Project 1 Proposal: The conflict within Us

The conflict within Us

Key concept: (starting with the assumption that) on a fundamental level, we are completely disconnected from the environment and we are inherently sinful by nature.(note the difference from evil and sinful)

This artwork explores the struggle between our inner consiousness our spirit and soul, with the terrestrial prison that is out flesh.

The Conflict within Us

14We know that the Law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.  15I do not understand what I do; for I don't do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate.  16Since what I do is what I don't want to do, this shows that I agree that the Law is right.  17So I am not really the one who does this thing; rather it is the sin that lives in me.  18I know that good does not live in me — that is, in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it.  19I don't do the good I want to do; instead, I do the evil that I do not want to do.  20If I do what I don't want to do, this means that I am no longer the one who does it; instead, it is the sin that lives in me.

21So I find that this law is at work: when I want to do what is good, what is evil is the only choice I have.  22My inner being delights in the law of God.  23But I see a different law at work in my body — a law that fights against the law which my mind approves of. It makes me a prisoner to the law of sin which is at work in my body.  24What an unhappy man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is taking me to death?  25Thanks be to God, who does this through our Lord Jesus Christ!

This, then, is my condition: on my own I can serve God's law only with my mind, while my human nature serves the law of sin.    Romans  7:14 GNB

To explore this concept there will be two key elements to this work. One being the human form, the other is light.
The human form, will be constructed so that it embues the aesthetics and materials of australian timber frames for houses. The use of geometric forms and natural yet processed material is used as an artistic device to parallel our organic form yet our disconnection from nature and our surroundings. The light ( a standard household fitting) could be located in the chest.
It is the tension between the light and the constructed form and the play between the light and the physical form that is intended to parallel our struggle with our flesh.


This conceptual focus was influenced by the week 1 lecture on  Fabrication introduction with reference to the way that we build houses within australia in regards to minimal materials for construction. And discussions with the theory lecturer Nasan Pathar(western art history) regarding the nature of western society and theorists, such as michael focult, built their theory and critique of society under the assumption that humanity is inherently good. From my christian background I intend to explore through this artwork that the nature of humanity is not inherently good. And explore this through the use of materials and the human form to create a discussion on our connection to environment and the spaces we create.

form posture

A possible consideration for the figure is positioned in anguish... desperate to free itself.. hiuddled in the featle position ? or clutching at its chest.

Note that the figures proportions will be based on my own, which is a reoccuring theme within my work to use my own body as the basis. And in a sense a level of accountablility and momento mori.

Discuss materials pertinent to the project:

• The timber/geometric just as we are organic our physicality is disperate from nature
  The form/materiality will mirror the timber frame of houses, the bare minimum of materials, form ply, structural pine, screws, nails, bolts and metal ribbon.

Indicate potential research avenues.

• Australian timber frame construction techniques
• Timber frame materials
• Geometric drawing methods of human anatomy
• Artists using the human form, light/lighting and geometry
• Standard lighting fixtures

Formulate a timeline for completion.

• Week 4: Research into movable joints and construction methods.
• Week 5: Experiment with construction of joints. Continued research.
• Week 6: Begin production of figure. Continued research.
• Week 7: Assessment item 1 Due.
• Week 8: Continue creating final work.
• Week 9:Continue creating final work.
• Week 10: Continue creating final work.
• Week 11: Continue creating final work.
• Week 12: Finish creating final work. Consider final presentations mode/s.
• Week 13: Assessment item 2 Due.

Dictate solutions for professional presentation.

• The intention is to display the artwork in the dark room. This will allow the light within the artwork to 'play' within the space 

Australian Timber Framing and Building Research

In this post you will find videos on current australian standards for building timber framing construction as well as images that will be used as aesthetic inspiration for the final artwork.

Above: Watch a non-load bearing wall being constructed. See how to stack the wall studs with floor joists and what a typical door opening should look like.

Above: How to build Australian Wall frames, timelapse. Pre-fab treated timber wall frames

Above: Wall frame components and construction sequences, This video shows the names of the members of a typical wall frame and the sequence of construction.


The following images are for aesthetic inspiration. It will be important to carry across the aesthetic of the building construction into the form.


source:http://bft.net.au/images/house_frame.jpg



source:http://www.bencampbellbuilding.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/b-tall400-house-frame-2-story1.jpg



source:http://www.mcmframes.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Timber-framed-house1.jpg



source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/2503414-3x2-940x627.jpg

ARTWORK (group project, installation and presentation)

Organism

This artwork was installed at QCA(Queensland College of Arts) in the River Studio, White exhibition space

BELOW: Closeups of individual elements

Process of installation

The rationale of the installation was that it, as an organism of various parts, was joined and interacted with the space that it was in, rather than simply being placed within the space.

Due to the limited space, four of the group members including myself installed the artwork.

Every member of the group had contributed in some way into the creation of the installation, and every element of the installation was connected in some way. The following images depict the installation process.

Initial brainstorm for project 1

 constuction based on flat planes::: Nature of humanity (before salvation)

Key concept: (starting with the assumption that) on a fundamental level, we are completely disconnected from the environment, we are inherently sinful by nature.(note the difference from evil and sinful)

relating back to the week 1 class with reference to the way that we build.. ie minimal materials for construction. Discussion towards the nature of western society.

Theorists such as michael focult built their theory of society under the assumption that humanity is inherently good. From my christian background I intend to explore the nature of humanity that it is not. And explore this through the use of materials and the human form to create a discussion on our connection to environment and the spaces we create.

Materials may be of natural and processed nature to support the concept:

timber

geometic shapes (to parallel our organic form yet disconnection from it. )

What this artwork is about is our struggle between our inner consiousness our spirit and soul, with the terrestrial prison that is out flesh.

Have you really just NEEDED something. Craved something so badly, and it didnt make any sense.

This is the struggle we have with our flesh. But sometimes this NEED goes beyond just physical satisfaction.

Light and timber fabrication...

tension between the light and the constructed... this play between the light and the physical form parallels our own struggles with our flesh.

Materiality

The timber/geometric just as we are organic our physicality is disperate from nature

The form/materiality will mirror the timber frame of houses, the bare minimum of materials, form ply, structural pine, screws, nails and metal ribbon.

posture

the figure is positioned in anguish... desperate to free itself.. hiuddled in the featle position ?

The Conflict within Us

14We know that the Law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.  15I do not understand what I do; for I don't do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate.  16Since what I do is what I don't want to do, this shows that I agree that the Law is right.  17So I am not really the one who does this thing; rather it is the sin that lives in me.  18I know that good does not live in me — that is, in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it.  19I don't do the good I want to do; instead, I do the evil that I do not want to do.  20If I do what I don't want to do, this means that I am no longer the one who does it; instead, it is the sin that lives in me.

21So I find that this law is at work: when I want to do what is good, what is evil is the only choice I have.  22My inner being delights in the law of God.  23But I see a different law at work in my body — a law that fights against the law which my mind approves of. It makes me a prisoner to the law of sin which is at work in my body.  24What an unhappy man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is taking me to death?  25Thanks be to God, who does this through our Lord Jesus Christ!

This, then, is my condition: on my own I can serve God's law only with my mind, while my human nature serves the law of sin.

ARTWORK( Group project )

header from the facebook group page

The following document covers the progress of the group project for Fabrication and Construction as Sculpture unit.

Project Leader : 

Lisa McNamara

Deputy

Tristan Eyles

Team Members

Tristan Griffin

Eden Latoya Morrison

KJ Power

Elijah Jackson

Jesse Ivers

Tiana Jefferies

Zachary McCann

Robyn Pell

The creation of a facebook group was to assist us in colaborating out of the university setting. This was part of our preperation in the first week which also included our allocation of a shelf in the sculpture studio and selection of smaller pieces which were put aside on the shelf.

Facebook group: 

Fabrication & Constuction

https://www.facebook.com/groups/242096369461402/

Project outline

The group project is a warm up exercise. There is no text on the project provided to refer to. It was a response to the Fabrication and Generation lecture and some of the ideas and theories presented. The lecture concluded by asking us to consider living structures. Using materials provided and sourced collaborate with your fellow students to experiment and explore the nature of the materials

Our approach
We could use timber, but we were allowed to use anything really.
We are satisfied with our project as it stands. We have in a formal sense rejected the use of mechanical and electrical tools (with a small exception to a single screw in each donut). We are exploring a very environmentally friendly and organic process. Relying on the use of our hands for tools and allowing freedom of the individual to explore shapes with cardboard . .

We are keeping a very open mind to how this project develops and from our experience listening to architects and designers discuss a client's brief it is not unusual for them to reject the brief or parts of it, in order to pursue a project that meets a more sustainable outcome etc.

Group research

The following research was made after week 1 class:

Christopher Alexander

He is the father of the Pattern Language movement in computer science, and A Pattern Language was perhaps the first complete book ever written in hypertext fashion.

An association of people from all walks of life with architects and builders. We are rebuilding our neighborhoods slowly rebuilding the earth. These tools allow anyone, and any group of people, to create beautiful, functional, meaningful places.

You can create a living world.

http://www.patternlanguage.com/newindex-ios.html

Christopher Alexander - Patterns in Architecture

The following presentation was recorded live in San Jose, California, October of 1996, at The 1996 ACM Conference on Object-Oriented Programs, Systems, Languages and Applications (OOPSLA).

A full transcript of this talk is available here: http://www.patternlanguage.com/archiv...

(Below)Brainstorming notes, week 1.

List of group members to the left

List of words to the right brainstorming to break down the direction we wanted to head in as a group.

After this brainstorming it was decided that Lisa  Tristan Eyles and Tristan Griffin . . Eyles was going to bring cardboard and Griffin was going to bring some vine/plant. Lisa was going to bring some string, cord and paper.

What is Bio mimicry . 

Biomimicry is an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies.

http://biomimicry.org/what-is-biomimicry/#.Vtgzt0UmKJI

(ABOVE)  Phoebe Washburn, an American installation artist, works primarily in wood and cardboard scraps to build what she calls "spontaneous architecture." Her work explores generative systems based on absurd patterns of production created by banal rules that she sets up when working on an installation.

http://inhabitat.com/phoebe-washburns-mind-boggling-installations-are-made-from-scrap-wood-cardboard/

(ABOVE) Stockholm-based illustrator, printmaker and artist Nina Lindgren designed and built a coardboard floating structure that resembles the futuristic urban dystopia of the 1927 silent film Metropolis. A series of cardboard elements are stacked together to create a hillside settlement. The artist even introduced internal lights in some of the tiny houses to make the installation appear more realistic and spatial.

( Even though we are not allowed to hang anything from the ceiling in the studio, we could build something and hang it in the interdisciplinary studio.)

Week 2

The session consisted of initial brainstorming to give our group a sense of direction.

We then went and sourced materials such as cardboad, paper, timber, string, leaves etc.

Then experiemented with those materials for approximately one(1) hour.

We then gathered together once more to check on our progress, and decisions were made as to which techniques were effective and met with our needs.

The group was then compartmentalised to focus on separate elements of the final artwork 

ie:

large segment

cells

small objects

cones

(ABOVE) Mind mapping our structure

(ABOVE) this was the brainstorming for the donut segments that I worked on for this project.

The following are progress photos and experimentation(refer to captions).



Research for week 1
One other item for discussion is . .
Our structure have a name/title?
I was thinking "Organism" . . It's in keeping with our mindset for the project and works on so many levels. Apologies first as this is a link to Wikipedia, but I think the definitions embrace our ideas.

In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system, such as an animal, plant or bacterium. All known types of organisms are capable of some degree of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development and homeostasis. An organism consists of one or more cells; when it has one cell it is known as a unicellular organism; and when it has more than one it is known as a multicellular organism. Most unicellular organisms are of microscopic size and are thus classified as microorganisms. Humans are multicellular organisms composed of many trillions of cells grouped into specialized tissues and organs. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organism

My role this week was in experimenting and resolving the creation of the 'donuts'
This was achieved by cutting a cardboard box into equal thickness strips, breaking the internal structure of the cardboard by running it along the edge of the desk then joining the strips together. The next step was to roll the long length of cardboard into a roll, leaving a large hole in the center then wrapping paper around the outer layer.  The cardboard and paper elements were then held together by drilling a 40mm screw through all the layers on the "under" side.

the join used in the strips, which does not require glues

the lengths of cardboard were approx 2 - 3 meters in length

Above Left: first attempt Right: second attempt

I created a total of 5 by the end of the lesson, the intention is to create between 10 or 15 for the artwork installation

Assessment for Fabrication and Construction as Sculpture 2326QCA

Fabrication and Construction as Sculpture 2326QCA

The course will offer students a practical introduction to methods of constructing and fabricating sculptural forms. Skills will be developed through observing demonstrations and undertaking participation in these processes. Students are encouraged to experiment with techniques and processes leading to the production of three-dimensional structures and objects. The first project will focus on flat planes and structural form using materials of appropriate structural integrity. The second project will investigate casting and mold making. Students will develop concept drawings and maquettes. Group critiques will provide a forum through which students can interact effectively as members of a supportive group.

The Project for Fabrication will comprise a response to the premise delivered and it is to be self-directed work, driven by an individual project brief in broad terms at first, dealing with specific materials and processes. Your brief must be completed by week 3 and must outline your projects scope. Careful consideration must be placed on discipline specific goals, and it is expected that the project will evolve as experimentation leads to new insights during the course of the semester.

The brief must respond to the Premise which is a conceptual and practical unravelling of the notion and practice of fabrication and its opposite principle ‘generation’. The course and your project will look at structural principles, organizing systems in nature and the critical analysis of contemporary fabrication and building systems, processes and use of materials. It is imperative that this project is process and material driven with an expectation that at the outset the goals are not clearly defined. This assignment is not a problem to be solved it is an enquiry in practical and conceptual terms.

Your brief must include these points, and should be no more than 1000 words in dot point, not essay form.

• Delineate the discipline that this project falls within.
• Discuss materials pertinent to the project.
• Indicate potential research avenues.
• Formulate a timeline for completion.
• Dictate solutions for professional presentation.

Your brief is an assessable component of this course as it will compromise part of the related research component.

The work produced for Project 1 due in week 7 will incorporate scale maquettes and experimentation for project 2, the maquettes and experiments produced will be iterative steps toward final resolution in Project 2 and will comply with the assessment criteria set out below.

The work produced for Project 2 will demonstrate studio based research, and will comply to the assessment criteria set out below. It is required that project 2 shows a refinement and presentation of reasonably defined outcomes of completed works at full scale or sample of works at full scale.

Supplementing studio work will be the completion of a Materials and Processes Journal. The Journal will be submitted electronically to the course wiki at Learning at Griffith, or may be a blog hosted by a private provider.

The journal will be a comprehensive and well organised document investigating one or more materials, and one or more processes utilised within contemporary art and design practice. The journal will contain research of at least two practitioners and will involve critical reflection of practitioners and a well, researched interrogation of the brief itself.

Project 1 50% Due Week 7

Project 2 50% Due Week 13

MarkingCriteria

Processes and technical experimentation and development  Application of technical processes Experimentation with media Studio participation	30%
Research methodology  Extent of exploration of ideas and its connection to process Extent of related research Documentation of project and working processes	30%
Resolution  Effective consolidation of ideas, materials and techniques.	40%