a brief synopsis...

A very quick overview of the progression of my model as a product of process for presentation purposes. An in depth overview of the entirety of the building process will be posted over the next few days...stay tuned!

Umbrella Structure - Revision 7 - Pulley & Canopy

Umbrella Structure - Revision 6 - Canopy

Elevation from Drawing 4

1 to 100 - North side of Higgins

Site Plan - Drawing 4

Site Plan - 1 to 300 (24" x 24")

Connection possibilities between each post in the specific area.

Mapping the Possibilities of the System - Drawing 3

Unlike my previous drawing this one is to scale, just for starters - it is 1:50, the same as the final model will be when constructed (this drawing is approximately 6'-0" x 8'-0"). I decided to start mapping out my final model so I could do a material calculation and a quick schematic layout on my living room floor in masking tape turned into a very complex drawing which is modeled after The Thinking Machine creation upon which I wanted to base a drawing surrounding the same concept.

I began by making a simple non-linear connection between each of the points within the site where a telephone pole is located. From creating one connection I began to form more layered on top of one another, each with a slightly different path than the previous to demonstrate the organic nature and tendencies of the system. My previous drawing was extremely rigid, ordered and geometric whereas my goal with this drawing was to break past the barrier of rules that I had created for myself by originally limiting the constraints of my system's components (the rings attaching to the posts).

The concept that I began with basically layered on top of itself until I had created a web of connection paths. I am now left with a mapping of possibilities through connections that may be constructed in my final model. Some will exist in my final concept, some will not and all of them will most likely vary to a certain degree to what I have predicted. This drawing is only a prediction, or a set of possibilities or assumptions. I have not however let one connection determine or limit another connection as in the previous drawing, I tried to be as uncontrolled as possible other than the obvious rule of connection points being the posts.

Below is a time-line of my mapping the progress of the drawing growing in complexity and above is the product that I now have as a result of the process. My plan is to possibly recreate the situation but this time on a clear backing material so that I can sandwich the drawing and use it for presentation purposes rather than only having photographs...at least this is a possibility...the interesting part about this is the recreated version will be slightly different than the original, but that's the beauty of the system and the technique that I'm using.

Thinking Machine 4

"The artwork is an artificial intelligence program, ready to play chess with the viewer. If the viewer confronts the program, the computer's thought process is sketched on screen as it plays. A map is created from the traces of literally thousands of possible futures as the program tries to decide its best move. Those traces become a key to the invisible lines of force in the game as well as a window into the spirit of a thinking machine."

- http://www.turbulence.org/spotlight/thinking/

It was suggested during my last crit that I may want to take a similar approach in creating a drawing in which this drawing is generated. Basically a series of possibilities or opportunities are mapped out, much like what I attempted to do in my last drawing, but in a more organic way. A less linear interpretation of the site will show the true nature of the system that I'm creating.

Connection Opportunities - joining the in between

Moving along with the bunching that I've been working on where the structure is starting to meet in between the posts I have designed some pieces that will create opportunities for connections. The pieces are getting cut on Thursday, possibly earlier, out of calendar vinyl, and will allow me to experiment even further, no on a completely different plane which I began on the previous model. Hopefully with the incorporation of these new pieces I will get a better grasp on the spaces that I'm trying to create as a result of the bunching, at least that's the plan -