So this week i have been working with the model and design of my chair. By next week i will have achieved making the chair and also creating some sort of storyboard so i have something to go on for my video.
After the CHC session on thursday afternoon I have decided to continue my research into Bauhaus and why they used the materials they did - they needed to make mass to attend to the demand and as cardboard is widely available this is also appropriate.
The images below are images of my models and experiments
I found some of the techniques hard and figured out quite a lot of design errors and had to improve the slats and the slots. Also it has affected the design idea and design of the chair its self. I dont want to loose that sense of Bauhaus or modernism.
I am going with my idea of making something from human habitat out of an unsuitable material just like how arguably the bear ravine is made unsuitable for the bears.
Ive started looking at furniture and found that we use chairs and sofas quite a lot in our homes. So i decided to do some research to be influenced by and to provoke some ideas. There were so many different styles and techniques. I then researched Bauhaus furniture which links in with our CHC sessions. The Bauhaus style is very similar to the the modernism of the tectonic architecture of Lebetkin.
Here are some Bauhaus Furniture that is also inspiring me
I dont understand why the photo has flipped on its side but this is the 'pink print' of my design for my chair inspired by Bauhaus!
This is such an amazing video that i found on youtube. Its just the sort of video i want to produce. but i dont want to give away at the beginning that its a piece of furniture or the scale for that matter!
After last weeks discussion, over the weekend i decided to make a start - With Richard Sweeneys style in mind and my idea of making a structural peice out of paper - an unsuitable material for a structure - just like dudley zoo's architecture is unsuitable for the animals.
After trying the with origami (in previous post) i decided to make some sort of box that has slits in so that the different slides can sit inside and be cut differently to give the impression of space and structure.
here below is a 2d technique of iris folding, its a favourite in the crafting world
Here is the small prototype with the slides and slats. I dont think its worked as well as id hoped - the paper wasnt as sturdy as id imagined and that made it flop in its position.
the main box structure that the slits will hopefully sit in. It consists of 30 slits and therefore 30 slides to cut.
Ok, so today we had an informal group discussion about our initial ideas for the next 4 weeks. Afterwards i felt like i new for definite what path i wanted to take and what i was practically going to do - and now after a whole afternoon and evening spent trying with trial and error with different styles and techniques - nothing has worked and now i feel like i am on a down ward spiral.
I have tried so hard to get it right and researched on the Internet and books that i have. But nothing seems to be working!
So i Started by looking at Richard Sweeney's work called pleated curve 2006 and i thought id try making a simple 'squash fold' as i wanted to see if that could be a starting point. Obviously not! it didn't tessellate and i think that is the key element to this technique.
i would like to do something like this and make a video of going through 'it' or 'them'. Looking at these we are actually unsure of the scale of them and i think thats the most interesting thing to them. I would make my video zooming out using a long depth of field and then ending in a short depth of field - i would have to practise and have a trial and error for a while.
It links in with DZG as the tecton plates provided an unsuitable habitat for the animals and didnt relate to their natural habitat. Thus making me think of other things that are put in places where they dont belong and the use of unsuitable materials for their purpose.
As i was researching i found numerous artists and designers that created pieces that related to my statement above. But penultimately the one the stuck out for me was Karton Art Design
i like how the old, vintage dressing table has been vamped up with the cardboard - it is almost like it has repaired sections - just like what the bear ravine needs at DZG.
The main constraint, that is constant in the back of my mind is HOW AM I GOING TO MAKE A FILM ABOUT IT?!
Another idea i had was making a structure out of cardboard using this technique -
Using the footage that was filmed last week in groups from Dudley Zoo - today we had a workshop to gain better knowledge and understanding of Adobe Premiere Pro. I have learnt a great deal today as i have only ever touched upon Premiere Pro once or twice before and with nothing serious. We learnt how to import and export, use of other tools and effects and apply that to our short 1 min film.
Here are some screen shots as well so i can refer back to them and give you a visual example of Premiere Pro
Here below is my 1 min film
I was going with the eery effect and style to compliment the Bear Ravine, the last part of the short film is in reverse to demonstrate preservation and memory.
* A video response to the structure * A printed response to the structure * blog & research
I didnt have any intitial thoughts on this project and wasnt that sure on how it can apply this theme to my style of practice. Then I havnt got my own practise and this year in level 5 i would really like to find myself as an artist and find my forte. After Elle's CHC session today i feel a lot more confident and have a few ideas to how i could apply my practise to the Negotiated module.
I really enjoyed the time we spent at Dudley Zoo last week and as a group we captured some really interesting shots considering our lack of knowledge to begin with the camera and the bear ravine in general.
The thoughts ive had are probably slightly off task and admitingly im probably not on the right track and going off on a tangent.
* a peice of jewellry / fashion peice realting to the architecture like Joshua DeMonte's work
* Maybe some sort of installation in the bear ravine
* After todays CHC session i also feel that i would like to focus on the fact that Lebetkins architectural peices for the zoo were the highest point of modernism in its hay-day - but they are extremly unsuitable to the animals.
The tectons were/ are fasinating to the audience - even though they were hygenic (as they were/are easy to clean) and visually exciting to people they are now seen to be 'not fit for purpose' as the surrounds for the animals are nothing like what they would be like in their natural habitat and zoo's today try as best as they can with the technology they can to re-create their natural surroundings - and lebetkins zoo enclosures are far from that - its like putting something somewhere were that something doesnt belong and not even trying to making it feel at home and making that somewhere aesthetically pleasing for the humans.
Lebetkins architecture, the Bear Ravine for example makes me think and assosiciate Dieter Rams : ten Principles for good design with his and argue that is good design?
'the ten design commandments'
1. Good design is Innovative
2. the product is useful
3. its aesthetic
4. understandable
5. unobstrusive (not conspicuous)
6.its honest
7. long lasting
8. thorough down to the last detail
9. environmentally friendly
10. little design as possible
in my opinion Lebetkins bear revine is
1. innovative - its a new idea, featuring new methods for the time, advanced
2. its useful - the visitors could view the bears from above - even though animals dont like being look down apon
3. I guess you could say it is aesthetic - its different and has made history because of it
7. its long lasting - well its lasted since the late 1930's!
10. its simple and yet does a purpose
I would like my practise to mirror as much as possible the bear revines features
