Week 12 Studio: Final manifesto

Uncategorized, Year 2 Semester 2

10th iteration:

I went a bit more poetic with the way i formatted the text in this one. i think by establishing a rhythm through out the text it makes the final line have a stronger impact to the reader really bringing home the point. I also started playing with colour and carrying on the theme of caution and hazard sign tying in my part two project.

Presentation development:

colour

subtle boundaries

I was thinking it could be a cool continuation of the idea of taking care where you step by laying my manifesto on the floor to see if anyone stands on it – tread lightly, the affect of our actions on others. Gathering marks and footprint which then affects how its perceived for the next viewer and exploring this idea of being weary of your actions in your environment as they affect others.

Final iteration of manifesto:

Explain design decisions:

I used the colour and format of a caution sign to really bring home the theme of taking care and being cautious. I used a font that was clear to read but also bold and made a statement. To emphasis the caution sign style I added an image that is commonly used for caution signs when telling people to watch their step. Its a universally acknowledged sign that doesn’t require the use of the english language to understand. I chose a ‘falling’ image where the man was falling forwards as I focus on the forward motion of time in my manifesto.

Week 11 Studio: Manifesto development

Uncategorized, Year 2 Semester 2

Developing concept:

I chatted with Rachel about my manifesto concept and my work up until this point which helped me to refine what my main focus was.

When thinking about the space that is Orewa Beach, it is time specific, tide specific which then affects the spaces peak occupancy.

In my part two I started to think more about what our actions do to the space and how that can effect other peoples experiences especially when considering having to be cautious and prevent/protect from injury or destruction.

Taking care of space is a theme that came up which I actually really value and I think it is important to consider how do we touch the ground.

What does it mean to tread lightly and engage the social in that frame of mind.

I then went to see who else has said this.

Artist research:

Aviva Rahmani – Blued Trees

https://www.ghostnets.com/projects/blued_trees_symphony/blued_trees_symphony.html

Rahmani uses her art as a mode of claiming space; for protection from environmental damage. I didn’t realise how powerful art can actually be on the social dynamics regarding a space. By implementing her blue markings on these trees and copy righting her work, she was able to disrupt plans for installing natural gas pipelines in New York State. Art always opens up discussion so the output of this intervention isn’t just that the pipelines cant be built but that the issue of fossil fuels and the disastrous effect of these kinds or companies is highlighted and brought to the centre of discussion further aiding her cause of fighting human pollution.

Andy Goldsworthy:

Goldsworthy works exclusively with natural materials and his sculptures/works are then combined with the natural process of the environment that he creates them in. He often documents the final output through photographs. I like that his works are conscious about not adding anything to an existing environment but re imaging its composition. I love his piece ‘Rain Shadow’ and the relationship that is explored through the elements involved. Canvas, dirt, rain and a person. If one of the elements were missing it would be a completely different output. It’s a great way of capturing a moment in time. When you look at it you can practically feel the rain.

http://www.artnet.com/artists/andy-goldsworthy/

Rain Shadow – https://www.artsy.net/artwork/andy-goldsworthy-rain-shadow-2-25-january-2010-west-26th-street-new-york

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-nine-artists-respond-to-climate-change

Agnes Denes

Agnes is most famous for her planted interventions. More specifically ‘Wheatfield’.

“Planting and harvesting a field of wheat on land worth $4.5 billion created a powerful paradox. Wheatfield was a symbol, a universal concept; it represented food, energy, commerce, world trade, and economics. It referred to mismanagement, waste, world hunger and ecological concerns. It called attention to our misplaced priorities. The harvested grain traveled to twenty-eight cities around the world in an exhibition called “The International Art Show for the End of World Hunger”, organized by the Minnesota Museum of Art (1987-90). The seeds were carried away by people who planted them in many parts of the globe.”

http://www.agnesdenesstudio.com/works7.html

By implementing an environmental installation in a place like wall street you are engaging the social contexts of trade, development, modern society, city living. ‘Wheatfield’ is such a stark contrast the the surrounding environment which provides a new perspective when viewing the concrete jungle and how unnatural it actually is. It does make you stop and think about what we value as a society. She also has an interest in time, putting the documentation of ‘Wheatfield’ in a time capsule to be opened in a thousand years from the time of the project. I think this is such a great addition to the whole project as it keeps our society acountable. we cant forget about what we learnt when engaging with ‘Wheatfield’ as we will be reviewed as to how we moved forward as a society once that time capsule is opened.

Olafur Eliasson:

https://m.theartstory.org/artist/eliasson-olafur/

2 more iterations:

In my 8th manifesto I was playing with the layout of a welcome mat with the bold writing going across the middle of the page. If i was to develop it further i could turn it into more of a caution sign using bright colours and having it stand on a post.

My 9th manifesto used a larger text size making it easier to read than the 8th. I don’t love this one it seems a bit boring and simple. I need to develop my text some more to strengthen my main point and make my ideas clear to someone who may not come from a design background.

Week 10 Studio: Manifesto Development

Uncategorized, Year 2 Semester 2

Next three manifestos:

In manifesto 4 I was trying to convey the ripple effect with the manifesto at the centre being the initial ‘drop’ to cause the ripple.

The feedback I got for this one was that Lucy thought it looked more like a target than a ripple. She also posed the question of what causes a ripple. Is it the water that effects the stone or visa versa.

In manifesto 5 I don’t really know why I put lines through some of the words. I think I was trying to highlight key words in the manifesto but I didn’t have a strong reason as to why or why those words. I quite like the text going in the two different directions. They relate quite well together.

Manifesto 6 was a reworking of manifesto one. I was drawing on the format of a ‘Yes/No’ quiz map in the flow of the documents. I was also drawing on the idea of meandering rivers with the lay out of the lines.

More analysis of manifestos:

I Am for an Art: Claes Oldenburg on His 1961 “Ode to Possibilities”

https://walkerart.org/magazine/claes-oldenburg-i-am-for-an-art-1961

Oldenburgs ode is very poetic with the rhythm of starting each line with ‘i am’. It creates a powerful flow and makes you engage with whats being said. I like that it also opens your eyes to the broadness of what art can be. That art isn’t just the classic painting hung up in museums but in the intricate details of modern life.

The Why Cheap Art manifesto:

https://d2w9rnfcy7mm78.cloudfront.net/5261790/original_b7600c6069f37431494f74af5c0770db.jpg?1571236831?bc=0

The use of different fonts and capital letters brings variety to the page emphasising the idea that art comes in many forms. This also brings emphasis to different words in the manifesto.

The use of explanation marks in the second half of the text ramps up the pace combined with the slow increase of the size of the text as we move down the page. The urgency increases.

The use of strong statements, then similies, then the key statement ‘Art is Cheap’ acts as a finale for the manifesto and frames that key statement nicely.

A 38-Point Design Manifesto :

https://nodesignonstolen.land/

I really like this manifesto. Its orderly and concise which I think is a testament to the list format. Its very simple in its presentation not letting anything take away from the main point. The language used is very self assured and inspires action from people. Each point starts off with a brief statement which is then expanded on a little. this creates the tone of this call to action. Its an instruction.

Week 9: Manifestos

Uncategorized, Year 2 Semester 2

Manifesto Definition:

noun, plural man·i·fes·toes.

a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, as one issued by a government, sovereign, or organization.

Formats:

  1. List
  2. Poem
  3. Graphic Poster
  4. Report/article

This manifesto is very poetic in writing and uses abstract ideas to communicate the main point. The use of Font, text size and layout slowly draws you in as you focus in on the smaller texts creating a playful tone.

This manifesto is very direct and clear as it breaks down their process in a list with a clear font. No nonsense document.

This manifesto grabs your attention with the graphics used which then leads you to the message of the text focusing on our relationship with objects. The bold ‘Nice, very nice, nice’ captures your attention straight away.

The use of font and layout are very clean and orderly. The text itself plays a game of tug of war with each statement leaving you perplexed as to how ‘worth it’ it is to be a sculptor.

Yvonne Rainer is an American Dancer who’s reconsidered manifesto is a personal reflection on her past views. It’s very clear to understand and interesting how her perspective has evolved. It almost feels like a conversation.

The use of the hands on this manifesto ties into the message of a thumbs up ‘like’ referred to in the text. Its taking the thumbs up symbol and extrapolating it to open the space for discussion.

Things to consider when analysing a manifesto –

Tone

Layout

Connection between tone and layout

Concepts applied through the layout, text format and content of writing e.g. the title is missing its top half, does the text then cut out certain things like adfectives or is very to the point? no waffle?

who wrote it?

what was their context?

Analysing Pink Elephant Manifesto as a group:

What is it and why is it like that?

First Draft of my Manifesto:

The relationship between people and spaces is an on going fluxuating being. Each person has a unique relationship and perspective towards their surroundings formed out of their personal experience and personality. As I designer I choose to highlight these perspectives and challenge the why or call attention to their actions/ reactions. And to highlight how your relationship to/with a space can then affect others.

  • A space/place is never just your own
  • Everything we do/touch is connected
  • Its all just a matter of perspective/outlook

Thursday:

My first three manifestos:

In manifesto 1 I was trying to explore how everything is linked like a map or a root system where an action of one person effects the experience of the next. I also chose a script font where the letters flow onto the next to continue this theme. As I made more manifestos I found that this one was my least favourite.

In manifesto 2 I went for a minimal approach. I used italics to keep everything slanted and a list format to my punchy and to the point.

In my 3rd manifesto I played with the space on the document trying to arrange the letters in a random order to catch peoples attention with the manifesto at the bottom of the page. The letters of ‘space’ almost acts as a path drawing your eye down the page to the manifesto.

Feedback I got from Lucy on my manifestos was to not speak so generally with my ideas or concepts I was exploring. To complicate my sentences and explain them in a clear concise way.

Week 8 Studio: Documentation Artefact

Uncategorized, Year 2 Semester 2

Iteration development:

After getting some feedback on my proposals I started to think more conceptually as to why I wanted to cause this disruption. What was the why of my intervention.

I started thinking more about Orewa in regards to hazards and having to be cautious.

Erosion in Orewa is common place as it gets hit quite hard by storms and you often see temporary fences up to protect people from the sheer drop that has now developed. Also by keeping people off the banks it protects them from further erosion by people.

Access to Orewa beach will be limited while the sand replenishment work is carried out.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/rodney-times/100689391/auckland-council-explains-how-sand-replenishment-fights-erosion-at-orewa-beach

https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/articles/news/2018/1/works-to-begin-on-orewa-beach/#:~:text=Orewa%20beach%20was%20badly%20affected,just%20over%20a%20year%20ago.

These protective barriers bring up the question of what are we protecting. The environment? The people? What are people prioritising with their safety measures.

This article is an interesting conversation of what different people want to do to help deal with the issue of erosion in Orewa. You can see what people value by what tactic they side with and what they wish to protect.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/rodney-times/99853605/protective-seawall-rejected-after-walkway-transformation

– in my initial proposal I had drawn a lot of caution tape used to section off the stair way. In my implemented intervention I did a simple strand at the top of the stairs and one at the bottom of the stairs. Enough to signal warning but not aggressive enough to deter people from ducking under it. This gives room for people to move around the tape if they deicide thats the best way forward. This might show that people value you their time more than a shared path way or their physical well being.

Documenting my final intervention process:

Observation notes from 10am-5pm:

  • Person walking on beach who was already on beach disregarded the tape
  • Old bench Sitter looked for what could be the problem 
  • Had to double take and then carried on 
  • Dog walker detour to get down to beach
  • Cars turning around to go elsewhere 
  • Old man ignored it and got help to duck under tape by seperate party
  • Wife found another way around 
  • Mum and kid crawling 
  • Old mate walked through both ends just coz at 4:23 (white older male)
  • Immediately followed by a seperate dog walker who used the stairs to come up
  • Didn’t think twice 
  • Once tape was broken people didn’t seem to think twice about using stairs 
  • Lady who had detoured earlier came up through the broken tape, checked it out after but still walked through 

Presentation ideas:

I wanted to incorporate the tape in my final presentation somehow. I had the idea to connect each page with the tape so that there is the option to string it up somewhere and still be used as caution tape.

Final presentation:

Something that I hadn’t planned but was a happy accident was that the yellow line at the bottom of each page lines up with the line on the top of the next creating a great aesthetic flow across the document. Due to the pages all being connected when you lifted off the first page the yellow line connected the pages as well as the caution tape.

Week 6 Studio: Laying out the Map

Uncategorized

Minimal interventions research/performance based practices:

Fluids a happening by Allen Kaprow:

I love the relational aspect of Kaprows Happenings. Fluids has two different audiences, the one who builds the ice structure and the ones who happen upon it. This creates different experiences for the two parties. I love the fluidity of the project that no one structure will perform the same as the next. The structure is in partnership with the sun and its environment. They have to work together to create the art. “each occurrence is unique and each person’s experience different.” Depending on when you encounter the structure your experience will be different even if you visit it multiple times. I really like that concept and will try and work it into my final proposals.

Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty:

https://publicdelivery.org/robert-smithson-spiral-jetty-utah/amp/

His concept is very simple, mainly playing with the passage of time. It isn’t created to draw lots of attention. It is more of an invitation for critics to interpret the installation in their own way. I really like that depending on water levels over the years it’s not always visible. It weathers with its environment mutating through the different seasons. I thought it was interesting that many critics didn’t feel the need to actually visit the site unlike Kaprow’s works which rely on the audience to be fully realised.

Laying out the map

Did something come out of the documentation that might drive these proposals? 

– the history of the beach being a hazardous place

– the beach is a communal, shared space not just for all people but animals and wildlife as well

-a lot of observing happens at the beach

Any hunches, intuitions, gravitational pulls? 

-there are a lot of knock on effects that can happen in the environment. eg. tides affect how many people go walking on the beach, people laying down towns makes people alter their path to go around.

Has something emerged from the documentation of others, that might shift the direction of the project?

-the way I feel towards different interactions could either develop the concept or hinder me from exploring ideas further.

Do you want to extend social activity that occurs, or introduce? 

-i’m wanting to extend social activity that occurs in a more abstract way. Using a concept that applies to the site but in an unusual form of presentation to the norm.

My Parameters:

  • a performance space
  • highlights social behaviours in a new way
  • connects people through their actions in the past to people in the present/future
  • connects people to their environment
  • Abstract presentations of common concepts

‘Like-minded Projects’

Proposal development:

I have chosen to situate my proposals on the area of Orewa beach that sits in front of the Koho Street entrance.

Proposal one:

Beach Yoga

To lay down a handful of yoga mats in an orderly format with one at the front of the others. The concept I am wanting to explore is the idea of physical activity on the beach being something of a performance. My intention for this proposal is to bring attention to the extent that people look into others space. This intervention would have to occur during mid-low tide to ensure they have enough space.

Proposal Two:

Hazard Sign by the water

Drawing on the old ideas about the beach that it is a dangerous place, I will erect a hazard sign on the waters edge cautioning people about entering the water. I would use the bright yellow and black that is universally recognised as a warning sign so even if you can’t read it you know what it’s trying to say. My intention for this proposal is to highlight how dangerous the beach/ natural environment can be. Overall Orewa is a pretty tame beach but there are times when it is quite hazardous. As New Zealanders we think the beach is our friend and but mother nature is friend to no one.

History of the Beach:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018680569/the-history-of-the-nz-beach-holiday

https://teara.govt.nz/en/beach-culture/print?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=892cdb938ea40b5450d3bc41a349b2f418af3629-1598918180-0-AZ7Udyc7uoEOkeI3gsq88cOVWR-ol4umzDuk8D_ZhuBvIPGwENPcaEK0PjORfxRqX5J5DB54q35jrwrVcfMRYDz_Dpe0U7yQWAvMr78fsFXzdZNe6F-TSUt3Fr8x6HWDUdZrQa8aEaHXeGhHVSdyk6tHZZaIY_Ahiux3b7HOKT2fUnaFOuTv4UuAl_o8loAwI5gn_Prbs3AQkfcmtSVPWtrF6LeI7siSD4FC2MUV962Dp0gdJ3f-Pqve6w3UBW3vM_MR7-6HkGxjnyrd7Vi4cX9YZWmcTlW22fvtRf-eMoI7ULcAGEoKr-DHousRZw7Fnw

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/inventing-beach-unnatural-history-natural-place-180959538/

Week 7 Studio: Proposals

Year 2 Semester 2

Proposal development:

Proposal 3

No access

Orewa has a grass/ sandy bank that separates the beach from the street. There are stairways dotted along the length of the beach to make it easy to get down it. For this proposal I want to use caution tape to tape off the access point at Koho Street. My intention for this proposal is to challenge peoples eagerness to access the beach and seeing how they navigate a new path. It would also be interesting to see how the hazard tape is received when theres no evidence of a hazard on the stair way.

Proposal 4

Hop scotch

One of the reasons people go to the beach it to have fun, relax and escape from the mundane routines of everyday life. I want to put in place a hopscotch game in front of the access point on Kohu street to invite people to actively engage with a game and loosen up in a visible way. The concept i’m exploring through this proposal is the physical outworking of someones internal processes.

Proposal 5

Beach Lounging

The concept i’m exploring with this proposal is what does it mean to relax on the beach. A lazy beach day. We have an idea in our head of what that looks like or should look like but i want to combine two ‘relaxed’ environments, the beach and the lounge, and see how it’s received by passerbys. I want to challenge the status quo on how we spend our time and how we set up our temporary space on the beach.

Further development on proposals:

In fleshing out my proposals,I have done some sketches but found that drawing on top of photos for context like Christo and Jeanne worked really well for portraying my ideas. I used a yellow oil pastel and a led pencil on each image to create some continuity.

I worked through the who, why, when, where and hows of each proposal also.

I’ve created a site map to locate where on the beach these proposals will be implemented and to provide a bit more context to the area.

I have altered the beach yoga proposal. slightly adding in that the ‘class’ will be filmed on a tripod furthering the idea of it being some kind of performance. This might make people more intrigued.

Presentation brainstorm:

I want to draw on the themes of the beach with its organic shapes and us the yellow colour from the drawn on photos to create a cohesive compilation of documents that obviously all belong to each other. Much like Kaprow, I want the look of my proposals to communicate to the critic that they are all by the same artist.

Final Proposals and revised statement:

Week 5 Studio: Part Two Intro

Year 2 Semester 2

Inventory:

To create my inventory I systematically made my way through the different rooms in my house and tried to create flat lays of the different materials and tools I came across. I found this really helpful in terms of changing the way I think about what qualifies as a tool or material and opened my thinking up to what else could be utilised around the house.

Thursday:

 Inventories

For week 6:

We would like you to write 300 words as part of this exercise to situate your ideas. This writing should be supported by maps/diagrams to contextualise your thinking around your project:

When thinking about how I might intervene/interfere within my chosen space (Orewa Beach) i think it would be interesting to explore the idea of combining a term that I derived from my observation and tease it out drawing on how we perceive the same word but in a different context not related to the beach. For example I noted that people often go to the beach to relax. This can look like a walk along the beach, sitting watching the water, or catching up with friends. But when I think of the word relax, separate from the beach, I think of a couch or a space that I can lay down, sit and be comfortably supported. 

In my observation of the space I found that people abide by unspoken social ‘rules’ such as accessing the beach where they are supposed to, picking up dog poop, respecting each other’s space etc. Another idea that i think could be interesting to explore, either through the reimagining of a term like relaxing or just on its own, is altering these social ‘rules’ causing people to rethink how they interact with the space. This could be something like tieing hazard tape on the stairway that leads to the beach. 

My intention for my intervention is to cause people to rethink or stop and ask why we use the beach the way we do and consider if there’s a better, more interesting, more fun, more comfortable way of utilising the space. When we ignore the social norms of beach use how do people react, interact with the change or new way of thinking. As open and versatile as the beach is there are still quite a lot of social constraints about how we should or should not use/interact with the space. 

Some questions to help with this:

  • Did something come out of the documentation that might drive these proposals? 
  • Any hunches, intuitions, gravitational pulls? 
  • Has something emerged from the documentation of others, that might shift the direction of the project?
  • Do you want to extend social activity that occurs, or introduce? 
  • Are there connections between these ideas and the materials in your Inventory?

In addition, assemble some ‘like-minded’ projects/practices/practitioners/readings around your ‘hunches’:

Artist Research:

Christo and Jeanne Claude

Their use of multi media in their proposals make it very clear to read what they are proposing. Drawing on top of images make their ideas very present in the proposed environment. I also like how they take images of the site to provide context and include a site map in their proposals so its very clear what environment they will be implementing their installations in.

Allan Kaprow

Allan Kaprow has a very clear style in the way he presents his work. Using the same fonts, colour scheme and general aesthetic. You can easily identify that it’s him just by looking at the proposal which I quite like. He is very concise with his proposals. Only uses one main image to communicate the idea supported by a few short paragraphs that outline what his intention is. Each proposal is an invitation as part of his ‘happenings’ is the people that engage in the process. His proposals require the artist, the art and the audience to be fully realised.

Robert Smithson

Smithsons sketches don’t include much or any commentary to the drawing but you can still see what his intention is. There is obviously not enough information for his ideas to be realised off of these one off sketches but they accurately plant the initial concept. His proposals are very much imaginary and you see this in his work ‘Earth Map (White Limestone) of the Hypothetical Ice Cap of Gondwanaland Made Near Uxmal
Yucatan, April 1969, Hypothetical Continent (Icecap of Gondwanaland), Yucatan, Mexico
1969′ key word being hypothetical.

What is a proposal:

Dictionary definition –

proposal

noun

  1. 1.a plan or suggestion, especially a formal or written one, put forward for consideration by others

-A direct and clear written description of what will actually happen. Will this be easily graspable, given the information I have provided?

-A written outline of the relevant conceptual or contextual information. Why here/now/in this way/with this audience? The answer to this question should draw on how you as an individual designer have been
thinking about the site and its social relations.

Space: Orewa Beach

Potential interventions –

Lounging at the Beach

Lounge at the beach drawing on the theme of relaxing and combing two different interpretations of what relaxing looks like. People go to the beach to relax and unwind but it is usually by going for a walk or laying on a towel. The way people often relax at home is in the lounge on a couch watching tv or reading a book etc it would be interesting to see how combining the two affects the enjoyment of the space for participants and how passerby react to the ‘misuse’ of the space. It could be interesting to explore the effect the tide has also.

Fitness Class

Highlighting that the beach is an active space and provides a space where people can come togetherfor a time before dispersing over the coast again. Yoga could be a good activity as its clear what it is once you lay down the yoga mat.

Sleep Space

People don’t tend to hang around Orewa beach past sunset but as far as i’m aware there is no regulated curfew. To set up a sleep space would be going against the status quo inviting people to spend the night at the beach. I think this would challenge how ingrained unspoken rules/expectations are in the community and also provide a unique experience.

Sectioning off an access point to the beach

Orewa has a bank that you need to climb down to access the beach. There are a lot of stairways to allow easy access up and down these banks along the length of the beach. To tape one of these access points off with hazard tape would then cause people to redirect their path. They will have to stop an consider their intentions and eagerness to access the space.

Hopscotch

Implementing a hopscotch game at either the top or bottom of a stairway onto the beach to highlight that this is a place of fun. To help get people to loosen up and to leave the space more relaxed and feeling lighter mentally.

Week 4 Studio: Part One Hand In

Year 2 Semester 2

How can different modes of documentation affect how we understand spaces?

I find having objects to interact with very engaging so I want my presentation to be tangible to a certain degree. Photos are good but I think having diagrams and graphs convey a clearer message as to what is being focused on/ deduced from the environment.

Tuesday:

Presenting 50+ documents

When presenting my documents I wanted to bring the beach to the studio. I brought all the essentials I usually take to the beach with me as documentation. This engaged the sense of smell as well as touch and sight.

Updated Document List 19/10/20:

  1. Intuitive Map
  2. General Beach Observations
  3. Surf wax box (scent)
  4. – 12. Photos

13. Surf rules

14. Party wave drawing

15. Shells (touch)

16. Rubbish

17. Seaweed

18. History of a Beach Day

19. Maoris relationship with the beach

20. Why the beach interviews

21. Sound Bites of Environment

22. Activities/feelings map

23. Council Rules for the beach

24. Foreshore Seabed act

25. Affect of the tide graph

26. 2nd iteration of Intuitive Map

27. Sand (touch)

28. Sea water (touch)

29. Interviews on how the beach makes you feel

30. Time of day observations

31. Site context map

32. Maori Context

33. Orewa Things to do panphlet

34. Erosion Research

35. Concentration of people Map

36. Personal Feelings toward the beach

37. Towel (touch)

38. Observations of peoples Actions

39. Observations of peoples actions

40. Drawings of environment

41. Diagram of movement paths

42. Model of placement of people

43. Artist research of art in orewa

44. Effects of the Weather observations

45. Graph of beach users age

46. Graph of activities engaged with in relation to age

47. Affect of time of day and activities

48. Diagram of the lay of the land

49. Local Attractions

50. Smells

51. Beach Attire worn vs time of day vs age

Feedback:

People really liked the way I displayed my documents.

Some things I could add were more models. drawings and diagrams, more documentation about how people act in the site, sound exploration and impact.

For my final hand in I will swap out some of the objects I have included in my presentation for more drawings, diagrams and notes as the balance was leaning more to collected objects rather than observational Studies that provide deeper understanding to the chosen environment.

Thursday:

Inventory:

– Make an Inventory using the prompts in this document.  An additional note: Think about whether your inventory has to be a written list — maybe it should be a series of photos, a map of your house (with materials/methods located), a diagram, a flat-lay, a set of instructions, or a combination of these things! Be as inventive with the form of the Inventory as what you put into it. 

Week 2 Studio: Intuitive Mapping + Maquette Excersise

Year 2 Semester 2

Tuesday:

Streamside day – eutopia / distopia

What are my interests and how does that affect what i’m paying attention to?

I enjoy surf and surf culture, which leads me to look at what the weather is doing, wind patterns, swell patterns and tides. This also draws my eye to anything thats on the water like boats, other water sports and animals in the water.

Being a dog owner I take note of other peoples dogs, the breed, size, their behaviour and age.

I love kids and will often observe the madness that is a young child on the beach as it is pure entertainment.

I often notice what people are wearing as a result of my love of clothes. Seeing what their beach attire is, if they are in their work clothes, gym clothes, swimwear or casual wear.

Why that space and not another?

Even though there are plenty of other beaches around the hibiscus coast, Orewa is the one that sits centrally within the region and is more of a ‘hub’ for cafes, restaurants, facilities, playgrounds and the beach itself is quite long allowing for more people to claim their ‘space’.

Jenny Odell – How to do Nothing

My take from Odells book is that a list can act as a doorway into greater understanding of a space. That initial bird checklist gave direction to Odells new hobby. Once she had that direction on where to look, over time she was then able to notice the wider context that would surround the different species of birds which then lead to noticing an even wider context and so on and so on.

Start with the obvious and overtime you will notice and understand the whys, wheres, whos and hows.

Intuitive mapping

Whats meaningful to me about my chosen space:

  • the quiet from the world – gets drowned out by the ocean noise
  • space to move without hitting something or someone
  • neutral ground anyone can come
  • multiple uses for both beach and water
  • its free no expectation
  • unpredictable constantly changing environment
  • mutual respect
  • anonymity
  • sense of community
  • brings a broader sense of life

related contexts: (research-based, conceptual, etc.) how do they sit

  • surf life saving
  • sealife

Task for Thursday’s Class:       
– Write 150 words to locate yourself in relation to your social space, with your map as a guide. Where are you and your practice sitting in relation to your site and the contexts/ideas you’ve identified within it?

The aspects that I find most attractive within my site are its unpredictable nature, the freedom of bodily movement as a result of the expansive space and the sense of anonymous community. When I enter into the site I create my own pod with my dog or a friend and become part of this anonymous community where you observe and be observed as you move through the space, up and down the beach. I only engage with other pods if an object like a ball crosses into someone else’s pod causing a brief conversation to ensue. I might also head into the water to surf becoming something of a performer to the people on the sand. Being observed more than I am observing. This environment provides a lot more unpredictability to the movements of others around me as well as my own movements. The motion of the ocean is somewhat dictating how we must act/react.

Thursday:

Extract 12 words from your intuitive map, or your short pieces of writing. Choose the words which feel like they might be key for this site.
Write the words in the boxes the sheet provided, one word per box. 
Cut up sheet into ‘cards’
Deal yourself all your ‘cards’ into 6 pairs. This will create two-word relationships

Use these two-word relationships to make small maquettes/ drawings/ collages/ images/ sculptures that think through the pairing materially, in relation to what you’ve observed in your site. Give yourself a time limit: 4mins/6mins/8mins per ‘sketch’.

Examples of documents: