INDN 252: Revamped and Refocussed

So, after my reshoot, I did some work on the photos. Some of them were simply infinitely superior to the previous ones, due to my knowing exactly what I wanted to achieve, and my partner Chris being very skilled in achieving that.

I took my tutors comments into account, and adapted my photos slightly to achieve a better result. One of the aspects I focussed on heavily was the amount of negative space I wanted to work with. The main reason for this is that I really want to enhance the alien landscape imagery, and working with the negative space allows the image to convey a sense of space and sky.

Image of Gale Crater by Curiosity, Image acquired from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/picture/2012/aug/08/curiosity-rover-gale-crater-mars

I drew a lot of inspiration from the images of Mars taken by the various rovers. The landscape feels so alien and yet so close to us at the same time. I tried to replicate the feel of the strangeness of the Martian landscape through a combination of strange, closeup, unrecognisable but strangely familiar forms.

For this image, I wanted to reverse the shadows I had previously, so as to give the form a more believable grounding in a natural geographical form. The shadow creates more depth in the image, allowing us to see into the form, making us form a 3-D scape in our minds that shouldn't work.

The darkness of the skin in my pigeon chest allows for some great shots, especially when used in strong combination with the negative space. The dark centre draws the eye, while the even darker nipple provides a point of reference for the viewer.

I still can't quite get over how weird this skin looks. So mottled and transparent, letting all the veins show straight through the skin.

INDN 211: Looking At Form

After analysing the corporate culture I want to aim my gift at, I've decided that I need to look at what my object should be inspired by, more than other things.

Since I'm trying to go for something that encourages growth and the evolution of a relationship, looking at the organic seems a logical conclusion. When we think of growth, a plant seed is almost the quintessential concept of that ideal. Nothing really grows in quite the natural way that a see does. So using a seed as a precedent for my design seems exceedingly logical.

My next step was to look at what the design would actually be. Since it would have to be functional to at least a small degree, I felt that it could be something that isn't completely a functioning device or gift, but rather something that both represents and harbours the idea of growth.

What if my sculptural item both was and harboured/protected the seed? As in an actual seed. That would put my item in the realm of something useful, namely a plant pot / vase. The plant could grow out of the top of the "seed" and would be completing the growth of the "seed".

Allowing an obviously inanimate object to flourish and "come to life" would be a very abstract way of creating the metaphor of the seed. Next, I'll have to make the item an elegant gift, corresponding with the nature of the corporate culture.

INDN 252: The Face In Motion

 The second part of our project for Physiology is to study a specific part of the body and the motions it has the ability to carry out. Veering away from the alien landscape concept, I decided to study the movement of the mouth and it's surrounding area.

I decided that the best way to study these motions would be to take 4 sequential photos, so that then I have something to work with that has enough flow. I wanted to capture the expression on the lips in motion, looking at the movement of the skin and the lips, primarily.

The first motion sequence that I decided I would do is a whistling motion, one that looks at the lips curling inwards, pulling the skin around the cheeks quite taught. This makes for a sort of constricted lip band, with interestingly tight skin structure.

This is sort of an under-bite expression, which my sister and I call the "piranha". It involves pulling the bottom lip back, baring the teeth at the bottom of the mouth and making an interesting circular shape at the bottom corners of the mouth.

This one is really simple. Just a simple, basic smile. My smile is a bit strange though in the sense that it is oddly lopsided and asymmetrical, which makes for quite an interesting motion of the skin. The skin forms severe smile lines on one side on my face, while the other side of the face is relatively untouched.

By far the most aggressive of the facial expressions, the baring of the teeth is very extreme in terms of the facial warping it creates. The teeth are fully exposed. The lips pull at the way back, creating intense wrinkling in the cheeks.

Now to come up with some nifty little graphics!

INDN 211: Corporate Culture

Our first project for INDN 211: Object Based Experiments is to create a cultural gift. In my mind, to be able to effectively decide on a cultural gift, I first need to nail down the culture that I want to target. Having begun first with a look at the culture of mysteries and secrets, it seems an odd change of heart to go to corporate culture, which can be so prejudiced and elitist.

However, the idea that I was trying to capture in my afore-mentioned mysteries culture was the idea of transmutation, which is the process of change and/or growth. Gifts in corporate culture are about suggesting the development of a relationship, be it business-related or diplomatic. The idea of a relationship changing and evolving is of paramount importance in a corporate relationship.

The nature of the gift can be as important as the gift itself, as the intentions behind the gift can vary immensely. The gift can be given with the intention of intimidating a business opponent, or potentially sealing the closing of a business deal, or it can be a gift from home for a diplomatic visit.

Image acquired from: http://www.khaleejgifts.com

The gifts are usually extremely high-class and have a significant amount of meaning behind them. The materials used are made to look expensive, while not always actually being expensive. Use of clean lines, coupled with starkly contrasting materials create a good corporate gift. In the gift above, we see clean cut glass made to remind us of a faceted jewel, while actually being resolved in a far cheaper material.

Image acquired from: http://www.kinnairdbagpipes.com

Another element consistently seen in corporate gifts is an austere sense of elitism and class division. Cuff links would see little use for someone who doesn't wear a specific sort of shirt, and yet they make excellent gifts. The high quality of the materials again reinforces the class division, while also creating an element of deception. The material could be relatively inexpensive, yet we wouldn't know as all we see is the shine and colour contrast. This almost conjures up the historical notion of native inhabitants being given worthless yet shiny pieces of glass as jewellery, and could in many respects harbour similar sentiments.

Image acquired from: www.corporategiftscompany.com

Another recurring theme of the corporate gift culture is that the gift is trying to be an elaborate version of something simple. This pen and notepaper holder for example, is trying to do the same job as an ordinary pen and paper, but is trying to do it in a much more attractive package. The high-class polished exterior speaks of precious metals and money, but is really just there to look pretty rather than be functional.

So there we have it. For my gift, I want to take an object that already works well, and then re-design it to be not very functional, but look very pretty. The object should find inspiration from the area it's trying to find its way into, while also representing the idea of transmutation and evolution.

To work!