W E S L E Y W A LT E R S PORTFOLIO OF CREATIVE WORK
2010
W E S L E Y W A LT E R S PORTFOLIO OF CREATIVE WORK
2010
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the shape of happiness a modular, scalable object based on natural forms
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topo lamp
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scrap furniture
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rumble
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i heart boy
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letterpress flyer
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drawings
an acrylic lamp made with topographic map data
a record player table made from scrap material
a collaborative art publication between Tokyo and New York
cover design for a photography book
a flyer made for Tokyo Designers Week
figure drawings and illustrations
The Shape of Happiness_01
the shape of happiness a modular, scalable object based on natural forms 2010~ The prompt for this assignment was to give form to an ideal, a concept, or a memory that expresses one’s personal idea of happiness. For a point of departure, I pinpointed the two main elements of the Tokyo lifestyle that clash with my own concept of happiness: a lack of green space and a lack of contact between strangers. To address these factors, I created a modular installation based on the structure of tree branches, where the termination of each individual “branch� can be attached to any other, or can hold a custom-sized candle. Presented as an installation, each visitor is given
one branch and one candle to be placed wherever they please, keeping in mind the inherent instability of a structure that begins with a single vertical and grows larger as it extends upward. Individually, each part can be used as a simple candle holder. Built correctly, this structure can be made quite large, but without a degree of cooperation between participants it will quickly collapse. In this project I address ideas of community and collaboration by creating an object with a simple, individual function that can be connected to make a more complex spatial sculpture.
Part of the challenge was to was to use the 3-D printer and 3-D software program Rhinoceros--technology more often used for high-tech applications--to mimic forms that occur in nature, while creating a single shape that could be repeated hundreds of times while maintaining structural and aesthetic balance.
Installation View 2010
1 The Shape of Happiness_02
1. I searched for an elegant form that could stand alone but would be structurally stable when joined. 2. collected branches and analyzed their form and stability when stacked vertically. 3. A branch was recreated in Rhino and structurally stabilized, then converted to stereolithography data. 4./5. Mock-ups were created to visualize the built structure 6. Output from the 3-D printer was treated, sanded, and reproduced using silicon casts and polyester. Parts were then drilled and fitted with aluminum connectors. 7. Each part can be used individually as a candleholder, or stacked to create a spatial barrier or sculpture.
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topolamp_04
topolamp an acrylic lamp made with topographic map data 2010 When designing the Topo Lamp I challenged myself to make an organic form using inorganic materials and means: acrylic and a laser cutter. Recent backpacking trips in the Northern Alps of Japan inspired me to make a lamp based on a the form of a mountain, so I translated data from a topographic map of a mountain with a particularly appealing
form and adjusted it in Illustrator and Rhinoceros, then cut each individual layer of 3mm acrylic using a laser cutter. This is the second in a series of organic forms made using this process; the first is a wall lamp and I am presently working on a chair.
translucency varies depending on acrylic thickness
topolamp_05
Topographic map data from the Japan Alps
Initial sketches and notes
Map data was transferred to Illustrator where it was cleaned up and exported to a laser cutter.
scrap furniture_06
scrap furniture record player table made from scrap material 2007 The Scrap Chest is one of a series of small pieces made from the scraps of a library redesign I took part in as a fabrication assistant at a design-build architecture firm. After installation was completed, I was put in charge of disposing of the large amount of White Walnut scraps that were imperfect or too small to use. In an effort to avoid waste, I joined and planed many small scraps to make mediumsized boards. These were then milled and joined by hand in the wood shop to make a series of three items of furniture. This piece was made to fit records inside and a record player on top, and to be the perfect height to to play a record.
scrap furniture_07
I used a simple, box-like shape to draw attention to the pattern and color of the wood grain.
rumble_08
rumble collaborative art publication between Tokyo and New York 2009-present Rumble is a collaborative publication based out of both Tokyo and New York City. Written content is compiled and edited by a Brooklyn-based editor and then sent to me to conceptualize and conduct photo shoots, create illustrations, and then lay out all content.
Photos are all self-processed and printed in the darkroom, and text is printed on a letterpress machine whenever possible. Each issue has a theme—the issue featured here is about dreams—that runs throughout both the written and visual content.
Rumble Issue One Dreams
rumble_09
i heart boy_10
i heart boy cover design for a photography book 2010 A series of cover designs for a photo book exploring the male nude. The artist wanted a simple and elegant cover that would showcase the beauty of the male form, but without looking overtly pornographic. Shown here are a series of iterations on this theme. The first iteration used one photo pared with the artist’s logo mark, as well as with two alternative
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typefaces. The second iteration worked with a different photo and broke image and text into two distinct layers. The cover was pared down to the essential information: name, title, and ISBN number. The jacket was printed full-bleed on a matte vellum paper that complements the ethereal quality of light that Ms. Yatrofsky is known for.
letterpress flyer_11
letterpress flyer a flyer made for Tokyo Designers Week 2010 This flier was designed for an exhibition at Tokyo Designers Week that showcased furniture made from Pawlonia wood. To parallel the focus on traditional craftsmanship, I had the design printed at an old letterpress printer and used a rough, one millimeter industrial paper stock made for traditional medicine packages. The front was pressed without ink, using only a deboss, to mirror the pure white design of the exhbition structure. The image on the front is of the growth rings from a cross-section of Pawlonia wood. I also created the bespoke Japanese characters specifically for this project.
Having the design pressed without ink gave a tactile appeal, like touching the Pawlonia wood. The paper surface gave the impression of a topographic map or a snowy field.
The bespoke type was created to mimic the curves of traditional Pawlonia wood furniture. The circle inside a square mirrors the the form of a Pawlonia board and its hollow core.
drawings_12
drawings figure drawing with a live model 2007 - 2008 These drawings were done when I worked as a studio assistant to painters Costa Vavagiakis and Michael Grimaldi at the Art Students League of New York, as well while recipient of a Merit Scholarship at the National Academy of Design. We worked with light, countour, composition and anatomy, while working under the close tutelage of a master painter. The were all done on tinted paper with conte crayon and graphite.
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Illustrations watercolor/graphite 2009