Sunday, April 08, 2007

trial by fire: a return to the mentors



Etant donnés, marcel duchamp

After struggling to represent the fence panels in my site model properly, it was recommended that I return to my mentors from the past two semesters; namely duChamp, the Brothers Quay, Roussell, Artaud, and various illustrations of mechanized, grotesques, and theatres from the 16-18th centuries.

DuChamp's Etant Donnes is a pretty significant precent to this project - I've purchased a door spy-hole that will be used to determine the views into the space that will be created. The spy-holes distort the perspective beautifully, and provide a very specific field of view that will be useful in arranging the space. The image of DuChamp's work above is an example of the type of strange and absurdest imagery that I am hoping to develop through my narratives of Sheldon Blank.

image name unknown, the brothers quay


I chose this image from the works of the Brothers Quay to demonstrate the blurring of scale and image that I'd like to achieve. I was looking at the way that the brothers use material in their projects - miniature representations are incredibly delicate and interesting, and I have decided to move away from the white representative model that I was headed for (which really makes no sense in the context of previous work) and return to the grotesque and baroque.


The following three images are taken from "Pruned" blog, and are wonderfully illustrated images of old, strange mechanisms. They are incredibly detailed, yet wonderfully simple representations of machinery. I hope to look towards these methods of illustration to influence not only the drawing of the mechanisms in the site, but also to influence the aesthetic nature of the components within the site. It is also possible that I will use some of these images, alongside some of the mechanisms that were found on-site, to create the collage/perceptual imagery of this project.


theatrum mechanarium, taken from pruned blog




theatrum mechanarium, taken from pruned blog




theatrum mechanarium, taken from pruned blog



laser cutting, and progress to date

Because so much of what I have been working on to date is by trial, (ie: I'm working on my third iteration of the fence that is to surround the site), there hasn't been much to post to date. I'm hoping that three's a charm, and so there should be sufficient material to post once the new fence gets up and running. Due to the size of the model, photographing it properly between stages is time consuming and difficult - ultimately not high on my list of priorities right now.

The following are sample images of laser cutting work that I have been working on.
These are some of the supports that I am developing to house the door spy-holes that I've purchased to denote the viewports into the site. Right now they're in development, but the shapes of the outlines are to simulate the act of looking through these specific spaces in the site. The spy-hole is a cheap version of what one finds in a door, to see who is on the other side.
The fence panels are being cut out of thin bass wood - the first iterations were cut from plywood, and then from card. The ply was too thick for the scale of the project, and the card had material limitations in that it was not able to properly simulate the wood and the desired effect of the fence.
(to come:)
The fence panels have been held in place by a jig that was created by modeling the site in 3D: the jig ensures that the warped wood and the angles of distortion are properly maintained in the model.


My current goal is to simulate the trees and natural surroundings of the site, while keeping within the realm of the grotesque, and maintaining the aesthetic that has been established through the work this year. The above is an image traced from a 15th century tree image - I'm considering using the same acetone transfer method that I started developing to age the fence panels, to transfer the texture to the paper. Whether or not it works remains to be seen.

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posted by chelsea @ 4:58 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

conceptual mapping and design development

(above: site plan drawing, showing fence elevations and mechanized interpretations. original scale 1/8" - 1'-0". drawn by c.grant)

***note: click on any of the drawings to enlarge***

finally back - the absense from blogging is due in part largely to a complete withdrawal from computerized + digital means of production. the drawings that are posted are the result of my (long) process of defining the site that i've chosen in point douglas and the creation of the narrative (seen in the post concerning sheldon blank). as previously mentioned, the mechanisms that have been drawn were contrived through a study of their actual geometryl the rest has been constructed through these drawings.

plan drawing -blown up for viewing (original scale 1/8" = 1'-0") drawn by c. grant, 2007

this portion of the plan was pulled out in photoshop to show more clearly the area of the site that is most visibly saturated with parts (as visible from higgins). furthermore, most of the components in this section were developed as mechanized components, seen at the top of the original plan drawing.

section drawing (original scale 1/8" = 1'-0") drawn by c. grant, 2007


the section drawing above is the north-south section through the west end of the site. the sections are beginning to show the three-dimensional relationships between the mechanisms. this end of the space is considerably more condensed with mechanisms than the other areas of the space.



section drawing (original scale 1/8" = 1'-0") drawn by c. grant, 2007

the second section (west-east) shows the areas where no mechanisms have been developed. these interstitial spaces will either be further developed in the same fashion as the others, or else they provide area for the new network of architecture to fill the space.

conceptualized machine drawing + detail (original scale 1/8" = 1'-0") drawn by c. grant, 2007


another example of the mechanisms that were drawn along the top of the plan (another was mentioned in a previous post) - this one was one of the few mechanisms that was drawn almost completely from reality - most sides of this were visible from various views in the fence. it is a fairly substantial piece of machinery. this is one of the mechanisms that was incorporated into the mechanized collage about sheldon blank.


the architectural proposal is beginning to develop as well; these components form complex relationships with the site, and with one another, and will serve to create a substrate for an architectural proposal.

currently, the proposal is likely to expand beyond the heights of the fence - both upwards, and down into the ground. this is likely to become more defined as the proposal unfolds.

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posted by chelsea @ 10:18 AM 0 comments

Saturday, February 24, 2007


(above: beginning stages of drafted fence segment, point douglas)

the mechanized unknown


Again, it's been too long since I've posted. Mid-term break put work on a bit of a hiatus, and since then I have been drawing - proper scans to come.

The installation for Point Douglas has changed in nature. I'm now proposing to create a mechanized collage, by building my impressions of the mechanisms that are seen through the viewports on the site.

Acting as a sort of corps esquisse exercise, the visible planes of the mechanisms will serve as one layer of the drawing. The rest will be filled in without knowing the actual physical nature of the machine.

The following two images show the beginning phases of this process. The drafted image is a composition that was determined from the geometry of the one visible side (the yellow machine in the following photograph).

The geometries will then begin to inform new functions for the mechanized collage. For example, a round grate that was found on the site could be used (at a smaller scale) to create sound, to project directional light, to move and actuate another machine, etc.


arduino + H-Bridge for DC motor control



Kyle and I worked out the above schematic to control a DC motor with Arduino, and an H-Bridge chip. The schematic is a little sketchy, as are the images in the tutorial. The photos are missing two key wires; I assume they have been omitted to make the photo easier to read. Hovering one's cursor over the image brings a pop up that describes the missing wires.

Once we discovered this, the process was relatively easy. The motors can be programmed to control a variety of the mechanical devices that will become a part of my mechanized collage/site analysis/mapping exercise.

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posted by chelsea @ 2:08 PM 0 comments