In this project my intent was to have the squares expand as the system grew. As the stages went on i started to see a pattern form within the sequence of the pattern that I was following. If i were to continue this system for 20 steps i would see more and more things. I also thought that the colors worked very well. I think this piece would also work better on a larger scale paper so that you could really get the feel for its translusent being.

Art on Duke's Campus

This final video project allowed me to combine my passion for art and basketball by exploring different types of art both inside and outside buildings on the athletic quad.  I was able to talk to multiple students about their impressions of art on Duke's campus.  I was also able to highlight some unique examples of art used by the basketball program to showcase both past and current players.

Paper Hearts

"What is important is to spread confusion, not to eliminate it. Take me, I am the drug. Take me, I am the hallucinogenic." -S. Dali

When working on an art piece, I always refer to this quote. I find my work to be concentrated upon false memories, etc. Therefore, this project was exceptionally hard for me.

In viewing Sol Lewitt's artwork, I found most of his work to be fairly dry and not very visually engaging. His art pieces all required taking a step back for a holistic view, instead of concentrating upon individual parts. However, I found his most interesting pieces to be those that involved paper folding -- and that is where I drew my inspiration.

A graph paper system does not necessarily have to be a 2-dimensional display. I wanted to give my project more of an interactive, 3-dimensional, engaging feeling. Therefore, I turned to the Japanese art of origami and created an educational system for folding paper hearts.

Before starting my project, I had to physically fold a paper heart in order to remember the appropriate steps, and to choose 10 "steps" that would be most informative to the viewer. Therefore, I did a few preliminary sketches:

From then on, I created my instructional system. I feel like my project does not need an explanation -- but the explanation is in the project. The directions should all be there on the first page, and viewers should be able to look at this system and derive from it the steps to folding a miniature paper heart out of an 8.5"x11" standard sheet of paper. The first page is the first step and visually explains the process, and remains the only 2D page of this project.

From then on, I approached the system by visually presenting the physical steps represented by the first page. As seen on the left, I numbered the "steps" so that the viewer can follow along the process as it is presented along a wall. The systematic approach is entirely based upon the instructions on the first page. This is an example of step 5 of the process, and should relate to step 5 numbered on the first page.

Here is step 9 of the process. I arbitrarily colored the borders and the creases in order to emphasize the 3-dimensional quality of the paper. Sol Lewitt has several pieces in which he randomly creates marks upon a large piece of paper. I utilized one of the techniques I saw in a collection of his art pieces to color my paper heart process.

I hope I managed to achieve what I believe is one of Sol Lewitt's main artistic effects -- the viewer must take in this system in its whole in order to grasp the full experience. In the end, I also hope I managed to bring across a visually stimulating, fun, interactive, 3D approach to this system project.

Expansion of a Triangle

For this project, I decided to look at the ways a triangle could be transformed by one changing its dimensions one square of the grid at a time. I began with this red 4 by 4 triangle in the upper right hand corner, and then following the rules (which I explain later), form this progression of triangles modeling Sol Lewitt's work.

The initial pattern continues on to form this trio of blue triangles:

The project actually would have worked better if we had one large grid to work on like a wall in Sol Lewitt's art, but since I was constrained to the paper, I had to make adjustments. I will begin with the instructions for a large continuous grid, then tell how I made adjustments after.

1. Begin with 4 x 4 right triangle in upper left hand corner, calling the top point of the triangle the pivot point, because the rotation of the triangle hinges on this point. The other points that do rotate are called the left point and the right angle point, respectively.

2. The movement of the entire triangle from one triangle to the next is (in theory) always the same. The pivot point of the new triangle is two squares down and two squares to the left of the left point of the previous triangle.

3. The rotation of the triangle is controlled by the successive movement across the grid and how many grid squares the right angle point and the left point move. Moving from one triangle to the next is essentially a copy of the last triangle in its new position (as determined by the movement rule). This copy is then rotated and expanded, so that the right angle point is moved down and left one square, and the left point is moved right and up one square.

4. You continue this pattern until you develop the sloping triangle as represented by my project.

5. For the color scheme, I decided to begin with red, and moved through the range of colors until the last triangle. The color changes quickly in the beginning, as the triangle rotates rapidly, but then slows down with different shades of dark blue and purple as the triangle gets bigger, and its rotation is less noticeable. I decided to end with pink because I felt this showed the continuum of the color spectrum, and how this pattern could be continued eternally, eventually producing a very large upright triangle.

I had to modify some of the rules for my project, such as the movement rule, so that the triangles could fit neatly on the pages. Also, if the pattern was done on a large grid, the triangles would be moving downward continuously, instead of me restarting the pattern at the top right of the paper after it reached the bottom of the previous page.

Here is the final product after ten pages of the progression:

Art at Duke

For my videos, I asked people different questions all dealing with art at Duke. Some a lot to say and others not much at all. I asked "Do you think art is important at Duke?", "What is your favorite piece of art at Duke?", and asked them what their thoughts were on the Nasher and the graffiti bridge. Several of my random interviews were damaged and were without sound so I don't have a full representation of my work; however, I did gain a better understanding of the public's feelings for the arts at Duke. Art at Duke is not just a painting in the Nasher and it is not a painting on the graffiti bridge. Its more about the feeling and passion behind the art. If someone feels like expressing themselves and leaving their mark by spray painting small toasters around campus (look for them!), then that is art. If people think a bunch of soda cans cut into a hanging design is art, then why not? As I type this, I am on the first floor of the Perkins library in a comfy chair that sits across from a huge poster hanging on the wall. It is a collage of images involving a mix of paintings, music record covers and pictures of Duke happenings- all countered by a large profile of a woman's head. The poster features a quote by Miles Davis which says, "Don't play what's there, play what's not there." I think the arts at Duke are definitely important but right now it is only a small whisper. With more support and visibility, it will be more prominent. 

Art and Design at Duke

I interviewed several students-a mix between sophomores and juniors. I received mixed responses, but found that most students wanted more art here at Duke.

How important is art and design at Duke?

What is the most important work of art on the Duke Campus?

Should there be more public art at Duke? if so, where?

What kind of public art would you like to see on campus?

These are places on campus that have art. Some are mentioned by the people I interviewed, and some are ones I noticed. 

(outside Science Drive, inside Bio. Sci. Building, Trent, hallway leading to Perkins, BC, Kilgo bench, outside West bus stop)

Public "Student" Art at Duke

I interviewed a few friends to see their opinions on public "student" art at Duke. The overall consensus was that the only two locations at Duke the "Graffiti" Bridge from East to West and the Dorm Benches. I personally think that is one of Duke weakest qualities because Duke should supports students creativity with public spaces to display art.