Graphic Dimensions Ex 1-3 Journal

GRAPHIC DIMENSIONS

EX 1 - 3

FINN

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INSIGHTS

I II III

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LINE AND COMPOSITION (RULES) (de) CONSTRUCTION APPLICATIONS +

DATA AND SUBJECT MATTER

INTRODUCTION

I began the Graphic Dimension studio with some apprehension. I’d assumed the studio’s intention was to create 2D graphic outcomes that would be applied to 3D environments. So I was surprised when I learned we were to work the other way around. Instead of working as an architect traditionally would, creating flat plans that define buildings, we would observe a building and translate it back to a graphic depiction.

So I started asking questions...

What’re the possibilities of this translational method?

Architecture really exists and I can move around it, so what happens to it when I put it on the page?

What insights does this dialogue bring?

This retrospective journal aims to document an exploration of this dimensional translation and the key questions it raises for me. I will do this through analysing the artworks I produced in exercises 1-3, touching on; the thought processes, practical methods and artistic references that brought them to life. Instead of discussing exercises directly, however, I have divided the journal into 3 topics that brought insight throughout the first 3 weeks of the Graphic Dimensions studio.

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LINE AND COMPOSITION (RULES)

The architectural line isn’t an object, it’s a concept. A symbol for the minimum length between two points, useful in elucidating space and time1, enabling greater control over their complexity. Despite being unreal, this line is the key to accessing mathematical powers that are also not real, tangible, but dictate the tangible from a distance. It was this realisation in the power of abstracted forms and concepts that answered my question, “What does the 2D medium afford that the 3D doesn’t?” Answer: a reduction in complexity that gains in abstract truth, for what it loses in relatability to ‘real’ experience.

I turned my bedroom into geometry and now it is finally clean uses this kind of dispassionate line on the plane to delineate interior from exterior within the virtual 3D scene. What is interesting is remnant emotional qualities of space that are revealed after discarding everything but boundaries on a page. Spatial composition on its own has a psychological effect. How different would the viewer be affected if the window was at eye level rather than above it?

My following artwork, demonstrates a looser, textural approach to line and composition. By rotating a page and making rubbings from a heater vent, I was able to make a static grid into an explosion of line and points.

Its angles and symmetry create an illusion of 3D kinetic forces.

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Figure 2 Rooms by the Sea, 1951 Edward Hopper Oil on canvas, 73 x 101.6cm New Haven (CT), Yale University Art Gallery

At the time of making this artwork I was reading a book on Edward Hopper, known for his voyeuristic gaze through windows, striking diagonal beams of light, and subtle distortion of perspective that creates unease within the viewer. Hopper was never a great technical painter, but rather a manipulative composer of lines and symbols. One of the first pop artists. Particularly noteable in this work is the eerie juxtaposition of ephemoral forces of nature (light and the sea) against the static man-made architecture.

Figure 1 I turned my bedroom into geometry and now it is finally clean, 2021 Finn Stewart Pen on paper, A5

1 In my research I have become intrigued by the line over time. In partular, lines as a way of metricating time like in sundials.

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expressive function

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I am impressed by the ‘flattening’ powers of 1 point perspective. By relating dispassionate lines to a single point you get a good sense of depth while still having the freedom to focus on graphic composition. I experimented with this in Staircase, using my eye to translate the space into interlocking shapes in a major-minor and foreground-background composition. The interplay between diagonal, horizontal, and vertical create a dynamic composition that would be difficult to achieve with a camera. In Staircase, I’ve introduced colours in a manor referencing the works of Howard Arkley. With colour, the linear composition takes on a strong emotional character. Variations in tone infer a surreal sense of depth which is contributed to greatly by the repetitive lines of the staircase.

In my studio exercises, I have used the mathematical line in conjunction with mark making lines to create meaningful, balanced compositions

Figure 4 Floriated residence 1994 Howard Arkley synthetic polymer paint on canvas 204 x 153 cm Purchased 1994 © The Estate of Howard Arkley, Courtesy Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art Photography: Robert Colvin

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Figure 5 Staircase, 2021 Finn Stewart Marker on paper and mixed media, A5

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Figure 6 Staircase Pattern, 2021 Finn Stewart Marker on paper and mixed media, A5

The 3D scene, projected onto the rectilinear plane by a graphic eye, now has symmetries, making it patternable.

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(de) CONSTRUCTION Finding gridded “rules” ubiquitous and cold, deconstruction allows the architect to playfully subvert conventions, fragmenting compositions into their elements and flexing them within a controlled chaos, often through parametric means.

Deconstruction is best for distorting geometric forms because their uniformity is the jumping off point of imposing new dynamic geometric styles. It’s a bit like misspelling a word on purpose to draw attention to the latent potential of the linguistic construction that gives the word meaning. But also, potentially just nonsense...

In week 1 of the studio, we explored places and extracted textures. I was attracted to man-made objects with a geometric design because their linear patterns and sharp reliefs made strong graphic impressions. I enjoyed rotating and collaging these elements in a controlled chaos, reconstructing a new narrative. On the following page, I have done another phase of deconstruction of an artwork, exercising the playful potential of rectangles.

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Figure 7 Texture Study Finn Stewart

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Figure 9 Collage Finn Stewart

Figure 10 Collage Finn Stewart

These collages are explore ways on deconstructing a 3D environment into fragments which are flattened onto a gridded plane. By abandoning accurate representation, I am able to focus on a particular feature of the environment and compose it with graphic composition in mind.

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APPLICATIONS + DATA AND NARRATIVE

In the first 3 weeks of Graphic Dimensions, I have explored both constructive and destructive methods of translating 3D environments to 2D images. Now I will reflect on some applications for this inter-dimensional dialogue by referencing my own work as well as some examples done by professionals.

Observation As we have seen above, making the 3D environment graphic, whether through photographs, rubbings, or perspective drawings, is a great way to observe our surroundings. Observing and documenting our physical surroundings provides the individual with insight into how ideas are made materialised, as well as an increased consciousness of how these concrete structures interact with ephemeral forces.

Communicating data and narrative 2D representations of can really dial in on specific interactions or aspects at a site. The example here is Alvar Aalto’s diagrammatic drawing by for his Sanatorium that depicts of a patients dose of light from their bed. In this case, the objective data on the sun’s path has been used to communicate the narrative of the patients experience. Conversely, on the next page, my subjective approach can reveals some qualitative aspects of a space such as sound and movement, in less literal and data-oriented terms.

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Figure 7 Study of light interacting with the staircase depicted in my artwork Staircase

Figure 8 Paimio Sanatorium designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto © Alvar Aalto Foundatio

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Architectural Imaginitiveness Since starting the Graphic Dimension studio I have become more interested in Architectural history, theory and practice. mostly, from an increased appreciation through a practice of observation. This interest is also spurred by a preoccupation with geometry and philosophy: a couple of topics importance to architects.

I retract my initial, question of the usefullness of translating 2D to 3D on the basis that architects usually work bottom-up, from 2D plan to a building. I now realise that in order to have a 2D plan, the architect must first imagine a 3D scene before projecting it onto the page.

Through these exercises I feel inspired to draw more imaginary buildings. Flattening the 3D world is a tool for imagining potential spaces.

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Figure 7 Painting by Zaha Hadid Part of a conceptual stage in the process of designing the Vitra Campus fire station

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Obrist, H. (2015). Lives of the artists, lives of the architects. Penguin Random House UK. Deconstructivism - Wikipedia. (2021). Retrieved 14 August 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstructivism Harris, D. (2021). Deleuze for the Desperate #9: smooth space. Lecture, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=qpZPCNot_78&t=2083s&ab_channel=DaveHarris.

Kranzfelder, I., & Hopper, E. (2001). Edward Hopper, 1882-1967 (p. 176). Köln: Taschen.

López Pérez, D. (2020). R. Buckminster Fuller: Pattern Thinking. Zurich: Lars Müller.

Shrigley, G. (2021). insignificance (editorial series). Retrieved 14 August 2021, from https://drawingmatter. org/tag/insignificance-editorial-series/

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