Personal Symbol

Research:

1. History
   1. Chinese
   2. Egyptian Hieroglyphics
      1. Language of pictograms
   3. Printer’s devices (symbols)
      1. Identify printer or publisher of a book
2. Forms
   1. Watermarks
      1. Decorative images embedded into fibers of papers
         1. Now used for security
3. Status
   1. Coat of arms & Family crests
      1. Originated on armor to identify soldiers
   2. Monogram
      1. “Single line” in Greek
      2. Early illiterate European monarchs would sign with a custom monogram
         1. Designer’s monogram can increase status of an everyday object
4. Symbols in Art
   1. Dog = loyalty vs. cat = lust
      1. Manet’s “Olympia” 1865 Realism
   2. Sunflower = Mao and Sunflower seeds = nationality and uniformity in communist China
      1. Ai Weiwei, Kui Hua Zi, 2010

 

The History of Symbols : Symbol Primer. Accessed September 1, 2019. http://www.designhistory.org/Symbols_pages/symbols.html. 

“AP®︎ Art History | Arts and Humanities.” Khan Academy. Khan Academy. Accessed September 1, 2019. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history.

Google Arts & Culture. Google. Accessed September 1, 2019. https://artsandculture.google.com/.

metmuseum.org. Accessed September 1, 2019. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/471794

 

Moodboard:

Process and Sketches:

Modeling photos:

 

 

Styling photos:

 

 

Reflection:

For my personal symbol, I wanted to create something that reflects my romantic outlook on life. The swirly “eyelashes” is representatif of dandelion seeds, the chains as tears (joyful and emotional), the eyes representing myself looking out, and the iridescent marbled acrylic to express this fluidity of emotions. Together, they emanate and reflect this profound romanticism of life.

I grew up dancing ballet and most oftentimes, the story revolved around good versus bad, where the hero would live happily ever after. I must admit that perhaps part of this sentiment that the good would always overcome still carries in my personality. I wanted to share my romantic storybook-like perspective and create something that celebrates the beauty of life, even if it is a little fantastical.   I was inspired by dandelion flowers, how we believed they granted wishes when we were younger, and celestial motifs like the moon, as nightime carries the special mood to dream.

Originally, I had thought of creating opera glasses or a sun ray crown. Through the thumbnail sketch process, I knew I wanted to create something that could be worn and had a radiating, swirling motif. The possiblities seemed so endless, that it was difficult to pinpoint what to do. By talking to others, I was able to get a fresh point of view which also aided in the final direction. With my teacher Aviva, we focused on the theme of “rose colored glasses” and optimism, and with my friend Anna, she recommended copper wire that helped eleveate the look of the wire material.

Considering linear material, this helped set boundaries of what was attainable. I loved the rose coloring of the wire, but knew I needed something more concrete to frame the glasses. I went to Canal Plastics in Chinatown and purchased a sheet of marbled acrylic which I then lasercut at the lab. This was a great opportunity to experiement with the resources available, but I also learned how tricky Adobe Illustrator and the cutting process is just to create something as simple as two circles and two sticks.

The wire bending was tedious, but I enjoyed this part the most. All of the time, research, and planning finally came together and little by little, I could see my vision coming together. I’m grateful that wire came easier for me; I made 2 moon “eyelids,” little eyes to match where mine would be (I thought it would add more character rather than emptiness), and connected everything with 2 varying guages of wire (20 and 22) through holes which I had precut in my laser vectors.

Overall, I’m satisfied with how my project turned out. If I could improve on this technically, I would try to find a way that it could sit on a face by itself. But aesthetically, I am happy with the colors, loose wiring, and these glasses mean something important to me because of my personal story behind it. It’s cool being able to reflect to see how I had started out with no idea of what to do, but through the moodboard, thumbnail sketches, sketch modeling, and also advice from others, something original was made.