Locovisual

“The Vic”; Former Lotus Restaurant

"The VIC" (Klee, 2009)

"The Vic" (Wellington City Council, 2012)

“The Vic” building designed by James Bennie, built in 1935 is a clear example of Art Deco architecture, located on 154-156 Cuba street. The Art Deco style is very present in Wellington, particularly down Cuba Street. Between the great wars Wellington architecture boomed with the predominant style being Art Deco. Art Deco became an internationally fashionable style in the 1930s after the 1925 Industrial and Decorative Arts Exhibition in Paris, France.

Art Deco is a design style which was “characterised by simplified ornamentation and an emphasis on geometrical decoration”(Kelly, 2005), it was also influenced by new advancements in transport of the time, such as trains, planes and cars. This often resulted in a lot of design being 'stream-lined', to create the illusion of speed. Another key feature was the use of motifs such as sunbursts/sunrises, fountains and footlights as well as patterns such as zig zags and chevrons. Art Deco also made reference to other design styles such as Classical design, in particular the use of Classical columns.

“The Vic” building uses a lot of these features. Firstly a sunrise motif is used as a central feature created from basic triangular geometries. Zig zags are used above the window frames, whilst basic geometries are stacked on the concrete 'Classical' columns. The use of tall vertical columns creates an “exaggerated vertical emphasis”(Wellington City Council, 2012), which is also another feature of the Art Deco style, creating elongated design. It is these features which class “The Vic” building as a clear example of Art Deco architecture.

References:

Kelly, M. (2005). Art Deco Heritage Trail (2^nd ed.). Wellington, New Zealand: Wellington City Council.

Wellington City Council. (2012). Heritage. Retrieved from http://www.wellington.govt.nz/services/heritage/details.php?id=199&m=search&street=Cuba%20Street

Petty, J. (2012, May 9). Alt-Modern. Unpublished lecture notes, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Klee, A. (2009). The VIC (Lotus Restaurant Building). Retrieved from http://www.historic.org.nz/TheRegister/RegisterSearch/RegisterResults.aspx?RID=5356

Curatorial

"fat free design"- Ross Lovegrove (TEDtalksDirector, 2007)

Figure 1. Thomas Gowing's DSDN 111 Model

The inspiration for this model was taken from Ross Lovegrove's DNA staircase and Karim Rashid's Vertex Chair.

Figure 2. Ross Lovegrove's DNA Staircase. (Moinat, n.d.)

The DNA staircase has a sinuous, almost French Art Nouveau curvy structure, and minimal form. This is shown in this model, through the semi-circular structure in the middle, which is made up of strips of curved, white vellum paper which are then juxtaposed with the section of straight wire which they are skewed into. This is similar with the curved rail of the staircase, juxtaposed with the central pole.

Figure 3. Closeup of my models Semi-Circular Structure.

Figure 4. Vertex Chair by Karim Rashid (2011)

Ross Lovegrove, the designer of the DNA Staircase looks to nature for design inspiration, as he believes nature creates “beautiful forms”(TEDtalksDirector, 2007). This idea is present in this model, except instead of using DNA as Lovegrove did for his staircase, this model resembles the human ribcage, a “fat free”(TEDtalksDirector, 2007) skeleton structure. However it is an abstracted triangular version of a ribcage made out of black wire and thread which encloses the semi-circular paper structure, to represent the heart in a ribcage. In terms of colour, black and white materials have been used which creates contrast, in this case white for curvature and fluidity, while black for straightness and rigidity.

The idea of a triangular shaped cage structure came from Karim Rashid's 'Vertex Chair', which used triangular planes to form a chair structure, hinting at a Bauhaus design influence, through the use of a simple geometry.

Figure 5.  Closeup of my model.

References:

TEDtalksDirector. (2007, January 16). Ross Lovegrove: The power and beauty of organic design [YouTube]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWqkKYwvTNw&feature=player_embedded#!

Moinat, C. (n.d.). christopher moinat design. Retrieved from http://www.christophemoinat.com/adn.html 

Vertex Chair by Karim Rashid. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.artemika.com/design/vertex-chair/

Antiques Hunter

(Trade me, 2012)

This dish resembles the Rococo design style of the 18th century. It reflects the "feminine look"(Naturalistic Spoon, 2009) that influenced the Rococo style. This being the curved outer structure which curves reflect that of the female figure, it also uses feminine colours such as pink and white, which are used in a lot of Rococo design. In addition the ornamental roses are related with femininity and intimacy, just as the Rococo style is.

Rococo design also incorporated chinoiserie. This is shown in this dish as it is made from porcelain which is a Chinese material that began being imported and used in European design in the 17th century.

Fig 1: (Naturalistic Spoon, 2009)

Another Rococo design feature this dish has is protruding ornament. This feature was common to Rococo design as often ornament was applied which protruded the object. This is shown in Fig 1 as the applied silver decoration is not two dimensional creating textured decoration which protrudes the the main object structure. This feature made Rococo design irrational, and un-practical to use due to the irregular structures created. The dish reflects this as it has a porcelain rose attached to the rim,  taking away practical value as a dish and giving it more decorative value.

This bowl would have been designed for the higher class as it is exuberant and prestigious as Rococo design is. Rococo was established in a time of "internal peace and growing prosperity" (Hunter-Stiebel, Lupton, Davidson, Coffin, 2008) and this is reflected by its 'over-the-top' appearance. Again this bowl reflects this as it is covered with exuberant details such as the painted gold lines, the curvy shape etc. Thus this bowl is designed for the higher class as it is an example of 18th century Rococo design.

Bibliography:

Trade Me. (2012). Fancy German china flower dish. Retrieved from http://www.trademe.co.nz/antiques-collectables/ornaments-figurines/other/auction-466463961.htm

Naturalistic Spoon. (2009). Rococo Style. Retrieved from http://naturalisticspoon.com/Rococo_Style.html

Hunter-Stiebel, P., Lupton, E., Davidson, G. S., Coffin, S. D. (2008). Rococo: The Continuing Curve, 1730-2008. New York, NY: Editions Assouline.

Adrienne Chinn. (2012). Rococo Style. Retrieved from
http://www.adriennechinn.co.uk/interior-design-styles/rococo.htm

AskDefine. (2012). Chinoiserie. Retrieved from
http://chinoiserie.askdefine.com/

Research Statement and Annotated Bibliography

Neoclassical Design

Book: 

Neoclassicism/David Irwin

This book is a study of Neoclassicism. This could be a useful source of information on Neoclassicism as it, covers it's distinctive style, versatility, scope across art forms and it's influence in different parts of the world. The book also provides a range of illustrations.

Irwin, D. (1997). Neoclassicism / David Irwin.

London: Phaidon Press.

Journal:

Stone World: Modern facility reflects Neoclassical design

This journal entry is about the influence of Neoclassical design in a modern facility in Tennessee, USA. This could be a useful source of information on Neoclassical design as it shows how Neoclassical design still influences modern design with a direct example, detailing what it takes to construct it.

Stinnard,M. (2007). Modern facility reflects

Neoclassical design. Stone World, 24, 156-162.

Edited Book:

Neoclassicism and Romanticism 1750-1850

This book is a collection of sources and documents on Neoclassicism. This could be a useful source of information on Neoclassical design as it has a variety opinions from various historical figures, it also gives a historical background on Neoclassicism.

Eitner, L. (1971). Neoclassicism and Romanticism,

1750-1850. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Website:

Neoclassicism and America 1750-1900

This website is about Neoclassicism and it's presence in America. This could be a useful source of information as it shows the influence Neoclassical design has had on a country like America, it shows the influence it has had on their architecture and design, such as parliamentary buildings.

Centre for Education Studies. (2010). Neoclassicism and America 1750-1900

[www page], URL http://www.neoclassicism.us/Main/HomePage

Image:

Lincoln Memorial

This is an image of the Lincoln Memorial. This could be a useful source of information as the image is of an American memorial which is heavily influenced by Neoclassical design. Thus it shows the influence of Neoclassicism on American Architecture.

Baxter, A. (2011). Lincoln Memorial,

URL http://0.tqn.com/d/architecture/1/0/m/q/Lincoln-Memorial.jpg

About me...

Me (Thomas Gowing)

As my blog suggests my name is Thomas Gowing, I'm 18 years old and have moved to Wellington from Whangarei to study design at Victoria Universities' Design School. I'm studying a BDI (Bachelor of Design Innovation) in order to broaden my currently small knowledge of design by learning and exploring basic design concepts, principles and context which is covered in first year.

The donut that got away? - By Myself

I am specifically interested in media design which I will hopefully specialise in. One thing in media design I am particularly interested in is animation. Prior to coming to university I created a few 2D animations on an animation software programme called Toon Boom Animate PRO, in doing this I have been able to combine my interest in cartoon drawing and film. I am hoping to add to my animation skills by learning how to animate in 3D, I am also keen to look at game design, creating interactive animation.


The plan is to minor in marketing. I'm wanting to combine marketing and media design in order to have the skills to work in a creative role in the advertising industry, creating campaigns using a variety of different media.

Women at War - By Myself

Alternatively, or in addition with advertising I would like to use these skills in conjunction with my interest in theatre and acting. I would like to create theatre shows which incorporate multi-media, such as projection and animation etc. These days this is becoming more and more common, I recently watched a one-man theatre show which revolved completely around a projected power point presentation which the actor interacted with. There are so many possibilities in combining theatre and media such as projected animation. These are all things I will hopefully explore.


Here are a couple of animations I've made...

You can check out more of my animations at....

https://www.youtube.com/user/imthatkiwiguy