Kathryn Parr INDN211

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Final studio shot and context photo: Whiskey decanter, designed to air small amounts of whiskey while referencing traditional glass making techniques.

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Development

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Drawing with overlay

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Final Video

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I was inspired by Jasper John and Jo Baer’s ideas of adding movement and depth into their works respectively. Abstracting concepts into a 3D sculptural form. The slow movement harks back to these being inspired by paintings, as if it was not moving at all. The movement is abstracted from Jasper Johns target paintings. The meaning behind the colours is from a concept of Baer’s: they draw attention to spatial relationships—positive/negative and absence/presence—above subject matter”. This creates depth with positive and negative space in the piece. It is powered via a motor with a screw mounted onto it. The nut is held in place at the top of the box, and the motor is able to run up and down on two bits of doweling. The pin is raised 4mm and rotated on the hypotenuse of a 20mmx100mm triangle.

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Prototyping through to final model process

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3 initial concepts, have chosen to continue with the third one.

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Final photos of pen

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Following the lathe I have documented some important parts of the making process.

Photo 1: Set up in order to cut the part, holding the part stable while the angle was cut.

Photo 2: All parts printed and rafts taken off ready for assembly

Photo 3: Wet sanding the 3D printed part to 1200 grit

Photo 4: Polishing all parts to obtain a smooth and shiny finish.

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Finalised Design:

I have refined my design to represent the transition between Modernism (in the clear acrylic) and the Memphis movement (red 3D print).

The acrylic portion of the form reflects the Modernist architecture of Mies van der Rohe. The concentric circles running through the design elude to the circular concrete structures that hold up the structure of Rohes building. The acrylic shows the glass, representing the Modernist idea of compounding the inside and outside space. It remains simplistic in form, with one slope and an ordered manner to the space between the circular parts.

The 3D printed part of the design subtly shows the challenges to tradition which Sottsass was proposing when he created the Memphis movement. It mirrors but also changes the previous design, showing the changes in form, colour and surface decoration that he proposed. It keeps similarities due to the at times simplistic forms of Memphis and Modernism replicating each other, especially in small objects, just with less functionality and more abstract concepts.

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Further Research

In order to further push my pen design, I have deepened the meaning of my pen through research. 

My final design will represent the change between Modernist and Memphis design styles and the implications of this change from the perspective of Ettore Sottsass. 

As an antithesis to Ettore Sottsass’ values I have chosen to use the style of Mies van der Rohe as inspiration. Following is a summary of the research I have conducted from multiple sources that are cited.

Mies van der Rohe:

Modernist German Architect Mies van der Rohe once famously said “less is more” His buildings used simplistic forms with steel and concrete frames connected with glass. This created minimal, skeletal structures that were very influential to Modernist architectural style and the aesthetic of skyscrapers today. Rohe stated that “architecture should embody a continuous flow of space” from indoors to outdoors through glass. The minimal aesthetic supposedly made this possible. This is a complete antithesis to the philosophy of Ettore Sottsass and the Memphis group and therefore serves as the modernist half of the pen. Specifically, I will be looking at a unbuilt design of a Glass Skyscraper planned  in 1922, though never built. It was built on circular slabs of concrete as supports and therefore I will be using this as inspiration for the shape of the pen.

References

ArchDaily. (2018). Material Masters: Glass is More with Mies van der Rohe. Retrieved 2 April 2018, from https://www.archdaily.com/574575/material-masters-glass-is-more-with-mies-van-der-rohe

YouTube. (2018). Ludwig Mies van der Rohe - Architecture as language. Retrieved 2 April 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8VdhVJQm9U

WikiArquitectura. (2018). Glass Skyscraper - Data, Photos & Plans. Retrieved 2 April 2018, from https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/glass-skyscraper/

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I have completed two more iterations to push my final concept to a more refined place before the making process begins

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Concept 1:

In this concept I attempted to develop my initial design by creating a modern take on Memphis style. It critiques the use of surface decoration of the Memphis style by making this a useful addition to the design as a grip. Further, the dynamic form updates the Memphis style into a more modern and practical shape. Ettore Sottsass would have used this pen as it follows his design ideals, but I have taken this from a critical modern angle inspired by contemporary design.

Concept 2:

Continuing with the idea of surface decoration, this design shows a different form of critique. The impracticality of the small concentric black 3D printed parts highlights how much of Ettore Sottsass’ surface decoration lacked function (whether this was purposeful or not). The design critiques this idea via making the surface decoration impractical to the user by poking them when they try to use the object.

Concept 3:

This design explores the idea of the transition between the Modernism and Memphis design styles as Ettore Sottsass created the Memphis Group. It takes design elements from both movements, such as the clean lines from Modernism and the colours and partitioned bodies of Memphis. This exemplifies the transition as Sottsass signed his document.

Concept 4:

In this design I further explored the idea of impracticality in the design. The squat shape and groves make it inconvenient for the user to write with, though this creates an interesting shape. This exaggerates the slight impracticality of Memphis objects to highlight its prevalence to the movement.

Concept 5:

This design takes multiple themes, placing them together to make a well rounded object. Combining the squat shape, with a dynamic peak at the top, shows the change in style that the Memphis style has gone through into modern times. Further, the surface decoration acts as a practical grip for the object. Therefore, it represents a more evolved Memphis style that looks at this signing from a contemporary perspective. This will be the final concept that I take forward to part two of this project.

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Initial Concept Critiques

Though I enjoy the aesthetic of this design, the application of pattern to a simple shape lacks meaning and could be pushed further to critique and/or understand the intentions of Memphis.

I believe this concept encaptures the look and feeling on Memphis well through both colour and shape. In saying this, this is a very simple idea and could be pushed further.

I really enjoy this design as it critiques how the practicality of Memphis objects. As the pen is not the most easy to use, it critiques how Memphis often lacked ergonomics and focused heavily on surface decoration. I would like to continue this concept in my final five design.         

This is a relatively simple interpretation of Memphis aesthetics and does not show much development in research.

Though I will not continue with the Tesla theme, this is probably my favourite design aesthetically. The colours capture the conflict with regards to the SpaceX programme and tells an interesting narrative.

This was my initial concept design. It remains very simple and could be more complex in its themes.

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Further research into Memphis, it’s styles, downfalls and the modern interpretations of this movement. 

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Sketches outlining design concepts, drawing on research into form, shape and philosophy of Ettore Sottsass and Memphis

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Memphis inspired pen design 4/4