Proposal and Bibliography

PROJECT TITLE: Postmodernity

REVIEW

Before starting this course, I had little prior knowledge of art, artists and art movements.  However, I have since acquired skills such as perspective drawing, the use of different types of media, understanding the work of other artists and manipulating photographs.  At the beginning of the course, I knew that my elected pathway would be 3D, because I aspire to become an architect.  The Grids, Layers and Reflections assignment has provided a substantial framework for what will be my FMP.  I found that my strengths during the assignment were: meticulous and measured drawing, distinguishing and reassembling the underlying shapes within reflections, and superimposing grids on top of images to create new and ambiguous images.

 

IDEAS AND CONCEPTS

The concept that I will be centring my FMP around is Postmodernity.  I am interested in the way the idea came about, first within the world of art and design and then as a label for the post-industrial society within which we live.  The Grids project highlighted to me that I have an interest in postmodernity, utopia and dystopia.  I could apply these ideas to 3D by experimenting with positive, negative, complex and simple shapes.  I also realized that I have a great enthusiasm for words, which I may incorporate into the project.  For the final idea, I will ideally create a sculptural piece (or pieces) with relation to the theme.

CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH

To me, the idea of postmodernity connotes confusion, ambiguity, fragmentation and isolation.  The Deconstructivist movement bares a great relevance to this because the conventional ideas of form and space are subverted and destabilised to create visually striking buildings.  I will be looking at Deconstructivist architects such as Daniel Libeskind and Zaha Hadid.  However, I will also be touching upon the work of other contemporary architects such as Santiago Calatrava whose work is postmodern to the extent that it is almost space-age.  In terms of primary research, I will be working from my own photographs as well as the work that I did during the Grids project.    

TECHNIQUES AND PRESENTATION

The ideas development process will revolve around a mixture of aspects: experimenting with my photographs on Photoshop to develop concepts, studying the work of other artists and using different materials to create 3D sculptures (e.g. card, paper, wood, foam board and clay).  I think that postmodernity it about looking at existing things in a completely different way; so, I will apply postmodernity to the experimentation by taking apart photographs (or interesting images within them) and then reconstructing them in various ways i.e. cutting photos into squares and then reassembling them, layering photos, making models from photos etc.

EVALUATION AND PROGRESSION

I will keep visual records of my work in my sketchbook which I will annotate consistently.  I will record my thought processes in my journal. I will also create a blog which will almost serve as a blend between the sketchbook and journal, simply because doing things digitally provides more coherent and immediate results.       

WORD COUNT: 482

Bibliography

Cattermole, P. (2006). Buildings For Tomorrow. London: Thames And Hudson Ltd.

Ching, F. D. (1996). Architecture: Form, Space and Order. New York : Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Cragoe, C. D. (2008). How To Read Buildings: A Crash Course in Architecture. London: Herbert Press.

Field, D. M. (2011). The World's Greatest Architecture: Past and Present. London: Hermes House.

Frampton, K. (1992). Modern Architecture: A Critical History. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd.

Libeskind, D. (1991). Architectural Monographs No. 16: Daniel Libeskind: Countersign. London: Academy Editions.

Libeskind, D., & Binet , H. (1999). Jewish Museum Berlin. Berlin: G & B International.

Papadakis, A., & Steele, J. (1991). Architectural Design for Today. London: Academy Editions.

Steele, J. (1998). Los Angeles Architecture: The Contemporary Condition. London: Phaidon Press Limited.

Thiel-Siling, S., Kuhl, I., & Lowis, K. (2008). 50 Architects You Should Know. London: Prestel Publishing Ltd.

Venturi, R. (1977). Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. New York: Museum of Modern Art.

Wright, F. L. (1994). Frank Lloyd Wright: The Early Works of the Great Architect. New Jersey: Random House Value Publishing Inc.