Chris Galea: April 2008

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Client Quotes

Stephan Hawking - Does God Play Dice?

"The loss of particles and information down black holes meant that the particles that came out were random. One could calculate probabilities, but one could not make any definite predictions. Thus, the future of the universe is not completely determined by the laws of science, and its present state, as Laplace thought. God still has a few tricks up his sleeve."

http://www.hawking.org.uk/lectures/lindex.html

Jane Goodall — My Four Reasons for Hope

"Firstly, we have at last begun to understand and face up to the problems that threaten us and the survival of life on Earth as we know it. Surely, then, we can use our problem-solving abilities, our brains, and, joining hands around the world, find ways to live that are in harmony with nature. Indeed, many companies have begun "greening" their operations, and millions of people worldwide are beginning to realize that each one of us has a responsibility to the environment and our descendants, and that the way each one of us lives our life does matter, does make a difference."

http://www.janegoodall.org/jane/essay.asp

Florence Nightingale - Letter to Thomas Longmore on the Geneva Convention 23rd July 1864

"I need hardly say that I think its views most absurd - just such as would originate in a little state like Geneva, which never can see war. They tend to remove responsibility from Governments. They are practically impracticable. And voluntary effort is desirable, just in so far as it can be incorporated into the military system.

If the present Regulations are not sufficient to provide for the wounded they should be made so. But it would be an error to revert to a voluntary system, or to weaken the military character of the present system by introducing voluntary effort, unless such effort were to become military in its organization."

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REnightingale.htm

Sunday, April 13, 2008

SketchUp Animations for Final Studio Model

Final Studio Model - 'Landscape' and 'Decrepit' Studios, for Sidney Nolan and Patricia Piccinini

The following pictures are images from my final developed sketchup model. The words I choose to create this model were 'landscape', 'falling' and 'warm' for Sidney Nolan and 'decrepit' 'playing' and 'sterile' for Patricia Piccinini.

This is a distant image of my model as a whole. You are able to see the top studio which utilises many horizontal lines reflecting the landscapes with appear in many of Nolan's art work.

These stairs are leading to Nolan's studio from outside. You are able to see the glass walls on the top studio which allows natural sunlight to enter the studio, which may assist in Nolan's painting. They also allow people to see the surrounding landscapes from within the building.

This is an image of the inside of Sidney Nolan's studio which was designed using the words 'landscape', 'falling' and 'warm'. The presence of horizontal lines, reflecting the work of Nolan enhance the style of his artwork. The staircase in this image leads to the top floor of the studio which allows people to have a 360 degree view of the landscape around the studios as well as giving Nolan more open space in which he is able to work.

These are the stairs leading from the top studio to the gallery. They 'flow' into the room allowing people to see the gallery as a whole. This is enhanced with the use of a landing in the middle of the stairs which allows people to take time to view the gallery from above.

This is the gallery space. There is a slightly raised level which allows people to view the artwork around them. By raising the floor, the artworks are higher than the audience which enhances the effect of the work as well as putting them on a pedestal.

This image is from the top of the stairs leading down the the lower studio. The studio designed for Piccinini using the words 'decrepit' , 'playing' and 'sterile' allows her to work in a comfortable environment which reflects her work. Due to the large glass wall which is exposed to the sun via an excavation in the surrounding land, Piccinini is able to work below ground without feeling secluded from the rest of the world.

This image is from the bottom of the stairs leading from the gallery down to Piccinini's studio. Due to there being landings on the staircase, artworks are able to be placed on the surrounding cylindrical walls. This allows Piccinini to place artworks that she wants people to view on the staircase, as well as allowing people to see down into her studio from above.

Textures Used on my final Sketch Up Model Studio

These are the textures which appear in my final studio model.

'Stone'

'Smooth'

'Rusted'

'Rough'

'Metal'

'Solid'

'Scratched'

'Shiny'

'Wood'

18 Studio Cross Sections

These are my 18 studio Cross Sections

Falling/Still Studio

This was my second studio idea, the first word used to design the upper studio for Sidney Nolan was 'falling' while the second word used to create the lower studio was 'still' for Patricia Piccinini.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Sidney Nolan

Sidney Nolan, The Trial, 1947: enamel on composition board; 90.7 x 121.2cm

Sidney Nolan uses various materials and methods to produce his work, which include paintings and prints. Most of his paintings contain 'earthy' colours and it is evident that he is highly influenced by the Australian outback. In this piece The Trial, Nolan uses enamel paint of composition board to depict the trial of Ned Kelly, the widely known Australian figure. His use of heavy brush strokes and warm colours creates a landscape-like atmosphere which is juxtaposed by the loosely painted dark figures. This adds a sense of uncertainty and fear, which is enhanced in the portrayal of Ned Kelly's eyes which are shown to be frightened of what he is facing.

Patricia Piccinini

Patricia Piccinini's Nest

Piccinini uses a wide variety of materials to produce her almost life like material objects such as the two scooters in Nest. The materials she has used to create this work may have been plastic or metal, which has then been painted to reflect the objects in which she is displaying. Piccinini would have taken note of how the certain found objects looked, in this case a scooter. She then would have drawn a transformation of these found objects into a detailed lifelike picture which is evident in many of her drawings. After having a 2d image to model off, she may then start to shape the materials and then finally paint them with the soft reflective finishes which are seen by her audience and which allow her to create a sense of life.