NATURAL PHENOMENON

In the first year, the seminal set of projects revolved around site and natural phenomena. As a vessel to explore these subjects, students were tasked to investigate Peet’s Hill in Bozeman, Montana. One of the key points of interest was the rolling hills that showed the connection between the higher plane and a lower creek area. The creek was a much lower section of the transect, surrounded by trees and providing protection to the creek itself. On the top of the plane, much of the grass had been formed into a spiral shape due to the wind’s force. To document these phenomena, a panoramic view was created through a photography collage, highlighting natural rhizomes.

As a further exploration to natural phenomena in Peet’s Hill, pattern studies were conducted revolving around void spaces in cut leaves created by leafcutter ants. This exploration evolved into a variation of abstractions conveying the narrative of this natural process.

The Machine explores the element of water as an erosive force and man-kind’s role in pollution. The physical exploration consisted of recycled components that act as a Rube Goldberg machine, highlighting the motions of mechanical wear and tear. This physical exploration was then abstracted to the human narrative in which the focus was the erosion and destruction of the human body.