Stair Video

I thought this stair was pretty hilarious. Only ninjas can ascend!

Building 2

The inspiration for the form of the above ground structure comes from the noun "cacoon" I used to describe Fiona Hall's "Tender". I envisioned an enormous shape like a pod, or a chrysalis.
Adding the struts also evoked an image of a little bird like creature, again, referencing Halls' dollar bill nests.

The verb referenced in the below ground structure is "disrupt" which is deduced from "Something More" by Tracey Moffat. I imagined it to be a large, geometric shape with straightforward, hard lines, embedded within the earth.


Above: This back view shows the supporting struts.
The underground structure consists of an inner room where the walls are glass, surrounded by a passageway filled with plants and vegetation, like a garden corridor wrapping around the studio. The ceiling of this structure is also glass, to let in natural light. However, the area above the studio is a shallow pool of water, which provides privacy for those working directly below, as well as an interesting diffusion of light. These stairs are also glass, to blend in with the wall and to show the greenery on the other side.


I used my texture of layered stones to line the walls of the underground structure - you can see it through the glass of the inner room. Tracey Moffet's "Something More" hangs on the wall.



The entrance stairs to the main gallery acts as a third support for the structure, and is made of a single sheet of folded metal.

This tiny little entrance chamber further emphasizes the idea of a cacoon - snug and enclosed. I covered everything in my fleshy texture, to evoke a sense of softness, warmth, as well as disquiet and the slightly abject.

Above: A sectional view of the first floor gallery and the secondary space on the half level.
Below: This sectional view shows the top floor studio area, looking down at the layers of curves of the other levels. I designed plain, wooden cantilever stairs for the inside of the above ground structure to compliment the simple, calm setting necessary for a gallery - where I believe the main focus should be on the artwork.




Above: Fiona Hall's vitrine containing her "Tender" works, placed in the main gallery space.
The gallery stairs are simple wooden steps attached to the curved surface of the wall.
Below: A view from the small landing, looking up to the top floor studio.



Above: My "supple" textures was used to cover a section of the ceiling as a decorative detail in the upstairs studio, extending the shape of the window.
Below: A side sectional view of the mutliple levels.

Textures

Artist materials and processes.

The two artist works i chose are "Tender" by Fiona Hall and "Something More" by Tracey Moffat.

Tender features dozens of delicate birds' nests built from shredded United States Dollar Bills, all different shapes and sizes. The nests are intricately but untidily woven, giving the artwork a natural, realistic quality. The result are these beautiful, fragile little pods, like a cacoon, evoking weightlessness. The work presents many juxtapositions - both man made and organic, at once organised yet messy and random, the effect is soft and curved, but really the paper strips are hard and sharp.

"Something More" is a cibachrome print. Also known as illfochrome, its a photographic process used to produce slides on photographic paper, on a polyester base. The benefits of this are the prints are less likely to fade, discolour or deteriorate, and the image clarity and colour purity can be superior, as well as being more environmentally friendly. I chose this work because the image is challenging on many levels. Compositionally because of all the different elements, including that of different cultures, and the collage effect of photographic figures placed against a painted background. The use of clashing colours is also eclectic and can be hard to take in; a violent, restless energy is embodied.

Carlos Scarpa stair section

Building 1

The botton right sketch labeled "verb, artist 2/verb, artist 1" is where the model is derived from. The word for above is "disrupt" from Tracey Moffet's "Something More". I had imagined a huge, harsh, jutting geometric shape imposed upon the landscape, slightly hovering. The word for the structure underneath is "remain", so my design is rather subdued and simple.

For the structure above ground I chose white brick contrasted with a wooden cladding on the tubular stairwell, which is echoed underneath the small stairs between the two landings. The underground structure I built out of simple, sturdy cement brick, covering the roof in grass. The cantilever stairs leading from the first floor to ground level is of a light metal, to give the effect that everything is floating off the ground with minimal support.

My artist word sketches

The two artists I chose are 1: Fiona Hall and 2: Tracey Moffat.

Wood, Piece, Rusty

Fire, Restless, Disrupt

Cacoon, Fragile, Remain

photo of sky in tokyo. the buildings were so high it was almost unnatural, although it is a very beautiful and relatively clean city.

These are photos of the National Art Center of Japan, located in central district Roppongi, Tokyo, that i took on a recent trip there. Designed by famous japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, it is absolutely massive and the most beautiful gallery i have ever seen. I was really lucky that when i was there, they were holding a large Picasso exhibition. 7 halls filled with famous painitngs, sculptures and even his sketchbooks. It was a priviledge to see them.

This is a from a series of photos from a photography assignment i did in art school last year at Auckland University of Technology. The ideas being discussed were the "truth of materials" (Kasimir Malevich and all that jazz) and how photos were always seen as being a "truth." I was interested in playing with scale and exploring a the idea that the truth lies outside of the frame. In this shot, light is being projected from a source outside of the room the viewer is in, creating curiousity. The setting is inside a doll's house, but i framed the shots so that its not a dead giveaway - only clues like the texture of all the surfaces, the size of the hair on the floor and the stiffness of the minature curtain.