For our current module ICP we have been asked to look at ourselves and ask who we are and what we want to make. I have reached the part of the module where I have to think about what I want to make. Now this has been somewhat of an odd process for me as I have a lot of ideas and the function of these ideas isn’t always clear. I am also learning that the interpretation of what I produce is very different from person to person.
On the 14th of May I handed in a body of work that consisted of sketch books, samples and written ideas. All of these pieces showed how I see the world around me and how I like to see the world as mechanical equipment. Its how I have learnt to understand the world I live in. I have also learnt that control is of the upmost importance to me and I use this idea to give my work a unique aesthetic. I produce all of my own sections and use it to create pieces that show the human form mechanically. But what is the function of my work?
As a Blacksmith it seems the purpose or function (more function in this instance) is very important. In fact it almost out ways the aesthetic qualities of the piece rendering them as an add-on. In turn this can spoil or take away from both the aesthetic and the function of the piece. I believe this is a fall bare of the past and has come from the idea that the role of a smith is to create tools that can be used. Just adding to that function is stupid and often creates very ugly work. The fact that it is well made or works is irrelevant now. I was told by a blacksmith on my first day on the course that as makers we all produce four types of work.
1. Well made, good design
2. Well made, bad design
3. Poorly made, good design
4. Poorly made, bad design
As a crafts person is there truly a point to all of this, does my work need a function and should I be making things? Does the design really hold any weight at all? And then finally what am I going to make? We often have tutorials during the course of the modules and these are designed to assess and check on our progress. They can be quite deep and emotional and often lead to the miss interpretation on both side tutor and student. I quite enjoy the contact I have with most of the tutors and assisting staff but there input can be confusing and misleading at times but this is mostly due to miss understanding on both parts. It is how you chose to translate this input that is most important.
So I have decided on both the function and the piece I’m going to make. I have quite a large body of work in my sketch book that shows human anatomy from muscle tissue to the inside of the human eye. I have then modified these images and produced sketches that show a mechanical idea of the same body part. I have produced ideas, theory’s and images that not support what I want to make but that assist in there construction. I then produced samples of components that are in my drawings, extracting ideas constructing them and then playing with the concept. Then I played around with the idea of what it was that I would make. What functional thing I would produce and how I would add my aesthetic to it.
I tried to find things that would not only look good but have function, but this is counter intuitive for me as I use my aesthetic to describe how stuff works so making something that works cannot work. So I have chosen to create “Her”, she will be sculpture and her function.
No comments:
Post a Comment