If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why?
07/28/2010
11/09/2009
To Have & To Hold
I know I use to collect a lot of things as a child… marbles, toy cars, cards, bottle caps… looks like the generic collective items of a young boy. In my teens I collected belt buckles until it felt like people were suspecting I might have been compensating for something. My most recent proper collection would probably have to be posters… but I found another reason as to why I was collecting them and therefore why I should stop. At other times I have urges to start collecting things but it ends up seeming like either a waste of money or waste of effort and commitment. The closest thing I would have to say I have as a collection currently would be my folder of animal pictures on my laptop.
The collection consists of 30 pictures as of recently checked… and that’s 30 pictures, not different animals… I did say it was the “closest thing”, but just for now I’ll pretend it is my collection. It started with an albino peacock. I don’t know how I came across it, but when I did I was simply in awe. It appeared to me as probably the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The way its white feathers fan out as if they’re actually glowing gives it a mythical appeal. Following the peacock I moved on to other albino animals. I am trying to think why the albino deal appeals to me so much in particular… but as much as I do try to find a reason for everything all I can think of is the supreme like beauty they radiate from their white glow. Also just to clear it up, I’m not White Pride or anything so no that isn’t it either. From albino animals I moved onto animals that caught my particular interest in general.
If I were to put a reason on why I have this “collection” I would say it could be another product of my frustrations. The deprivation of animals here actually gets depressing. Although I do see the odd rabbit run through the valley, and I’ve even seen white ones on rare occasions! My Happiest times here at Unitec consist of walking along the bridge and seeing a mother duck with all her ducklings. Animals to me are perfection. They can do no wrong – only things that don’t suit our ridiculous built up way of life and living. They represent purity and innocence, only running on instincts according to necessity. Sometimes I just need an escape from everything just like everyone else. Some people have alcohol and cigarettes, I prefer giving animals the appreciation they deserve.
11/02/2009
Artist Statement
You Are What You Eat
It is understood that even the most unnoticeable occurrences can in effect lead to the most noticeable and possibly significant aspects of one’s or an other’s life. Being “unnoticeable” I would not be able to acknowledge the original point of influence (that is if there is one, as I also believe that no thing is of no one’s fault), but I can certainly recognise moments in which an instigation of a sort was of definite consciousness. Of course, this is not to say that I am discluding biological matter and the role that it may have played. Previously, I had read an article that suggested (with proof through a slightly twisted yet committed experiment) one’s outcome/current state was not only the result of foreign influences, but was shared with genetics at a 1:1 ratio!
My Opa was my idol. He was also a builder and an Artist (painter). As a young child I would always be making things, even if it were hammering two pieces of wood together as soon as I could hold a nail steady enough in one hand, to hammer in with the other. If shoes could be filled with my amateur creations, they would overflow in a continual attempt to seek his approval. I was hesitant in going to the extent of using the word “approval”… but amidst the many memories of my Opa, one of the most hurtful moments in my life was while holding his cold, unresponsive hand, realising he never got to see my latest creation – a K’NEX Windmill. Later on my Dad assured me that he had… but the same night my mother, a devout Atheist, had also told us he had gone to heaven.
Throughout my years at school, my occupational ambitions mutated from one to the other: A builder, to an architect, to a graphic designer, to object design/sculpture. By 5th form I had discovered an interest in art and by 7th form I took up Art History with Mr. Fraser. Up until then, I had never met anyone so knowledgeable and in-depth about art and life in general. He would push past the general meaning of the artwork and penetrate right into the psychological matter of the force that was driving it. It wasn’t just art… it was everything! He could pick apart a simple action to the point of complete understanding. I learnt to question everything,
as there was not one thing that appeared to be absent of a reason behind it. Through immense admiration, there was a sense of a newfound idol. I would understand as much as I could, think as much as I could, answer as many questions as I could! Even at the end of the year when I received a prize, I picked out a book on Pop Art, admittedly hoping that some how he would find out and be pleased with my selection. To my overwhelming delight, just as my prize was about to be announced, of all teachers Mr. Fraser was requested to take over from handing out the prizes. As I eagerly shook his hand he smiled, congratulated me, and commemorated me on the choice of book.
7th form Art History marked a point in my life where changes were being made. The way I looked at life, society, and individuals… right down to the clothes I wore and music I listened to. One particular aspect of significance was, like my mother and soon to discover Opa, I became Atheist. Saying it like that sounds like I’m in an AA meeting or something… like it’s some kind of declaration… maybe not to that much of an extent, but it is of quite a bit of importance to me. It signifies a conclusion I am proud to have come to through a long process of thinking and research. I also believe you can tell a lot about a person by what they “believe” in. For example, the fact that I am Atheist is a conclusion I have drawn from a particular train of thought – The same train of thought that generates other aspects of my life. Some of which are automatically projected through every day proceedings, or may be applied to an expressive medium such as writing, art or “craft.”
Bubbles of a cellular reference and a skull of an Australopithecus. Even looking back as far as last semester where I made a chest with a skeletal structure on the inside, it is not too difficult to identify a recurring aspect. The majority of my work is often the result of some kind of frustration. It may address the issue directly, or end up running away to a more comforting ideal. These ideals are often in the form of biological matter or primitive aspects, seeking a sense of simplicity, innocence and purity… desperately pursuing the unattainable Utopia where all is to be necessary and all is to be fair. Our work is requested of us through requirements, but we will always apply to it pieces of us, knowingly or not. Whether it comes from many generations before us, or a single phrase from a complete stranger. As long as we breathe, we are what we eat.
09/27/2009
09/12/2009
Sacco - 1968
The 60’s were enriched with a sense of making history. The United States was in a state of acting out. In Europe as well, every point of authority or institution were being challenged by the workers and students. Protests including anti-war and civil rights had become a week end regularity. Along with the baby boom, the world had an economy that was now thriving, stemming forth the irrepressible optimism in which this new generation was carrying.
Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro – three men, who in 1968 brought forth “one of the most important expressions of Italian creativity”. Conceived in Italy, The Sacco stands as the original “bean bag” under Zanotta's name. The pear shaped form consists of a PVC bag, three quarters full of polystyrene balls. The chair itself, when of vacancy, takes on a curious impression of “a shapeless heap, left there by chance, or almost, like something out of place: an element of aleatory disorder, a breath of freedom in the furnishings, a pause in the rigor of functional objects”. When you do sit in it, an activity takes place. Sinking into the absorbent matter, the Sacco immediately clings to each of the body’s resting curves, leaving an entire imprint of the occupant’s position, along with an instant alteration following his or her movement. Unlike conforming to the rigid structure of a traditional chair, the occupant communicates with the seat as it listens and conforms to his or her own unique and individual form and ideal.
It only makes sense that the Sacco’s
concept would be so successful and appeal to the 60’s generation. The casual
social behavior of the time was met, through an endless variety of lounging
positions made possible due to the seating being so low to the ground. It’s
hard to imagine a free-loving, free-thought, protest attendee coming back to
sit up-right, let alone be told how to sit in their own home! “They lolled,
they lounged, they unwound, they let their hair down. They sprawled on the
floor and ate with their hands.” With the Sacco there was an absence of constraints,
allowing the body to follow the current ideology’s language: the primacy of
comfort, softness, and most importantly, the freedom of movement.
“Professional decorators liked the lightweight, mobile nature of the furniture. Therapists discovered that the bean bag chair helped children with sensory-integration problems. And, doctors recommended beanbag chairs for patients recovering from back surgery.”
“This most amorphous seating piece brilliantly mocked
the basic tenet of modernism. Form still followed function, but not the way
Bauhaus founders had intended. The original notion was that the proper form
would emerge in the design process. Yet here is a chair whose form changes with
each shift of occupant’s position – design process that never ends.”
Bibliography
Fiell, Charlotte and Peter. “Modern Chairs.” Benedikt Taschen Verlag GmbH Hohenzollernring 53, D50672 Koln, 1993. Print.
Greenberg, Cara. “Op to Pop: Furniture of the 1960s.” A Bulfinch Press Book, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, New York, London. 1999. Print.
Cawthorne, Nigel. “Sixties Source Book.” Planet Books, 44 Hill St. London, Great Britain. 1989. Print.
Garceau, Yvette. “What is the History of the Bean Bag Chair?” 7/20/2006 12:29:18 PM
http://searchwarp.com/swa79831.htm
08/09/09
Restany, Pierre. “Zanotta Design for Passion” 1986
http://modern-atlanta.org/ma/40-years-of-sacco-and-still-very-cool/
08/09/09
09/03/2009
Summing it UP!
Ferruccio Laviani's "Evolution" Dresser - An awesome display of the transition of deccorative to modern/minimalist.
Website - click here
Modernism
A city receptive to new idea’s, more than anywhere else in America, California was destined to become a Utopia. With its open societies at a convenient distance from additional established cities, along with such a favorable climate, the Californian dream had soon become an ideal in which the free-thinkers and political radicals of the world were more than keen to pursue. Pre-1930’s it was uncommon if not unheard to have a local behind any early modernism architecture.
Part of this Avant-garde was New York born Irving Gill, who through Louis Sullivan shared a belief in the search of an organic architecture based on geometric forms. Influenced by the 17-1800’s Hispanic architecture of southern California, Gill started off with adopting abstract and geometric forms. He admires the style being that of an “expressive medium of retaining tradition, history and romance, with their long, low lines, graceful arcades, tile roofs, bell towers, arched doorways and walled gardens” (quotes Gill). Features such as the arch in particular, pierced carpets and open porches were soon to become consistent in his own work. Early sign of his potential style can be seen in the Melville Klauber house (1907-8), with it’s clean punched openings being of the only occupancy in the otherwise spacious, smoothly finished walls. Persisting with his beliefs in fundamental geometry, “the straight line, the cube, the circle and the arch,” Gill created the first anti-ornamental architect-designed building, the Allen house.
Following buildings and architecture, modernism had its take on further subjects of society as well. Appliances such as refrigerators and kettles were given an international style through a consistent sleek and simplistic white design. In order to enhance the sense of truth and purity, it was believed all historical and traditional forms were to be simplified, along with ornamentation’s reduced, if not, dropped entirely. Gill proposes “we must dare to be simple, we must have the courage to fling aside every device that distracts the eye from structural beauty,” and we can see this in the furniture. The result of which is true to its purpose of function, economical, and a form based on a common-sense design yet holds an efficient elegance to it. Simplicity, usefulness and gracefulness – all combined to conceive the character of modern design.
A useful site on Irving Gill's work... Click here
Bibliography
Greenhalgh, Paul. “Modernism in Design.” Reaktion Books Ltd. 1-5 Milford Place, Tottenham Court Rd, London, UK. 1990. Print.
Schaefer, Herwin. “The Roots of Modern Design.” Studio Vista Ltd. Blue Start house, Highgate Hill, London, Great Britain. 1970. Print.
Kamerling, Bruce. “Irving Gill: The Artist As Architect.” https://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/79spring/gillimages.htm
01.09.09
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