Crit tomorrow!!

Just a quick update. My final crit for this semester is tomorrow, so here's a quick example of some of the images I will be presenting. Will let you know the outcomes tomorrow... or more probably later in the week!

Time line

A completed artifact!

Today has seen the completion of my artifact... hooray! Here are a few quick photos of said artifact.

I am frantically trying to complete my presentation work for my crit on Tuesday so I will write more about everything once normality has resumed towards the end of next week.

Getting there.... slowly....

I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the threads, wires and chains all becoming tangled. There's not too much I can do about this as I would waste more time assembling a piece then cutting a thread, assembling a piece, then cutting a thread etc than cutting everything first and assembling altogether. Having said that, I think today's total time spent unravelling tangled threads was around the 4 hour mark.... oh the irritation!! Model 1, Lisa 0

However, the frame is coming in handy in more ways than one. Resting the threads on the top supports means I am limiting my chances of falling off the stool (which are high given my lack of balance!) inbetween getting up and down to select which thread is next... Model 1, Lisa 1

Not all the threads are pulled taught in this image but you get the general idea (I hope!)

4 components in place.... 20 to go.... but now I have a system so it should be done relatively quickly.... famous last words!!

We're off and running...

The frame is in place, the components are ready and the construction has begun!

So far, the top plate, boxes, bricks and chains have been assembled and tomorrow will see the addition of the central elements and the vertical supports.

More photos to follow...

How will I assemble this thing?!

A quick image of how the artifact will sit in relation to the structural frame I need to make in order to assemble the artifact.... The frame won't necessarily be used to exhibit the piece but it will be highly useful in order to assemble the artifact in my studio. I will also need to transport the artifact using the frame so that the tension in the threads and wires is kept in place.

The Bechers

My latest source of inspiration/precedent studies is that of the industrial photographic images taken by the German couple Bernd and Hilla Becher. They spent 40 years of their lives documenting derelict industrial sites (water towers, warehouses, blast furnaces etc), mainly in Germany, the UK, Belgium, Holland and the US. The images are stunning and the passion they had for these structures is evident in their work. Their intention was to preserve and highlight the priceless treasure of the cultural and technological history that is, and has been, wiped from our urban industrial landscapes, and the way in which they capture the monumentality and timelessness of these subjects is remarkable. Check out some of their work...

Box no.1 complete

A successful day was had yesterday back at TWT and my box (and top supporting plate) are now complete. I'm pleased with the outcome, hope I can keep up this momentum for all the other parts! One slight thing I am concerned about now is where to actually suspend this for the assembly of the artifact and then where/how to exhibit it... some sort of structural frame may also have to be made....

Sheet metal work

I had a tutorial this week with Katharina and a few remaining issues have been ironed out leaving way for the construction of my final artifact to start!

Step one: making the large boxes. I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do some sheet metal work at Victoria Fans and Engineering Supplies along with TWT Metal Products in Mossley near Manchester which has been a great hands-on learning experience and the work is coming along nicely. I will be going back into the works on Monday to finish off the metal pieces of my model. But for now, here are a few pictures in progress...

Next suggestion....

Having had a week of experimenting and researching, I have proposed another artifact sketch. I will be getting feedback for idea this tomorrow and will duly report back. There's a lot more thought and reasoning behind the piece now but I'll explain all that once details have been finalised during my tutorial.

I am hoping that after tomorrow I will have a clear plan as to where this semesters design project and the two documents will end up going.

Vertical and Horizontal

Playing with the horizontals and verticals within this artifact is very important. I have done a series of models exploring how, in the first instance, horizontal planes site within the vertical hanging elements and in the second instance, how the vertical lines can be manipulated into being 'off-vertical'.

Both experiments have been successful and I will be using the horizontal planes in the centre of my artifact but the 'off-vertical' lines are not as powerful as the vertical lines so I will not be carrying this idea forward.

Material concepts

What can I make a material out of? How can I imitate the feeling of the materials on site?

Here are a few experiments using coffee & coffee granules, rice, mud, burnt wood & ash, soot, rust, moss, bread crumbs, tea and a mixture of all of the above! I like these textures, they really work in displaying the quality of the materials on site. I just have to decide which ones to take forward....

First Review

I made my full scale prototype last ready for review. Please bear in mind this was an exercise to gain an idea of the scale and proportions only. The material research is being done separately, as is the information that will be displayed inside.

My prototype is 2400mm, from floor to hooks and is suspended using string and nylon thread. These are adequate materials for the test model as the main pieces are made from lightweight corrugated cardboard but they will need to be a lot stronger for the final model.

We had reviews with Jo Fairfax, the large scale installation artist and designer. This was a great opportunity to discuss our ideas to date and gain information and feedback as to where we might go next, from someone incredibly creative who has never seen our work before.

For my project, the main aspects I will now consider are

- explain, define and reason why you have made every design decision, e.g. why is it completely vertical? why is it this shape? how is the base linked to the rest of the model?

- think about the space between the user and the sculpture, can we affect that space somehow?

- what materials will you use? can you look beyond the immediate facilities in the architecture department and make a material more relevant to the site?

- can horizontal elements be introduced as well as vertical, will this work as well?

- the site is richer because of the level of decay across the buildings, docks and objects in between, how can you bring this richness to the artifact?

Lots of work to do I think!

Thank you to Jo for his input and suggestions

Sketchbook

I just thought I'd post a few images of my sketchbook to date. This is where most of my thought process, designing and development occurs... it has become like another limb lately! These images are from the beginning of the semester so sorry for possibly repeating a few things!

A new direction in modelling...

I am thinking at the moment that this is where I might be heading for the next physical artifact I will produce. This image shows a basic design which will be more detailed in reality, but the proportions are accurate. This will be a much larger, more interactive piece.

Concept model 02

Developing my thought process further, I have made another conceptual model dealing with the characteristics, history, feelings and theoretical ideas behind my work on the Stanley Dock area of Liverpool. This time I have expanded my ideas further to present a large mass compiled of two boxes. These two boxes sit slightly elevated on an acrylic plinth and they are positioned to the centre of the model area. The box now has an air of mystery, what is inside the box? is it one box or a number of boxes? can we explore the box further?

As one explores the box, it is apparent that there are, in-fact, two separate boxes that come apart, sliding along the plinth. As the boxes come apart, one begins to feel the tension created between the boxes and the information inside, as is reminiscent of the two large warehouse units on the boundaries of the dockyard.

Within the boxes a series of 2D elements are revealed, all of which explore a different aspect to the theoretical features of my project, from the emptiness within the docks to the huge scale of the sublime warehouse buildings surrounding them.

The model is comprised of all 2D elements and should be viewed from all angles, not just the front face. Only two materials have been used but a series of expressions have been used to highlight the important elements - sketches, photographs, texts, etchings etc.

As different people examine the model, the components are represented in a different way, depending on where the pieces are positioned. Something that is important to one person, might not be vital to someone else understanding the site and that is what makes the explorations of this model more interesting.

The layering of the segments becomes necessary to understanding the context, history and configurations of the site, as well as providing intriguing juxtapositions between the various pieces that are presented.

This model gives a different sense of site investigation than the first concept model. It has become apparent to me that I would like to represent the deeper elements of my research, I want to focus on the sublime v the emptiness, the historical strands to Stanley Dock and the physical abstractions of my site interpretations. As such, I now want to move away from exact representations of the site and bring back the element of surprise and wonder that first grabbed me about my chosen site. I will be making my next model or artifact in a more vertical way, suspending the large hollow masses in mid air with the necessary 2D components hung between in a suspended tension. I will be weighting the model down with the realistic elements of materiality, detail and signage experienced first hand on site.

Concept model 01

This model deals with looking at a solid object and not necessarily knowing what you are looking at. Being in awe of something yet also remaining curious about exactly why you find something appealing is spoken about in the theory of the sublime and remains important to my thoughts during these current model making sessions.

You can only see the insides, you cannot see the detail, you just gain a glimpse of what is happening or has happened within the box previously. As you explore the box, elements and stories begin to reveal themselves. The stories in this instance are about the materiality of the Stanley Dock site, the details and the signage within and around the warehouse units. As you explore the box, you gain a sense of the aesthetics on site, without ever having been there yet you do not know the scale and magnitude of what is actually there. When the box is empty you have a full set of imagery displaying the reality as well as an empty void that leaves you wondering what other information the site has to offer.

The acrylic box houses the information, as you look at the box you focus more on the interior, neglecting the physicality of the transparent material, yet as the exploration continues the insides and outsides become separate, and offer their own meanings.

The box as an empty void, a solid mass and the combination of both...

...the box being expanded...

...and the box is fully expanded with all the materiality of the site being revealed.

I feel this model is successful in my explorations of the site and the final artifact model I will produce over the next month or so. I will take forward the ideas of representing the reality of the site but I think it is necessary to also display other levels to the site - how is it connected to the city, what are the feelings one has on site, what are the vital historically events that have happened on or close to the site etc etc.

More models to follow...

Studio sessions

If you can't find me, I am probably here...