loneliness.

DINING ENVIRONMENT REFERENCE https://www.pinterest.com/pin/490118371940344390/
DINING ENVIRONMENT REFERENCE https://www.pinterest.com/pin/490118371940344355/
TRIAD COLOURS http://www.tigercolor.com/Images/Triad.gif

Moreover, the deliverable of this project is an installation of my recorded performance. I created a dining environment for my audience to experience the artwork. The images above are my references. The style of the dining environment is colourful and bright like where a group of friends normal hang out at. I used two orange, two green chairs, and one white table for my installation to achieve the ideal effect. I chose the colours according to colour theory that triad colour which are green, violet and orange to create the playful environment.

MENU REFERENCE https://www.pinterest.com/pin/490118371940398927/

TABLE SET UP
TABLE SET UP

Further, text is used in my installation to clarify the content and emphasize my emotion. I wrote down my feeling after every meal and consolidate those into a menu-like sheet with the performance art title and other information. It was placed on the white table for the audience to read while they are watching the video. Some small notes were also placed on the table to deliver my message to the audience.

 

FINAL INSTALLATION

INSTALLATION SET UP
INSTALLATION SET UP

The installation lasted for 2 hours and 11 minutes started from 1230pm on 20th November 2017 at ADM level 2 outside 2D studio. I invited my friend for lunch at my installation. That was my first time eating with friends in 15 days. My friends and classmates had pizza with me and also shared their opinions with me. The whole installation was recorded by Gopro. There is a five-minute video  of some moment above as I could not be able to upload the whole 2 hours video.

 

ALL IN ALL

SOCIAL EVENT
SOCIAL EVENT

This is the first time that I am having performance art and installation. I was always curious about those in the past. Finally, there was a chance for me to do so. Eating alone seems to be an easy task but it is difficult for me as I am an extrovert person who loves to socialize. I am also self-conscious that I care about how people think of me. Putting myself in the situation without company in the public is torture. I felt insecure when I was eating alone. In addition, I did not expect that this performance art would affect my social life that much. I missed several chances to enjoy great food with friends because I need to follow the rules I set. Actually, I only spent around 2 hours in total eating alone but I felt like the time was double. It is because those experiences are unpleasant. However, I felt that time past faster when I was sharing food with friends at the installation. This project is interesting that I never think about time in depth as it is just something we experience every day. I appreciate that we actually have the ability to design time. Lastly, I think this project also helped me to discover my potential, and decide my major.

 

PROJECT 3: EGO IN DIFFERENT SETTINGS

PROJECT BRIEF

Every person reacts differently to different settings. In four rows of three squares, create a self-portrait based on four different settings. For each of the four rows, use the first column to represent yourself and the second column to represent a setting and the third column to represent an imagined outcome.  Apply your understanding of colours and colour theory to visually represent the multifaceted nature of your personality. You may choose to do this digitally or by hand (or mix-media). There are a total of 12 image compositions. Each individual composition measure 200mm x 200mm (square) with a 20mm x 200mm space for text.

 

OVERVIEW

PERSONALITY RESULT FROM https://www.16personalities.com/.

I started this project by looking at my personality based on a personality test that I think is the most accurate. My test result is the ENTJ PERSONALITY (“THE COMMANDER”), and I used the four categories, such as career paths, family value, romantic relationship and friendship of my personality analysis as the concepts of my equations.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.             – Steve Jobs

According to research, Steve Jobs is also with ENTJ personality. People with this type of personality are determined, confident and forceful. Thus, red is the dominant colour in my equations to represent energy and passion.

 

1ST EQUATION

DIGITAL ARTWORK
CONCEPT

My first equation is about my career paths. My personality makes me suitable to be the leader in the organization. I chose lion to represent myself, as lion symbolizes strength and leadership. My setting here is my school ADM. It is where I am preparing for my future career. My response to my personality is a pineapple, as it a love and hate fruit. It tastes great at first but gives the numb feeling on the tongue after eating too much of it. I am passionate about what I am doing but sometimes it torturing when I am stuck on some projects.

INSPIRATION
POP ART

I was inspired by the vibrant colours of pop art and its simple composition.

COLOR THEORY

I decided to use complementary colours for my personality and setting as it represents conflict which is my love and hates towards my career paths. The first set of complementary colours are violet and yellow, while the second are red and green. I used red-violet, which is the hue in between violet and red to be the background of the response. I used yellow and green again in the response to form split-complimentary colour.

DESIGN ELEMENTS & PRINCIPLES
ME: EGO
SETTING: ADM
RESPONSE: LOVE & HATE

In this equation, I used the symmetrical balance to achieve harmony. Symmetrical balance also shows the sense of order and clarity which is my attitude toward my career paths.

 

2ND EQUATION

DIGITAL ARTWORK
CONCEPT

The third equation is about my relationship with my family. I was born during the one-child policy period in China that each couple could only have one child. Therefore, I am the only child in the family with all the attention from my parents. However, I started living overseas away from my family since 15 years old. I am living in Asia but the western culture influenced me for years. Thus, the response is my confusion of my cultural identity, and also my homesickness

INSPIRATION
FLAT LAY PHOTOGRAPHY

I was inspired by the flat lay photography that is trendy on social media. I search for the existing product, edit them accordingly, and arranged them into the plat lay.

COLOR THEORY

I used monochromatic colour scheme. I picked yellow and red from the National flag of China for my personality and the setting. The colour of the response is blue which represent my sadness. Those three colours form triad colour that is lively and harmonious.

DESIGN ELEMENTS & PRINCIPLES
ME: ONE CHILD POLICY
SETTING: MADE IN CHINA
RESPONSE: HOMESICK MIANBAO

For the first composition, I used elements with curvy lines to form the shape of a baby which also contain curvy lines to achieve unity. The decomposition contains more shapes like rectangles and squares that create unity although there is quite a number of different objects. Lastly, the bread is dominant in the composition while the plate and chopstick are the subdominant and subordinate. The focal point is the bread as it is the main character in the story, and the tableware is here to create contrast.  

 

3RD EQUATION

MIX MEDIUM ARTWORK
CONCEPT

The 3rd equation is about my romantic relationship. People with the ENTJ personality type like to be the leading roles in relationships. I approach a relationship with a set of goals and plans. My ideal type of relationship is fall of creativity and energy. However, the reality is cold enough the chill my bones. It is difficult to find a partner who shares the similar value. I feel lost and confuse when I am facing the single me with my pride and high expectation.

INSPIRATION

I always like to explore new things so I decided to do mix media for this equation. One media is makeup, and another is photography. I was inspired by a  Chinese visual artist, Chen Man. One series of her artworks gave me the idea of using makeup as the media. The colours are pure and vibrant in this series.

COLOR THEORY

EYESHADOW PALETTE
ANALOGOUS COLOURS
PROCESS

I chose analogous colours for this equation. Red is used as the dominant in the first composition while red-orange and orange compliment it. The warm colour here represents my energy in my ideal relationship. Moreover, I used cool colours for the setting which are green, blue-green and blue. Those three colours are opposite red, red-orange, and orange that from the contrast between idealism and realism.

DESIGN ELEMENTS & PRINCIPLES
ME: DIVA
SETTING: COLD ENOUGH TO CHILL MY BONES
RESPONSE: LOST

The first composition is shot at the low angle which shows the power of the character. The second composition is an extreme close-up to capture the emotion. The last composition is underexposed to show the darkness. My face is covered with my hair, and it seems like I had lost my vision and hope.

 

4TH EQUATION

TRADITIONAL ARTWORK
CONCEPT

The last equation is about friendship. I used traditional medium, such as watercolour pencil and watercolour paper and some other tools like blender and cotton pad. Friends are very important for me as they are the closest while my family is so far away. I received a lot of help from my friends along the way. My friends and I are the types of person who work hard like trash but also play hard sometimes. We are all spontaneous and do not think about consequences sometimes. Therefore, I used toilet paper to represent ourselves. The toilet bowl is our setting, as we always do ‘shit’ together. The response is a pregnancy test with two lines which means the test result is positive. unplanned pregnancy emphasized how spontaneous and playful my friends and I are. Lastly, the objects I used in this equation are normally in white, which shows that how friendship makes my life more colourful and lively.

INSPIRATION

I was inspired by an artist called Nicolas Party. He is famous for using saturated colour in his painting. I like the way he composites the object in a simple way. Each of the object is in monochrome. 

COLOR THEORY

COLOUR TESTING

I chose analogous colours for my last equation as it is the most harmonious colour combinations represent the good friendship that I have. The first composition is in red, red violet and violet. The red colour here represent the energy my friends and i have. The second composition is in green, yellow-green and yellow. As green is directly opposite red which form a strong contrast in this equation. The response is in complimentary colours to form contrast.

DESIGN ELEMENTS & PRINCIPLES

The scale of the objects increase from the first composition to the last composition to gradually draw the viewer’s attention, and trigger their curiosity. As the objects become less clear when the scale increase.

 

ALL IN ALL

This project helps me with a better understanding of colour theory and also myself. It is challenging as I do not use many colours in my own work. I had a good time exploring different technique and other artworks. I received constructive feedback from my professors and friends along the way. I think I will pay more attention to the usage of colours in the future projects.