September 2015 – Page 17

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1: Discover

Writing:

I took journey through my backyard to find these objects because I wanted to find something organic and natural. I found three very different objects that are texturally different from one another. The first is a white smooth rock about the size of a ping pong ball. The second is a short twig that has interesting flower-like buds on the end of two stems that branch out. The last is a withered weed flower stalk that is full of tiny leaves and small purple flowers/buds. I feel that these objects really complement each other really well and work nicely together which is why I chose them.

Stable:

Ambiguous:

Time:

An hour to hour and a half.

Propeller

noun

source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propellers

one that propels; especially : a device that consists of a central hub with radiating blades placed and twisted so that each forms part of a helical surface and that is used to propel a vehicle (as a ship or airplane)

I encountered this word from the following reading “The Tool”. It appear on the line said “Under the dizzying whirl of the scythe-like propellers……”. I now understand a propeller basically means the whirl device on a ship or airplane.

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1: Discover

Ambiguous

Stable

Trix Yogurt

I found the trip yogurt container on Tillary Street. It was compressed or flattened and a little dirty when I found it but it still has those bright beautiful colors on it. a child or a man/woman must’ve been eating this for a snack and when he or she was finished with it they didn’t wait till they found a garbage to throw it away and thats how it ended up on the ground.

Piece of Concrete

This piece of concrete i found on the corner of Jay street and Tillary Street it was next to a sign i think the sign might have been a bus stop but not to sure. Since there is construction going on something must have happened to make the piece break off from the ground.

Flower

I found a flower on Myrtle ave and Flatbush but i did not use it to trace on my paper because i was unable to use that one do to the fact that it died while sitting in the bag for so long. So on the way home that day i picked up a flower that looked similar in shape and color.

Discovery: Avatars

Member’s Avatar

Phoenix

Observations

Sillouette of a man
An ipod
The color green
Looks as if the man is in a dance position

Interpretations

My initial interpretation of Phoenix’s avatar is that he loves music in general. I am familiar with this being an old Apple I-pod advertisement and there is an I-pod in the image therefore concluding music plays a significant role in this person’s life. Im also guessing this person’s favorite color is green just for the simple fact that these ads come in a variety of colors and dance positions but to specifically pick green i think that there’s some relevance. In all, it’s a very symbolic photo.

Paragraph

After reading Phoenix’s bio, I can justify that I was correct on the part that music plays a big role in this person’s life. Phoenix is very much into hip-hop and rap which is where the ipod comes in. It symbolically stands for his interest in the music culture. Phoenix says he sometimes draw rappers and can even have full out conversations soley on that topic. Being a person who’s into design, i can also view how this graphic relates to him. Yes its a simple silouette but there is a very effective strategy to it. For example, the contrast between the figure and the background and the contrast between the figure and the ipod. In addition, colors play a humongous role on emotions and psycology of others so i feel as if this clearly represents who phoenix is as a person and i love the icon that was chosen. Simple yet very much straight to the point.

COMD Class 3 | More Figure Ground

September 9th, 2015 Groupwork Review (15 min) Students break into groups and review project Principles: Figure-Ground (Obvious and Ambiguous) Group Unity and Economy Group Research and discuss your group’s concepts. Use the following guidelines and outcomes. Designate 1 speaker and 1 idea recorder Make a free-flowing list of ideas related to your concept. Refine principle definitions in your […]

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1: Discover

Ambiguous

Stable

Ambiguous

Stable

-Feather:

This feather has organic & angular elements to it, from its straight bone like center to its soft & flowing bristles. From the look of it one can assume it was plucked off of a sleeping pidgin to wake it up. The feather is not asymmetrical showing the bird to have gone through rough times.

-Peace of bottle cap:

It seems to have been stepped on & bent in a way that could look like a mouth smiling or frowning. Most likely being chewed by some squirrel before being tossed due the fact that it is not food.

-Pen:

With straight lines and rounded edges this object made writing a check extremely easy for someone before being lost in the abyss being their bag before being accidentally drop when they were searching for another object in their bag.

Discover: avatar

What I see:

– complete darkness

– simple black background

Interpretation:

I see untapped potential unmatched with any one or anything. I see absolute freedom, a space open to new ideas.

Paragraph:

I chose this image as my avatar do to its simplicity but yet I could make anything out of it. It could be anythin if your imagination is willing. I believe it is possible for an extremely simple image can fource anyone to over think because it can stand for anything so it is always open to interpretation which is what most art is used for, making people think.

Others may view this as a quick & easy way to do a project or doing the bear minimum with such a vague image & somewhat vague explonation.

Ordain

Verb

1.to officially make (someone) a minister, priest, rabbi, etc.

2.to officially establish or order (something)

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ordained

I’ve come across this word in the reading excerpt “The Tool”. This word can be found in the sentence “It is as if there were a natural law which ordained that to achieve this end…”. The use of ordain in this case is to order. As the sentence continues ” to refine the curve of a piece of furniture, or a ship’s keel, or the fuselage of an airplane, until gradually it partakes of the elementary purity of the curve of ‘a human breast or shoulder…”, I see that there are elements that are necessary to make an object function to achieve its purpose based from understanding what ordained meant. For example, the fuselage is needed to make the airplane function properly in order to make the plane fly. The fuselage is part of the natural law towards the airplane’s ability to achieve its purpose which is flight.

Discovery: Avatars

Ruky’s avatar

Member Avatar: Ruky

What I observe:

Have the different wings (angle & evil)
Use the hand to cover his mouth
The red color hairs

Interpretations:

He’s shy person
Have the double standard of his mind
The red color can show his innermost quality, like he can be a passion person.

Paragraph

I have chosen the avatar of Ruky to write because his avatar seems more innermost feelings to me. In his avatar I see a boy using his hand to cover his mouth, I think he’s a shy and passive person. I also see that he has two different wings behind him, which is angle wing and evil wing. Those two wings make me think that he has a double standard of his mind. Moreover, the boy has a red hair that mean he still have other different character. Because red color always mean love, passion, energy.

After I’m reading Ruky’s profile, I ‘m not sure about my interpretations, because he didn’t have enough details to let me know more about him. But I think the avatar mostly explain some character about himself.

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1 Discover

My Discovery

While we were outside looking for urban artifacts I came across a few interesting items they consist of a bottle cap, a small plastic bag, a package wrapper and a Lowes key ring. These objects aren’t exactly the most interesting things to look at they are all geometric shapes except for the bottle cap which has more of a natural shape. Even the colors of the objects aren’t exactly the best most of them are a dull green or blue while the plastic bag is transparent. So instead I have theorized that the objects have all came from a bus driver on his lunch break who wanted an excuse not to go to Lowes on his way home. I thought of this immediately when I saw the print on the plastic bag saying bus company.

Sketches

Each one approximately 7 minutes each/ an hour overall.

Ambiguous: