Author: Yuto

After realising that our first clock was too weak to carry the leaves, we got a new one! This new clock was already better, since the material and the movement of it was a lot stronger than yesterday’s one.

Although the artwork that the clock created yesterday was nice, it did look a bit messy. This was because of how we were still trying to figure this out, so we fidgeted around with the canvas while it was still moving. But this time, we placed our droplets of diluted paint with thought. Rather than putting it in random places (like we did yesterday), we observed which parts of the leaves was actually touching the surface. We then found out that the outer and the inner part of the fern touched the surface, so we placed our paint droplets there.

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The end results were much more cleaner, and the circle was more defined (especially in the inner parts of the canvas). But we did however dropped a bit of paint in the middle area where we thought the leaves touched, but it actually didn’t. But other than that, I actually really liked how simple and minimalistic the outcome was, and also the simple green and gold colour palette we used, as the both really compliment each other. I would like to further on develop this machine by testing how other textured leaves would create their patterns, and maybe even go bigger in scale.

Today, we started making the prototype of our Art Machine. Our goal was to create was a machine that goes around a surface in a circle to create a recurring pattern. First, we placed the hands of a clock over our test canvas, with the clock motor in the back.

Once that was completed, we tried to place some ferns we found outside on top of the hands, and stuck it using tape. And then we placed some paint onto the canvas and allowed the clock to pick them up and go around it, hoping it would create some patterns.

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The clock wasn’t strong enough to move while carrying the fern, so we had to cut some parts off to make it lighter. This ended up working, as the clock continued to move. A couple seconds after the fern dipped into the paint, we then quickly realised that the paint was too thick and heavy, and the hands weren’t strong enough to carry it along, since it stopped moving again. We discovered that ink was a good substitute, as it had a lot of pigment, but it was also light; Which allowed the clock to pick up the liquid and move around.

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This was actually a really good decision that was made, because the brown ink really gave it the extra earthy/nature feel that we wanted our project to have. I was really pleased with the outcome; Especially how the canvas had a repeating pattern, and that it was going around in a perfect circle. What made it even better was that every round, the plant slightly shifts, so you never get the same pattern! We also tried using very diluted paint instead of ink, and it also ended up looking good.

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After we got our introduction for this brief, I was able to get in a group quick and began planning our project. At first, we were set on using a fan as our machine, since we saw it on our paper that we were given. but after some researching online, we quickly gained interest towards using nature to create the art. The concept of mixing nature and technology was something that my group was all interested in. One idea lead to another, and in the end, we came up with an idea that seemed really cool to us.

We liked the idea of patterns being created, like one of the examples that we saw of the artist using a machine that was holding a pen. Using that as an inspiration, we came up with the idea of using the clocks hands to hold onto different kinds of object. The clock will then go around in circles creating a pattern. And by using different objects with different textures, we are hoping to get lots of interesting looking patterns, which will work together to create one piece of work.

Something that I found exciting about this brief was not knowing what your “final” work was going to look like, as we didn’t plan for this brief. I really had fun messing around creating warped shapes and working at the printmaking studio. I focused on working with plants, cats, and warped shapes.

At first, I had a lot on my wall, since I stuck everything that I made during this process for the brief. As you can see, my main idea was to layer different sheets/objects which joins each other to create one body of work. At first, I really struggled in the beginning because i’ve never made a series of work without planning ahead. But once I really let myself do whatever and spontaneously think of what I want to create next, that was when I started getting the hang of it.

If I had more time to work on this, I definitely would’ve explored with more mediums to draw with and to draw things onto. I think I focused too much on creating work on transparent sheets, since I wanted to show layer. Looking back at it now, my work does seem a bit repetitive, so I definitely should’ve explored with using different subject matters, since I did use the same image over and over again (although that was kind of the point of this brief).

But however, I really like how my layered squiggle art turned out. The colours, depth, and the overall groovy feeling of the art is something i’ve always been drawn to. I also like how I made each of the small paintings sheer, because of how it exposes a bit of the sheet behind it.

Overall, I did have a lot of fun with this brief. Even though I did struggle a lot in the first two weeks, I am satisfied with the final outcome of my board. I am happy about how each art that I made gave , me guidance to what I should make next. This brief also allowed me to get closer to my classmates, as I asked and got asked for feedback to get an idea of what to create next.

For this work, I started off making a bunch of warped shapes. After doing that, I played around with it on the scanner, and I ended up liking the way it turned out. I further on developed this idea by layering them onto different things, and in different ways. I also tried to layer them in a way the top layer pops out, so the light also reflects off of the clear sheet in a distorted way. I would like to further on develop this idea by using different mediums and different colours.

I went back over to the printmaking studio to make more prints based off of plants. I created these by spreading paint onto the plants, put them over a piece of paper, and put them through the presser. I really liked how they got the details of the foliage and the vibrancy of the colours.

While I was cleaning up, the washed up ink looked really nice. So I put some paper over them to create these works.

For these two works, I focused on the idea of multiple different pieces of art, joining together to create one body of work. At first, I didn’t know what to paint, so I just drew things that I liked: plants and cats! For the first one, I just used 2 layers of transparent sheets, and painted plants on one sheet and a cat on the other. It looked a bit bland overall, so I decided to add one of the prints that I made in the printmaking studio the week before for the background.

For my second one, I did the same as the first, but added another layer of circles to create more dimension. I got some unwanted paint marks on the sheets, as the paintings didn’t dry completely; But other than that, I am pleased with the outcome.

For this work, we went over to the printmaking studio to create more art by using a different technique than we usually do. We used oil-based ink and spread it around the table, and laid a piece of paper onto it and drew things. The ink on the table then transferred onto the piece of paper, creating an inverted version of what we drew. At first it was a little bit difficult, since we had to write in an inverted manner; But I quickly got the hang of it after some mistakes. I decided to create a bunch of drawings that reminded me of kids making art. I do like how they turned out, but i hope to go back and try to make some more realistic art.

Overall for this brief, I thought it was pretty good. Pinhole photography and developing photos was something that i’ve never done before, so it was both an educational and enjoyable experience.

For my final work on my wall, I focused on the idea of growing up in two different cultures. Growing up in both Japan and New Zealand, I spent a lot of time in my life questioning where I belong and which country I consider my home. Is it the country I was born in, where most of my relatives and people of my ethnicity reside? Or the country where I spent more time in, with more friends? As i’ve grown, I realised that I don’t have to belong, or to consider one country my home and not the other. They can both be my home, as they both helped me grow into the person I am today. So I wanted my photos to have the idea of both countries/cultures connecting within each other in one photograph.

For this work, I took a photo of Auckland city and a traditional Japanese area in Kyoto and overlapped the images. If I could go back and edit this image, I would’ve made the sky tower stand out a bit more; As the Japanese landscape overpowers it.

In this photo, I wanted my sister to look as comfortable as possible. This is because of how I was trying to give off a homey feeling to it; As home is the topic of this work. This image was taken inside my home in Epsom, but the view outside the window was photographed outside my living room in Japan. I’m actually quite pleased with how this turned out, because the view outside my window in this photo isn’t from my home, but it is at the same time.

For this shoot, we went around the city putting our minds into the perspective of a detective. I wanted the photos to look like I was peeking through objects, or looking at small details that you wouldn’t normally pay attention to.