Author Archives: Michael

Photo Lantern

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This week, one of my friends asked me to take a look at a blog post she found inspiring. The work displayed was an array of paper jewels-a giant installation made of paper. I agree, the work that she showed me was really inspiring. I really enjoyed the work of Kristen Hassenfeld and decided to try something inspired from her work. This project is very manageable-only taking me one hour to fully complete. I wanted to use some of the printed photos I had lying around, so I tried to re-create a jewel-like-lantern with them.
Here is my product and below are the instructions:

And here is how I did it:

Instructions:
1. Get your supplies. You will need a cutter, ruler, cutting board, tape, laminate paper, string and a marker. (and of course your photos)

2. Cut your laminate paper into a pattern that you will duplicate onto the pictures. I used a hexagon shape.

3. With the pattern cut all of your pictures. Perforate two lines onto the photo (making sure you do not cut all the way through), so that you get a place to fold the picture.

4. Tape all of the flat sides of the hexagons together, making a cylinder of hexagons.

5. Start taping the angled sides together. (Make sure to tape two together, then skip one and tape the next two together-and so on-refer to the above).

6. Take the triangle pieces that you cut off of the hexagons and tape the longest sides together.

7. Tape these into the remaining gaps between your hexagons.

8. Finish by taping these smaller triangles together at their tips.

9. Use string to hang.

History and Theory: Design Past

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Starting this new semester, we are going into a lot of History and Theory which is included in the shaping of what architecture is as a whole. Our studies have taken us from the debate of art categories-the fine arts as compared to industrial arts; all the way to the push for a violent revolt of the arts and society as a whole. In the first few lectures, we focused on what it meant to be “Modern”, and what that means for architecture.

With the start of the industrial revolution, the world moved into the modern era–but some would say this isn’t the start of the modern era. The real change that occurred what the explosion of new materials and machines that allowed for so many new and different artistic expressions and styles.

The Arts and Crafts Movement was one of the first reactions to the Modern era and its effects. The Arts and Crafts Movement hoped to return to the more handcrafted tradition of creating all utilitarian and decorative items uniquely and personally. This included highly intricate work by people-instead of machines. They created by hand their own furniture, houses, stained glass, fixtures, and even wallpaper.

Art Nouveau was the reaction to the Arts and Crafts Movement. They believed in the machine and the possibilities behind the machine. They praised engineers as artists and embraced new technologies and materials as ways to enhance their artistic expression. They started to use machines in art and created an evolved style based on these ideas.

The Futurists came soon after these two groups, in the beginning of the 1900’s-right before the First World War. They suggested that society should reject all previous styles and ideas-to move onto the next era of thought. This takeover and renewal of thought would be constant-reoccurring every ten to twenty years (in the minds of the Futurists). They imagined a new society based on the machine-and architecture which reflected this.

The Deutsche Werkbund was a group of German artists, architects, and thinkers who were set on changing Germany as a world power and bringing the culture of art and creation to the foreground of German life. They saw little distinction between architecture, art, and print. This idea started to infiltrate into industry and product design.

Image sources: Morris Grafton, Alphonse Maria Mucha, Peter Behren and Antonio Sant’Elia.

Details: Depression Glass

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Eating at my grandparents house is always a treat, I mean, the food is great-straight from the garden-and getting to catch up is even better; but one thing that I really love is their cutlery and glassware, a mixture of Depression Glass and Elegant Glass-two types of vintage dining china that were both introduced in the early 1920’s to the 1950’s. Depression glass has interested me more because of its connection to the major economic event in our country’s history: The Great Depression. Durring that time, companies would produce glassware and package it inside of cereal boxes and other non-durable products as incentive to buy the goods. They were also given out as a sort of freebie at movies and other events.

Depression glass is still a great addition to any kitchen and a great way to present food at parties and other gatherings. Our family has a set of Sierra Green Depression Glass that we love to bring out on special occassions.

The details invested in these pieces of glass are what make them really special to me. They are great for age-whether you are a college student and feel like being “hipster”, or are a working young adult and need something else for the less-than-authentic

Some other great uses for depression glass pieces are: as a vase for flowers, presenting candies or nuts, serving tea or coffee, in decor, or as a bathroom accessory.

Thank you Vicki, Calloohcallay, and Ginny for capturing depression glass so well.
 

Four Responses: What’s in My Bag | Michael

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I was going to the studio, so I have all of my studio gear-including my rubber gloves, sketchbooks, tin foil, computer, and writing utensils. We are working with concrete in the studio these days, so I am doing a lot with sculpting and mixing concrete. These are the essentials when I go to the studio. And I can’t forget my canvas bag-on which I have so lovingly bestowed a drawing of my all time favorite logo: Starbucks (the thing that keeps me going through those long studio nights). Most of the stuff in my bag today comes from Muji, a great Japanese store that sells some amazing stationary, amongst other things. Check out Rachel’s Response!

This and That: Tron

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Tron

Art and pop culture walk hand in hand, yet many are not attuned to trends and styles that runs through both art and culture. This was amore obvious case as I instinctively thought of a space aged setting while viewing the ink on canvas print on the left. Surprisingly enough, this picture was hung in a tiki bar on one of the main beaches in Langkawi, Malaysia. The print reminded me of tron in particular because of the kind of helmet and light features that were present in the art piece.

The print reminded me of a movie that came out about two years ago-Tron. This remake of a 1982 science fiction film is all about speed space ship racing and light-up suits. The detailing in the print do take away from the very minimalistic tron suits and helmets, and lean towards a more the Starwars IV film. The compilation of these aspects remind us of certain things, but also give rise to so many other mediums and pieces of work like this forward chair design by Mike To (Seen on Made.com):
Chair by Mike To

Or this house design by Hanse Haus (Seen on Design Boom):
Chair by Mike To

What surprised-or rather interested me- was presence of this print. In fiction culture, we are so used to the fast paced changes. First it was Star Wars, then Back to the Future, then Harry Potter, then Eragon, then more Harry Potter, then Twilight, then Zombies, and it keeps going. These phases in fictional media are fast moving, but I think the art scene (however fast) moves a bit more slowly. Yet, when we recontemplate and rethink these pieces of art and media, we can gain new inspiration and again these similar themes and trends flow through the fiction scene.

(Images courtesy of Collider.com) Click the gif below for a full interview on Tron the movie.

Tron

I’m Lovin’… The Beach

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Starting school today, I am far away from the sand, sun, and waves at the beach and closer to the skyscrapers, textbooks, and bad traffic. I wanted to go back to those moments, relaxing poolside, thinking about life and tanning my worries away.

1. Fauna; in Langkawi, Malaysia there are many monkeys and other animals around. 2. Nautical Vehicles; sailboats and fishing boats traversed the waters in search for good wind or a good catch. 3. Flora; flowers grew everywhere on the island because of the tropical location and heavy rainfall. 4; Fruit Juices; every day offered a new freshly squeezed drink.

On The Streets: Art and Design

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Only a day after getting back from vacation, I am getting back into the art, design, and architecture world. Hong Kong is known for it’s many design exhibitions and conferences, and last semester I visted the Detour exhibition, which was focussed on recycling and the use of so called “useless” items. Today I attended the Fotanian Open Studios Exhibition, a kind of progressive exhibition where artists, designers, and architects open their studios to the public. Located in Fotan, Hong Kong; many artists have started to take over industrial buildings for their galleries and studios. This reminded me of countless other industrial areas that have been converted to art districts, such as the 798 Art District in Beijing (http://www.798art.org/ | http://www.798space.com/). Past the industrial elevators and corridors, there were many studios that I really enjoyed. Here are some pictures of my favorites, a good mix of architecture, design, and art.