DSDN 141: EXPERIMENTING WITH MATERIALS
PROJECT TWO: RELATE EXPLORING THE POETIC POTENTIAL OF MATERIALS Due Date: Presentation
Wednesday 18th August 2010 - 25% of course
INTRODUCTION In project one you investigated the potential of surface as the visual expression of materiality. To successfully resolve that project you had to discover and engage the properties of the respective material. This project will take you a step further ‐ you will apply and build on these by combining two dissimilar materials; one natural, the other processed and engage their properties to reveal and celebrate their qualities. Systematic manipulation and composition …… material and emotion You will be required to explore two given materials from a broader range of perspectives than merely properties, with the intention of gaining a much more creative, diverse, and sensitive approach to materials. The kinds of issues you will be asked to deal with from a design perspective include not only their structural and aesthetic strengths, but also the cultural and social perception of materials and their qualities. While the qualities of a material may in many cases be the same as its properties, there is a subtle but important difference between the two. Firstly quality can refer to the degree of purity i.e. high quality, and invariably implies greater value or worth. But “qualities” are also closely linked with the emotional ties that we have formed with materials. These associations may well have a basis in material properties but they also have a deeper cultural meaning ‐ this may include traditional associations such as “solid as a rock” as opposed to “building a house on sand” or that steel represents power as does a “fist of iron”. We also speak of “silver” anniversaries and “golden” jubilees or “paper” tigers and hearts of “stone” and it is here that materials offer an opportunity for emotional interpretation and poetic expression. However it is also important to understand that these associations vary from culture to culture depending on perceptions of value or worth. They are also subject to change as cultures adopt new patterns of behaviour to accommodate new social or economic circumstances. Therefore to fully comprehend materials it is important to question notions of inherent worth in order to find new value in seemingly mundane materials. The main objective of the project is to investigate the full vocabulary of materials, moving beyond the pragmatic, engaging their poetic potential and celebrating their qualities.
DESIGN CHALLENGE Take two materials (one off each list but not one from a previous project) Engage the properties of one to express the qualities of the other in the form of an abstract 3D composition. Processed/Synthetic Materials Natural Materials • Metal • Sand • Paper • Fluid • Rubber • Stone • Plastic • Clay
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Glass
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Wood (not processed woods e.g. MDF)
To do this you will not only physically engage your chosen materials, but also apply the ideas and practices of 3D composition that you are confronting in DESN 112 while evoking space and/or form.
PROCEDURE Wed 4th August After the Lecture, having selected two materials from the above lists, collect as many different samples of each material as possible – a minimum of six of each. (Think laterally). Next, to initially clarify your understanding of the project, for each material Select a word that describes the Properties (Physical) Select a word that describes the Qualities (Emotional) As in project one you will physically explore and manipulate your chosen materials to establish their unique and special properties, paying particular attention to how they may be combined as a 3‐D composition and what you may want to say about, or with the materials with the composition. These experiments are to be completed as a homework assignment. Wednesday 11th August The results will be presented and developed during studio as a preliminary concept model of your composition. Work to resolve issues that can be reviewed in your group at the beginning of the second studio session. Refine your final concept focusing on; clarity of composition, form and detail. To control how your composition is perceived you are to present three images, this allows control of lighting, temporal qualities, viewpoint and scale. NB. Do not use materials like sand, water etc. in the photographic studios – shoot such images outdoors! Wednesday 18th August No Lecture ‐ Presentation Session A 9:30am and Session B 12:40 pm
OBJECTIVES The objectives of this project are: • To explore the full vocabulary and expressive potential of materials engaging poetic interpretation, eloquence and meaning and values. • Using properties (visually expressed in form and surface) to speak of qualities. • Discovering a new worth inherent in seemingly mundane materials.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Presentation: Start times: Section A 9:30am & Section B 12:40pm ‐ Room: studio Wig 101 The minimum submission requirements for Project Two: The minimum submission requirements for Project Two are: 1) A final model of your composition 2) Three printed photographic quality 200mm x 200mm images: of your composition (Additionally Post all 3 on your Flickr page under PJ2). 3) An visual/text workbook/documentation of precedents, process and development
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of your ideas to be available at the review.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA The Paper is internally assessed by assignment work in the form of four projects. They all contribute towards the final paper grade and are assessed and graded A+, A, A‐, B+, B, B‐, C+, C, D, E, (where C is a PASS) Project One
(3 Weeks: Due Wednesday 18th August) 25%
In addition to the general criteria specified in the overall Course Outline DSDN 141 (see Assessment Criteria page 5) you will also be assessed on the following project specific criteria: 1 Realisation of a design that is evocative of the properties and qualities of the chosen materials 2 Engagement of meaning and poetic expression 3 The strength and clarity of your statement 4 Use of photography to celebrate and communicate your intention. REFERENCE MATERIAL Refer to the Course Outline for all references that are in the library to assist you with this project.
Do not neglect to search other literature, the internet and your own sensory experiences including observations/photography throughout the duration of this project. NOTE: when posting your work on Flickr please name and organise your work as instructed, if we cannot find your work we cannot grade it.
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