cassandra lee

@shiyaoc + @siqichenadad1002

Final Video:

In class experiment video:

Planning for making + editing video 

@shiyaoc + @siqichenadad1002

Affect & body politics

engaging the work with the audience = interactive engagement with the class after we play the video. They re-enact / try out some of the food with the sound

how to manipulate the audience = can we change their senses?

first impact = affect = strange/abnormal sounds with food 

following feelings = effect = did it work? 

Brainstorming Ideas for A3

Inspiration: [sounds/audio mixed with visuals]

The inspiration that sparked our event branched from an article that explored how sound can affect our tastes. An experiment Charles Spence and Heston Blumenthal conducted, asked the audience to taste two samples of ‘bacon & egg’ ice creams. They played two different tracks, one of bacon sizzling and the other of chickens. It resulted with the audience finding the ice cream that had the most bacon flavour was when they played the sizzle sounds. However, both ice cream samples were identical. This experiment lead us to our idea of challenging this hypothesis. 

Another article stated that “sound in whatever form has the harm to create balance and harmony or to create trauma and chaos” (Griffiths, 2017). One should be conscious of the sounds in their environment to see what kind of effects it will have on them. 

References

n.a, 2011, ‘Sound bites: how sound can affect taste’, Oxford University Press, https://blog.oup.com/2011/08/sound-bites/, last viewed 22 October 2018

with @shiyaoc & @siqichenadad1002

Week 10:

Initially we thought about using an existing event to further create and enhance the experience. The event we wanted to draw inspiration from was the Mid-Autumn festival that happened in late September. The festival celebrates the full moon in the lunar calendar and has many cultural representations. Our idea was to gather some of the Asian characteristics and Westernise it in some way. That was as far as we got. 

Week 11:

Shiyao had the idea to convey a specific emotion by touching a tangible object we make. This emotion was stemmed by a common phrase we all use in our daily conversations such as ‘I love you’ and ‘goodnight’. This is supported by having different textures and shapes that the user will feel to interpret what kind of emotion it was evoking. 

Week 12:

Final Work: Cassandra Lee (2018), “3 Parts to being Fine”

Artist Statement

At the start of this project, I knew I wanted to continue working with text and how particular words can affect people’s perspectives. Instead of taking the clean and dirty binary approach from the previous assessment, I chose a different pathway that tackles the other side of the human mind. Emotion. Not happy, nor sad, but in this perpetual limbo of feeling nothing but something.

The certainty of being uncertain is a new binary I came up with. I’m sure a lot of people have been in this position where something is bothering them but they themselves or the people around them don’t know the answers to what or why it is happening. As I was trying to research what this ‘concept’ was called, I found a site that listed ’13 lies people with depression tell’. The first lie they listed was “I’m fine.” This is an iconic line that everyone uses for many reasons, but the most common intention is that the individual doesn’t want to bother or worry the person asking. The fear of dragging or forcing someone into their problems is better to be avoided, as one thinks. Much of this conceptual thinking was based on my personal experiences. Frustration, sadness, and numbness are universal expressions and moods I wanted to convey on behalf of society.

Most of my research was focused on the methods and mediums other artists and designers used. These ranged from artists who solely just used text and a flat medium, to designers making three-dimensional installations. But the two most influential artists who guided my final work are Robert MacPherson and Shai Levi. I was intrigued by MacPherson’s work that revolved around road signs and the choice of words he decided to put on it. His installation, ‘Mayfair: (Swamp Rats) Ninety-Seven Signs for C.P., J.P., B.W., G.W. & R.W.’ (1994–95) was overwhelming for the eye and at first glance, quite illusive. The repetitive elements and the tonal colours are what encouraged me to take a similar approach since I liked having this daunting reaction when I looked at his work, even though it was not related to the context whatsoever. I subconsciously created road signs when I cut out different geometric shapes and attached a piece of wire to it. These signs symbolise the act of emotional guidance, they aide the individual to isolation. Contrastingly, designer Shai Levi and her multiple dimension, illusion drawings invited me to explore with lights and shadows. Since I used CD disks, I played with its transparency with a torch and it gave off this intimidating shadow of these haunting thoughts. Experimenting together with MacPherson and Levi’s practice, allowed me to craft these photographic images.  

The words and phrases I chose for this final piece reflect neglected feelings; thoughts that needed to be shared and words that pushed people away. The beginning of my experimentation, I focused heavily on interactive designs that allowed the audience to control how these objects moved. I couldn’t quite figure out how to make a larger scale of an original idea so I combined these experimentations and produced these photographs. The outcome of these three-part images is to evoke how these innermost feelings are being opened up to the outer self. The lighting exposure of dark to light help reinforce a sense of hope. The harsh edges of the signs, the rough font, the smudged fingerprints and the way the wire is entangled, is drowning the state of confusion, of nothing but something. Isolation and separation are refracted onto the surface, demonstrating the corrupted and clouded mind. The different movements and lines emphasise the maze-like road that occurs in one’s head. There are always two sides to a story. There is a good, and there is a bad. But sometimes, there is only one option. An option that closely sits on either sides of a maybe. And that is the feeling of being ‘fine’.

Bibliography

Cynthia W. Lubow, 2013, GoodTherapy, accessed 18/9/18 <https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/lies-we-tell-when-we-are-depressed-0919135> 

Process of Final Work

I repeated experiment #4 eight times incorporating different shapes of the sign as well as the text. I took multiple pictures of each, adjusting the angles to expand/contract/enlarge/shrink the shadows. Here are the final images I chose to display. I really liked how this turned out and for my final, I will most likely combine some of these signs together and photograph different versions. 

I was inspired by a Spanish artist & designer Arturo Álvarez who made hanging fixtures of figures/faces with steel mesh to create shadows onto the wall. I applied his technique but in the most basic forms. 

The video shows the combination of signs I put together and how the shadow moves and stretches depending on how the light source shines on. I also added an effect onto the video to enhance the rainbow sheen the disc had which isn’t really relevant for my final work but adds a fun element to it. 

Experiment #4 - Signs 

In this experiment, I decided to go back to my first experiment’s inspiration, Robert MacPherson’s artwork with road signs. I still wanted to use CD’s somehow and I ended up making mini picket-looking signs. 

Since my previous experiments were heavily focused on the notion of two opposing views with understanding emotion, I wanted to expand this idea with a medium. I found that CD’s also have that two-sided factor. When light is shining on it, it reflects and refracts the vibrant colours of the rainbow. When it’s in the dark, it is much duller. I didn’t really have an idea on what to make so I started off by cutting it up like a pizza to make a prism of some sort. There was a lot of challenges with the process. It was difficult to cut neatly and the holographic print was separating from the disc. The objects I made were definitely not presentable so this experiment was a failure. 

However, I did find that by removing the holographic film, the disc still had a rainbow sheen when light was directed onto the surface. I will probably explore further with this. 

Experiment #2 Part 2 - 3D ILLUSION

Cassandra Lee (2018), Heartache 

Following from the 2D experiment, I decided to make a 3D version. This time the words are emotionally deeper I guess. Creating things that people can interact with is a concept I would like to work on. This flexagon is like a kaleidoscope as the patterns on each help with the sense of delusion. I cut out a template and drew on all of the triangular faces so that each rotation would have something different to look at. It could look really cool if it was much larger and had a lot of detail on it so this can be an option for a final product. 

This two-part process was inspired by the designer Shai Levi who makes two-dimensional metal outlines and plays with lighting and shadows to create a three-dimensional illusion. Instead of using her practice, I wanted to start off with something simpler by using pen and paper. 

Experiment #2 Part 1 - 2D ILLUSION

Cassandra Lee (2018), Detached

Following from my previous experiment, I wanted to continue using text and interaction. These two-part mini products were inspired by optical illusions and kaleidoscopes. These movements enhance the words that are written. 

This 2D “kaleidoscope” reflects a part of human emotions and how there are always two sides to one’s words. There are 3 lines on each face:

I’M FINE

LEAVE ME ALONE

I’M TRULY OK, OK?

As you flip the hexagonal faces, the 3 different lines shuffle. They produce 2 versions of each text and I thought it was fascinating how it changed. It compliments the notion of emotions and thoughts being two-sided. I would like to explore further with this technique, maybe add some more words, or patterns, a larger scale and or different materials such as cardboard. However, people who might want to try to play with it might get confused on how to.

Video showing how the faces change: 

Value.‘Real Gucci’ 

Experiment #1 - Part 2/2

From the A1 feedback, I looked into the artist, Robert MacPherson since he explored a lot with text in his works. MacPherson incorporates a lot of familiar imagery such as everyday materials and visual elements from daily life, to honour the beauty of the mundane. One of these elements include road signs.

From his ‘Mayfair: Summer farm’ artwork, I gained inspiration to explore text and circular movements because of the egg shapes in his sign. So I used some cardboard and a piece of wire to create a moving mechanism of a face. 

I used two pieces of cardboard, one with letters in the corners that reads “I’m ok” and the other with a happy/sad face. By rotating the first layer of the cardboard, the words can be taken into different contexts. I really like how it turned out and I might explore with interactive, moving pieces that draw out emotion.

Exploring with Materials - Part 1/2

Reflection

Gathering feedback from my poster, I noticed people didn’t engage with it as well as I thought. So, I decided to take the concept with a different approach. Some ideas include: 

use dirty and clean materials from the focus of my constructive binary 

focus on using text because it can be manipulated in many ways

explore with paint – colour blocking

sculpture out of newspaper

In class [29.8.18]