Foundations of Design : REPRESENTATION, SEM1, 2017 M4 JOURNAL - FRAME vs FIELD Monique Hillier
914836 Emmanuel Cohen Studio 1
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WEEK 9 READING: Perspective as a symbolic form
INVISIBLE CITY: PERINTHIA
Question 1: What are Durer’s rules for perspectival projection? Durer was a German artist who is now regarded as one of the first artists to depict scenes in a scientific way1 and define perspective in detail. This reading explores his three rules about perspectival projection. The first is that all perpendicular lines meet at a vanishing point, which represents visual rays that all extrude from the eye. The second is that all parallels also meet at a mutual vanishing point. The last rule explains that objects of the same size shrink increasingly as they progress into the distance, meaning the picture becomes measurable and predictable, hence a scientific depiction2.
Albrecht Dürer. Draughtsman Making a Per-
spective Drawing of a Reclining Woman. 1600, Woodcut. Acessed 10 May 2017. Met Museum Collection.
Question 2: Describe homogenous space. Panovsky explains that homogenous space exists when all elements of one space relate to one another to determine their positions only in relation to other elements of the same space. The word ‘homogenous’ itself defines things that are “of the same kind”3. Thus elements of homogenous space are all alike; they do not stand independent of each other and have no individual significance, but only have value where they are positioned against other elements. Homogenous space is always constructed space, because there is no natural variety4.
1. Trinity College Library 1965, “Dürer and perspective,” Treasures From The Collection, 26 May 2014, Sourced from https://trinitycollegelibrarycambridge.wordpress. com/2014/05/26/durer-and-perspective/ 2. Erwin Panovsky, Perspective as Symbolic Form (New York: Zone Books, 1991), 27-29 3. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/homogeneous 4. . Panovsky, Perspective as Symbolic Form, 30-31.
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Old QUAD ISOMETRIC
Old ISOMETRIC WITH NOTATIONS CITIES & THE SKY 4: PERINTHIA
Key Perspective 1 Perspective 2 Hope Despair Movement Crowd
0
1m
2.5m
5m
Passage of time Darkness
Isometric south-east view of the constructed old quad.
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The isometric shows Marco Polo’s movements and reactions in the two parts of the story. In his first position, he looks at the astronomers. He then goes up to them, shown by the arrows, and has a pleasant conversation with them, shown by the symbol of lightness. The he walks next to them and time passes by, showed by the transition through time symbol, and looks into the ‘future’, where the city has become a monstrocity. He does not go up to this space as he is scared and wants to stay away from the chaos, thus he does not move from this last viewpoint. He can see this area shrowded in darkness, having a very heavy mood and filled with many people from the city.
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old quad perspective 1 + 2
perspective scenes 1 + 2 View 1: I chose this central view because it shows how the astonomers and the centre of the city - the controllers and creaters. They are the starting point. I also thought that the symmetry of the view created a feel of harmony and peace, which i wanted to convey in the hopeful beginning of the story.
View 2: This view is more closed off and in the corner to convey a feeling of being trapped to emphasise the horror-like feel of my second scene when the city is full of monssters and deformed people.
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For my first scene i focused on the beginning of the story. I used Rennaisance style images as they are an italian art syle of the 14th-16th century, the period when Marco polo lived and wrote “Livres des merveilles du monde”, and this suits the setting of the story. I wanted this scene to be idealistic and dreamy because the astronomers are envisioning and romanticising the idea of the city they would creare by looking at astrology and the heavens. The shadows are from the early morning sun and the overall colour is quite light because i wanted to reflect the hope for the city and symbolise a new beginning. Symbols such as angels, God and the cross refer to the Roman Catholic religion, and the planets, compass and stars symbolise anstronomy. I aimed to encapsulate the visions and thoughts of the astronomers in this scene. For my second scene i focused on the period in the future when the city grew and developed but turned wrong and frightening. The colour of this scene is dark are there are horror like elements such as rats, cobwebs, screaming people and graffiti to create an eerie aesthetic. The story mentions that cripples, fat men and bearded ladies who roam the strees, all of which are included. I have used vintage photos instead of paintings to symbolise a movement forward in time periodsand generations. The ominous devil looks over the scene at the top now, not a god, to show how the astronomers were wrong and the horiffic city reflected what was up in the ‘heavens’. I have put a wall and a street in the background to show have the city has been built up over time, instead of original, bare landscape.
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WEEK 10 READING: Mapping the unmappable
Final drawings CITIES & THE SKY 4: PERINTHIA
Question 1: What is the difference between autographic and allographic practice? These final drawings together tell the story of Marco Polo walking through and experiencing the city as well as showing his view on what he sees. The Isometric is kept relatively simple to avoid confusion and an overload of symbols so his movements can be understood easily. The isometric helps the viewer to understand the contrasting images of my story, and explains that a great deal of time passes between the two images, which is crucial in understanding the second perspective.
Philosopher Nelson Goodman describes art beign represented in two forms; autographic and allographic. Authographic practice is unchanging and fixed, as it is only truly authentic when it is produced by the one artist; much like a painting. In opposition, Allographic practice is able be intepreted in different ways or subject to change, due to the readable and replicable nature of its form, which can be seen for example in a musical score or a poem1.
Key Perspective 1 Perspective 2
Question 2: Why do architects need new representational techniques?
Hope Despair Movement
As architecture in the modern world becomes increasingly more complex and needs of the people change, the techniques used to respresent these progressive forms must accomodate for this. Modern technology allows architects to accurately represent more complicated designs in order to be read and understood by designers, clients and builders alike. These new programs allow for new dimensions and a new materiality to be experienced2.
Crowd
0
1m
2.5m
Passage of time
5m
Darkness
Perspective 1
Perspective 2
1. Allen, Stan. Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation. (Abingdon: Psychology Press, 2000), 30-35. 2. Allen, Stan. Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation. 36-45
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