“Line” Design Project: Construction Day

So after frantically trying to gather all my materials, I finally began and nearly finished creating my art piece! This work is totally interactive and the pipes slide in and out so anyone can create their own version. In the photo below, it is missing one tube because it cracked. It will soon be replaced and the entire box will be filled. It was a long, cold day in my garage but with some help from my dad, I completed the construction! Now all I have to do is clean it up and decide on whether I should paint or stain it tomorrow.

Though the design is somewhat simple, making this piece took a lot more consideration than I originally thought. Because I had rendered it out on SolidWorks, it was already scaled out. But because I was using a 1/8 circular saw blade, the loss of 1/8 of material had to be taken into account for the measurements of all of the cuts I made. So if a plank was supposed to be 11.5 inches, I had to add .125 when I measured, knowing that the .125 would be removed in the cutting process. I also had to take into consideration that I did not want the pipes TOO tightly packed so they could easily slide around one another, so I left a small space inside the frame (meaning I made the bottom and top horizontal pieces of wood a tad bit longer than necessary.)  Since it had to fit six pipes across, I measured the diameter of the pipes, multiplied by six, added .125 for material loss, and another small fraction for the extra space.

Another measurement I made included the exact diameter and length of each pipe because though they were supposed to all be the same, there are always going to be some small variation in size. Because my smallest pipe was  almost a half inch smaller than all of the other ones, I had to base our final cut length of pipe off of the smallest pipe.  I only had enough pipes to make the EXACT amount of tubes, so it was crucial I use the pipes in the most efficient way.

(Almost) Finished Piece

Materials

Safety First!

Full Length Pipes and Circular Saw

Pipes

Wood Planks

Cutting the Pipes

The Wooden Frame

Constructing the Wooden Frame

Math

Measuring Pipes

“Line” Design Project: CHANGE OF PLANS

So after a few hours of critiquing other studies and seeing what my classmates had to say about mine, I noticed a lot of my peers attention was directed to the straw study inspired by Tara Donovan. The fascination wasn’t just with the material used, but the fact that it was interactive. When holding the study, one could push the straws through in either direction. (Shown in previous post.)

After reflecting on the critiques and thinking about materials and concepts, I rendered an image in SolidWorks that realistically represents what I plan on constructing for the most part. I originally planned on using thin vacuum piping, but am currently looking into cardboard mailing tubes to decrease the weight of this piece. Each tube will be individually placed within the wooden frame and will be able to slide back and forth from either side.

The idea is that the “artist” will stand on one side of the sculpture while the viewers watch from the opposite side as the tubes are pulled and push to create an original version of the piece. This interactive art allows different interpretations and encourages others to create their own art.

I have been playing with the idea of adding small lights or reflective material to enhance the effect of the different tube placements.

“Line” Design Process: Step 2 (Stick Studies)

I will refer to these art studies as my mixed medium “stick” studies. After spending some time on these small structures, I brainstormed with Joe and came up with a new idea to help inspire my final project. I am very intrigued by the work of Giuseppe Penone and his tree carvings. Discussing relief sculpture in class and observing Giuseppe’s carving techniques, I would love to create some kind of subtraction sculpture. For my next post, I will show my design process in using layers of cardboard to create some kind of relief carving.

Though the following studies don’t quite relate to this idea, I still learned a lot from working with line and forming segments to create these pieces. Other than the wire, all the materials used were straight which was a good and bad thing for me. The good thing was it insured my clear use of line and allowed me to challenge myself to create unique designs with nothing but straight lines. It was also hard because I felt I couldn’t explore different techniques of making sculptures, such as carving and molding.

I was really inspired by Mark Di Suvero, Tara Donovan, and Nils Udo.

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Activating Space

Activating Space

Activating Space

Activating Space

Activating Space

Volume

Volume

Volume

“Line” Design Process: Step 1

This project is all about the LINE. I must create 8 small 3D studies of line sculptures, 4 using volume and the other 4 “activating space.” Then out of these 8 studies, I must pick the best and make a much larger version with whatever material I choose.

In the beginning of my design process, I started by playing around with some magnetic toys to get my mind used to seeing lines in 3D. Though fun, these were a bit hard to maneuver and get too creative with.  Little did I know what I liked even LESS was what I tried next.. wire. Not only did my pieces start coming out sloppy and bent but my fingers became extremely sore and greasy.
I later decided to go for a different strategy… Popsicle sticks and a hot-glue gun. I found this was a much easier way for me to get creative without getting too sloppy or sore. My inspiration for this first piece came from the artist Nils Udo who was known for his giant nest earth structures. His work can be seen on my previous post. As I began to layer the sticks, I decided to keep layering and layering until the nest turned into a more 3 dimensional vessel with a volume inside.

Nils Udo (Research)

Nils Udo is a Bavarian artist that has been working with nature as his main inspiration since 1972. Though he originally began by painting nature, Nils Udo eventually turned to creating site-specific pieces using natural materials. His artworks have appeared all over the world, including Europe, Japan, Israel, India and Mexico.

“By elevating the natural space to a work of art, I had opened myself to reality, to the liveliness of nature – I had overcome the gap between art and life. The roundabout way of two-dimensional abstraction in painting had been overcome. Henceforth my pictures were no longer painted, but planted, watered, mowed, or fenced.”

Bindweed flowers held in their journey on a stream by a stick dam. Reunion, Indian Ocean, 1990

He works on site using found berries, leaves, sticks, the movement of water, and the growth of plants. Each piece is in response to the landscape and materials he finds around him. Nil Udo uses many different ways to create line, whether it be the materials he uses, the placement, or implied lines.

Lava flames–flowers & lava flow, Reunion, IndiaNest in red clay, Clemson College, 2005

Dune Edge: pampas grass, sand, wind –Namibia, 2001STONE-TIME-MAN:  quartzite monolith weighing about 150 tons, fir trunks blown over in storm, Forest Sculpture trail, Wittgenstein-Sauerland, Bad Berleberg, Germany, 2001Robinia Leaf Swing: robinia leaf halved, ash twigs, Valle de Sella, Italy,1992

Willow Nest: pollarded willow, hay, fern stalks, poppy petals, Marchiennes Forest, France, 1994

Nils Udo talks about the rhythm of nature in his art, which correlates with his use of line, circles, and patterns.

The Nest: earth, stones, silver birch, grass; Lineberg Heath,Germany, 1978

“I associated my existence with the cycles of nature, with the circulation of life. Henceforth my life and work proceeded under the guidance and in keeping with the rhythms of nature. Sensations are omnipresent. I just need to pick them up and release them from their anonymity. Utopias are under every rock, on every leaf, behind every tree, in the clouds and in the wind. The sun’s course on the days of equinox; the tiny habitat of a beetle on a lime leaf; the pointed maple’s red fire; the scent of herbs in a wooded gorge; a frog’s croak in the duckweed; the primrose’s perfume on the banks of a mountain creek; animal traces in the snow; the remaining trajectory of a bird darting through the woods; a gust of wind in a tree; the dancing of light on leaves; the endlessly complex relationship of branch to branch, twig to twig, leaf to leaf.”

Waterhouse: spruce trunks, birch branches, willow switches and sod on tidal flats– Waddensee mudflats, Holland, 1982

I find Nils Udo’s work to be very inspirational. His techniques and statements about his own work show there are a lot more to site-specific art and installations than just the final piece. It takes a lot of pre-planning and patience to reach his final goals. While his use of line and volume is apparent, Udo’s work is influential to more than just my next project (based on lines.) His reflections and explanations about his work show how every part of the work was planned out and given meaning. He also has a varied use of media and was able to transition from painting to earth sculptures on a much larger scale. His transformation is something he is very aware of, and has documented not only the change within his art, but within his mind as he views the world.

http://www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Nils_Udo.html