And the winner is.....

Remixing: From Patterns to Social Media

I used this project period as a time for exploration of both myself and printing methods. Now I'm at a crossroads; trying to move forward from the work and the ideas that I have accumulated towards either a more refined or more encompassing focus. I guess we will see where it goes-

Accumulated Work as Material for the Future
Patterns: This is a pattern I found in my daily life that I literally cut up and rearranged, abstractly exploring the ideas of interpretation of the world around us in the context of remixing.
Specific questions that lead this exploration- What is new? What is creative?





















Fort:
This print of my family on netting hanging from the ceiling was an exploration of how I could surround myself with comforting images and ideas in uncomfortable places.


This exploration has led me to ideas about filtering/understanding the world critically. I'm looking for ways to use this literal mesh as a metaphor for this filter we use to understand the world around us.

Along Pangolin lines...

Last year I saw a biomimicry talk by Janine Benyus. Really interesting cases of using nature for innovations in design. Browse examples here.

“Not a Cough in a Carload: The Campaign by the Tobacco Industry to Hide the Hazards of Smoking.”

Tobacco advertising: Science ... or smokescreen?(link)

Exhibit and lecture to look at history of smoking ads
(Farrell Learning and Teaching Center and the Bernard Becker Medical Library March 1- April 30)

This looked liked a cool exhibit that might address some of the ideas I was getting really excited about in class yesterday, I thought some of you might be interested. (It was in the Record email, so sorry if this is old news)

Book of Space

Stephanie's project reminded me of a project I saw a while back on BLDGBLOG. It really takes the idea of creating space and movement through the use of layered pages to an impressive level.

Link!

The PangoFort

Inspired by an African mammal known as the pangolin, I decided to create a fort that would serve as a sort of armor or protection from the exterior world.

My initial explorations to create a pangolin-like form led me to folding and pleating. Though my studies I eventually discovered the diamond pleat, which is a structural fold that can be manipulated to compress and open much like an accordion.

My final design is a 10 sided regular polygon made up of a grid of diamonds that are 12 inches in the long dimension and 1.5 inches in the short dimension with an obtuse angle of 144 degrees (which is also the interior angle of the polygon). The assembled grid totals out to 8 ft wide and 20 ft long, but when folded in its final state as circular form is only about 3 ft in diameter.

As a folded structure that can compress and expand relatively easily, the PangoFort becomes a portable space that allows the inhabitant protection and safety within their small bubble of enclosure. The bubble creates a screen between the inhabitant and the exterior world, filtering light, sound, and air in a way that creates a sense of separation or removal from that world. Instead of providing physical protection as the armor of a pangolin does, the PangoFort provides a more conceptual preservation of personal space that could potentially be deployed according to the user's need in any environment, hostile or not.

PangoFort being set up:

Inside the PangoFort:

PangoFort in action!

Plum Blossoms and Poetry

Plum Blossoms and Poetry
The Fort as Sanctuary for Dreaming, Meditation, and Reflection on Identity

by Kristin Fleischmann

Plum Blossoms and Poetry is a fort that gives homage to the development of personal identity and the soul. The quiet, glowing space allows the viewer to reflect, calm the mind, and dream. Through the process of accumulation I developed images and connected multiple facets of everyday life in order to reveal complexities about the development of self. I collected poetry that has influenced me over the course of my life, architectural symbolism of Buddhist Stupas, and Google maps of my everyday routine. The layering of these images discusses the development of identity through meditation, routine, and self-reflection through the transcendent experience of the space. Light plays a particularly poignant role in the work, and the experience of the piece changes with the passing of time and changing of light through the day.

Printmaking techniques use: Silkscreen, Pronto Plates

Materials:
Silkscreen and Pronto Prints on Various House Linens
Lights
White Mason Twine
Pink Thread

Approximate Dimensions:
10' x 10" x 7'

For Scale Reference

Night View

Get yer pod on!

Nacho Carbonell

Finding Inspiration in the Everyday

window weights found at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store, 3763 Forest Park Ave. · St. Louis, MO

Found objects can be a great source of inspiration whether formal, cultural, social, or political. Memories are embedded in the materials by the humans and machines that built the object, used the objects, and discarded them. As an artist I feel responsibility to reflect upon these memories and give the materials purpose significant to a new time and place in history.

Go out and discover!

PRONTO! plates.

Hello Built Environment family,

Just a tip for printing on pronto plates...

If your image looks too gray after adjusting the levels and you need more contrast; utilize the "unsharp mask" tool. It can be found Menu>Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp mask. The exact function of this tool is basically to sharpen an image by increasing the contrast around the edges. If an image is too blurry you can preview your picture as you adjust. However, the effects are more pronounced on-screen than the actual output. This technique really makes your images pop, and your prints beautiful!

Happy Printing!

Mbean

PS. An example

After adjusting the levels After using unsharp mask

Ryan McGinness

On the subject of accumulation and cultural detritus...

Installationview, 2005, installation view, mixed media, dimensions variable, Deitch Projects, New York

http://www.ryanmcginness.com/index.html

Redefining Neighborhoods: Joe Edwards from The Pulitzer on Vimeo.

An upcoming panel at the Pulitzer:

http://mattaclark.pulitzerarts.org/transformation/panel-series/

A week from this Thursday. Start the carpool email chain if you would like to go but do not have transportation!

New vs. Old: Secret Ballot Number 2

Old: 8
New: 4