Visual interpretation of an a collaborating artists mug.
Joing two different types of mug/cup together creates the idea of individuality and i need for identity. Having the mugs placed in this position make them unfunctional for their usual mundane purpose, but create a new way of using the mug and it makes it easier for two people to utilise even if this isnt very functional.
Lasertran - Thinking of ways to attach ourselves and our concepts to the designs themselves. We began to look at how the positioning of our hands and mouths fitted with the mugs when drinking from them while being attached to eachother. This meant we had to find new ways to use the design which created a work ethic to physically drink, as well as creating the design of the cup under the same constraints.
We thought about using imagery of mouths/ lips dribbles of a paint put to mimic the artistic environment with a newer and cleaner aesthetic. We also thought about leaving a print with your hands mimicking where we place our hands as attached collaboraters.
Bitten cup experiments
The personal identity or trace of an individual. Making a mark to make an object personal. Questions the identity within collaboration. Does collaboration create an entirely new person? Artists, Gilbert and George become one person through their connection. Also looking at whether lip/ teeth mark make the design aesthetically more pleasing or create a better experience physically for the user as a collaborator.
Changing the perspective of a cup and how we use it, as well as looking at the material and how we become detached from its properties within a mass produced market.
Images of the biscuit fired containers we made to experiment with bite marks and joining cups together.
Cup Design Ideas
Unfunctionality
for
one
purpose
can
be
functional
for
another.
Creating and developing our work practically is something we are looking at documenting and responding to as well as the final designs. The process of us making these us restrictive and a struggle whilst working as joint collaborative artists. Therefore we change our working ethic and outcomes depending on how we handle and discuss the designs together.
Different ways of connecting the cups together to create a joint container which we both can use at the same time. Mugs are used for drinking and for paint pots in an artists studio environment. The mundane object of a cup can be manipulated to create new and innovative ways of using it. Bending the clay to make the cup fit our hand shape changes the design to be for the specific user rather than being a generic shape.
Other Ideas Face/ Lip marks on the cups. Both of our faces to show the attachment we are working within but also the different identities that we maintain. Laser tran an image of a tea bag into the bottom of a cup - normalising the ideas of everyday life so that they leave a trace. The teeth ing device
marks in the for the artists
cup could paintbrushes/
be a pencils/
Manipulating the cup to not visually represent its original purpose at all.
Moulding the cups together so that they hold the same water but are still aesthetically two cups. Joining the designs together allowing two people to use still. Lasertran could be used to mimic a fish eye lens of our faces drinking from the cup. This mmay be difficult due to the qualities of the lasertran material, which might crease and fold the image.
holdpens.
Designing the cups so that we can make them function for a collaborative attached duo as best as possible. Investigating the way you drink, sip, hold the cup and move your head when drinking.
Ways of holding the mug as an attached pair.
Designing the mug so that we can both hold it the way we like to. Experimenting with holding mugs and placing them together.
Divding a cup to contain the same liquid but maintain personal space? Idea of creating a new space within the mug. Aesthetics of a smooth or square based cup. Need to design the cups from scratch?
Finger prints in mug - grip and comfort
Using the cup as a storage utensil. Creating a separate container within the mug to hold pens etc. Specifically for an artists paint mug.
Joining the cups together to create something that can be used by the both of us. We want the design to be aesthetically pleasing but also be very functional for our needs. The function of the design may be useless for a singular person. We need to create our own mug and cup moulds either from our own chosen cups or create a whole new design. Either way we will be manipulating and moulding the cups together.
Hands holding mugs
Drawing around the outline of our hands around the mugs gave us an idea of how we interconnected when drinking from the cups and what kind of design we might make. Our hands may come into the design, by attaching ourselves to the design or interlocking us with the handle in some way. It also showed us the variation in which you hold a cup and made us consider what it is that makes a cup comforting to hold.
Hands and Storage options
We drew on the mugs so that we could see where our hands met with the cups, we then altered the design of the joint cups to cater for this. This created quite an interesting and obscure shape, however the design was quite estimated.
We also looked at different ways we could design the cup to store different artistic utensils and ways of making a cup more helpful for an artist who is using it as a paint pot.