Our Language Like an Ancient City

“Our language can be seen as an ancient city: a maze of little streets and squares, of old and new houses, and of houses with additions from various periods; and this surrounded by a multitude of new boroughs with straight regular streets and uniform houses” (PI, 1953, no.18).

Wittgenstein, L. (1953) Philosophical Investigations. Oxford: Blackwell.

Capturing Ideas

The production of an artwork is processing knowledge in a physical fashion. And once you get involved in the physical production of ideas (outside your head), your are participating in divergent thinking - that is, things come into fruition, unbeknownst to you as you work on them tangibly. Be prepared for unannounced surprises and let the materials take you this way and that. Give yourself time, and enjoy the process.

In knowledge production I've heard say, there are no correct answers. There are only choices to be made, and to make a choice you have to take a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-crgQGdpZR0

NUMBERS

NUMBERS

Crits:

15

25

35

Participation:

15

Exploratory Studies

10 light box

Total 100

UNIT ONE ASSESSMENT total 15

Exploration and Discovery 3 Points

There is an exploration and discovery in the design of the piece. There has been thought and exploration of the design and design here is the way it appears; it is the dynamism of the work. You can change and influence this by the way you emphasize different aspects of the constructed materials to affect the balance, the unity and the variety in the work.

Is it 2D or is it 3D 2 Points

The two forms are joined such that it is difficult to discern whether or not the work is a sculptural work or an image based work.

3D substrate is an abstraction and 2D Image is figurative 2 points

Execution and ARTISTRY 5 points

connections between the materials, glueing, additive processes, execution strong, transitions clean, edges well sanded etc. In other words PRESENTATION is strong and consistent with the desired outcome. There are not surfaces or finishes that DISTRACT from the overall effect.

Judgement and Editing in the Design 3  points

The Work demonstrates a solid design, and the artist is able to speak to the design qualities in the work. You’ve explored what design is to you in the execution of this work. You’ve looked into other fields for inspiration; you’ve expected the unexpected and gone for it; you consider more than one possibility for the display.

Transitions between one material and the next and or one area in the sculpture and the next are fluid or are consistent with the overall feel of the work. A gradation between stages in the work creates sequential change within the entire system itself.

Choose your Materials Brightly

Composition and Construction

Choice of Materials

The materials used in a project may affect the range of possible solutions. In selecting a material, consider these qualities in relationship to your intended design.

• Strength. How much weight can a given material support? What is its breaking point when stressed?

• Workability. How difficult is it to alter the shape of a material? Does it cut and bend easily?

• Durability. How long must a project last? In what context will a sculpture be shown? The hard basalt used for many Egyptian sculptures has endured for millennia, while the flexible fabric used in a temporary installation may last less than a year.

• Weight. A material that is too light for a  given purpose can be as problematic as a material that is too heavy. What is the function of the design, and how can weight serve that function?

• Cost. Can the material chosen be obtained easily and at a reasonable cost? If your budget is limited, expensive materials will have to be removed from consideration.

• Toxicity. Many plastics produce toxic gases when cut, etched, or burned. Paints and solvent may require the use of masks and gloves and often present significant disposal problems. Is the ventilation of your workspace appropriate for your work process? Are less toxic materials available?

•  Function. Most important, how appropriate is a given material for a particular purpose? A teapot will be useless if the material used is porous, and a chair that is too difficult to construct can never be mass produced. Any material chosen must serve both the structural and aesthetic needs of the physical object.

From Launching the Imagination: A Comprehensive Guide to Basic Design 2001, Mary Stewart

Opening paragraph Part Three Ch. 8 Three-Dimensional Design: Organization, 8-10

3D is physical

 ...[In] two-dimensional design, we use our technical, perceptual, and conceptual skills to create flat visual pattern and convincing illusions. It is the viewer's mental response that gives the artwork meaning. By contrast, our experience in the three-dimensional world is physical and direct. As we traverse an architectural space, we alter our perception with each step we take. When we circle a sculpture, we encounter new information on each side. The materials used in the construction of a three-dimensional object determine its structural strength as well as its aesthetic appeal.

The physical connection gives three-dimensional design an inherent power. When we shift from an illusory world to a tangible world, a substantial shift in communication occurs. Confronted by the physical presence of the three dimensional object, the viewer responds viscerally as well as visually.

From Launching the Imagination: A Comprehensive Guide to Basic Design 2001, Mary Stewart

Opening paragraph Part Three Ch. 7 Three-Dimensional Design: Aspects and Elements

2D Images and their formats

There are really only a very few ways in which images are made, and expressed in the world, whereas with the course's counterpoint "sculpture" there are probably hundreds.

A quick review in the class we came up with they ways images are shown, or made:

Projections, cinema, television, internet, mobile phone (tablets etc), and images made with light (holograms?), and through the computer ( and all the file types and digitization that correspond to that production). X-rays, MRI scans, CT scans and CAT scans are some medical image types. Then there's the cellulose/plastic substrate the image is printed on, transparencies, etc.

Paper based productions: newspapers, magazines, labels, photocopies, prints, books, all print material in general (maps, pamphlets, stamps, postcards, tickets, blueprints), advertising signage, billboards.

Museums, and libraries are host to images, as are the sides of buildings, buses, and cars, Human bodies too with tattoos.

Caves, rock petroglyphs, parchment, papyrus, sand mandalas are other forms of image making. We didn't discuss these as of yet.

Most of these are rectangular in format, and rather 2 dimensional, with the exception of forms replicated on natural substrates.

UNIT ONE project sheet: the physical image

Sculpture and Image 2925

UNIT ONE PROJECT SHEET Title: Physical Image

DUE DATE: FEB 4, 2014 all work from each student will be presented in critique on this date

prof JEN HAMILTON, January 14, 2014

Value of final outcome (to total grade of course): 15%

Need: 2D photographic image; can be original image or ‘changed’ according to need

(photocopied, scaled, transfer to gel medium, slide in projection  etc.)

cutting tools/process e.gs: mat knife, xacto, scroll saw, band saw coping saw, as needed

adhesives/bindings e.gs: glues, gel medium, tape, as needed

mounting substrate: wood, luan,  plywood, solid wood, or plexiglass, plastic sheeting, folded paper

Purpose: Take 2D photographic image and 3D form and combine them into a single work.

The two forms are joined such that it is difficult to discern whether or not the work is a sculptural work, or an image based work. The ‘sense’ of the piece is that is has very strong three dimensionality, but the 2 dimensional image is distributed throughout the form.

Parameters:

FORM: The 3D form provides the ‘substrate’ or support to the 2D. This 3D structure will consider one or more design principles in the final formal analysis. These principles are: balance, emphasis, movement, pattern, repetition, proportion, rhythm, variety, and unity. A sheet outlining these principles is available for photocopy in an envelope outside the office LLR 106- marked JEN HAMILTON).

The 2D image and the form of the 3D substrate do not have to relate to each other conceptually.

In the final work you can identify the 2D image, ie the image remains in the work.

Use of colour and texture is left up to the student. It will be assessed against the final outcome particularly if it obscures or distracts from the final design result.

Assessment:

           Craftsmanship: Neatness of gluing, clean surfaces, use of materials, and overall finished quality will be assessed.

The 3D substrate will demonstrate one or more design principle. It can be seen more than simply an armature for the work. It is a viable component in itself.

The final work is viewable from only two or three vantage points; it has a main point of view.

Outcome examples: See artworks by Micah Lexier, Bill Viola, Letha Wilson, Nobuhiro Nakanishi, Maya Lin, Murray Favro as shown in class.

Brainstorming: Expectations are that you participate in demos in sculpture studio, woodshop and metal shop to further explorations for this project.

Relevant words “to bring together”: Combine, join, ply, attach, render, mix, associate, stir, layer, converge, rabbet, fix, handshake (see thesaurus for more e.gs)

Relevant words “to transform”: cut, pixelate, stack, dice, shred, morph, distort, exaggerate, process, organize, sort, weigh (see thesaurus for more e.gs)

Next Action: Know the purpose, and the direction you want to take your project. Brainstorm through ideas and experiment with materials. Organize the data of your research and determine your next action to get the work done. See Getting Things Done: Enhancing Vertical Focus on Google books. Photocopy available LLR106 office door.

one plus one = three or more

The one plus one is equal to three or more is a metaphor borrowed from Joseph Albers we are using to discuss sculpture and image.

Joseph Albers was a phenomenal teacher and artist. Check him out if you don't know about him already-->Josef Albers, "One Plus One Equals Three or More: Factual Facts and Actual Facts,"

in Albers, Search Versus Re-Search (Hartford, 1969), pp. 17-18.

Divergent Thinking, what is it again?

A main concept introduced in intro class (Jan7) and again in class 2 (Jan14) is DIVERGENT thinking. This is related to mind mapping or even brain-storming.

Divergent thinking is a way to generate ideas in a whole, non-sequential, quantitative and non-structured way. It's a way to get projects creatively underway (see David Allen, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity).

Principles of Design sheet: understanding formal analysis, from the Getty Institute

Design Principles for 2D planes (balance, emphasis. movement, pattern, repetition, proportion, rhythm, variety, unity) were discussed in the context of 3D form. See examples on pinterest ---> x.