Marisha Aya- negotiating the void (updated)

Hey Hey!!!

Sorry for the late timings but it is the best I could do :(

So today we were asked to create three different models using mainly popsicle sticks, each representing one of the three characteristics; symmetry, asymmetry and balance.

I started working with the symmetry model to begin with. However, I found that I struggled to generate ideas of symmetry without obtaining a very 'rigid' and 'tense' product at the end. This can be seen very easily in the picture above where in order to present symmetry, my model ended up looking dull, and almost autonomous! Could definitely be improved to create something more visually interesting!

Symmetry

asymmetry angle 1

asymmetry angle 2

Working with the asymmetry model was far more interesting in my opinion as I felt 'freer' (if thats a word!) to play around and not worry about attaining the perfect rigidity required to create symmetry. For my model, I chose to play around with the focal junctions as a characteristic that also contributes towards the overall asymmetry of the piece. This can be seen through the fact that there are two junctions/joints lying on the same axis (refer to angle 2) where aluminium wire has been used to hold the sticks in place whereas the rest are simply joint manually. This results in the eye travelling along that axis and pausing at the main wire junction before moving to the rest of the model, thus skewing the visual balance and symmetry alongside the asymmetry created through the form itself.

Balance

The last piece had to represent balance. Instead of focusing on visual balance, I chose to focus on the illusion of balance, where as seen in the image above, where the small vertical stick (top right) appears to be 'balancing'/hanging off the sloping stick almost perpendicular to it. Notice how the joints affect this illusion too, where all the sticks in the model are joint using wire except for the joint where the vertical stick intersects with the sloping stick to the left. This was done deliberately to try and communicate this idea of it looking like its not actually joint to the piece and is simply balanced from it rather than fixed and held down using the wire like in all the other joints in the piece.

Visual balance is also lightly suggested as the horizontal plane of the model, (the sticks in the bottom half) looks like a mirroring of the vertical plane (the sticks in the top half), however, this was not the focus of the piece!

Showcased below are my finals from the series of models created to experiment and explore the idea of space.


Right from the beginning of the task I was very confused as to whether the space inside our acetate shape needed to be FILLED or FORMED. I.e Is the space supposed to be filled up or formed deliberately. When this question was asked to a set of the tutors, all of them said that the best solution would be to just try it out, experiment and then you will come to know.

So starting with the paper model, I made one to fill the empty space, using the exterior contours on the acetate as a guide to do so...

Paper-planar-'Fill the space'

And a model which 'formed' the space....

Paper- planar- 'Form the space'

Both produced varying results. Visually, the 'fill' model looked so much more interesting with it's multiple faces jutting out edgily in spontaneous directions. In comparison the the 'form' model, it seemed almost more exhilarating! 

However, the point of the task was to use the material as a means to 'create' the space within. Looking from this point of view, the 'fill' model started looking messy to me, it lacked a dominance of SPACE itself and appeared haphazard as if the material defined the space instead of space defining the material. 

In comparison, the second 'form' model appears more CONTROLLED and deliberate, where the space holds a dominance over the material. And when taken further, we can also see that the model shows a dominance in the distribution of space within the model too, the dominant space being the void formed in the centre of model two which separates into smaller confines as it moves out from the heart. As a result I understood that the whole point of the experiment was to use our materials to not 'fill' but 'form' and define the unknown space within. 

Using the same concept, I created my wooden and wire models. 

Wooden - linear

I used the wood as a means to visually suggest the boundaries of the platonic shape of the acetate (octahedron in my case) rather than actually physically make the boundary. The criss-crossing strips of wood moving off in different directions, alongside their angled ends was my method of doing so.

Wire - curvi linear

In my opinion, my wood and wire models were far less successful at communicating the idea of space and forming it. Perhaps because Planes, with their solid surfaces are able to define and break up space a lot more effectively than hard lines that the wood and the wire possess, resulting in us being able to only suggest space instead of actually defining the space which the paper allowed us to do so freely. 

That's all! Let me know what you think!