BenningtonArtCommunity

2.1squaremiles

Bennington Museum

, siting aside on the hill, is the live record of Bennington region, and it is the museum of the arts and histories which constantly renovating itself as the progressions of the times. As more and more artworks are stored, the gallery and the storage are asked to be enlarged at least as twice as present status. This project will utilize art renovation as the methodology and provide a new perspective for viewing architecture and its relationship to art ground, and the space, striving to design an extension for the Bennington Museum: Deflection + Bennington Museum. It would as well represent the enthusiastic attitude of embracing the diverse arts in the next generation.

Art plays an essential role in Bennington people's daily lives. In this small town with fewer than 16,000 people and an area of 42.2 square miles, countless artworks are displayed as outdoor sculptures, galleries, or preserved in the museum storage. The annual outdoor sculpture show has just made its 24th birthday and endows art's vibrancy for the 24th time in Bennington. People are adapted to living with the artworks in their daily lives, and letting them be part of themselves.

GEOMETRY STUDIES and TRANSFORMATION

Fixed axis

Sculptural anatomy works in combination with artistic facade give the artifact architectural connotation, renovating with Bennington's art community culture and the landscape.

The architecture works as the medium of inward and outward division; one reform the limited space, the other changes the perception of infinite space.

Deflect in one axis

Deflect in two axes

Walking inside a sculpture and reevaluate the original work inside give me multiple levels of art appreciation.

Look! The facade reassembles how we perceive the outward spatial system, which integrates and reform the site, and becomes one new piece of artwork.

My artistic experience begins at first glance, gradually to the steps on the site, and finally to the museum itself and the artworks inside.

The interior walls give me an immersive feeling of art. The geometric angles are working naturally for some reason and adding excitement when perceiving the art pieces inside!

Deflect in connection

Deflect in three axes

New Composition

Physical model materials and the production process full-color powder-based 3D print; MDF stacking; painting; plastering with the image; gluing.

"The First Sieve is the Truth"

A short film that discusses the world composition, and the role of the architect between the characters of a politician and a thief.

Director: Molin Liu

Screenwriter: Mengyao Dina Lin, Molin Liu

Production Designer: Mengyao Dina Lin 2019-2021

As I transfered to the major of archtiiecture in freshman year, I try to find the role of being an architect in this world. Screenwriting is another way that I express myself. I co-wrote a short film “The First Sieve is the Truth” and was its production designer. The film tells a story between the head of the Bureau of Press and Publication and a thief to illustrate the truth that ordinary people perceive are the truth politicians want people to perceive, instead of the real truth. Finding the meaning of being an architect has led me to think about the linkage between the cause and effect in this world, and what really determines the truth to people’s lives. Now, as a fifth year architecture student, I think architect has the opportunity to make decompositions of the world and generate recompositions, taking real actions and fighting for the over-administrative from politicians. Architecture is restricted in many ways by politics, but architects also stand for the social responsibilities in-between the overarching and the grounding.

Link to the film:

Amazed by the views inside the closet, the thief deeply felt the class differences between him and the owner of the apartment. In his heart, he not only wants to own these possessions, but to be the owner of the apartment.

He starts to quickly grab the jewelry, feels scared even no one is watching him. He feels multiple eyes are on him, monitoring his every act when stealing.

Sitting on the leather couch, he gradually forgot he is the thief, rather, he felt he is equal to the owner. He takes a selfie to record this fabulous moment of his life.

Being attracted by the wines on the shelf, the thief continues to do his work. In the laptop he just found on the couch, he knows the owner is the secretary of the Bureau of Press and Publication.

Finding a phone that is the same as his let him feel that ultimately he and the owner use something similar.

Wearing the owner's suite and his watch, the thief never felt this confidence. Looking into the mirror, he enjoys the new outfit that makes him "equal" to someone like the owner of the apartment.

Accidentally knocked down a pile of files, some secret pictures appeared. The thief is shocked by this, and uses his phone to take pictures of the truth.

At the same time, the real owner returned home with lunch. They looked into each others' eyes.

Without any fear or astonishment, the secretary offers the thief the meal he just bought, treating the thief like no one else. Checking if he has got the valuable piece in this house.

Noticing the thief is wearing his suit, the secretary remains silent with thoughtful smiles while looking him gobbling the lunch.

The secretary and the thief lie to each other, one gives out counterfeit money to conceive a secrete, the other one substitutes an alternative phone to tell the truth, while the thief runs first on the street when they meet again in the small town.

The thief runs endlessly, while the secretary easily calls out for more people on the street to catch him together. Regardless of the reason behind catching the "thief", the crowd believes the one who seems to be an upright figure.

After trading the phone containing the photo proof with cash, the secretary found out the phone that the thief gives him is the one that originally belongs to him, instead of the one with the pictures.

Obtaining a satisfying amount of cash, the thief comes to a store to buy some cigarettes with complacency. However, the cash are all counterfeit money. They have lied to each other.

Cash in the air, cash in the air...

The thief splashes around all the counterfeit money to the crowd, watching them catch this money. At this moment, he felt happy again for being equal to an imaginary authoritative person, easily manipulating people's behaviors with disguised benefits.

The crowd abandoned the secretary for the counterfeit money, leaving him running alone again.

It seems the secretary is more practiced on being a thief than the thief. Checking with the surroundings and the conditions vigilantly. In the small town, the secretary finds the thief after all. It's a dead-end street in the residential area.

Taking his suit back from the thief's body, literally leaving nothing for the thief at the end, he beats the thief to the ground. Failed to take back the secret in the thief's phone, because the thief did not give out the password even though he was dying.

Leaving the thief on the ground with his life is uncertain, the secretary called on his phone, asking someone to "do him a favor". The thief posted the secret to the online platform Weibo and ensured it is made published before he finally closed his eyes. The thief dared his life to tell the actual truth to this world.

After a few seconds, the published post is being deleted, due to the the reason of "violation of community guidelines".

The first sieve of the information that we perceive is the so-called truth and equality. The truth to our lives will be discovered by someone who could see this world in both views, someone who sees both from eye levels on the ground, and the aerial view from the sky.

From God’s perspective, I see one person standing with pride and one person crawling on his hands and knees, either crawling forwardly or trying to escape. They compose the so-called equality and the rules, and the truth of the world.

We, architects, see the world on both god’s view and as individuals, being endorsed for the ability to decompose and recompose the world compositions, are relentlessly trying to speak up, and in the meantime, constantly struggling powerlessly