Wood System

Our assignment was to cut a 2" x 4" x 18" section of wood at least five times, assembling the pieces into a connected system of parts and using every cut piece. The system was to maintain its form through joints that were created, using no wood glue or nails. My idea was inspired by a pyramid, where I cut notches into each 18" horizontal piece and attached ascending vertical pieces as the pyramid goes up. 

top view

view from inside

close up of joints

early stages of assembling

Dan Flavin

Light is defined as "something that makes things visible or affords illumination".  Light can go beyond the practical definition of making things visible by being the thing to be viewed itself.  Light artists such as Dan Flavin explore the aesthetic properties of light, exploring color, form, and artistic ordering.  Flavin's style is minimalist, using florescent rods of light to make interesting light effects. This style is very different from other artists such as Paul Friedlander, who captures morphous shapes in light sculptures such as "Timeless Universe" and "The Wave Factory". Flavin's linear style creates striking statements, as seen in the images below. I find the light display made for the Luis Vuitton window most interesting, the colors he used are very eye-catching and pleasing to look at, the use of glass and other reflective surfaces causes the eye to travel beyond the light rods themselves, and this particular work is multi-dimensional unlike some of Flavin's other works.

This particular work was designed for a Luis Vuitton display in New York City.

http://www.lipsticktracez.com/jaymie/2008/05/louis-vuitton-does-dan-flavin.php

Dan Flavin's "Untitled (To You, Heiner, With Admiration and Affection)" in the atrium of the National Gallery in Washington.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/01/arts/design/01KIMM.html?_r=1

untitled (in honor of Harold Joachim) 3, 1977, by Dan Flavin

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/01/arts/design/01KIMM.html?_r=1

Monument for V. Tatlin, 1966

http://www.ressleart.com/past.htm

Other sources:
http://dictionary.reference.com
http://www.paulfriedlander.com/

Light Through Water

I used a picture I took of a close-up shot of the fountain outside the dining hall around 1 p.m. I did a value drawing to show where the sunlight hit the water most directly as well as the darker areas caused by the area of shade underneath the cascade of water.  In my model, canary trash paper shows how the concrete underneath the fountain is revealed subtly by the light through the waterfall. Black paper shows the darkest shadows directly above the reflecting line (cellophane), while vellum on top of white parchment illustrates how the water beneath the reflection of the sun is illuminated as the shadows become more and more concealed. The curve of the paper mimics the curve of the water in the fountain. 

Snapshots of Light

These were a few of the shots I took in looking for natural light phenomena outside. 

Pictorial Views

My circle in Object B was sketchy but I think I had good line weight and good accuracy otherwise.

My line weight could have probably been more consistent in these pictorials, but good accuracy.

There were some overlapping lines in Object B in this pictorial, and some lines in Object A could have been darker.

One of the top circles was a bit sketchy, otherwise I just needed more rounded corners.

Overall, I believe I had good composition in all of these pictorials.

A Container for Twelve Twigs

  

Our assignment was to make a container for twelve twigs, using 12 sticks no more than 18" in length, paper, and a binding agent.  In my first prototype, I simply broke off twelve twigs of descending lengths and used metal wire to bind the joints together.  I used sturdy white paper for the base and vellum for the surrounding paper. After making this prototype, I decided to make my project look more refined by using a saw in the wood shop to carefully cut the extra growths off of the twigs and to cut the edges of the twigs more smoothly. I decided to increase the slope of the walls by increasing the variation of the twig lengths. I also used hot glue to bind the sticks together, which looked more finished than using wire to bind the joints. In my second revision, I didn't use the white base, which distracted from the translucent quality of the vellum, however this made my structure less sturdy. I also took away the excess twigs I glued to the bottom of the structure and used them to increase the length of the walls, which emphasized their descending nature. In my final model, I used vellum as the base to add support, but not to distract from the vellum used for the walls. I also used nails to connect the joints of the twigs and moved the walls of the structure closer together to expose the joints.  Second Revision

 First Revision

Original prototype on left, first revision on right