Category Archives: Space and Materiality

The Headpiece as a Social Statement

As humanity advances in areas of technology and becomes more indulged in ourselves, we have become negligent of mother nature. Industrialization, over-consumption natural resources, deforestation, and abuse of technology has significantly decreased our respect for our environment and the animals that inhibit it.

Native American life revolves around nature and her creations. They believe that the mind and spirit play a major role in physical illness, healing, and wellness. Their lifestyles are characterized by respect and reverence for nature, and today’s concern about environmentalism are inspired by the hallmarks of Native American culture that have been practiced for centuries.  That’s why I have chosen to create a headpiece that reflects Native American culture to implement the importance of respecting mother nature. More specifically, I will be expanding on a traditional shaman (native american healer) headpiece. I will be incorporating natural materials of nature as well as artificial materials like wire and fabric and possibly beading.

Moodboard
Headpiece Mood Board

 

Final Product:

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Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

“Often our hardest job is to remove remove remove.” -Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

Celebrated designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec were born in 1971 and 1976 (respectively), in Quimper, France. Since 1999, the brothers have collaborated as partners of their own design firm. Their work covers a wide spectrum ranging from small utilitarian objects to large-scale architectural installations. The primary focus of their work is the design and organization of interior space, but their works also include jewelry, lamps/lights, and fine cutlery. Together, they create works that mirror their distinct personalities yet capture their shared enthusiasm for simplicity, balance, and efficiency.

 

I really enjoyed their living office landscape concept called “Net’n’Nest” that was created in 2006. It was designed as a junction between the functionality of an office space and the comfort of a home. Hence, the name Net’n’Nest was born. Net stands for networking and nest stands for comfort. The net is created by customizable spaces which promote  individuality and personal space as well as places for collaboration among many members. The nest is created by adding the elements of a sofa into the office. The designs are simplistic yet functional, allowing room for personalization. One key element of the Net’n’Nest which captures the essence of the series is the “Alcove” sofa. It is a space with high wall barriers that create a private area, blocking outside distractions and eliminating the need of a separate room. The Alcove sofa is essentially a room within a room. When many alcove sofas are placed in an area together, they can form a unified whole of an intricate maze resembling a cubic office area, fulfilling the visual elements of gestalt. The material of this sofa is a mixture of textile-covered, sound absorbing walls and thin poles of metal. It is a revolutionary design that combines the casualness of a sofa with the intimacy of a private meeting room without compromising at all, providing fresh renovation to an otherwise boring office space.

 

Jewelry of NYC, Archiving Urban Textures

 “This project imagines a way to explore space and create a tangible keepsake of your experiences. Urban Textures is a collection of impressions of places that allows you to make small impressions of textures you will find in the environment and keep these as a collection of your experiences in the city.” -Andrew Robinson, professor

 

My inspiration for the design of my archive came from the childhood memory of my mother’s jewelry box. It was beautifully embellished and traditionally Korean, where she stored her most precious pieces of jewelry. It was forbidden for me to touch and placed out of my reach, making it all the more desirable. With that in mind, I decided to create an archive reminiscent of my mother’s jewelry box. Reference pictures below.

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This was my original model made out of chipboard. I wanted to incorporate many compartments to store all 40 of my textures.

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As I kept exploring different models, I decided to settle on one that looked mostly (almost exactly) like the middle reference picture.

Sketchbook pictures and drawn out representations of the archive, including measured dimensions of each wooden piece, will be uploaded soon.

Following are documentation of my progress.

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I realized that making precise measurements of each piece and planning out every move was crucial in moving forward in this project. There were countless times that I miscalculated a measurement because I hadn’t written it down, and many instances I had to start over because of careless mistakes. For example, I found that the dimensions of each face piece of the box wasn’t exactly identical so the box would not piece together right. Through these mistakes, I learned to be precise and immaculate in every cut and also learned how to use basically every machine in the wood shop.

SAMSUNG CSC  These are inaccurately cut pieces by even a centimeter; I couldn’t use these for the exterior of my archive. However, I saved them because they would come in handy to make my smaller interior drawers.

SAMSUNG CSCSAMSUNG CSC The second time around, I managed to make exactly straight cuts, and all ten pieces were uniform. These I used.

I assembled the pieces together with hardware, filled in areas with wood glue, and sanded each side. Then I stained the wood.
I realized through this project that extreme precision and patience was key…It took forever but I’m really satisfied with the end result.

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Assignment: Field research & Reading Linear Works

1. What does the author mean when they state: “Our distance from certain works plays a big part in whether we perceive them as linear.” ?

This statement has to do with the concept of perspective. Depending on the angle/distance one looks at an object, the relationship of the object with its environment also varies and thus recognize its linear quality. 

2. Find an example in NYC that supports the author’s aforementioned statement and take a photo or do a drawing of this example of linear form from a distance. Print it out and add it to your sketchbook and create a post on your learning portfolio.

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3. According to the author, what visual elements allow us to see edges of things as lines?

What allows us to see edges as lines is differences in value- in relative lightness and darkness. Edges are the lines along which two planes or pieces of materials meet. A line in relation to shadows define the edges of lines bordering it, so it can be defined as a line. 

4. Find an example in NYC that demonstrates the notion of “implied lines” and “directional lines”, take a photograph or do a drawing of each example, upload here and print out and paste it into your sketchbook.

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5. Find an example in NYC that demonstrates the notion of “quick” and “slow” lines, take a photograph or do a drawing of each example, upload here and print out and paste it into your sketchbook.

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6. Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art and find the sculpture Ugolino and His Sons, by the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, take multiple photographs of this sculpture from different points of view, including one with you in the photo pointing out the implied lines, upload them to your learning portfolio, and print them out, and add them to your sketchbook.

(Ugolino and His Sons are visiting France)

7. While visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, look for and photograph examples of how the museum displays artifacts.  Consider how these different displays represent an archive and tell a story.  Upload these images to your learning portfolio and add them to your sketchbook.

The way the Metropolitan Museum of Art displays most of its artifacts are very simply laid out. It is usually evenly spaced, creating spacial harmony among the objects. They are displayed in containers that are sometimes able to be walked around from all sides to see a 360 view; others can only be seen from the front view. Particularly, the way the Egyptian artifacts are displayed is successful in telling a linear story in the way each object is placed in relation to the next. Some evoke a color family, some are from the same time periods, others are organized by cultural/ritual specific categories. I found the way these were diversely displayed were successful in clearly showing the nature of the artifacts and organized by category.  SAMSUNG CSC SAMSUNG CSC SAMSUNG CSC SAMSUNG CSC SAMSUNG CSC SAMSUNG CSC SAMSUNG CSC

SAMSUNG CSCthis last example is from a flea market some time ago. Just thought this organization of objects was interesting so I threw it in.

Off With Their Heads

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In this project, I explored three dimensional form by creating a human head using my own head as a reference. The head was formed by stacking one piece on top of another to make layers and play with the idea of stratification. Using a caliper to figure out the proportions of my head, I documented the measurements of the “layers” of my head and traced these onto paper. After, I had various sized individual layers that I mapped onto ply wood and cut out. I assembled the layers internally using two wood dowels to secure in place.

Some examples of stratified form that I got inspiration from prior to starting this project are listed below.

miscellaneous

 

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Stone sculpture by artist Boaz Vaadia

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Sculptures by artist Long Bin Chen

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Favorite Artist

Waiting for a Chance, 199

Waiting for a Chance, 199

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I don’t think I have one specific artist or designer that I can name off the top of my head as my favorite, but after some research I stumbled upon Tetsuya Ishida, the name of a Japanese artist that I remember jotting down somewhere in a notebook some time ago. Ishida was born in Yaizu, Shizuoka, Japan in 1973. He brilliantly characterizes his view of Japanese society and the mental, inward isolation that resulted from the country’s economic crisis in the 90s.  His dark surrealism paintings capture the viewers, and many (including myself) testify that they can’t take their eyes off his paintings for a while, because there is often so much depth and meaning behind his pieces that reflect his surroundings. The apparent distressed characters in his work are often intertwined with commercial buildings or machines, which represent his disapproval of his mechanical society. I find it quite ironic that Ishida died after being hit by a train in a tragic incident (thought to be a suicide) by the very means of technology, the antagonist in most of his paintings.

“Ishida captured the feelings of hopelessness, claustrophobia, and emotional isolation that burdened him and that dominated Japanese society during this era,” wrote Nick Simunovic of Gagosian Gallery, Hong Kong, site of an exhibition last fall.

Photo credits- The Gagosian Gallery, Tetusya’s webiste with all his works-http://www.tetsuyaishida.jp/gallery/displayimage.php?album=3&pos=3