Point to Line to Plane (Final)

The aim is to achieve the most dynamic form using the planes formed by the strings.

And my personal aim is to do that , but at the same time making sure the form has the unity , harmony and simplicity.

There’s the contrast of curve and straight lines, the variation of density. The lines stem from a single swirl but spread out to different directions.

On one side , the spreading lines and planes going different direction forms an image of spreading wings.

While the two bigger planes captures the most attention. The small part added on the left is to balance the heavy form on the right, at different angle it parallel with each of the two bigger planes, acting as a complementary form that makes the sculpture more complete.

From the other side, the lines follows along the soft curvature of the base.

Jon said it looks like the waves The Great Wave off Kanagawa. and I like that idea.

The base is precariously balanced along a line, with the two sides curving upwards.

One of the reason that I work with such an open structure is also to counter the difficulty of keeping the tension of the string. When the plastic curves too much, the string tends to lose tension over time. However, with this over form, the gravity will always pull the two sides of the plastic down, keeping the string relatively taut.

I used single colour because I find it distracting to have multiple colours. And the use of colour will actually affect the amount of attention we put on each plane, which will require much more consideration. For me, use of plane and line is enough to achieve the desired effect.

This is the planning of the lines on 2D surface.

AND THAT’S IT NO MORE SEWING ON PLASTIC PHEW

Point to Line to Plane

I was actually excited for the project, it sounded fun even though I had no idea how to achieve it. (Or what to achieve )

So Peter gave us the first step, start with lines on flat surface

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This is what I started with, straight line and curve, I connect the alternate ends of each line, to give things a twist. (literally)

And there goes my first study model (pardon the bad picture)

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I like how the surface turns from front to the back, it transform from a curvature to a flat plane. And how the straight lines formed a curvature on the side, making it dynamic but soft. I also like how the lines intersects from some of the angles.

ARTIST REFERENCE: Upon some browsing and research, I came across an artist that used this parabolic plane in her work. Barbara Hepworth (Female sculptor during that time? YAAAASSSS)

And I just love love love these.

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Barbara Hepworth, Stringed Figure: Curlew (Maquette I), brass and cotton string, 1956. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2013/impressionist-modern-art-day-sale-n08988/lot.457.html

Orpheus (Maquette 2) (Version II) 1956, edition 1959 Dame Barbara Hepworth 1903-1975 Presented by the artist 1967 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/T00955

The swift lines, soft curves and dynamic form are like dancers. The different lines intersect visually and yet are not too complex and distracting.

LEARNING POINT : I noticed that in her work there is always one part in which the lines or the form contract, and on the other part of the sculpture the lines spread out, this contrast actually makes the form more dynamic.

I let myself went through some trial an error, trying out different things and geting myself familiar with how the string and card would work. Didn’t record all of them but you can see the traces.

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DIFFICULTIES: Even though I tried using multiple parabolic planes to make the sculpture more interesting, it always turn out too random or messy. I want to achieve something that looks whole. Something that has harmony, unity and yet has the dynamic quality.

On the side note, as I work on it, the spreading of lines and the curves bring to mind the image of spreading wings, the way the feathers spread out neatly on a bird’s wings.

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Aaaaaand with that I will leave the final work to the next post.

We went to the hardware store

and I found this little thing:

having in mind our task is to assemble parts to represent an animal , this ring naturally brings to mind the bull’s nose ring.

Perhaps I was too inspired by the Bull’s Head by Picasso that Peter showed us during lesson. Like he said it’s an elegant piece of work, and my aim (If I have one) in this project is to achieve the simplicity and elegance,

Pablo Picasso, 1942, Tête de taureau(Bull’s Head), bicycle seat and handlebars

I went on to find a pair of horn for my work, the first thing that caught my eye was this pretty door handle:

I thought the brown and black tone was a nice pair with the ring, and the curved structure in the centre looks like the forehead(??) of the ox, right?

RIIIIGHT?

But Peter said the horn is a bit too far stretched (Okay can). So to make it better I went to look for more horns. (since when was I so hardworking???)

My next step is finding this silver door handle at the same hardware store. My initial thought was to pair it with a silver ring that looked like the black one. But upon reaching home, I pick up a binder clip on the table which remind me the shape of the bull’s head and I went with it. The nose part was found later in the tool box at home. (I quite like how the reflective surface pari with the black.)

The horn is pointing forward and upwards just like the horn of a bull. And the narrow trapezium face with the structure at the bottom.

And as I as fiddling things in the tool box. (Which was left by the previous house owner) I FOUND THESE GEM:

The two curved iron bar look JUST LIKE the horns of an ox. I had no idea what it was for or why there is yarns wrapped around it, all I know and care is it would work well with the ring.

I feel like the image is enough to show the features of the animal, and I like the simplicity, so I didn’t add anything more to show the face.

Peter said it would be better if I present it on a vertical surface such as a wall. I agree with him but I got no balls.

And that concludes my 3D project 1

My line is emo

It is about foreigners and locals, about seeking for a sense of belonging , about understanding one another. In general, a progression from loneliness to the sense of belonging.

About the work: The work is a timeline. Each line represent an emotion I experienced during my stay in Singapore as a foreigner, almost like a diary As time progress, my attitudes and emotions changes, from a foreigner who feel alienated and detached from the island, I went through several stage of external and internal struggle, and learnt to fit in and embrace my new identity as a mixture of culture from both Singapore, China and my own roots, Taiwan. And finally, finding contentment with my current state at the end of the timeline.

In this work,

1)I hope to show the emotions experienced by foreigners but sometimes neglected by the locals. I wish to deliver those emotions in a ways that can be easily understood or felt by any audience by focusing on the process of the mark making.

2) I want to remind the audience that unwelcoming is never one-directional. While being in a foreign land is difficult, it is important for us the foreigners to try to fit in, and learn to embrace our new identity. By switching our attitudes, we can switch our situation around. This is conveyed by making drastically different marks using the same material (glue and oil)

3)No man is an island, living in the same society we should all learn to live with one another, understand one another, and embrace one another. By laying out my own experience , I hope to show that it takes time to fit in but it is not impossible.

The warping of paper after all the mark making process is a physical metaphor of the impact of emotions on an individual. As time progress, the extend of warping increase. But at the end, among all the crumpled texture, one still finds his/her peace.

The timeline goes from white to white, because I am still myself, still holding on to taiwanese passport. But the emotion is no longer the same after the ten years.

(Joy said the whole piece “looks like a poem from far”, and I am REALLY REALLY flattered by that comment)

Each emotion in detail:

Overwhelmed (By the new culture, new environment, and the all year round sunshine),using over exposed polaroid film
Hopeful*(for new life in Singapore),using insense
Alienation, using oil and ink
Detachment,using wax and ink
Uneasiness (Of living alone in foreign place), using instant noodle and ink
Homesickness ,using cling wrap and ink
Bitter (About the hurtful thing I hear between locals and foreigners), cur made by penknife
Familiarity (Getting used to Singapore, becoming more and more local), abstract ink rendering of HDB flat
Conflicted , using black trashbag and super glue
Loss (Loss of original identity) ,tracing paper glued onto paper
Guilt (for losing the culture of my roots ), ink and scotch tape
Confused (Who am I? Where is my home? Unable to reach conclusion) ,tissue paper and ink
Exulansis (the tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it), paper sanded down using Sand paper
Lost (no place to call “home”), using clay and ink
Obedience (unwillingly having to fit into the locals ), using liquid glue and ink
Calm (Embracing the new identity, fitting into the society), using liquid glue and ink
Sense of belonging using oil and ink
Contentment pressed paper

And I am just grateful that I am able to find my place in Singapore. I don’t know why but a sense of belonging just makes so much difference.

It is a late submission sobs, but I had fun doing this.

笔墨等于零

“Brush and ink are only servants of thoughts and emotion. They should follow your emotion and change with the emotion.” – Wu GuanZhong

This post is about the concept and ideas behind my work for 2D project, My line is emo.

I began with my all-time-struggle, being away from home.

1.Diaspora

The dispersion or spread of any people from their original homeland.
people who have spread or been dispersed from their homeland.

Being away from one’s homeland can result in various emotions. Firstly, having a new culture and lifestyle can be overwhelming, and the warmth and joy found at home turns into longliness and longing. Secondly, fitting into a foreign culture is never easy, through out the process one would likely experience uneasiness, alienation and detachment. Besides that, the prejudice between the locals and foreigners sometimes result in bitterness and tension.

For uneasiness , I tried to make marks using cooked instant noodles. Which appears quite often in my first few month alone in Singapore. The material captures the uneasiness of living alone in a country, not knowing where to get food or how to order food in english.

For alienation/detachment, I took Huimin’s suggestion and looked into materials that does not mix together.

Firstly, I tried waxing the paper:

In the picture above, the waxing is not thorough enough , I wasn’t satisfied with the result and tried a few more with different thickness of the wax layer and different application of ink, until i obtained the result below:

The patterns formed by the ink is almost painting a broken surface, the thin jagged lines is a good representation of the struggles the foreigners face to connect with the people.

Another material I tried was oil. The following are the several experimental pieces I’ve done.

The satisfied result is the one below, which is obtained by applying ink onto paper, and quickly dripping ink onto the surface. Then, roll the ink around the surface by tilting the paper. The idea of ink being unable to penetrate the paper represent the idea of not being able to fit into the foreign society. The drop of ink traveling on the paper represent an individual, traveling alone, suggesting the sense of solitude.

I also decided to include some methods from the previous post.

The mark made using cling wrap can be used to represent homesickness. Me eating alone always result in having left overs. The cling wrap reminds me of the meals I had when my family is not around, hence suggest the loneliness as well as homesickness.

The cut across the paper surface will be used to suggest bitterness, the subtle appearance and the suggested violence can be used to suggest the bitterness I feel when I hear nasty and prejudiced comment between the locals and the foreigners.

2.home away from home

(idiomatic) A place in which one is as comfortable as one’s actual home.

After being here in Singapore for quite some time, fitting in is no longer a problem. However, identity crisis surfaces as I started to behave more and more like a local. My memory of my hometown fades as I grow more and more familiar with the land that is supposedly foreign to me. I found myself “betraying” my roots and felt a sense of guilt, which lead to my refusal to accept my new identity. This denial then turns into emotional struggle and conflict.

I mixed paper clay with ink to dye it black, and applied a thick layer of the mixture on to paper. When it dries, the clay dries , and some parts fell off. Taking clay as a representation of earth, this piece suggest the feeling of losing connection to one’s roots, and thus the identity that comes with it. The broken surface also suggest the emotional impact that comes with the loss.

While thinking about the conflict, the first thing that came to mind is trash bag.The texture is able to show the act of stretching clearly, and evoke the sense of internal struggles. Trash bag also carries meanings on its own. It suggests the state of not being wanted by both places. I can neither be a 100% local of Singapore, nor go back to being a true Taiwanese.

Other materials are tracing paper, which suggests distance and fading memories.

During individual consultation with Joy she introduce me to the Ted Talk below.

As someone who is away from home, I find the following quote from the talk very relatable.

“Perhaps my biggest problem with coming from countries is the myth of going back to them.I’m often asked if I plan to “go back” to Ghana. I go to Accra every year, but I can’t “go back” to Ghana…. We can never go back to a place and find it exactly where we left it. Something, somewhere will always have changed,most of all, ourselves. People.”

The speaker also highlighted that we tend to assume someone’s identity based on where they came from, when the identity is in fact build with experiences from all the different places that and individual had live in. Hence, one need not to be confined by the culture of his/her hometown.

Which remind me of the Two Fridas by Frida Kahlo, in which the artist confront the duality of her identity, and accept the fact that the different cultures co-exist within her, while admitting the importance of each of them.

which lead me to the thought:Perhaps the attitude of local is not the only thing that separates the foreigners from fitting in.

Sometimes, the foreigners refuse to accept their own identity as outsider, resulting in unhappy interactions with the locals. Other times, the foreigners refuse to even try to fit in with the local, because they refuse to accept the new culture.

With those thoughts in mind, I went on and look through a few artists who dealt with diaspora and related issues. The following artists caught my attention.

Brailliterate (文盲文) by Xu Bing, 1993

(click image to get more info)

In this work, the artist play with different form of languages to evoke the issue of misinterpretation and misunderstanding due to the difference in culture.

I find the work relatable. Being friends of both the local and the foreigners, I sometimes witness the misinterpretation or prejudice caused by difference in culture and language here in Singapore. This prompted me to shift my thoughts towards the interactions between the locals and foreigners.

Maybe some of the conflict and tension between can be resolved, as long as one switch their perspective around or change their attitude. Such idea can be suggested by making different marks using the same material, by changing the application method.

During my experimentation, I realised that thinner paper tends to warp, even though the warping shows poor craftsmanship, but I think it can be a metaphor of the influence and impact of emotions on an individual.

Another artist that inspired me (more in terms of style and visual) is Wu Guan Zhong.

The simplicity and his use of negative space inspired me to reconsider the format and overall presentation of my work.