Otis
Week 8
What are the repercussions of society’s quest for the elimination of entropy? How do they extend to 3D printing?
Matthew Bisanz, Hubert H. Humphrey Building. 2009. Wikimedia. November 17th, 2014.
Adrian Midgley, Fallen Tree Decaying. 2010. Flickr. November 16th, 2014.
Otis Lambert, Utensils. 2014.
Otis Lambert, Clothes. 2014.
Otis Lambert, Utensils. 2014.
Otis Lambert, Edited Image.
Tinkercad Screenshot.
Jackson Pollock, No. 5, 1948. Wikimedia
The first image here is a picture of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building. Designed by Marcel Breuer, the brutalist aesthetic fits the description of an orderly entity with no room for entropy or any movement beyond that which is perfectly structured. Even though the architecture seems intent on rigidity, the concrete itself (which ties itself nicely into the themes of materiality in this class) has natural imperfections that can’t be removed. Following this are several more pictures tying together the enmeshment of chaos and organization. The picture of my roommate’s clothing piled on the floor in front of a dresser shows a failed attempt at organization. After that comes a picture of a utensil holder in the cabinet. While it is doing its purpose, there is no denying the grime seeping up from underneath.
My 3D printed object has a base loosely based off of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building. It’s blocky, stiff, and ultimately lacks in complexity. As the 3D printer moves up, a series of unprintable overhangs will prevent it from creating the blocky structure of the bottom sections, adding complexity and chaos to the print. Like the grime underneath the utensils, the upper sections of the print will be unpredictable, and whether or not it will be aesthetically pleasing or successful on any level is unknown.
Works Cited:
Matthew Bisanz, Hubert H. Humphrey Building. 2009. Wikimedia. November 17th, 2014.
Adrian Midgley, Fallen Tree Decaying. 2010. Flickr. November 16th, 2014.
Jackson Pollock, No. 5, 1948. Wikimedia. November 16th, 2014.
3 comments so far
9:19 pm - 11-18-2014
Otis, this has kind of been addressed before, but I feel that we may be exploring something similar. Arlen brought this to my attention again this morning, to which I said that it seemed so, but that we might end up with different end-products. To which Arlen replied that we may end up with similar end-products, which have been achieved by different means. I agree, and I am so interested in your attempt to push the printer to its limits with your design, having no idea what will come out in the end. That is a direction I was really intrigued by early in the quarter, but then I became enthralled by the pieces that already existed in this way.
The images you have chosen do well to illustrate concepts of composure and decomposition. I really enjoy the contrast that is curated between each of your images. Your images have met the photo requirements, and I think you discuss the relationships between them and your idea very concisely. It sounds like the future and final progression of your project will be filled with expected, anticipated and exciting unknown. I am really looking forward to how your piece does (or doesn’t!) come out!
9:42 pm - 11-18-2014
Otis, the images you’ve chosen for this are brilliant. When you look for chaos in organization you will find it, and vise versa. I think looking at natural processes of growth and decay might also be relevant to your work. I had no idea this was your project and I love it. Have you thought about how bring this order/disorder to play through video? installation? or collage? I feel like you are sitting on a goldmind of creative work here! Awesome!
10:21 pm - 11-18-2014
Otis,
I love the imagery of what we call structure (buildings) vs. chaos (nature decaying). We have so much to learn from nature and how to maintain a structure. As we discussed in class last week, how can we see a cubical Antoine’s neckace, but not a spherical one? Why is the spherical one boring or uninteresting? Atoms are complex, spherical structures that maintain their shape even though there are not straight lines along which to align with other spheres. Yet, we continue to build structures in blocky straight lines. What can we learn from nature? Great project. You fulfilled the requirements for the images and they help explain your project quite well.
Katie