Extra Credit Event #1: Lauren Bon and Metabolic Studio 

     I was very skeptical when I first laid eyes upon the exhibit as it seemed quite uninviting and subtle vibrating sound echoes around. The room was pitched black with only a tiny gleam of light shining down from the middle of the ceiling. In the middle of the relatively empty space, there was a big piece of drapery dangling from the ceiling, surround the source of light. Upon a closer look, there’s also a bowl of water close to the ceiling.

     The Catch, a sound work developed by Lauren Bon is a model for larger-scale installation that will be built at Bon’s Metabolic Studio in downtown Los Angeles. Created by the environmentally conscious studio, the project aims to diverts water from the Los Angeles River to a publicly accessible bio-remediation gardens on the roof of the Metabolic Studio building. This way, water that would be otherwise bypassed would be captured for the benefit of those in need. Instead of the bass-like drone that vibrates the water in the Hammer museum exhibition, the equivalent effect at the actual installation will be created by the impact of the buckets of waterwheel filling with water.

 ripple effect created by the water lens

     Although I found this installation to be quite strange initially, my interest peaked after doing some research on the project. On one hand, the model at Hammer museum is very similar to the designs displayed at the  Heatherwick exhibition. Both exhibitions embodies the concept of practicality while being aesthetically pleasing to the eye. On the other hand, much like the singular space exhibition in Fowler Museum at UCLA, this installation also factors our daily life into the account of the art project. Aside from being an optic and sonic piece, it creates a connection with the local geography. Due to the nature of Los Angele’s climate and recent concern of drought, this installation makes an excellent public manifestation as it brings awareness to our current events, benefits the larger society while allowing us to appreciate the beauty of art. 

Event 3: Singular Spaces: From the Eccentric to the Extraordinary in Spanish Art Environments

     I was very intrigued by this particular exhibition as the nature of the creations are very different from ordinary art pieces. First, unlike conventional art pieces that are created and developed over months and years of planning, these designs are produced organically without formal architectural or engineering plans by eight artists. Next, the Spanish art environment is very day to day oriented. Not only are their works always ongoing and improvisational, the works are also built on or within the artists’ own personal space, whether it be homes, gardens or farms.

     The first thing I noticed about this particular exhibition is its location. Rather than having all the selected photographs display inside an assigned exhibition hall, the photographs were scattered throughout the hallways inside the Fowler museum. Although it is unclear whether the placements of these photographs are intentional, their position seems to align with the informal theme of the Spanish art environment.

    Out of all the photographs, I was especially interested in the shell houses, constructed by Francisco del Rio Cuenca in Montoro, Cordoba, Spain. Not only is the house beautifully decorated with shells from walls to walls, the story behind the work creates a personal connection through the use of space and art. It was said that a truck loaded with clams accidentally discharged its cargo near the inland village, thus Francisco took advantage of the situation and adorned the house with the shells.

                        

     Overall, I think that this exhibition is very relevant to our day to day life in respect to space. Referring back to week one’s concept of strict distinction between fields not only in theory but also in physical space, art is typically thought of as a discipline that requires a distinctive taste, an acquired education and is out of reach for many. In addition, artworks are typically displayed in a fixed setting, after the work is completed. However, these self taught artists/homeowners manage to use their own property to modify their living into a continually evolving art piece, blurring the lines between art and daily living. 

Event 2: Making Strange: Gagawaka & Postmortem

      Upon stepping into the exhibition room of “Making Strange: Gagawaka & Postmortem” at the UCLA Fowler Museum, I was immediately in awe with the bizarreness of Vivian Sundaram’s work. Separated into two distinct exhibitions on the opposite ends of the hall,  “Gagawaka is consisted of mannequins dressed in outfits made from recycled materials and medical supplies while “Postmortem” on the other hand is comprised of abstract sculptures of anatomical models. Between the two, I enjoyed the “Gagawaka” exhibition significantly more as I personally found “Postmortem” to be a little morbid and disquieting.

      Rather than the usual high fashion attire seen on runaways, the mannequins in the “Gagawaka” exhibition donned garments made from day to day recycled materials. As Sundaram said, garment is about bringing the body delight and pleasure in the surface. These seemingly playful displays are in fact subversive to the materialistic and glamorous fashion world. Utilizing common and unthinkable materials such as red undergarments, cotton jockstraps and rubber bicycle tire-tubes, Sundaram reinvents the conventional forms of haute couture while exploring the concept of pleasure that fashion supposedly brings.

       

              
                                                                            
               

      On the opposite spectrum of surface beauty, Sundaram illustrates the illness that haunts the inner human body with strangely positioned anatomical models, as the title of the exhibition suggested. These dummies and wooden props are in no way accurate representation of the human body but rather, it captures fragility of human life.

      Overall, this exhibition is highly visually stimulating. Although the two bodies of work seem to have no correlation at all, these two projects in fact reflects the inseparable relationship between fashion and the human body. Contrasting beauty and illness, pleasure and pain, life and death, I think that Sundaram’s imaginative exhibition is very refreshing.

Event 1: Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio

     Having lived in London and Hong Kong for a number of years, I have in fact already seen some of Heatherwick’s projects including the London Routemaster Bus and the interior design of the Pacific Place Shopping Mall in Hong Kong despite not being aware of the mastermind behind them. Notable for his unique and unusual works, British designed Thomas Heatherwick is renowned for an array of projects ranging from product designs such as the LongChamp handbag to urban architectures and infrastructures all over the world. Combining novel engineering with new materials and ingenious designs, Heatherwick’s work is no doubt multidisciplinary, incorporating art and engineering in one.

               

                                

                                   Zip-up LongChamp Bag                   London Routemaster Bus

     After spending some time at the exhibition, I found two projects to be partbloicularly alluring. Shaped like a spinning top, Spun is a rotationally symmetrical chair where the seat, back and arms are all the same profile. Spun allows the person sitting on the chair to swivel in a circular rocking  motion, rotating in a complete circle but never falling out of balance! Adopting traditional manufacturing technique used for making large timpani drums, Heatherwick’s work pose the question whether a functional chair could be formed using a 360 degree single profile while challenging the conventional forms of furniture designs.

Spun Chair!!!

     Aside from the smaller design products, I found the larger architectural projects to be even more mesmerizing since they are constructed on a much larger scale. In particular, the rolling bridge in London perfectly embodies the correspondence of art and engineering in the architecture world. Commissioned to design a pedestrian bridge, Heatherwick was determined that the creation be aesthetically pleasing whether it is collapsed for a boat to be moored in its inlet or when it is spanned out for foot traffic. Unlike conventional drawbridges that consist of a single rigid element that lifts out of the way, the rolling bridge opens by slowly curling up like a caterpillar, into a octagon sculptures that sit on each sides of the bank of the canal.

                                 

                                       

                                 Rolling bridge curled up                   Rolling bridge extended

     As can be seen, Thomas Heatherwick’s intricate and innovative designs not only engages different disciplines such as art and engineering, it also fills in the gaps between these seemingly opposing fields. By presenting works that defy conventional forms, he demonstrates that it is not always necessary to compromise performance for visual appearance and vice versa. Rather, designs can be functional yet aesthetically pleasing.