A Brutal End

So today Sebastian and I were at uni and when we looked around the stairwell our orbs were not there. The metal wire our work hung from had come loose at 1 end. 

Eventually we found our orbs on ground level squashed and shattered beneath the stairs. The largest has the most breaks, while the smallest is considerably 'mushed'.

And that concludes the project. If you want any broken remains let me know.

Final Wrap!

Ok all!! Last 12 hours till the project is over. This week we have successfully had our perspex/acrylic cut out, meticulously tied it all together, completed all 3 crochets to scale, and tied them together ready to install. A lot of work since Monday's presentation! Lighting options have been discussed but are too difficult to do in our time, material and budget restraints. Colouring options have also been discarded as the acrylic will not take spray paint sadly. The final looks great and we're ready to install tomorrow at 1.30. Please remember individual responsibilities, the concept statement is mine, submitting the Powerpoint disk is Nancys, and Sebastian is doing the blog summary sheet.

Images

I think I was the only one who took photos today, so here they are for sharing purposes. Click on the image to view it at high res and feel free to use them in your individual applications. Nancy and I took the photos at the very end of the class and to our lucky surprise, we got some beautiful light refraction (yay) from the flash of the camera. Success! 

Delayed Post on Crocheted Testing...

Sorry about the late blog on the testing for the crochet hyperbolic! Lost camera cord. Anyway, I tested many different materials with some very interesting results! I tested on rope like material, plastic and scooby strings which is a colourful stretchy plastic tubing. Here is the photo of the materials..

Here is the photo of the samples I did with these materials.

We didn't end up using any of these materials because we wanted a more transparent material. Adam went to reverse garbage and picked up some semi transparent plastic tubing, one a yellow-ish colour, the other a brown metallic colour. We tested both of the tubing and decided to go with the yellow-ish coloured tubing. We don't know what the tubing was previously used for but it was SO oily! It was good and bad. Good in the sense that the oil made it easier to crochet, however the oil got onto my hands making it harder to hold the crochet hook. I ended up wearing gloves when crocheting the rest of the roll! The material is also a bit stretchy allowing me to crochet it quite easily if I pulled the tubing too hard and the tension was too tight, it was easily altered.

Group XYZ Progress Feedback

We had our presentation today and Belinda got each group to write down some feedback on each group's progress. Here is the feedback we received:

Progress:

Feedback 1.
Positives:
- Nice effect as it is a very delicate piece
- Especially how it played to your group's strengths
- Well thought out calculations
- Transparent industrial material, works will with your theme
- Well done for including both types of hyperbolic structures in your installation

Negatives:
- Final application sketch could have been stronger
- Too much text

Feedback 2.
Positives:
- Nice selection of inspiration images - very evocative
- Nice mix of techniques (acrylic and crochet)

Negatives:
- Technical difficulties during powerpoint
- Would have been nice to see the final design or a better sketch

Feedback 3.
Positives:
- Effective mix of the two techniques
- Clever consideration of the installation space, will look awesome when made in actual materials

Negatives:
- You make us look bad!

Feedback 4.
Positives:
- Combining both techniques in one form is very interesting
- Interesting materials and process well considered

Negatives:
- Reconsider time constraints on project?
- No installation images

Question:
- Would there b several final models?

The feedback is mostly positive, with the negatives not focussed on the design itself rather the presentation so all is well!

Hanging Our Sculpture

Been researching for a solution for suspending our sculpture. I don't think that hanging each one under each other is possible, like we discussed in classed. It may need to be separate elements. What I have found out is fishing line should be strong enough to hold the elements- depending on the weight of the acrylic. So hopefully we can get in 1mm or 2mm at the largest. If we do it like this it would be easier to hang a light bulb in each one as well. If it is heavy we can go the same thing with chain- but that will take away from the overall aesthetic of our idea. I attached some sculptures I found hat were suspended with just line/string.

acrylic orb model

We had to create a mockup of our orb for the presentation as the acrylics were not ready.

This is made from acetate and should look very similar to our final product. this model is 20cm in diameter.

Final To-Do!

Another quick post from me: I just wanted to touch base and resolve what Belinda sent in her latest email in regards to our submission and presentation.

Firstly she has said what needs to be covered in the presentation, and luckily she gave us 4 points to cover and we have 4 group members so I thought we'd each do 1. Considering the roles we've done so far I've allocated each of us to a point, on which we should aim to talk for 2 minutes, in the given order.

a) response to the hyperbolic concept - Adam
b) research - Nancy
c) project development including materials and techniques - John
d) images and explanation of context/installation placement of the form - Seb

ALSO!

1. Belinda has also asked for the CD of the powerpoint be presented so can Nancy bring that in on monday to submit (either on Monday or Friday)

2. The 500 word concept statement needs to be submitted by email with in-text Harvard style references by Friday. I'm going to go to the library during the week and add in the references, so will be responsible for sending this.

3. Please do as many blog posts as you see relevant before the friday deadline.

4. I can't find the blog summary document on UTS online so we'll work that out on Monday.

5. Bring your cameras and the work we have made so far in on Monday to give us all proper images to construct our individual applications.

Concept Statement

Here is our concept statement! I uses John's previous 100 words which introduce the definition of a hyperbolic and go on to cover our concept and research from there. I hope you all like it and if there is anything you'd like to twitch let me know and we can add/subtract before the final hand in on Friday.

"The concept of a hyperbolic space is that as a position moves further away from a point on a plane, it expands. This does not sound too complicated but, visualizing the definition is very difficult. One of the first representations of a hyperbolic space was done with crochet. Increasing the number of stitches every row allows the 2 dimensional plane to expand to a 3 dimensional form. In mathematics, a hyperbolic function has a very similar nature as it expands in value along the x and the y axis. Another prominent example of hyperbolic space is found in coral reefs, where 2 and 3 dimensional space has expanded together creating a large, frilled form.

Our particular exploration of this definition intertwines another concept; light refraction. This explores ideas of transparency, light alteration, dimension and reality. Some of these notions are not dissimilar to the qualities of a hyperbolic. Exploring both concepts together allows us to create a provocative installation and interact with space on a multitude of levels. Another element we wanted to incorporate is the use of both the crochet and hyperbolic model, to examine how the two could possibly relate and co-exist.    

A range of visuals have been referenced in the research of our concepts, including ice formations, light installations, geometry, glass architectural forms, and crystal structures. These interesting topics have been referenced for their appealing visuals, mathematical appearances and interaction with light. From them we developed a mood and set of standards to apply to our own installation. They have encouraged us to create something semi-transparent, detailed, delicate, and scientifically designed. While a range of material options have been researched and considered, our final materials are clear plastic cord and laser cut perspex. These clear/semi-clear materials allow our installation to toy with any light source as well as intrigue onlookers to examine the materials closer up. The construction and mid-air installation also allow our piece to exist seamlessly within a light stairwell and weightlessly levitate like a bubble.

Throughout the project inspiration has also come from several artists who have provided insight into our process and concept. Our research cited Japanese installation artist Tokujin Yoshioka for his use of clear/white materials in impacting, large-scale gallery installations. He influenced our clear colour palette and clean aesthetic. Stephen Knapp directly uses light refraction in his ‘lightpaintings’ where rainbow shards or light are projected and overlaid in stylised gallery settings. He influenced our choice and understanding of our concept. Another light artist, Alan Jaras bends light by using a lens-less camera creating galaxy or deep sea creature like forms. A form like this is not dissimilar to what our 3D installation developed into. A final artist that dealt with similar concepts to us is Janet Echelman, whose recent work Tsunami 1.26 incorporated some similar elements. Echelman effectively uses a vast and expanding material (a large net), bases her work in mid-air, and heavily plays with a light source (with multi-coloured changing spotlights at night). Reasons why her installation is so effective can be paralleled to what our installation is aiming to achieve.   

Our piece is combining and relating many concepts within each other, both literally and conceptually. With crochet encased in a perspex hyperbolic the work seeks to create a new provocative mid-air new dimension – an example of the complexities of hyperbolic space and a crystalline organism that toys with illumination."

Please post any responses or re-edits in the comments part. 

Janet Echelman

I just wanted to do a quick post on Janet Echelman's Tsunami 1.26. Some of you might have seen the effective work (which was only just taken down) hanging outside of town hall as part of the Love Lace and Art About Sydney events. I couldn't help but see afew similarities between Echelman's work and our as they both are mid-air installations, play with a light source, and are mathematically crafted from a crazy, expansive  material. Reasons why Echelman's work is so so so so successful could be considered in how our work could also succeed. This could me a light source, playing with colour and how the piece is installed. I also wanted to slip Echelman's name into our concept statement which I am about to publish. 

acrylic laser cutting

hi
you might already know but our acrylic pieces will not be available for monday as all the places we tried were really busy and the place at UTS was the most available although they were also busy.
It seems like that they should be done by wednesday and ill keep on pushing the guys at the laser cutting department.
so for the monday presentation, we may need to create a model for our installation or at least a detailed graphic representation.
if you have any ideas please post it up
thanks.

More Cord

Just zipped up to Reverse Garbage to pick up another 3 spools of our plastic cord. $15. Hopefully enough to construct all of our crochet work. 

500 word concept statement coming soon (I'll put it on this blog for all).

hyperbolic space info for the 500 words

Adam, this is the 100word on the hyperbolic space for the 500 words. hope that it helps.

Hyperbolic space.

The concept of a hyperbolic space is that as a position moves further away from a point on a plane, it expands. This does not sound too complicated but, visualizing the definition is very difficult. One of the first representations of a hyperbolic space was done with a crochet. Increasing the number of stitches every row allows the 2 dimensional planes to expand to a 3 dimensional form. In mathematics, a hyperbolic function has a very similar nature as it expands in value along the x and the y axis. An example of a hyperbolic space from the nature is the coral reefs.

Coral reef model made from crochet.

Brief For The Final Week!

 Seems like we made all of our major decision today and now we can speed ahead with production, which is great. Below is my rough diagram for our installation, and I was looking around Level 6 and 7 today and saw many well lit areas our piece would look great in. 

Heres the to-do list to wrap this assignment up:

1. Powerpoint presentation - Nancy

2. 500 Words - Adam (With help from John, to be sent to Nancy before Sunday)

3. Crochet construction - Nancy & Adam

4. Hyperbolic construction - Sebastian & John

5. Investigation into lighting possibilities - John

6. Investigation into colouring (faint spray paint options) - Adam

7. Installation - At this point will be everyone, unless we finish early. 

8. Presenting in class - a bit from everyone - maybe something like: intro from Adam, slides/process from Nancy, constructing the orb by John and final product by Sebastian?

Other Notes;

1. Everyone bring your own photographic devices on monday to take photos of our piece to use in your individual application task. 

2. Just so we all know, the diameters of the 3 objects are as follows;

LARGE: 15cm crochet, 30cm hyperbolic sphere.

MEDIUM: 10cm crochet, 20cm hyperbolic sphere.

SMALL: 5cm crochet, 10cm hyperbolic sphere. 

construction of the acrylic shell

we used hexagons and pentagons to create a spherical shell for the crochets.
firstly we need to know how many pieces of each shapes we need so i created a model to count each shapes.

There were 22 hexagons and 12 pentagons.
Now, we needed to find out the ratio between the side of the shapes and the diameter of the sphere as we will need this data to create the 30cm, 20cm and 10cm spheres.
The side of the shapes was 35mm and the diameter of the sphere was approximately 160mm.
To work out the ratio, I divided the length of the diameter of the sphere to the side of the shape.

The result was 4.6. to get the size of the shape for our spheres, we simply divide the diameter of the sphere by 4.6 and that gives us the size of the sides of the hexagon and the pentagon.

Crocheting With Clear Plastic Cord

I was really lucky to find some plastic cord (one clear and another with a thin metallic strand inside it) at Reverse Garbage the other week.

They are definitely a bit trickier to crochet with as they are not as flexible as wool thread. However I found the results pretty intriguing and effective, so would recommend this material should we need it. 

We've definitely done all our research at this point and its time to make our installation, which although it feels a bit late I think our project will be very well informed and unique. 

Acrylic bonding

I found a website that goes through a bunch acrylic bonding products.
It goes through the pre gluing process, types of joint techniques and the appropriate bonding agent. It also describes bonding acrylics with other materials such as PVC.
http://ozreef.org/diy_plans/techniques/gluing_acrylic.html

light idea

The application of LED string lights or optical fibre seems to be too extreme, costly and hard to execute. i think that a solution to this problem is using the single light source in the hyperbolic rather than having a multiple lights. we could use a light bulb to project the pattern/shape of our hyperbolic like this installation.

another solution could be to use a light source from outside the work to create a projection of the hyperbolic

Circular Hyperbolic

Sebastian was wondering if we could create a circular hyperbolic, after some research we found out we cannot create a circle with the geometric hyperbolic structure but this is the closest to a circle one could create using the geometric hyperbolic structure:

Class Research.

We're class now, researching some material options: fibre optics

It's a pretty cool material, except for the fact that it costs $400 - $700 for the illuminators (the light source for the fibre optics), after this we didn't bother finding out the cost of the fibre optics though we suspect it to be much less dear than the light source.

Now we are researching other materials such as LED lights, all this research is for the crocheted part of the installation, for the paper geometric model we are thinking of using acrylic, as a casing for the crocheted lights

As an alternative, we could use reflective fabrics, such as sequinned fabrics, which reflect the light well

  

Fabric could be winded around rope, which can be crocheted into a hyperbolic 

Acrylic Material Option

So I've been researching into acrylic as a material option, it is cheaper than plastic and has a glass and resin like quality with how it reacts to light, and how it can be moulded. Plus from what i can tell its quite easy to add some colour which i know we discussed briefly in class. I could be worth investigating more how we could use it? - I think for the hyperbolic shape? We could get it precut which would make our lives a bit easier.

Mood Board

I thought I'd just whip up a little mood board to visualise some of the references for our concept. 

The references strongly link to geometry (in both nature and the man-made environment) and transparent forms that have an illuminating relationship with light. Both these notions are relevant in our hyperbolic project. 

This week in class we learned  how to hyperbolic crochet! It was much simpler than it looks and here is a picture of my finished product, it look me a few days to finish it but I was pretty much obsessed. During class, we discussed the idea further and Sebastian thought of an idea of crocheting lights, it would look amazing plus it ties in with the concept of light refraction (because without light there would be no refraction). I think it would be very interesting to work with crochet and an unusual crocheting material as the aesthetic would be vastly different to a typical knitted crochet hyperbolic. A crocheted hyperbolic looks very dainty, ruffly and quite feminine, but if it is crocheted in an industrial material it would look sculptural and controlled in a good way. 


My finished crochet:

I really like the idea of creating a light installation, merging the paper model and crochet together. Whether it the crochet encases the light, or paper model or the other way around. But now I am unsure of how a light installation ties in with the light refraction concept. Here are some great light installations:

Bruce Munro Field of Light Long Knoll Installation

I like how it balances controlled with the uncontrolled, the light itself is fragile and free while the casing is very structural, much like the marrying of the paper model (the structural geometrics of hyperbolics) and the crochet.

Anselm Reyle of Neon Light Installation

This is very different and uses light in an interesting way, the way the lights are all over the place and tangled together just reminded me of the crochet we did in class

Alan Jaras work of "bending light" is very interesting because it is an example of how light and light refraction can be combined into a project. 

“Using only film, and without a lens on the camera, in what Alan says could still be described as a photogram, he shoots a targeted light source through and a piece of art glass or formed plastic to capture the created refraction patterns. The results, what could be described as ‘images of strange microscopic or deep sea creatures or even galaxies forming in deep space,’ pull at the viewers perception of digital and analog, art and science, all the while expanding our imaginations and understanding of the world around us.”

Stephen Knapp is an artist specialising in light and creating "lightpaintings". His art is beautiful in capturing the concept of light refraction by using lights. Here are some images...

Creating A Cardboard Hyperbolic - Week 1

Creating this hyperbolic was a great starting point to understand the way a hyperbolic inhabits a space. It was very 'growth like' and almost uncontrollable as it spidered over the workplace.