So three days after getting our first studio assignment, I can already feel the bubble closing on me. The outside world is beginning to fade away behind me and all I see are what the blinders of school allow me to see.
But that's all so overly melodramatic. To start out with, a third year studio uprooted about half of our first year studio so we had to relocated. So after having gotten settled, I had to resettle myself.
Now to the meat and potatoes. First assignment:
Tectonic Connections
[i]Design and develop a customized connection out of 1/16" basswood usch that it may be expanded in the XY and Z directions using even repetition. Begin with developing small-scale study models.
The assignment is focused on networks and field conditions. My thoughts are that creating a single node (my terminology) which maximizes the possible connections to other nodes would be most interesting. Then you can let the field grow from a single solitary node in a variety of ways. So I figured that a disk would be a good place to start. Basswood disks are tough to cut by hand. I'm thinking learning how to use the laser cutter would be reaaaal nice about now. The weekend was spent cutting much basswood. I'm definitely moving along in the disk typology but am finding that it's hard to abstract the form and keep it nice looking while maintaining it's connective possibilities.
My schemes I desk-critted today. 
I think the disk scheme (far right) was the most visually interesting as well as from a field-stand point. The other schemes I've come up with were nothing special. One tried to look for a more volumetric approach to creating a node, but ultimately grew to become too complex. I think the simplicity of the disk is nice but I need to really experiment with the nuances to really make the connections elegant. At this point, they're quite crude. We're supposed to have a full network (11"x17"x5") by Wednesday's crit. I need to learn how to laser cut these pieces if I'm going to stay sane. Cutting 3" diam. basswood circles is not an efficient use of my time.
About to do some reading for the Speaks class. (Does anyone have an extra copy of Iberling's Supermodernism I could borrow? Amazon says my order won't ship til like November now). If I get done with that, I'm back off to studio to do more work.
The workstation: (This will give away who I am to those in studio. So if you still want to play the guessing game as to who I am, don't look below)
8 Comments
The other schemes are shit. I hate them. Also my disk scheme is affectionately known as the "Pringle" scheme.
and hot damn. we get to read Benjamin's ...Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction for next week. i've always considered it one of my favorite academic essays.
Go for the Pringles. You can never eat just one.
hahahaha, pringles was exactly my thought when i hit that pic!
also, man it still weirds me the fuck out to see computers all over people's studio desks. eek! i seriously can't imagine having a computer in studio.
that essay title sounds intriguing.
I couldn't help but look.....
myriam -
the benjamin article is awesome. it's a quick read too. i'm sure you can find a copy online. it mainly concerns itself with the intrinsic value of art that we as viewers have. if a photo can be reproduced now to the point where the original artist can't distinguish the difference, how does an "original" print hold more value to us vs. say the poster you buy at the crappy poster sale at your college? very interesting stuff.
it's all about the aura.
here you go:
http://web.bentley.edu/empl/c/rcrooks/toolbox/common_knowledge/general_communication/benjamin.html
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