Collages.01 by Atelier Azara Architecture

COLLAGE

Collages.01 HODGEPODGE - PATCHWORK - RANDOM COLLECTION PHOTOMONTAGE: Kerl LaJeune, 2004-2006

COLLAGE

INTRODUCTION Collage Thinking: Thoughts and Created Imagery by Kerl LaJeune “Amongst the arsenal of thinking methods, the process of collage making, though pervasive, occupies a disruptive position by using trash and deadness to form beauty. Collage is part of everyone’s experience and, however well it is understood, it seems to refer to a group of ephemeral things brought together by a logic that disturbs or negates, the status of the individual elements. Throughout the passage of each day, millions of manufactured objects are encountered whose sheer quantity and variety threatens to outclass nature for diversity. Collage permits a silent rapport between the collagist and those objects whose purpose is often too difficult to comprehend. Collage making allows anyone to hold a view on any subject. It counters monopoly and it terrorizes guilds of knowledge. Every professional academy, institution or organization is vulnerable to collage, as orders of logic are broken apart by the collagist. Access is gained to information which is then reordered so that it sits right’ into the collagist system of thinking, oblivious of the accepted status quo.” --- Ben Nicholson Studio Professor of Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology

Conventional Montage: In the understanding of the traditional collage, the two dimensional drawing is composed of a collection of pieces arranged in a composition that can be both balanced and disturbing. The available tools are scalpels and/or x-acto’s, scissors and glue to be used with imagery sources acquired from books, magazines, periodicals and other pre-printed materials. Pictures are sniped without care and pages are severed from publications, done to readjust the visual presentation of those images into a new one, to suit the collagist. Although very important is that the cuts made of a chosen image by the artist to execute is the realization of an intention and the result of skillful and accurate work. The techniques used through splicing and superimposing images, adjoining and repositioning various aspects of the photomontage to create views never seen

before through a careful collection on the 2-D dimensional surface. The paper surface becomes tactile with a photomontage often suggestive of characteristics barely recognized through conventional means. Digital Montage: “Photomontage can say much more than the proverbial thousand words. Among the great inventions of the twentieth century, and still in its swaddling clothes, photomontage provides opportunities that have yet to be fully exploited. Photomontage is illustration by association, by juxtaposition, by subtlety. It collapses time and pulls extraneous elements together – an ideal instrument for storytelling and for the visualization of complex ideas. --- Paul Rand (The Picasso of Graphic design. Developed identity logos for IBM, Westinghouse, ABC, UPS, NeXT and others)

Differing from the traditional acts of cutting and pasting, the electronic collage produces something that allows the decision making process to be monitored and controlled. The digital file lends itself to endless duplication and manipulation where mistakes or accidental decisions can be recreated by the copy command. For the electronic collage process, the tool becomes the mouse and the canvas, the computer screen. Mouse: a common pointing device popularized by its inclusion as standard equipment while using the computer, with qualities that are sometimes fast, temperamental but ironically all controlled by you. The mouse is a unique device that we instruct, while in control, by which the more options we offer it, the more powerful it becomes. It is a unique tool, an instrument of untapped proportions and with capabilities to strengthen our imaginative ideas as a transfer mechanism into dimensional artwork. In understanding the pixilated format of the computer screen, we find that it comprises of a microscopic white square that is a mere illusion of red, green and blue (or RGB) glowing elements of oblong shape. The implication of course is that the printed image void of any color already contains a predetermined visual signature. The

COLLAGE

pixel has an enormous range of colors that vary in clarity based on its resolution per size area on a desktop screen. It signifies that the individual tiny dot is the basic unit from which the images on a computer are made. The pixel or a small ink drop on paper is powerless and can only be valued when seen as part of a larger mass to show contrast. With this contract the naked eye is better able to differentiate volume, texture and other characteristics within a context. With digital imagery, clarity is no longer defined by what you actually see printed but more on the process by which it’s output was generated; media type, ink type etc.. The factor of resolution, a function of dpi or dots per inch, has now become a controlling factor in our artistic perceptions in the digital age. Can there be a perfect output scale for any given work of digital art? And while creating the work, at what percentage of the screen’s size should it be analyzed and developed? And what should be said about the graphics card that is the vital controlling hardware of the entire computer mechanism. Clarity has just become an unknown factor with the digital screen and subsequently the hardcopy printed image. The printed version is not in fact the final visual rendition of the artwork; it represents a false sense of our understanding of the two dimensional image generated by the machine. Its ranges are inherently relied on its printed output at 50%, 100% or even 400%, it does become an act that further disturbs our interpretation and refutable logic and common understanding. In a book by John Maeda, he describes the effects of the technological interventions of art and design with the use of the computer media and its implication to the traditional human stroke. “Our hands are the primary obstacle to advancement in the digital graphic arts. Their physical limitations prevent us from exploring what we cannot construct. Tap the power of the design machine; its mechanical hands do not tire. Manipulate perfect abstractions of form unhindered by tactile reality”. ---John Maeda, MIT Director and professor of the Aesthetics & Computation Group (ACG), Principal of Maeda Studio (Digital Graphic Designs)

The net result of either the use of traditional or electronic media to represent collages produces a work of art appearing so accurate creating an image that successfully merges its segmented parts into a holistic arrangement foreign to the viewer. The digital collage is a morphed phenomenon attempting to assimilate its cumulative parts into a collective. There remains still a high level of scrutiny both in appearance and the careful positioning of various objects on the palette. Often the image unrecognizable to its designer or creator, is never quite clear nor understood by any source of comparisons to known imagery but translates in resemblance to condemned acts of violence and mutilation as a metaphor. Like the parallel objectives of the Star Trek’s Borg Queen, these drawings are trying to bring together and bridge the gulf between reality and vision. Traditional hand drawing methods are smooth, and efficient operations but the collage image will consistently appear to be chaotic, erratic, conflicted and disorganized making them very unique as a working style. As a new form of media, its inherent style as a photomontage will never be considered as part of a controlled set of systems. It follows in the footsteps of theory and research and not on pragmatics and ideals. It has become by far an opportunity for self-expression, unleashing the frustrations of coping with the real world; understood as boring and systematic. The goal strives towards invention and reinterpretation, embellishing ideas in as many ways possible working with a newly refined medium. It embodies similar comparisons to some of Picasso’s cubist paintings or the works by Peter Cook for Archigram in the 1960’s even the Hollywood’s process of vivisection for film editing and also to photomosaics. The collages represent parallels to the introductory beginning styles of designs of the Baroque and Rococo, from the impressionists to the deconstructivist, all of which carried the same amount of rigor and the drive to search and create innovative solutions, while being inspired or frustrated with current dispositions about imagery and representation. To create a false sense of security, an opportunity void of control unaware of its turnout. The characters of these collages beg the question of “what do they mean? And, Why do they look the way they do?”. Should they have or possess some correlation to architectural built

COLLAGE

work or be considered as another form of art. Are my interests one of artistic quality or rejection for visual conventions of the professional sector, hindered by economics and structure? The meaning of the visual imagery is in fact, meant to be interpreted as disconnected elements, fighting and gasping for air assuming that the power of criticism and re-interpretation will give it substance and meaning. The framework defines the two dimensional plane allowing the images to become the changing variable in the collage. There always exists the notifiable twodimensional reference of line work directional on two planes. The lines carry character, color, texture, inherent forms and shapes of color; it becomes a directional aspect of the image and works to define its boundaries. The gathered images carry references to the framework adding more dimensional planes of depth and significance in the continuous layering process of the montage format. The colors are careful chosen as parent selections to the primary color group because they are more subdued in their variety and connection to the flexibility of mixed hues and tones of the color wheel. The starting point for the collages revolve around a series of themes. Ideas are that of personal interest or carry a sense of critical character about its traditional distinctiveness. The vulnerability of ideas subjected to by collages break apart orders of reason, common sense and understanding, a thought pattern unmindful of the accepted general culture or status quo. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but a collage must amplify the expectations to well over millions. Every single viewer is bound to interpret its meaning diversely and with criticisms that are personal and unique. Its not meant to represent reality or proof of a known act but visions and dreams, acts that are unimaginable, images never seen before, ideas not subject to duplication. At the completion of each collage, they embody all expectations of visual imagery complete with colors, textures, composition, character, meaning and hierarchy.

In the final solution, my investigation will continue to explore the relationships of how photomontages such as these, can further the exploration of how we might understand and visualize projects either conceptually or through the development of the design. Can this analy-

sis be applied to more practical means of which we often dismiss with a lack of understanding of its value and alienate its purpose to being just artistic imagery? The role of the seductive and stimulating visual appearance is purposely to call attention to more product-oriented architecture than to celebrate a personal experience. The collage as an alternative medium is communicating architectural ideas and strengthening notions about imagery, organization, interpretation, representation, and translation. The process employs a rigorous and critical investigation to continually question the absence of colors, textures, unconventional shapes, superimposed elements, adjacencies and other creative aspects. The computer has allowed the process of collage making an opportunity to grow beyond its rigid and seemingly predictable limits. Computers are emulating pencils and paper, brushes and canvas, cameras and film. The possibilities to shape, animate, readjust, cut, copy, paste, render transparent and more with a single tool. With our brush â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the mouse â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we are loaded not with paint but with bits and the palette is as rich and abundant as the global Internet. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a method of generating imagery that has and will continue to grow and redefine itself amongst other forms of representation. The distinctive and conventional tools used to delineate architectural solutions are often void of character and expression. The hope is the potential to create a new proposal that becomes provocative and sophisticated tin the way we show buildings through a critical visual analysis ultimately forcing our perceptions to change what we design. Its impact is destined to be intensive.*

COLLAGE

Objectives: “The transformation and combination of image fragments to yield new images has traditionally been regarded as a subversion of a photograph and because it destroys the photograph’s strict Aristotelian unities of place and time. A photograph shows what can be seen from a single fixed viewpoint but a collage can combine multiple viewpoints. A photograph shows things as they were at the precise moment of exposure but a collage combines things that took place at different moments into a single event. It undermines our mental geography and chronology: our conception of where things are and when they happen.” ---William J. Mitchell Dean @ MIT Department of Architecture, Professor of Architecture & Media Arts and Sciences. At the beginning of an architectural project, I worked on generating a series of images that served as different points of departure for the proposed scheme of a

Rec.rea.tion: n

1: hobby, pleasure, amusement, entertainment

Or'ches'tra'tion: n

1: a combination of tone and rhythm.

----------------“The transformation and combination of image fragments to yield new images has traditionally been regarded as a subversion of a photograph and because it destroys the photograph’s strict Aristotelian unities of place and time. A photograph shows what can be seen from a single fixed view point but a collage can combine multiple view points. A photograph shows things as they were at the precise moment of exposure but a collage combines things that took place at different moments into a single event. It undermines our mental geography and chronology: our conception of where things are and when they happen.” ---William Mitchell

Work.shop: n

building. The imagery served as a reference point for the varied architectural themes that were to be found and developed in the ideas of the project. I thought that it became appropriate to include these powerful collages, both as a means of providing information about the entire design process and as a way of communicating my own rationale for the spatial and programmatic decisions that was taken. The focused program elements represent the large gathering spaces where the center would allow for various events. Recreation: n 1: hobby, pleasure, amusement, entertainment Education: n 1: the process of direct learning; knowledge acquired through education Workshop: n 1: the result of labor, accomplishment, performance, production and commitment. Technology: n 1: man as machine, data processing,

the result of labor, accomplishment, performance, production and commitment.

Tech.no.logy: n

man as machine, data process

circuitry and processed instructions, output efficiency. Sports: n 1: athletic or competitive amusement. Orchestration: n 1: a combination of tone and rhythm

sing, circuitry and processed instructions, output efficiency.

E.duc.ation:

the process of direct learning; knowledge acquired through education

Sports: n

athletic or competitive amusement.

PROJECT HERO At the beginning of this project, I worked on generating a series of images that served as different points of departure for the proposed scheme for the building. The imagery served as a reference point for the different architectural themes that are to be found and developed in the ideas of the project. I thought it becoming appropriate to include these powerful collages, both as a means of providing information about the entire design process and as a way of communicating our own rationale for the spatial and programmatic decisions that was taken. KERL LAJEUNE

COLLAGE

In•ter•net (In t&r-n t) noun: an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world. The Internet is a vast collection of people, hardware, software, and information distributed and interconnected throughout the world. The exponential growth of the “information superhighway” looks poised to become the gargantuan virtual Mall, with consumer commodity and financial gain guiding its philosophy. Information technology controls our lives; its demands begin to strain traditional cultural institutions, and threaten our basic social interaction with others. We live in the world of cyberspace, a receding space, a withdrawing space, a space of recess. We depend on it to communicate, to manipulate our thoughts, to control our experiences with, to provide access to an endless array of information at our fingertips and other possibilities.

mouse: n 1:

A pointing device consisting of a ball housed in a socket containing sensors to detect rotation of the ball about two axes. Any of numerous small rodents with pointed snouts, small ears, elongated body and slender tail.

information technology: n 2:

The series of images reflected in the these set of collage themes represent various themes from the use and implication of the “Mouse” as a tool, the definition of the term “Information Technology”, the electronic library system of “Search Engines”, the role of the computer’s impact of our “Planet” and natural resources, the thoughtful use of the “Internet”, and the celebrated affects of the “Y2-K” bug. They all represent a new vision about the world of technology through a mixture of techniques using found image fragments while being used in an unrehearsed format to create this new artistic medium and reinterpretation within a new composition. “The price we pay for the freedom of traveling weightlessly in virtual spaces, which are no longer subject to the laws of physics, is the totalitarian control over the environment, over each of our movements and perhaps over every thought as well”.

The communication or reception of knowledge or intelligence. Resulting from improvements in technical processes that increases productivity of machines and eliminates manual operations or operations done by older machines.

search engines: n 3:

A program which acts like a library card catalog for the Internet.. Search engines attempt to help a user isolate desired information or resources by searching for keywords that the user specifies..

---Florian Rotzer

planet: n 4:

If the planeterization of information engendered interdependence, then there would no longer e any risk that power could be used by some to dominate others.

Internet: n 5:

A matrix of networks that connects computers around the world. It's made up of URL or web address, Links, email, FTP, Chats, newsgroups, search engines.

Year 2000 Bug: n 6:

issues: two-digit date storage, leap year calculations, and special meanings for dates. implications: Complete system overall and lost of hard-drive memory.

COLLAGE

work.shop: n 1: the result of labor, accomplishment, performance, production and commitment.

000010

VISUAL 03

VISUAL 02

VISUAL 01

VISUAL 04 e.duc.ation: n 1: the process of direct learning; knowledge acquired through education.

rec.rea.tion: n

1: a combination of tone and rhythm.

PROJ. 0001 PROJECT HERO, CHICAGO, IL

or.ches.tra.tion: n

RECENT PROJECTS

hobby, pleasure, amusement, entertainment.

DESCRIPTION

PROJECT HERO (Helping Empower & Rediscover Ourselves) is both an organization and a method to help disenfranchised and ‘at risk’ youth empower themselves through education and rediscovery with the understanding and the ability to accept responsibility for who and what they are and to effect changes necessary to become HEROes in their own lives. These photographical thumbnails were taken at the site, documenting the overlooked details which are often surprising and telling in their beauty and strangeness.

000011

000012

000013

The Chicago’s South Shore community has had a rich history of development, economic growth and independence from the city center. With an array of historical sites, major routes that connect from the south/ east into the neighboring state, this predominantly middle class area, over the past decades has cultivated a strong sense of stability and collective identity for its residents, conveying a strong sense of family values. Its history of being a community filled with shops, churches, boulevards, parks and moderately small grocery stores has made more apparent the negative activities that have become more and more prevalent in these once-peaceful neighborhoods.

The proposed building sits at the heart of its aged and currently less active industrial corridor. This project, through its involvement in providing several rehabilitation programs for the surrounding community, enriches and assists in the gentrification process of the area, bringing much-needed attention to bear on the residential housing stock and decaying manufacturing buildings. Whilst the building itself is not a source of direct revenue, the activities and highlyfocused programs will produce returns beyond comprehension for the young Americans that it will assist in entering and taking part in the opportunities that our society affords them.

In the same way the collages collapse space, time and event into a single frame, the architectural plan of Project HERO collapses different functions, programmatic requirements and activities into a single floor plan.

Second Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

COMMUNITY

VISIONS

PLAN ZONES

The plan of Project HERO accommodates a wide variety of needs and is central to the concept of spatial flexibility. Throughout the building, rooms change their functions according to need: a meeting room may be simultaneously a coffee shop, daycare center or a space for community events and gatherings. The architecture thus serves the programmatic needs of Project HERO, and not the other way around, by allowing Project HERO’s particular needs to dictate what occurs within the complex. The plan breaks down boundaries and walls, encouraging fluidity of space and form, similar, in turn to the philosophical and ideological intentions of Project HERO: the breaking down of barriers. The separate activities inside this building are treated as user-specific areas and are fully integrated within the overall structure of the complex.

PROJ. 0002

SIGMA GAMMA RHO SORORITY , CHICAGO, IL FEASIBILITY STUDY PROPOSAL

PROJ. 0003 TOWNHOUSE REVISITED, CHICAGO, IL

MODEL

view looking north-east FIRST LEVEL

SECOND LEVEL

000015

SORORITY IDEALS

000014

DESCRIPTION

The project’s organizational concept hinges on the premise that occupied spaces where individuals work, socialize and meet should converge into a zone free of physical constraints, hence the formation of the courtyard. Active participation, interaction of sorority members, associates and the general public are focused around this exterior space.

DESCRIPTION

The idealism that “greater service results in greater progress”.

Unit to Whole

Dedicated to its African American brothers and sisters to help promote cultural awareness, educational and health programs and recreational activities.

More importantly, in order to understand that different functions require disjunctive parts from the whole, specific functions like meetings, lounge, display, and café areas require instinctively unusual constraints. The individual rooms are therefore intended to have a character unique to only that activity. The goal is to develop a working environment that is active and changing, yet unified by organizing principles

Goals: To move existing and add improved facilities to a new location. To provide a meeting facility to plan events To realize relocation within a year To provide feasibility concepts for the July Convention in Las Vegas.

The architectural vocabulary, then, serves as a way for both the engaged public and the sorority to identify with the different forms as multiple cultural experiences, helping to not only focus on the specific activities of the house, but allowing both to explore new horizons with inspired actions.

Primary focus: To be a service organization for the Sorority.

The architectural forms are referenced to a strong idea about the relationship of different types of materials and the volumetric spaces they dynamically generate. When dissimilar materials are joined, separate activities take place. The emphasis is on maximizing light through large expanses of picture openings to intensify the natural colors and textures of the different materials. The color palette of the interior spaces is intended to maximize visual stimulation, physical excitement and the experience of continued movement. The spaces are meant to capture your attention, drawing you in and around the complex.

000017

000016

Devoted to motivating youth to greater achievements, wholesome living, inspired actions and exploring new horizons.

Secondary focus: To serve the community. To provide daycare for seniors and similar outreach.

Proportions Photosynthesis Organic Flow

Multiple Parti-Diagrams

The above project, Townhouse for a Botanist, draws heavily on the themes of nature, planting, natural materials and the maximum use of natural light to generate the projects’ design. Located on a typical 25’ x 125’ Chicago lot, the townhouse provides space for living, working and recreation with inner- and roof-top gardens. Using the metaphors of ‘root’, ‘stem’ and ‘bloom’, the townhouse provides its occupants with a ground floor devoted almost exclusively to entertaining and the public, a mid-level floor plan for sleeping and a private gym/recreation area and a roof-level plan that serves as family room, kitchen/ laboratory for growing plants and observatory for contemplation of the most dramatic city-view, that of the sky.

COLLAGE

Flight: (‘flit’) noun: an act or instance of passing through the air by the use of wind. Helicopter: (‘he-li-cop-ter) noun. an aircraft whose lift is derived from the aerodynamic forces acting on one or more powered rotors turning about substantially vertical axes Mechanics along with the marvels of engineering accomplishments of the late Wright brothers [1803] and the unprecedented visionary sketches of the helicopter by inventor Leonardo da Vinci [1486], have enlightened our minds and excelled our imaginations in realizing the possibilities of achieving the virtuous impracticality of attempting Human flight. This random but precise selection of images represents a fascination with tectonics of the machine, a kit of parts serving to reinterpret the design characteristics of

the Helicopter. It’s an interstitial state: both complete and unfinished, neither identifiable nor indistinctive, or outwardly chaotic and controlled simultaneously. While the Copter’s mechanism is an object in space, its structure would inform the way it is to be built. This collage not only represents segmented parts but a conceptual aggregation of pieces, which create an irresistible spectacle in the eye of the maker and that of the viewer. It’s an archetypal design of the machine, guiding the concept through the use of detailed set of blue prints presenting multiple levels of investigation on its technology, materials, organizations, systems and various other aspects. Through the focus on exclusive Black & White imagery, the fragments allow for various surfaces of the drawing to become tactile, animated through a layering of contrasting shapes and shades of depth. They translate as new forms coupled with reflectance and blurred

2000.1 C OLLAGE S ERIES

BLACK &

transparencies, creating a sense of vitality, spirit and a connection deep into the depths of our imaginations. The absence of color not only creates an alluring display to the observer, but also seemingly relates back to pure mechanics of using raw materials or concepts that are so fundamental that they appeal to our natural senses. The distinctive pattern in which the collage depicts the new found imagery becomes a choreographic interchange in a work of art, reflecting things formally existing in some state but subsequently becoming transmuted through unexpected juxtapositions.

WHITE P ERCEPTIONS H

M ECHANICS ALONG WITH THE MARVELS OF ENGINEERING ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE LATE W RIGHT BROTHERS [1803] AND THE UNPRECEDENTED EARLY SKETCHES OF THE HELICOPTER BY THE INVENTOR L EONARDO DA V INCI [1486], HAVE ENLIGHTENED OUR MINDS AND EXCELLED OUR VISIONS IN REALIZING THE POSSIBILITIES OF ACHIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE : HUMAN FLIGHT .

T HIS

RANDOM BUT PRECISE SELECTION OF IMAGES REPRESENTS A FASCINATION WITH

TECTONICS OF THE MACHINE , A KIT OF PARTS SERVING TO REINTERPRET THE DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE

H ELI C OPTER . I T ' S

AN INTERSTITIAL ZONE : BOTH COMPLETE

AND UNFINISHED , NEITHER IDENTIFIABLE NOR INDISTINCTIVE , OUTWARDLY CHAOTIC AND CONTROLLED SIMULTANEOUSLY .

W HILE

THE

C OPTER ' S

MECHANISM IS AN OBJECT IN

SPACE , ITS STRUCTURE CLEARLY INFORMS THE WAY IT IS BUILT .

T HIS

COLLAGE NOT

ONLY REPRESENTS SEGMENTED PARTS BUT A CONCEPTUAL AGGREGATION OF PIECES , WHICH CREATE AN IRRESISTIBLE SPECTACLE IN THE EYE OF THE MAKER AND THAT OF THE VIEWER .

IT'S

AN ARCHETYPAL DESIGN OF THE MACHINE , GUIDING THE CONCEPT

THROUGH THE USE OF DETAILED SET OF BLUE PRINTS PRESENTING MULTIPLE LEVELS

OF INVESTIGATION ON ITS TECHNOLOGY , MATERIALS , ORGANIZATIONS , SYSTEMS AND VARIOUS OTHER ASPECTS .

T HROUGH

THE FOCUS OF EXCLUSIVE

B LACK & W HITE

IMAGERY , THE FRAGMENTS

ALLOWS FOR VARIOUS SURFACES OF THE DRAWING TO BECOME TACTILE , ANIMATED

THROUGH A LAYERING OF CONTRASTING SHAPES AND VARIOUS SHADES OF DEPTH .

T HEY

TRANSLATE AS NEW FORMS COUPLED WITH REFLECTANCE AND BLURRED

TRANSPARENCIES , CREATING A SENSE OF VITALITY , SPIRIT AND A CONNECTION DEEP INTO THE DEPTHS OF OUR IMAGINATIONS .

T HE

ABSENCE OF COLOR NOT ONLY CREATES

AN ALLURING DISPLAY TO THE OBSERVER , BUT ALSO SEEMINGLY RELATES BACK TO PURE MECHANICS OF USING RAW MATERIALS OR CONCEPTS THAT ARE SO FUNDAMENTAL THAT THEY APPEAL TO OUR NATURAL SENSES .

T HE

DISTINCTIVE WAY IN WHICH THE COLLAGE DEPICTS THE NEW FOUND IMAGERY

BECOMES A CHOREOGRAPHIC INTERCHANGE IN A WORK OF ART , REFLECTING THINGS FORMALLY EXISTING IN SOME STATE BUT SUBSEQUENTLY BECOMING TRANSMUTED THROUGH UNEXPECTED JUXTAPOSITIONS .

KERL LAJEUNE, Architect

COLLAGE

Vision: (‘vi-zh&n’) noun a: Something seen in a dream, trance, or ecstasy; especially: a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation. b: the act or power of imagination. Through an architectural vocabulary, a series of diagrams were generated from a previous project to define the guidelines within which the examination on vision would be organized. This collage organization explores how to analyze the naked eye through its hidden and delicate internal and external structure. It represents a dynamic spatial quality through an organization that is repetitious and/or singular in its expression. Notions of structural conventions played an important role in the development of the idea using familiar tectonic systems derived from architectural investigations. Known processes similar to flow, circulation, symmetry and hierarchy corresponded

CORNEA - OPTIC NERVE

VIRTREOUS HUMOR

to the structure; suggesting varying potentials of expressive architectural freedom and connection to the tectonics of the eye. Through a selective and often random use of acquired imagery, various known physical traits focusing only to the proximity of the eye, attempted to convey the complex varying expressions possible with one’s face. Some of the images represented peacefulness, others curiosity to fear, peacefulness to chaos, surprise and possibly deceitfulness. The underlays of architectural diagrams were intended to forge a parallel relationship to the varying structures of the eye: Tissue (Structure/Module) Ligaments (Unit to Whole), Cornea/Optic nerve (Flow), Astigmatism (Asymmetry/Balance),

TISSUE

Bifocal (Hierarchy of Form), Vitreous Humor (Circulation), Nearsightedness (Myopic), Farsightedness (Hyperopic). By focusing the majority of detailed imagery around the head, the collage controls the viewerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention to an isolated but complex part of the body that can be static and mobile, predictable but yet surprisingly unfamiliar.

LIGAMENTS

ASTIGMATISM

BI-FOCAL

KERL LAJEUNE, Architect

COLLAGE

Marathon: (‘mar-&-”thän) noun: A race other than a footrace marked especially by great length The Marathon, traditionally the longest race, runs a course length of 42 km, 195 m or 26 mi, 385 yd. An interlude jam-packed with adrenaline and unprecedented aching pain and soreness. These groups of runners, seemingly by unselective means, are comprised of young and old, first timers and well-seasoned experience runners and enthusiasts. What binds us together are not the improbabilities but the opportunities to excel in our bodies the drive to push the boundaries of the human physiology to its limit. Undeniably, running this event literally and figuratively reminds us that every step counts. The experience is fun and because in our opinion increases our life span and improves the quality of our lives; a healthy lifestyle. Extreme sports will forever be unique from climbing

Mount Everest, racing the Alaska Iditarod, competing in one of Australia’s Eco-Challenges, from the Marathon to the Ironman, for athletes it represents life, an unfathomable sensation inside that is understood by no one else than us. Are we certifiably insane, or just denying the lesson that our bodies have thresholds, limits we feel we can alter for the rewards of heighten adrenaline. In a conscious effort, not to misrepresent the tremendous rigor of the sport nor its amazing efforts on the psyche, the collage by comparison celebrates the act through simple association and focuses the attention on preparation and determination. Although an intended visual characteristic of the running shoe is apparent, suggesting comfort and protection, many other positions were also highlighted from training, to motivation, pacing, prevention, hydration, and nutrition. History tells the story, that we often are reminded so

PACE

13.3miles

KERL LAJEUNE, Architect

MOTIVATE

TRAIN

6.0miles

20.0miles

 NUTRITION

To familiarize ourselves with the statistical data, here are a few self monitored evaluations for a recent running of 26.2 miles in Chicago; Ofﬁcial Time: 14,401 sec. -- Pace Steps: 36,203 --Hydration: 264 oz. --Vanished Calories: 3,480 (14.5cal/min)--7 day prep: 3,500 cal/day--Power Gel/Goo: 9pks (369 gr/990 Cal/12.6o.z.)

 

��

HYDRATE

CHICAGO MARATHON 2000-2001&B EYOND

The Marathon, traditionally the longest race, runs a course length of 42 km, 195 m or 26 mi, 385 yd. An interlude jam-packed with adrenaline and unprecedented aching pain and soreness. These groups of runners, seemingly by unselective means, are comprised of young and old, first timers and well-seasoned experience runners and enthusiasts. What binds us together are not the improbabilities but the opportunities to excel in our bodies the drive to push the boundaries of the human physiology to its limit. Undeniably, for this event literally and figuratively reminds us that every step counts. The experience is fun and as considered in our opinion, will increase one's life span and improves the quality of our lives; a healthy lifestyle. Extreme sports will forever be unique from climbing Mount Everest, racing the Alaska Iditarod, competing in one of Australia’s Eco-Challenges, from the Marathon to the Ironman, for athletes it represents life, an unfathomable sensation inside that is understood by no one else than us. Are we certifiably insane, or just denying the lesson that our bodies have thresholds, limits we feel we can alter for the rewards of heighten adrenaline. In a conscious effort, not to misrepresent the tremendous rigor of the sport nor its amazing efforts on the psyche, the collage by comparison celebrates the act through simple association and focuses the attention on preparation and determination. Although an intended visual characteristic of the running shoe is apparent, suggesting comfort and protection, many other positions were also highlighted from training, to motivation, pacing, prevention, hydration, and nutrition. History tells the story, that we often are reminded so often during our training, that after a Greek soldier ran less than the 26.2 mile distance from the City of Marathon to Athens in 490B.C. to bring news of the victory over the Persians, he swiftly fell over and died. Our modern races have yielded similar daunting fates from collapses of the lungs or through dehydration, the suffering of heart attacks, and unconsciousness to the ultimate and uncertain acts of deaths. I ask myself, why a Marathon? Is it the race history, its traditions, its lifestyle changes? One needs to only understand that it’s lour and attraction to runners as simply unexplainable, its personal life changing experiences and rewards unmatched, its physical demands immeasurable and the personal accomplishments superhuman. We engage in 26.2 miles of running for those rationales and much more. This collage is attempting to identify and understand the uniqueness of this running sport by communicating visually a dialogue that engages pro actively the conflicting human paranoia to conquer the mind over body, through perseverance, dedication and persistence.

To familiarize ourselves with the statistical data, here are a few self monitored evaluations for a recent running of 26.2 miles in Chicago; Official Time: 14,401 sec. -- Pace Steps: 36,003 --Hydration: 264 oz. --Vanished Calories: 3,480 (14.5cal/min)--7 day prep: 3,500 cal/day-Power Gel/Goo: 9pks (369 gr/990 Cal/12.6o.z.)

��

Finish

nicating visually a dialogue that engages pro actively the conflicting human paranoia to conquer the mind over body, through perseverance, dedication and persistence.

PREVENT

Start

26.2 miles

0.0 miles

often during our training, that after a Greek soldier ran less than the 26.2 mile distance from the City of Marathon to Athens in 490B.C. to bring news of the victory over the Persians, he swiftly fell over and died. Our modern races have yielded similar daunting fates from collapses of the lungs or through dehydration, the suffering of heart attacks, and unconsciousness to the ultimate and uncertain acts of deaths. I ask myself, why a Marathon? Is it the race history, its traditions, its lifestyle changes? One needs to only understand that it’s lour and attraction to runners as simply unexplainable, its personal life changing experiences and rewards unmatched, its physical demands immeasurable and the personal accomplishments superhuman. If at all anything it represents the opportunity to carry bragging rights to say aloud “I have ran a Marathon”. We engage in 26.2 miles of running for those rationales and much more. This collage is attempting to identify and understand the uniqueness of this running sport by commu-

COLLAGE

Fashion: (‘fa-sh&n) noun. A distinctive or peculiar and often habitual manner or way. Fashion is the most general term and applies to any way of dressing, behaving, writing, or performing that is favored at any one time or place. Vogue stresses the wide acceptance of a fashion. From the designers Gucci to Boss, Ralph Lauren, Yves St. Laurent and many others, Fashion consumes the better part of our lives. From exotic textiles, to vibrant or subdued colors along with stunning cutting edge designs, we experience a world that prays on our imaginations and childhood dreams of the fantasy world. Whether traditional or contemporary, the styles we have come to love are forever impacting the way we decide how we should look and the image to project to others.

This collage only represents a fraction of the glitz, glamour and spectacular excitement that the fashion industry has to offer but as an image, it offers an alternative idea,

Although our planetary seasons comprise of Fall, Win-

ter, Spring and Summer; the industry subscribe to only two that mark the launch of their yearly new collections; Fall and Spring. We are mesmerized by the beautiful models of perfect physique from around the world strutting down the runway flawlessly showcasing the best of the best. The catwalks of London, New York, Milan or Paris represent rhythm, order, faultlessness, creativity, and most importantly, the pure perfection of body, style and imagery. One has to only follow the harmonic motions of a model’s struts to understand the rhythmic cycles and sensuousness of fashion and how we have come to adore its theatrics. Its beauty lies in thoughts of futuristic designs and lofty risqué ideas that inspire us to push the boundaries and stretch the limits of our imaginations.

M H SS

]

V N\

ZW YP UN

a vision through a new artistic medium, stimulating both to the viewer and the maker.

P U[

KERL LAJEUNE, Architect

Body: (‘bä-dE) noun: The organized physical substance of an animal or plant either living or dead: as (1) : the material part or nature of a human being. Perfection: (p&r-’fek-sh&n) noun: a: an exemplification of supreme excellence b: an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence ``The first object of the painter is to make a flat plane appear as a body in relief and projecting from that plane.’’ -- Leonardo da Vinci

00.01

Florentine artist and a great master of the High Renaissance of the 16th Century. Celebrated inventor, painter, sculptor, architect, engineer and scientist. Can a task be more daunting than to represent aspects of the human body? Should the focus be more on ideals and notions of perfection or on the staggering realities?

What about the stark comparisons of human interaction with the machine or sometimes referred as the automated world? A question could harness the relationship of Man vs. machine or Man as Machine. Leonard da Vinci’s “Vitruvian man” often reminds us of the embodiment of human perfection and the study of proportions and Le Corbusier’s “Le Modular” as the derivation of architectural proportions generating the golden ratio using the human figure. Both dealt with quantitative ratios for comparisons in all aspects of the body including size, height and massing. The naked body has wonderfully uncharted territories that narrates the chronicles of our lives; identifying our age, differences in cultural orientations, differentiates our genders, the display of ceremonial markings or developmental and surgical scars. Our bodies represent a map and a wealth of information about the type of species that we are. With the focus of this collage hinging around America,

00.02

COLLAGE

it suddenly becomes a revisit to notions of the body from the renaissance period where a sign of health and wealth had direct correlation to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s physical proportion and size. Women were often reminded that in order to procreate, a healthy storage of stout or body fat is needed to ensure a smooth labor. Skeletal or emaciated individuals were part of a group associated with disease, malfunction and malnutrition. Indeed we have been blinded by the perfection of the supermodel but the result is always a vicious cycle that redefines how society perceives our bodies with as much fluctuation as the conflicting times that we live in. Another focal point of the collage was the emphasis on more detail oriented body components that have particular characteristics described and referred to as zones. The zones that represent the bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s features: eyes, fingers, lips, nose, butt and stomach. The parts that signify our strength: arms, legs, shoulders and chest. The defining characteristic zones that classify us as unusual mam-

mals: skin, color, hair, head and feet. Its once again an opportunity to allow a chance to reexamine the parts dissociated from the whole. From males to females, we represent living creatures with differences in our body with sureties of the impossibilities of us becoming genetically similar and thatâ&#x20AC;Śis what bonds us together and simultaneously sets us far apart.

00.05

00.04

00.03

KERL LAJEUNE, Architect

COLLAGE

Line: (â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;lin) noun: a. A thin, threadlike mark. The course a moving thing takes.

This image represents an alternative solution that is composed with the void of found imagery and focuses more on the objectives and qualities of the line. Either thick or thin, solid or dashed, in color or void of, outlined shapes or with solid mass, it helps to connect the composition in a way that is very methodical and appears seemingly calculated.

00.02

00.01

KERL LAJEUNE, Architect

Characteristics through the expression of color and texture were the fundamental premises by which this collage was generated knowing that those objectives could have been readily available and acquired through printed imagery. The goal is to create a reactionary image that can open our eyes, penetrate our minds and warm our hearths causing us to act in amazement or with individual thoughts of a critical sense of judgment.

00.05

00.04

00.03

COLLAGE

Soccer: (‘sä-k&r)noun: a. a game played on a field between two teams of 11 players each with the object to propel a round ball into the opponent’s goal by kicking or by hitting it with any part of the body except the hands and arms -- called also association football “…in pre-industrial societies it was often a “mob” game of village against village, lacking written rules and celebrated as part of a fertility rite or to mark particular seasons of the year“ --Epic Soccer A childhood sport, a lifelong dream, playing soccer is solely played for the excitement. High in adrenaline with combining speed and ball control, this fast action sport organizes players of a field with a controllable bond that allows exchanges between tactics of offensive and defensive strategies. It is unimaginable to engage in such a game without sportsmanship and teamwork, to respect and live up to the ideals of the sport.

History: Soccer had been a developing and popular sport since the turn of the 20th century. By the 1920’s countries like England, Scotland, Columbia, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil have elevated the sport to unprecedented levels of competition. Its popularity also increased to the years up to and following the WWI. During the early 1930’s, soccer in Spain was more popular than bullfighting. The craze extended to men, women and child seemingly becoming the only sport people were interested was soccer. Soccer has been used as a means to manipulate the masses and in history used by dictators such as Hitler and Mussolini as an integral part of government. In many countries, soccer remains the main cultural link between the government and the people. --- Epic Soccer Within the realm of possibilities, playing soccer within a field sized at 120 yards wide by 75 warrants well-en-

PRECISION

SKILLS

00.02

00.01

DEFENSE

�

gineered tactics and strategies organized by the entire team. Consisting of defensive and offensive players, the roles are interchangeable with positions on the field controlled by advancement, retreat and coordination with other teammates towards the opponent. This collage attempts to convey this impressive but complex and chaotic series of functions of the game, shared by the players and spectators alike. Soccer has by far the most loyal of fans, swearing and placing the sport above all including family for the association of an identifiable region per team. Regrettably, plagued by violence though rivalry since the early 1900’s, fans have continually shared the passion of support and cheering the successes or sometimes-dreadful downfall of their prized team. Formidable opponents and incredible fans are the energetic breed that have formed and will continue to define this spectacular sport.

and capitalists, and has flourished…………” -- Epic Soccer

“Soccer has survived wars and revolutions, dictators

� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

TEAMWORK

00.04

00.05

OFFENSE

00.03

KERL LAJEUNE, Architect

COLLAGE