Month: October 2017

Griffin Cece

         Much of Griffin’s inspiration and goals stem from his childhood and upbringing. He was raised in a loving family with three sisters, and they lived a privileged lifestyle that allowed him to travel the world. He was unconsciously influenced by the way his mother’s friends would dress, and how the people he was surrounded by carried themselves. These factors have led him to pursue a business degree in the fashion industry. This past summer he worked at J. Crew as a stylist, which further supported his decision on the type of education he wants to pursue.

         He chose to go to an art and design school because he wants to focus more on emotional and artistic aspects of business in the fashion industry. In other words, he desires to focus on the brand and image rather than on numbers and data. With this degree, he plans to be a chief merchandising officer for a company, striving to be the middle-man between companies and designers. Through his upbringing, he has seen how fashion can be somewhat exclusive and untouchable,  and he wants to make it accessible to more people. He hopes that becoming a chief merchandising officer will allow him to be the bridge between different kinds of people.

          Griffin considers himself to be a “creative spirit,” and much of his work is based on his personal feelings and story. He openly connects his work to his own views, memories, and personality, then transfers them into a larger picture. He is also inspired by people who think unconventionally or act outlandish such as Tom Ford. A majority of his work is in the form of writing, where he can translate his opinions and feelings into words. He also likes to translate difficult topics into more understandable forms for people.  Everything that has happened to him and the lessons that he has learned have lead him to what he is today and has inspired what he wants to be.

 

The transferring of impressions is a physically manifested art

Typically of experiences less formulated by reason

more perceived with feeling.

Purpose made time superhuman like

it inspired outlandish masses to impact the making of things.

It started experiences with a standpoint of your own past

but emotions have resistance to sharing between senses

they particularly bring new spirit to pictures.

The middle-man is hope

which made everything

Its visceral lifestyle unintentionally inspires feeling

making it into a liaison between sense and impression

Description:

I am creating a series of necklaces, that will be attached to the neck. I am also creating a parasol that will be connected to the hand. My cultural heritage is Chinese and Taiwanese and I am thinking specifically about connecting the Chinese history of the parasol, or the umbrella, and origami, to this project.

Goals:

For materials, I will use small wooden sticks and dowels, and fabric. The wooden sticks will serve as the edges and sides of the platonic solids, and the platonic solids will not be solid, but skeleton or frame-like representations of the solid figures. The necklaces will have several translated, reflected, and rotated versions of the platonic solids, connected to each other and enclosed with a chain to make them wearable on the neck. The necklaces’ angular shapes will complement the frame of the body, and contrast with the organic nature of the body. The necklace will complement the shape of the face, neck, and collarbones.  Clothing worn on the final critique will be simple as to not distract from the intricate and delicate details of the necklaces and parasol.

The parasol, or umbrella, will connect more to my culture, since they were used in the Cao Wei dynasty as early as 1,700 years ago. They were originally made with silk, and wax or lacquer was applied to make them waterproof. Mulberry branches or bamboo was used for the frame of the umbrella (Gbtimes). Even the Chinese character for umbrella can be seen as a folded umbrella: 伞. To connect to this ancient art of parasol making, I plan to use the delicate wooden sticks as a parallel to the mulberry branches and bamboo. I will incorporate a more modern twist by using the platonic solids to create a collapsible frame, using principles from origami, a term referred to in Chinese as zhezhi (摺紙). Connected to the hand holding it, the design will have rhythm and somewhat hide the figure because the parasol will be the main focus. The constructed form of the parasol will defy and challenge the forms on the human body because of the contrast between angular and organic states.