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PARK
MOON HOON
'A World in the Palm of My Hand'
Moon Hoon is a Korean architect that likes to illustrate many drawings to turn it into three dimensional or film animations; I often found myself relatable this style of working. To me, in a lot of his work and style it seems like there is a feeling of childishness behind it because of all of the bizarre drawing fantasizes his way of approach buildings and interior design and turn them into public artwork. Most of the drawings seems like as if it is drawn by a child, but as I look more carefully, I realized how detailed it is and how it creates a sense of narrative.
WHAT HAVE I LEARNT
I have learnt from Moon Hoon to express your ideas and emotions even if it seems to be childish and naive. Sometimes it is important to stick to what you want to create and successfully set up the design in order to convince the audience. Therefore for this project, I will try out this method of working by collecting my thoughts and transform it into a three dimensional form.
DANTE'S INFERNO
Written by Dante Alighieri, translated by Robin Kirkpatrick
Currently I have been reading the book called Dante's Inferno, it is a book that explains the stories and myths about hell. There are many descriptions based on the Greek mythologies. The author Dante Alighieri created a very immersive atmosphere by explaining the surrounding environment and I was drawn into the scene. In the story, it is being explained that hell is being divided by 4 different stages and as people descend, there will be more torture and suffering to bare. Throughout reading this book I become fascinated with the haunting stories of hell or other world. I have dreamt about apocalyptic nightmares that seems surreal, I wanted to combine this element with the dream into one to create a interesting narrative for my work.
SAATCHI GALLERY
ALEXI WILLIAM WYNN
Echoes of the kill, 2015, wax wood steel
This work is made by Alexi William Wynn a sculptor that make standing wax models on table to create structures for her work. At first glance, this work reminded me of forest or blood veins due to their similarities. However, I found out from Alexi William Wynn's interview that the shape of this sculpture was made from a dead horse blood organ created by molding a layer of wax on the inside. To me, this is rather unexpected, there is a contrast between detailed and delicate appearance of a forest when I first observe the structure compared to the visceral and unsettling working process while producing this design that changes my perspective.
'There is a real beauty behind a darker truth'
KATE MCCGWIRE
Corvid, Kate MccGwire, 2011, crow feather
This is work produced by Kate MccGwire called Corvid. Many of her work captures the geometry of organic structures yet unrecognizable shapes. It reminds me of a mythical snake like creature circling around. Although this work seems real because there are crow's feathers but it is remain static motion. Maybe this is just a evolved form of a figure.
DAVID JACOB
David Jacob is a installation artist that uses a lot smooth, free flowing structures. A lot of his work is related on rhythm and movement of human forms. In his work 'Sound Sculpture', David Jacob created a series of metallic instruments run through electricity to turn them into a moving sculpture. To me, the repetitive sound of the work reminded me of the movement of the heart organs pumping. I think this is a really effective way to mimic a person instead of a machine , and this really bring this work to alive.
I was really inspired by this idea of recreating a normal everyday object and turn it into something different . I was interested that how he manage to bring a dead object into live by using electricity. This demonstrates that art doesn't always have to be static and it can be something seems alive.
LOUIS NEVELSON
Louis Nevelson is a American sculptor that uses everyday object and assemble them into one to transform into a body of work. I think Louis Nevelson’s work have a sense of melancholy towards life. In her work is expresses the idea how each collected objects represents part of our life painted in black. I think this shows how in nowadays society were are all bonded together in this one stereotypical, mundane lifestyle; everything just became the same.
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Between us and stuff
For this project, I am focused on the transformation of human body throughout various methods and techniques.
HOMO DEUS
Written by Yuval Noah Harari, published 2015
The book ‘Homo Deus’ (human god) focuses on looking at what human will become in the future of evolution. The writer Yuval Noah Harari addresses a interesting concept; he explains that once human have surpass the problem of famine, plague and war, there will be a new challenges and goals for human to solve. More and more people realised that we are all part of algorithms and a network. The means that all living organisms are considered as a programmed being that follows the same route and procedure throughout everyday basis, most of the tasks will be replaced and computerise by artificial intelligence. With all the highly advanced technology, humans will be able to evolve into a being that is equivalent to 'God'.
Documentary on Future of Humanity by Yuval Noah Harari : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOmQqBX6Dn4
LEE BUL
Untitled (Cravings White), 1988
Amaryllis, 1999
Monster Black, 1998-2011
Lee Bul is a Korean installation artist and a sculptor that combines metallic materials with pieces of ceramic materials that construct into a organised cluster. In Lee Bul's work, she focuses on the topic abou feminism how in the future all gender will become into one. This is representation is demonstrated by the use of clay and plasters that create organic shapes, which resembles of the characteristics of a disfigured human being inside a simulated cityscape.
MY THOUGHTS AND IDEAS
When I first look at Lee Bul's work in Tate Modern, it reminded me of some sort of a parasite or neurons inside a brain that has been enlarged in scale. I really like the fact that most of her work is suspended from the ceiling and makes it seems like floating on the ground. Also the unpredictable tentacle like structure made the series of sculpture look realistic as if a some kind of unknown bio mechanical alien. I really like the diverse form that Lee Bul have tried out and experimented with demonstrated in her work that created organic structure which resembles the characteristics of a distorted body. I wanted to revert the human body into a unrecognizable form to show the transition of the possibilities of how humans will evolve throughout time.
ALIEN: COVENANT
Alien: Covenant is one my favorite science fictional movie that I have watched. There are many atmospheric environment the film have vividly portrayed that really helps me to visualize a completely different world from the ordinary. I really like the theme of dystopia being presented, it gives a sense of isolation and alienation in a foreign planet where everything seems to be deserted. The interior of the fortress where they have taken shelter in really created suspenseful environment as the series of giant statues appears in the background become visible.
H. R. GIGER
H. R. Giger is the artist that designed all the setting up environment for the movie Alien: Covenant. His design of the neomorph is one of the most linear design of alien, it really captures the characteristics of the mysterious and frightening feature by changing the basic human anatomy.
ZAHA HADID GALLERY
DAVID JACOB
David Jacob is a artist I have come across from a book called 'Architectural Interventions'. His work describes the rhythm and flow of different entity. To me, all of his work seems like a abstract calligraphy drawing that transform into a three dimensional structure and bring it to life. Most of David Jacobs work
From the book 'Architectural Interventions, Visionary Drawings'
After some more in depth research, I found out one of the series of work David Jacobs have working on; sound. Throughout David Jacobs work, I think he have created a personality of metal by mimicking the movement heart organs pumping. This way of present brings the sculpture into life like a functional AI in the future.
http://www.davidjacobssculpture.com/work/sound-sculpture-1967-1973/adelphi-university-2011-video/
TATE MODERN
I visited some exhibitions in Tate Modern with a friend to look at some contemporary artist as some inspirations for the project I am currently working on. I decided to focus on research some artist work that expresses various ways of reconstructing organic forms that relate to human body.
HENRY MOORE
I have come across some of Henry Moore’s work, who is known as a British sculptor that makes distorted human figure carved out in oak wood. I have learnt that when the work is being set up there are many debates in regards to the ways that Henry Moore method of creating the structure; the use of organic and erotic shapes created a sexual undertone that intimidated people. But as time go by, Henry Moore sort of focused more on the aftermath of war and powerful imageries of wounded civilians taking shelter. There are many drawings and mixed media studies that captures a moody and depressing atmosphere in many Henry Moore's more recent work.
MY THOUGHTS AND IDEAS
I like the distorted figure presented in Henry Moore's work, it exaggerates the human proportion and expands the size of the body to transform and dehumanize the sculpture.
IVAN PICELJ
Ivan Picejl is another artist that I found interesting. Most of his work uses abstract mark making techniques that repeats in a certain shape and pattern to create into a unrecognizable form. He also plays around with different materials and tries to change their meaning throughout many of his practice.
Surface IX 1962
ANTONY GORMLEY (TED DOCUMENTARY)
'For me, art is not about object of high monetary exchange, its about reasserting our firsthand experience in present time.’
TED Documentary on Antony Gormley
https://www.ted.com/talks/antony_gormley_sculpted_space_within_and_without#t-968125
I have come across a documentary of Antony Gormley over TED that talks about some of the meaning behind his work. Throughout this video, I have got a better understanding on many of his work and the idea he is trying to convey. Antony Gormley focuses on create space that exist ordinary life and beyond, it portrays the meaning of void, the characteristics of eternal darkness that is object-less, endless, dimensionless and place of infinite imagination. By using architectural structure to produce human figure and set up into a open door environment, Antony Gormley creates a metaphorical way of demonstrating entity and the unknown space around.
MY THOUGHTS AND IDEA
I was inspired by the way that Antony Gormley explained about creating fiction and reality entity in surrounding environment. It really makes me think that there is more than one alternate reality that exist within our world, a mysterious world of dystopia where nothing exists in its space-time continuum; a place where matter becomes nothing and order becomes chaos.