ARCH 202 Portfolio 2019 by Mae Murphy

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Mae Murphy 2019 ARCH 202 Portfolio

C H A N G E

M A R K M A K I N G

D R A W I N G

L A Y E R I N G

P H O T O G R A P H Y

M O D E L

M A N I F E S T O

M A G N I F I C A T I O N

D E A T H I N T H E M I D W E S T

M I L L A

C R E E K P A R K : N E W C H A N G E

O F C H A N G E : a call to arms What does that even mean? Change is to “make or becoming different” or to “take or use another instead.” We are inherently changing every moment of the day, it is eternally present within the time passing, however only noticed when faced with contrast and retrospection. The word drips with hopefulness and oozes new beginnings. We do not stop to realize that the very actions we partake on everyday pushes us into the realm of change. Small choices feed into larger into larger. in the beginning it started with change in observations. Sensory perception and the observation of our reactions to the world around. How can we change? Why do we want to change? It is easier to step back and see change, see the differences of old and new. But sometimes it is hidden right in front of our faces. If you are reading this you are clearly interested in what I have to say about this so-called “change.” go out there. Find the realness. Answer to yourself. Do not apologize. It is the moment when you realize the extent in which the world has overcome tremendous changes that opens the eyes. When a hawk sits on top of a telephone wire to substitute a tree, we know change. When all the old buildings are covered in bright green ivy, we know change. Sometimes we forget how whitewashed the world has become. So where did the realness go? We have become so immersed in developing the real world we forget to take a step back. The world has become a backdrop for retrospection. It is neither positive or negative, good or bad, but simply a thought, a question. What will you change?

STEP 1:

M A R K M A K I N G The first step in the process consists of a series of mark-making. Materials were explored to develop and push the boundaries with each medium. Ink, charcoal, oil pastel, trace paper and a handmade tool was used to create the explorations. This was the beginning of understanding the given image and developing a comprehensive view of the photograph. The process was critical. The work was intended to be process-focused in a rapid production method.

Handmade Markmaking Tools

STEP 2:

D R A W I N G The second step in the process is a series of drawings inspired by and utilizing the mediums from step one. Four iterations were created to further explore ink, charcoal, paper cutting, trace paper and basswood. The pieces help develop the concept of sense perception and the change that occurs with a different point of view.

STEP 3:

L A Y E R I N G The third step is focused on building upon the previous work and experimenting in the 3D realm. Four panels were created utilizing different mediums and explorations of materiality. Each piece defines the interpretation of change and how perception plays a role. Wax, basswood, plaster, ink, burlap, wire, screen and trace paper were used within the sum of the process.

STEP 4:

P H O T O G R A P H Y The fourth step is a series of photos inspired by the layers created in the previous step. The images were printed on Strathmore paper in order to gain a textured retro aspect. Step four explores the inherent order we strive to apply to work. The letters are abstracted to a point in which they become illegible and arbitrary. Words are still apparent, portraying the need to find meaning in everything.

STEP 5:

M O D E L The one foot cube model is an exploration pushing the boundaries of letters. Letters are used frequently within the work through the abstraction process. In the model, they are casted from acrylic molds in plaster with metal dowels. The rods hold up two pieces of casted concrete to symbolize the strength in letters. They do not spell put a certain word, depending on the position around the model it reads a different word. Change occurs when a new perspective or point of view is introduced.

STEP 6:

M A N I F E S T O The sixth step in this process is a conglomeration of the project as a whole. It is a time to ponder and reflect upon why, what, and how things occurred. Acetone transfers of photo-shopped images were utilized to synthesize the concepts apparent in the work. Pencil, charcoal and ink were used to strengthen the drawings.

O F C H A N G E : a new lense Time to acknowledge the difficult task to define change. What does it mean to me? What does it mean to others? Why do we care? How does this tie to language? The first step in the process is to simply acknowledge impending change. To see the contrast between where you were, where you are and where you are going. It takes a moment in the present to become aware of your surroundings. It takes time. The cognitive act of change requires risk. Step out of your comfort zone. Participate in something new. The awareness and risk unite together to form a new direction in the process. Small choices lead to larger impacts. Designers have an important role. We have the ability to understand how things work and implement the new. But be warned, it is powerful in both ways. Immersion is the most important factor. Become educated in the people. Learn from them, befriend them, document them, love them. We need to investigate the subjects and site before we imperialize. Context is key. But then I ask the question: are we really changing? Is history one big cyclical movement? We may have evolved biologically, but what about intellectually? The next step in my investigation relies of the research and knowledge acquired through talking to people and seeing how they define and perceive change. What is change to you? What is the biggest change in your life? Change only exists in its relationship to the past. How has language changed? Lines form letters. Letters form words. Words to sentences. Sentences to paragraphs. Line forms letters, but what happens between the letters? What makes up the negative space? How do I read between the lines. As the lines, letters, words and paragraphs transform from one another, the previous representation loses meaning. We read the words, but not the individual letters within. I created new forms within the voids of the arbitrary letters in order to understand the undiscovered spaces in our language. These pieces are a new set of forms ready to change into a new “word” “sentence” and “paragraph.” A new language between the lines.

STEP 7:

M A G N I F I C A T I O N The seventh step of the process utilizes the CNC routed plywood panel. The piece is an investigation dealing with the abstraction of change. Plastic pieces were heated with a heat gun and woven within the negative spaces to accentuate the importance of reading between the lines. Plaster was incorporated onto the wood due to the exploration of materials. The plastic formed to the letters and formed new shapes which in return creates change.

STEP 8:

T H E

F I N A L

S T E P

The last step in the process is an accumulation of my entire project. The landscape fosters a nurturing environment in the U.S. Midwest for people to interact with the dead. The locals are encouraged to bury their loved ones in a biodegradable green casket to return their body back to the earth. The trees represent people where the living can honor death as a whole instead of the individuals.

O F C H A N G E : death in the midwest We are inherently changing every moment of the day. Change is not linear, it is cyclical and ever present. The repetitive movement of change is built into our DNA most significantly in the cycle in which we decompose. The human body begins the decomposition process soon after a heart stops beating. After three to seven minutes body cells and tissues stop receiving oxygen and blood begins to pool in the lower lying portions of the body due to gravity. The site in which our bodies decompose is a large factor in the process. Underground the body has time to replenish the soil with nutrients. As an organism excretes waste or dies the nitrogen within the tissues (amino acids, DNA) begins to decompose. Fungi and prokaryotes degrade in the process of ammonification. Tissues release inorganic nitrogen in the form of ammonia and return it back into the ecosystem. The ammonia is then available for plants and organisms to grow from the nutrients. An opportunity is arising to return our bodies into the landscape and create a dialog towards a more environmentally friendly burial process in the U.S. midwest region. Casket burials gained popularity after the Civil War to transport northern and southern soldiers across America. The caskets contaminate groundwater, utilize excess materials (concrete, wood, metal) and leak harmful embalming chemicals into the earth. Cremation, or the process of burning and oxidizing remains takes about three hours to fully disintegrate a body. The system gives off carbon dioxide emissions due to lack of filtration in facilities and requires about two full tanks of fuel to cremate a body. Another alternative, alkaline hydrolysis, uses 95% water and 5% potassium hydroxide to reduce a body into a cremation-like substance. This is one of the more environmentally friendly options yet it uses about 300 gallons of water per body. There is a shift in the U.S. from the traditional casket burial ceremony to a green burial. The body is refrigerated after death and buried with a biodegradable casket made from natural materials such as cedar, burlap, seagrass, bamboo and wool with no embalming chemicals. This concept is not a new process. Alternative burials are common in many cultures such as the Hindu rituals which involve athome cremation within the first 24 hours after death. Tibetan sky burials involve the process of leaving the body in specific sites to be consumed by birds in order to return the body back to the ecosystem. In Iowa there is a movement to return our bodies to the earth in a sustainable way. Nonprofits such as the Midwest Green Burial Society and Warren-McElwain Mortuary and Cremation Services are working to advocate for natural burial processes and raising awareness of the environmental impacts of conventional burials. Warren-McElwain Mortuary and Cremation Services in Lawrence, Kansas is the first publicly owned cemetery to have a dedicated green burial location. This option not only changes the environmental impact of death, but also the mourning and grieving process. The process of death does not signify the end, in fact it is simply the beginning of something new. It is time to devote our bodies back to the landscape with the least harmful process to regenerate the future.

Project Two

M I L L C R E E K P A R K : A N E W C H A N G E This new project created with Claudia Pico and Heriberto Garcia was an installation of public architecture within Kansas City. The site is derived from the site visit we traveled on to Kansas City in March. The park was revitalized to depict the change that has occurred within Kansas City and the change that will grow from the work. The concrete structure is an abstraction of the word change and conglomeration of languages, cultures and events from the past. The new site strives to invoke a sense of change and start a conversation about the new to come.

OF CHANG OF CHANG OF CHANGE

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O F C H A N G E : a call to arms