Foundation 4D Exercise 1 – Scale & Framing

As an exercise in handling a dslr camera, we have been tasked with taking photos of our partner that best depicts their characteristics.

My partner is Shah.

And here are the photos:

Medium close-up

I’ve chosen to go with a medium close-up shot of Shah here to emphasize on his friendliness.

I’ve increased the contrast and a bit of brightness of the photo to give this cheerful and vivid feel to express the how nice Shah is as a person.

Long shot, eye-level

I’ve gone with a long shot here to include the alternating colors of the walkway into the photo.

Why did i want the alternating colors you might ask,

It is to link to Shah’s outgoing nature as portrayed when he offers assistance to his friends and his upbeat way of communicating with others.

I’ve decided to go with a black-and-white photo finish as well to diminish the presence of bright colors coming out from the classroom windows in the background and highlight the pattern of the walkway.

medium shot, low angle

And here i’ve decided to go with a low angle shot to focus on Shah’s confidence.

The low angle shot gives him a sturdy look and creates a impression that he is powerful. I may not know him all too well, but from our exchanges thus far, he is certainly not someone that perishes easily in the face of difficult situations.

A vignette effect is also utilized to bring focus to his body in the center of the photo to add to the depiction of him looking tough.

Well, that’s the 3 photos of Shah that I’ve hand-picked from the photo shoot session.  I can definitely say i am more confident in being a photographer as opposed to being a model from the experience in this exercise. Haha.

Foundation 3D Project 1 – Pandora Box – 2D Analysis & 3D Sketch

2D Analysis of Interesting 3D Object

The class was told to bring an object that they found 3-dimensionally interesting.

So i brought along my hourglass timer.

Hourglass Timer

And in accordance to what we’ve learnt in class, i did up a 2d sketch analysis of it:

2d analysis of hourglass

Rule of Thirds: The Hourglass roughly follows the rule of thirds as it’s top and bottom parts can be classified separately from it’s slim middle part.

Principal Axis: The Hourglass has 2 principles axis, one vertical and one horizontal through its center. They clearly separate the Hourglass into 2 similar halves.

Positive/Negative Void: Taking the top and bottom parts of the Hourglass as positive voids, 2 negative voids of similar volumes can be formed on either sides of the Hourglass’s slim middle part.

 

3D Sketch of Project “Pandora’s Box”

The word I have received for the assignment is:

Tension.

To get a better grasp of what my 3D object should look like to express said word, let’s look up on it’s definition.

Tension

1) A state or condition resulting from forces acting in opposition of one another.

2) Mental or Emotional stress

3) A situation or condition of hostility, suspense or unevenness

(extracted from

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/tension

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/tension

http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definition/tension)

 

So basically the object needs to exhibit the action of something being pulled.

Thus, onto my first two 3D sketches:

3D Sketch 1

3D Sketch 1 front view

So in order to demonstrate Tension, i’ve wedged the subordinate between the dominant and sub-dominant.

The rationale behind this is that gravity acts on the subordinate, resulting in a gravitational force, G, on it, while the dominant and sub-dominant holds onto it which results in a pulling force, P.

This thus brings about a pair of opposing forces acting on the subordinate, which is in accordance to the first definition of Tension.

“1) A state or condition resulting from forces acting in opposition of one another.”

A view of the 3D Sketch from other angles

side view (right)
back view
side view (left)
Top-down view
Bottom-up view

The weakness of this 3D sketch is that some boxes are hidden when the sketch is viewed from the sides.

3D sketch 2

3D sketch 2 front view

Similar to 3D sketch 1, the subordinate is once again the object of focus.

Gravitational force, G, pulls the subordinate downwards while the sub-dominant pulls it upwards resulting in pulling force, P.

Once again, opposing forces illustrating Tension.

The 3D sketch viewed from other angles:

side view (right)
back view
side view (right)
Top-down view
Bottom-up view

And repeating the mistake from 3D Sketch 1, some boxes cannot be seen when 3D sketch 2 is viewed from the right side.

Then came along a consultation session with Professor Cheryl in class, which produced a better version of the 3D Sketch.

3D Sketch 3

3D sketch 3 front view

Please ignore the slant of the sub-dominant.

Somehow reminiscent of 3D Sketch 2,

this time, instead of having the subordinate act as the object of focus, the sub-dominant will now take that role.

For the umpteenth time, gravity pulls the sub-dominant down, causing gravitational force, G, while the subordinate holds it in place, creating pulling force, P, upwards.

The result: A condition of opposing force acting on the sub-dominant expressing the word, Tension.

Here’s the sketch viewed from the angles as well:

side view (right)
back view
side view (left)
top-down view
bottom-up view

 

Now that the diagram has succeeded in conveying the phenomenon which is Tension, more focus can be placed on the other aspects of the 3D sketch.

Which brings us to 3D Sketch 4:

3D Sketch 4

3D sketch 4 front view

Some more adjustments to the foam will have to be made but this is the general idea of how it’s going to proceed.

side view (right)

Rule of Thirds

The sub-dominant will have a length which is roughly 2/3 of that of the dominant.

1/3 of the breadth of the subordinate will be wedged into the dominant while the remaining 2/3 will be wedged into the sub-dominant

back view
side view (left)
top-down view
bottom-up view

Finally, none of the boxes are hidden when viewed from any angle.

The subordinate may look like it’s a cube from the photos, but it’s actually rectangular in shape.

Now, i may want to add the idea of contrasting voids on the next sketch if possible.

Foundation 2D Project 1 “My Line Is Emo” Research

So the first project task for Foundation 2D has been assigned and it’s to create 6 expressive lines to evoke 6 different emotions.

First thing first is to do some research.

What is Mark Making?

Mark making is a term used to describe the different lines, patterns, and textures we create ​in a piece of art

(Quoted from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-does-mark-making-affect-your-paintings-2577630)

As the article states, Mark Making is a technique that encompasses any form of mark that is created on a piece of paper with any object.

 

Sounds simple enough, but having an infinite number of ways to create marks on a piece of paper makes it difficult to know where to start.

So let’s look at some of the techniques that other artists have used to create their works.

 

Ed Moses

Ed Moses

One of the first paintings that Ed Moses did was during an still life art class where he used his fingers to paint after being terrified by the critique that the teacher was giving other students.

The work that he has produced, something closer to that of abstract expressionism, was different from the others. Not only did it stood out, it also became iconic in his art style throughout his career.

 

“Just look. Don’t think. Don’t extract some ideas or some meaning. It doesn’t have any meaning — it is what it is. You’ll just look on the wall and see what it is,” – Moses, in an interview

(Quoted from http://www.scpr.org/programs/the-frame/2015/05/29/42820/ed-moses-says-he-doesn-t-make-art-he-makes-magic/)

 

Here are some of his works:

WC-C’ (2014) by American painter Ed Moses

I really like how some simple lines that Ed Moses have dashed across the canvas here and there can create something that is so astonishingly pleasing to look at.

The color contrast between the reds and blacks gives the painting impact to the eyes. While the hints of yellow really complements the other 2 colors to bring about flavor to the work.

 

Ed Moses, Untitled Abstraction III

 

Patterns.

Different patterns brings about different meanings and what Ed Moses have did here is to make a sort of collage of different patterns to create this labyrinth of feelings.

It is amazing how the viewer’s perception of the painting changes as his or her eyes darts from one point of the painting to the next.

 

Ed Moses, “Avilda,” 1963

 

Negative spaces.

Ed Moses  is playing around with empty spaces in the canvas to give emphasis on shapes and textures found in this work.

I amazed by how the sudden transition from the blank canvas to the marks produced by graphite can give significance to the shaped produced by the marks.

The small little shapes that have a sharp color difference  from the canvas and graphite adds a neat little “special” touch to the work

 

“Moses was making drawings where he would try and press so hard on his drawings that supernatural light would come out of them” 

(Excerpt from https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/ed-moses-the-compulsive-creator)

 

Learning points

Seeing how dynamic strokes and patterns can create impact, I would try to emulate them in my mark-making process. Especially so on the stronger emotions such as “Anger” and “Joy”

I would also strive to incorporate the usage of negative space to emphasize the shapes or patterns that i will be creating on the canvas.

 

Cai Guo Qiang

Cai Guo Qiang

Cai Guo Qiang is a Chinese artist born in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China.

Cai lived through the Cultural Revolution of China where explosions were common, whether they were the result of cannon blasts or celebratory fireworks which has had an influence on his choice of using gunpowder in his works.

Some of Cai’s works:

Cai Guo-Qiang, Tide-Watching on West Lake:

Most of Cai’s works incorporates real life objects such as animals and buildings, but in the spirit of the project task in hand, i have opted to refer to some of his works that are more abstract in nature.

The above work was done by exploding gunpowder on the canvas to give a very expressionistic feel to the marks. I really like how the marks look so messy and dispersed but yet feels controlled.

The little splatters of marks around the general cluster gives the work a striking impression as it makes the marks look like they are popping out of the canvas.

Typhoon, 1985

This is one of Cai’s earlier works before he started working with gunpowder.

It is created by laying oil paint on the canvas and blowing it with air from an electric fan.

I find this extremely intriguing as it is a whole new way of making marks on a canvas which is not commonly found in other artists’ works.

Not only is the technique interesting, but the marks created are these smooth, natural ink dashes that is exceptionally difficult to reproduce with the usual human hand-and-brush.

 

“The key is to focus on the process of fabrication of these artworks, to pay attention to the process of the artists making these sculptures, rather than where these sculptures will end up and how they will look in the end.” – Cai Guo Qiang in an interview with the Brookln Rail

(http://brooklynrail.org/2008/04/art/cai-guo-qiang-with-ellen-pearlman)

 

Learning points

From Cai’s works, it is evident that a great looking work need not be produced by physically pressing or brushing an object on the canvas by hand but can also be done by using external factors such as explosions or wind.

I would want to attempt to replicate this notion by including some techniques that involves getting ink onto the canvas without the condition of contact between the mark-making object and the canvas in my work.