One Thing // The Round Thing

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the round thing




what round thing


What is the first thing that comes to your mind when the word ‘circle’ is mentioned? Answers like shape, borderless, wholeness, union, cycles and focus might appear. Growing up in the Chinese culture, the shape of circle and concept of roundness has a very positive symbolic meaning. A perfect circle is almost impossible to produce by unaided human hands, and this is why I think the shape was valued so much by the Chinese society. It stands for fulfilled, oneness, perfection, and unity. More specifically, it’s the process of something coming full circle that bears the most importance such as family members getting together during festive seasons. This got me thinking into how a basic shape contains so many histories, stories, meanings in different contexts including art, space, architecture, psychology, nature, philosophy and others. I set out to meet and talk with different experts in various areas about the definition of circle to them in terms of their work and their field. The round thing narrates the relationship of circle with individuals from different line of works into little chapters. It is really amazing how everyone sees and thinks differently. After all, all these little stories come together as a full circle in this book, my round thing. What is your round thing?



content

01 once upon a circle

03 the art thing

25 the eye thing

39 the yuan thing

47 a circle a day


1

once upon a circle

A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry that is the set of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. It derives from the Greek word “kirkos” which means “hoop” or “ring”. Circle is not something that exists in nature. It is not something that people discovered like gold and new lands. It is a mental construct and a symbolic representation that was invented much the same as language and the alphabet. We talk about it in every language on earth. It is written about in millions of textbooks and all over the Internet. Natural circles would have been observed, such as the Earth, Sun and Moon. The shape of circle is the basis for the wheel, which, with related inventions such as gears, makes much of modern machinery possible. In mathematics, the study of the circle has helped inspire the development of geometry, astronomy, and calculus.


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There is no way to be certain, but anthropologists generally agree that the circle was created long before recorded history. It is quite likely that it was drawn by a stick in the sand. With the sun being a constant in early man’s existence and the source of all life, it is quite likely that the first circle represented the sun. Circle can be said the most primitive and rudimentary of all human inventions, and at the same time, the most dynamic. It is the foundation in the field of science and technology; it acts as the basic tool of all designers, artists, architects and designers in the history of mankind. Coming from a Chinese background, the shape of circle carries so much histories, meanings, and stories. Chinese people see circles as the symbolization of harmonious and unity. This shape has become so basic, so old and so commonly seen that it has melted into the binary code of our culture. Circles have achieved almost ominous presence in the culture and they are beyond visual, verbal, geometric, and those “lucky” or “unlucky” tags applied to most other symbols. They just are.


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the art thing


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there are no corners,so there is this kind of flow and energy, things move around.

Howard Silverman


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no perfection

Born and raised in New York City and now live in Bristol, Howard is now an artist who based in Spike Island. He paints, builds and plays with different materials in order to create unpredictable pieces of art that constantly fascinates the his audience. I first came across his works through the Spike Island page and it immediately caught my attention with the variation of works he had. Howard’s works has an aspect of eclecticism with the combination of basic geometric forms and new materials. I focus on pieces that contain the element of . He agreed to help me out without a doubt even though he was concerned that he might not be the right person for me to go to.

When it comes to , he thinks that generally geometric forms are things he can hang things on. It is a foundation for him to build things on and of course this does not only apply to but all basic forms. If he is using a triangle, and square format, he expects the boundaries of those things to create different kind of pressure and relationship of what he is doing. One thing he said about a is that there are no corners, so there is a kind of flow and energy, things move around in a way that is something that might not have the right way up, no directions.


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In that context, it is a very simple mechanism for him to develop things without assuming, without having to think about how it is going to be structured. The boundaries of are potentially infinite but there is something curious about how the contains, same way using a fish eye lens to bring everything together and curves everything into one thing. He thinks there are a lot of associations, none of them which he explores very deeply, whether it is about the landscape, planets and things that are bound by the . But, he feels that those things have come very intuitively; the idea of being secured.


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corrugated paper art piece


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corrugated paper art piece


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three dimensional paintings


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three dimensional paintings


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A sketchbook and a set of colour markers were given to him to visualize his thoughts based on circle.

In his opinion, is something neutral, things are happening inside, the flow, around it, radiating. Edges are never clean cut; look at it underneath a microscope, rough edges appear due to the continuous flux of molecules. Things happen around it, molecules move back and forth holding together. Human are atoms put together loosely walking together. It is a realization, not given to try to create clean things. The surfaces of those things are what intrigue him; he rather tear something up and cut it. He uses geometric forms in a way people see it and paints on them to defines the form, sometimes not really certain of what he is doing, but he starts to break up the space, putting on marks and building internal things.

He also mentioned that there is no perfection and he is not interested in perfection. Imperfection makes things interesting. In Islamic culture, you are supposed to leave an imperfection or irregularity as a mistake when you are building something to learn something from it and also the fact that God is perfect. He is not religious or opposing anything but just the idea that life is not perfect is an interesting concept. Let say you are building something; you have a tile that is irregular and broken in the corner. The whole thing is a beautiful structure, it is a kind of cohesion for him, it kind of moves along with the irregularity, they both contrast each other and provide impact. He kept his drawing simple, neutral and black.


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things are contained within a core object and life comes out from that.

Seamus Staunton


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break & build

A sculptor who is born and raised in London and now live in Bristol, he started to work at Spike Island since 1998. Seamus studied at Canterbury College of Art and St Martin’s School of Art. As an experienced sculptor, his works appear to have been crafted with a passion for oceanic rhythms and sounds. I got in contact with Seamus through my meeting with Howard. Seamus has always been very interested in the landscape architecture and how shapes interact with the urban space. He shared with me on how the shape of influences him during the process of creating his past and current work pieces.


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Seamus makes wall based work piece and free standing outdoor sculpture. He compared with the roundness of an egg, there is a potential of something growing out from that. It is like how seeds and bulbs work, they tend to be round, just like us human; we started from the formation of an egg. All these things are contained within a core object and life comes out from that, there is this kind of concentration going on. has this power of drawing one into the center as well, something like a target, the feeling of containing. As Seamus is really interested in the potency of sound and the way music maps emotion and mood, he sees as rhythm, movement and dynamism because they are open ended. So he tends to work with geometry and curves a lot to construct the distinct movement. Instead of a full , he often breaks it up into sections and joins them in various ways to create loop movement.


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Chorus, St Michael’s Hospital


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Chorus, St Michael’s Hospital


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Chorus, St Michael’s Hospital


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Landed, Tonbridge School Chapel


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The same sketchbook and set of colour markers were given to him to visualize his thoughts based on circle.

With his colourful building model sitting right in front of him, Seamus took out all the vibrant colours and drew a few circles freely. To him it is just sort of a basic loop to create that certain buoyancy. It is interesting how his drawing resembles bits and pieces of element from his past and current work.

A very different visual compared to Howard’s, I feel this cheerful rhythm from Seamus’s . Every single detail he creates has a distinct relationship with the architecture and urban space. He has his unique way in playing with bold and vibrant colours to create playful and harmonious pieces.


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the eye thing


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it is like looking through a very dirty window.

Aaron Mcpeake


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similarly different

Before Aaron lost most of his eyesight, he used to work as a stage lighting designer for ballet and theatre. In the year 2002, he returned to arts education and works full time as an artist now. He received a 1st class honours degree in Arts, Design and Environment from Central Saint Martins (2005) and a PhD at Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2012. He works with numerous media from casting interactive bell-bronze sculptures to filmaking, and photography. I am really glad to meet this London based artist himself because his dedication and works really inspired me a lot.


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Aaron got this disease known as Behcet’s Syndrome, which is common in the Middle East, Asia, and Japan, but not here. Behcet’s Disease is an autoimmune disease that results from damage to blood vessels throughout the body, particularly veins. In an autoimmune disease, the immune system attacks and harms the bodies’ own tissues.

The exact cause of this disease is still unknown. Basically the eyes will swell up, just imagine a photograph at the back of eye being squashed up, and you can never make it flat again. The optics is fine but the retinas are damaged. What I see is all blur; it is like looking through a very dirty window.


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Singing Bowls


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Bullet Bells


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While Aaron was studying, he did a research about artists who lost their eyesight, unfortunately most of them are not alive anymore. He then widened his research to not just artist, but people. As a result, he found out that there is a lot of psychology involve, because if you lose your eyesight, you have to relearn everything in terms of doing things.

But what surprised Aaron the most was that artists still continue to make similar work with similar style. Losing one’s eyesight only affects the practical aspect; they still do the same thing but just change their method. Everything can be done as long as one has the determination.

He enjoys making bells because he loves the fact that normally when people go and see things especially sculpture, they cannot touch them, whereas people are able to interact with his work. They look, touch, feel and listen to it; the notion of listening is able to remind one about something personal, so it is not just about artist telling a message. He prefers his audience to connect with his work with their personal stories.


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About , he thinks there are a lot of different things, , in English we have the word ‘ring’, the wedding ring and the sound. A bell rings in circular motion; the sound is listening to itself. If we were to put all the bells out, and start to ring one of them, the others will start ringing as well. We will be able to see it shake, they ring each other, the vibration is speaking. So the , the acoustic, the way sound works, it is like when one throws a pebble into a pond, ripples will be formed. Although the perfect , they say it is not in nature, it is because we have radiation, so it moves in a concentric of waves.

In order for a very good sound, one will need a , look at all the musical instrument like trumpets, they are all circular. So there is a notion of things radiate and sound travels better in circular motion. He also thinks that represents cycles, seasons, days, weeks, months and years. That cycle is circular. Even our whole life is a cycle, when we get old our memory of childhood become more vivid. A perfect is just an idea, surrounds us; it acts as both a shape and a metaphor.


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Toll


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Toll


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I passed him my sketchbook and set of colour markers to visualize his thoughts based on circle.

Aaron picked up a black marker because it is more visible for him and started to fill up the page with circular arrows. He said that it represents how sounds travel in direction in circular motion which I think relates to most of his bells and gongs work a lot. He reminds all of us to not let anything hold us back, just do it and make things happen.


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the yuan thing


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it is more than just a circle, it shapes our culture, our attitude.

Lai Heng Ho


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think round

“Yuan� is the Chinese pronounciation for circle, it carries the definition of wholeness, completion and everything. The traditional Chinese way of life, in theory, advocates the harmony and order among the individual, the family and society; like a full circle. Family is the basic unit of society in our culture, while individuals are only one part of the family. The idea of tracing back ancestry is still the most powerful centripetal force of the Chinese nation. A distinguished ancestor will bring pride to his descendants for thousands of years. The many descendants of eminent leaders will not sully the name of their ancestors no matter what the consequences. Thus the harmony and stability of families and clans are the assurance of peace and the advancement of society.


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For Chinese people, dining is one of the most pleasurable activities, best exemplifying harmony and order. The convention followed at the Chinese table is the use of round table. The round table permits seating by hierarchy. Besides that, round table is believed to express Metal Feng Shui element in Feng Shui decor. Circular decor items bring in the energy of clarity, preciseness, freshness and equality into our home. We usually prefer round table in the areas where family members spend time together such as living room and dining room.


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Candles, Mid-Autumn Festival 2012


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Steamboat, Chinese New Year Eve 2013


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a circle a day

Daniel Eatock hand drew five hundred circles on A3 sheets During the course of his career, he estimates that he has drawn over 10,000 circles with pencil on letter-size paper, some much better than others. It is diagram of circular thinking, a sign of the loop and a physical link connecting beginnings and ends. Drawing a circle by hand is also a challenge that measures skill and the idea of measurement itself. I attempted to draw one circle everyday for a month and look at the result.



by shin


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