Sunday 21 November 2010

Group Project

For the group project I was put in a team with 3 other members (Lisa from Illustration, Mike from Graphics and Luke from Moving Image). We were given the word 'kinetic' as a starting point and our thought process began by examining natural kinetics, in particular water based movement such as rain and tides. We liked how they are not controlled by ‘man’ and have quite a spontaneous nature to them. As a result of the water theme we decided to use inks, which are water based and have a fluid nature to them.

The concept of gravity also played a part in the project. The group thought it would be interesting to see how ink would fall when put on paper. It was very successful and because some drips fell further and quicker than others, it looked really quirky.

We also decided to experiment with throwing ink at a piece of paper. It produced a really nice effect; when different colours collided with each other they mixed and flowed in different directions. The group couldn’t decide between the drips and splatters so we concluded that we would experiment with both on the computer. In the end, we decided to combine the two as it created a more varied animation.

These are the two final pieces that we used in our animation:



This is our final animation/film:




Friday 12 November 2010

Jen Stark

Sorry for not updating in so long, just don't seem to have chance, but I will make an effort to try and post more often! Whilst doing research for the group project, I came across Jen Stark, a contemporary artist from Miami. Her paper sculptures are so beautiful and captivating; you can't look away from them. I can't begin to imagine how she creates her pieces, they look so detailed and complex, it makes my head hurt! However, it's probably something I'd really enjoy doing, as it's so exact and fiddly.

I was immediately drawn to her pieces because of the bright colours she uses and the varied patterns the paper create. They almost seem to be in mid-movement, one in particular looks like a volcano erupting, which is why I thought they'd be appropriate for the kinetic project. I also like the almost op-art and kaleidoscope look to them; they're so different to anything I've seen before.

Jen gets her inspiration from a variety of sources such as nature, geometric patterns and microscopic views of objects. Her pieces might explore how people and objects are made up of literal and metaphorical layers. This scientific edge is really interesting as there are endless sources to use as inspiration.

Jen has also branched out into creating drawings which are just as crazy as her sculptures. They also seem to have a sense of movement and are very chaotic but beautiful to look at. She has also created animations out of her sculptures, which are really hypnotic and kaleidoscope-like. They're so clever and I'd love to contact her to find out how she produces all her work.