Research - The Highline

High Line

The High Line is a plant life installation built on a railroad line in New York. Not too interested in it as it hasn't got much relevance to my work but I think it is quite neat how the plants have risen above their natural habitat (not by themselves obviously) ascending their roots, I sorta see it as a metaphor that art can do that to things, take something simple like grass and take it higher.

What I was told to look at was how the architects have presented this idea (the second image is a doctored image showing what the High Line WOULD look like) so along with this I have looked at the powerpoint used to present the project. The images are focused on what the image would look like in first person, so that the backers and anyone else involved in realising this project could see it as it would look in real life, showing the practicality of it. 

So these things I will take into account when it comes time to making our powerpoint for our client, Clinton and I would want our paved walkway to be both believable and show its practical use. Taking note of powerpoints like this one of the highline will help.

Research - Antoni Gaudi

Antoni Gaudi

Born : 25 June 1852 (Reus, Catalonia, Spain)

Died: 10 June 1926 

Gaudi was an architect who was the most renowned practitioner of Catalan Modernism. And in some of the buildings he designed, he used mosaics and Trencadís (using the technique called pique assiette) which are just broken tile shards, plates, dinnerware, etc. His Roman Catholic faith fueled his drive to make and manifest in his works, earning the nickname "God's Architect".

Casa Batllo

Casa Batlló is a building in Barcelona and is one of Gaudi's greatest works. Here he has redesigned this building with several mosaic tiles.

Other Tile Works

Here are good examples of Gaudi incorporating the Trencadis using the pique assiette technique. This has got me thinking whether or not I want I want to create a mixed media tile/paver. I do like the flat coloured tiles used on the roof of the Casa Batllo, but since I can't work in such a large scale, my thoughts are that it may be a bit underwhelming to look at, I feel like the power in Gaudi's works come from the sheer size of them, allowing one to just marvel at the range of colours and the time it took to create such a masterpiece. My paver will be a teensie bit smaller so I may have to change it up a bit to make it interesting. I don't know just yet, since we have a client who will be paying for the materials, I might be able to get away with that.

For now I think mosaics are the way to go, it is something I've never done before and it will be a good experience to have under the ole' knowledge belt.

I choose mosaics

For the pathway, I have been quite intrigued with mosaic art and using them in the pathway as pavers. Clinton is a little less convinced with the mosaic pavers, but has decided to make a different type of paver, his will be made from concrete with patterns engraved on the top. So in the end we will both be doing our own thing but our individual works will create a conversation about the place (waimahia) and our three main themes (community, culture and environment)

 Visually the mosaics will stand out a lot more just because of the bright colours but I think that the contrast of the duller concrete and the bright flat colours from the mosaics will compliment each other well (I hope), like black and white.

Manifesto, sorta

So Clinton and I have talked about our manifesto, and while we weren't too keen on any RULES per se, but rather just following some broard guidelines.

1. It has got to be aesthetically pleasing, something that we can be proud to say we made it.
2. Something that will test our skill base

Yeah not much really, Clint and I are both venturing outside our preferred art mediums this year. I've never been a fan of 3D art and Clinton hasn't done much of this sort of project. So it is really just a learning experience for the both of us.

Key Ideas/Themes for our collaboration

After talking with Clinton, we've discussed what we feel the work should be about. So we boiled it down to three main ideas:

Community
Culture
Environment

we want the work to reflect the community and the cultures that make up that community, as well as the surrounding environment, the land, the mangroves and the water.

Concept for pathway

Clinton and I have decided on a pathway for our project. It is something that the community can use as well as add to the aesthetic quality of the area. Now it probably won't be as basic as this, But I just free styled this image because I recently purchased a new graphics tablet and am using a new art program called Corel Painter. So this is really just an experiment with the tools available there, and it is fair to say there is MUCH more potential to draw with than there is in photoshop.

So I haven't seen the actual area as of yet, just a birds eye view of the place so this design is subject to change.

Beginning Research

I raided the Creative Arts library and the Main Campus library for relevant books. here is the list of books that I liked from the library:

• Benefits of public art : the polemics of permanent art in public spaces / Sara Selwood - 709.42 SEL
• Landscape for modern sculpture : Storm King Art Center text by John Beardsley - 735.23 BEA
• Changing spaces : sculpture walk : New Zealand Festival 2002, 23 February - 17 -730.993 CHA
• Connells Bay Centre for Sculpture by Robin Woodward - 730.993 WOO
• Contemporary outdoor sculpture by Brooke Barrie - 730.922 BAR
• Living Sculpture by Paul Cooper - 731.71 COO

I liked the sculpture walk but a lot of the construction looked expensive and difficult. Connells bay had this wooden red trail which weaved through the trees which looked cool 'ish. But yeah I'm just not feeling the sculpture- sculpture. I've discussed with Clinton about our general direction we are going to take in this project and I think the feeling is mutual when it comes to this type of sculpture. We both want this work to have some practical value so we were thinking about the possibility of a pathway.

Project found

Clinton and I are going to work collaboratively on a project that Greg Freeman, the project manager for the Waimahia Inlet housing development. There is an opportunity for artists to create an artwork (or just about anything goes) in the area. The budget is $5000. There isn't any themes or a brief that this artwork needs to stick to so the only limiting factor is the budget and maybe the fact that it cant really be a painting or a drawing, it has got to be a sculpture or an installation. The good thing about this project is that I will definitely be working with materials and processes that I haven't used before, working outside of my comfort zone. Sculpture and larger objects have always been an area in art I just never got, so hopefully this might help iron out those little fears I have about working in this medium.