Hi guys, first let me apologize for all the exclamation points in my post titles recently. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. Secondly, let me apologize for talking about punctuation so much. I mean, what is this – first grade English class??!!
In any case – LOOK HERE! It’s an event that I bet will be sooooooo much fun in Chicago. Cheerleaders! Shady bookies! Dance party! Oh, and art.
Vote early and often for Chris Wood (AKA Christopher T. Wood) in a basketball-style bracket setting!
It’s ALIVE!!! (Part V: Film)
Without much ado, here’s Part V of my exploration of the work of Fischli & Weiss. This is the last emulation of the artists’ work before beginning a recognizable architectural project in earnest and also probably the least connected to architecture or, for that matter, the work of Fischli & Weiss. In any case, the artists made movies and now we have also made a movie.
Note: Developed, directed, constructed, shot, and edited in under a week by a team of five. Music is copyright Electric Light Orchestra and is used for a non-commercial project.
It’s ALIVE!!! (Part IV: Assemblage)
'In the Carpet Shop' by Fischli and Weiss
Part IV of our fantasical-like journey through the work of Peter Fischli and David Weiss brings us to the sausage photographs. This series consists of a variety of scenes composed of things one might find in or around the fridge; sausages, cigarette butts, cardboard, etc. The photographs not only share a sensibility of materials, but also a playful attitude towards narrative and a healthy disregard for scale normalcy.
While Fischli and Weiss miniaturize, I attempt to gigantify. That’s right, gigantify (read: embiggen). Using only what’s lying around the house, I give you my assemblage, House Monster.
Tubby Meets the Monster and is Relieved to Learn He is a Vegetarian
It’s ALIVE!!! (Part III: Equilibrium)
Fischli & Weiss, image from 'A Quiet Afternoon' series.
Phase III of our little obsession with the work of Fischli and Weiss emulates the graceful sculptures of their photo series A Quiet Afternoon (currently on exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago).
The challenge here is to foster a sense of both structural and compositional tension while maintaining an attractive material palette. Joy of joys! Tension is at the core of my interest in architecture, my intellectual project, so to speak. Perhaps I should post my manifesto one of these days…
In any case, here’s my whack at having a quiet evening in the makeshift photo studio I call the attic.
This piece entitled 'Lime Jail'.
It’s ALIVE!!! (Part II: Questions)
It’s ALIVE!!! (Part I: Getting Acquainted with What You Already Know)
'Airport', by Peter Fischli and David Weiss
The first task of this semester’s project is to use photography to document and explore places with which I assume I am familiar. Of course, this leads to the discovery that I know very little about my usual surroundings. It also leads me to discover that I have A LOT to learn about photography.
The photo above by Fischli and Weiss serves as a precedent in photography that beautifies the banal; I strive in the photos below to carefully represent the everyday atmosphere of Logan Square, a neighborhood on the brink of a cultural and economic shift. The photos below are selections from a larger set of site study images.
It’s ALIVE!!! (Introduction)
In an effort to keep this blog alive and also to see what happens when I track and publish my work in (close to) real-time, I hereby initiate the series, It’s Alive!!! This phrase is both catchy and suggestive of the fact that I may or may not be creating a monster. What I plan to do is write a post on each step in the process of creating this semester’s studio project.
For those who don’t already know, I am an undergraduate student in my final semester of architecture school at the University of Illinois at Chicago (formerly and [more gloriously] Circle Campus [but that’s another story])**. Furthermore, the studio class is the core of the architectural education and takes up most of the typical student’s time and life essence. These two facts lead us to the following equation:
G + (-L) = S
Where G represents upcoming graduation and L represents life essence (and, one can argue, the related concept of obsession [which is covered in the chapter entitled All Nighters]). The sum of G and L, we can see, is S – or swan-song. It is a simple equation because I am terrible at math.
I will combine adherence to the studio curriculum with my desire to bid an architectural adieu to UIC and, potentially, the City of Chicago. This means that I want to link the work of studio, which mimics the work and process of artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss*** and culminates in a “mini-thesis”, with a peculiarly ‘me’ project. Having been deeply in love with the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, I intend to imagine and propose an architectural gift to the neighborhood. You can expect to see photography, installation, sculpture, video and finally, architectural mediums of expression posted here as I move through this process.
I hope that this remedy for scant postings is both easier to maintain during the hectic school year and fabulously interesting for you, dear reader.
Coming up: Getting Acquainted with What You Already Know.
** Mayhaps I will switch from dramatic numbers of ellipses and hyphens to multiple layers of parenthetical statements? Things to ponder, folks…things – to ponder.
*** Fischli and Weiss, by the by, are on exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago through mid-April. Click here for details.
The Great Groundhog’s Day Blizzard
Dear Blog,
Sorry I’ve been neglecting you. I hope you know I still love you and still want to take you up on that dinner date you mentioned. You know, the one with the Groupon you told me about.
Here are some pictures that I took last night (morning) of the blizzard coming down in Logan Square, my part of Chicago.
Happy snow day!
Love and kisses,
Maiden Voyage
Fantastic.
"Aw shucks, Dad, my very own human-manipulation bangle!" Still from Fantastic Planet
Take some time today to check out the work of Rene Laloux and Roland Topor, both illustrators and film makers. The surrealism and apocalyptic feeling in their work is unsettling at the same time as the lovingly hand-drawn illustration warms the cockles of the heart and invites further investigation. I highly recommend that you get your hands on a copy of Fantastic Planet and also take the time to watch the short film, Les Escargots, below.
Oh, and you should note that a lot of Roland Topor’s drawings are probably too hot for the office. Googlers be warned (and intrigued)!
Snort. Drawing by Roland Topor.
Image sources:
http://posterous.com/explore/tag/visuals?page=9
flickr stream of star1950
It’s Friday…Look at These Friggin’….hrm…I mean…Ga zitten!
Furniture. Werniture. Learniture.
I love chair. And here are some for you to love, as well.
No. 1) From Valentin Loellman. Drool. Triple drool. Go look at everything on that website and prepare to feel desirous.
m. & mme. stool. I ask, "Whurr you headed with all yo crazy legs, huh?" (Also: "Please let it be my house.")
Trudy Watt
amongum. 
