Unique style of design
Given diverging interests, however, the notions of orientation and disorientation, organization and disorganization, and embodied and disembodied experience could become intertwined and at times interchangeable.
Given diverging interests, however, the notions of orientation and disorientation, organization and disorganization, and embodied and disembodied experience could become intertwined and at times interchangeable.
Certainly, Hitchcock's Vertigo has the potential to serve as a source of inspiration for reinterpreting the visual landscape of the postwar era and repurposing wartime technology in its formation. Hitchcock's incorporation of the title sequence as an integral element of the film not only contributed to modernist abstraction but also infused New Vision photography with fresh significance. The intricate Lissajous figures featured in the title sequence, challenging to replicate accurately on a conventional grid without mechanical assistance, were skillfully crafted by early computer artist John Whitney. Using an analog computer derived from an anti-aircraft ballistics device, Whitney's creation diverged from the binary code reliance of digital computers, emphasizing a dependence on drawings or photographs instead.
The concept of optical deconstruction remains pertinent in the twenty-first century. Our contemporary celebration of surfaces, screens, and virtual environments necessitates a reconsideration of appearances. Artists, through their engagement with media, have the opportunity to scrutinize its suggested social space and delve into the exploration of contemporary subjects. In an era where the prevalence of image culture often hinders critical analysis and disclosure of social relationships, the reappropriation and refunctioning of media techniques, apparatus, and projections occur at a remove from everyday living environments.
Critical design has largely migrated to gallery spaces, evolving into what is now recognized as art. This is not to assert that galleries and museums are entirely detached from the power dynamics of daily life and media culture. However, such connections have become less prominent. Presently, critical thought and theory are perceived to be accessible only in limited instances or forms that lack relevance to contemporary concerns, jeopardizing the potential for social development without economic or psychological coercion.
Through the lens of architecture, these artists establish an implicit discourse about collective experiences tied to family, nation, globalism, race relations, and society at large. They reinterpret frameworks presented by social media, allowing the self to identify with a modern society. While not explicitly indebted to the Bauhaus, these artists creatively recycle and modify modernist practices. By continually dismantling and reframing image space and architectural constructs, their works highlight socially constructed models of perception and question the intentions behind the use of media and design in contexts such as suburban homes, urban spaces, and museums.
The five Chinese Elements - Water, Fire, Earth, Wood, and Metal - are more like energies than the traditional Western understanding of elements as physical substances. In Feng Shui practice, concentrating on a specific Element in a particular part of a house or building is common. For example, the former Daily Express building was designed with ripple blue and black floors to symbolize and accumulate the energy associated with the Chinese Element of Water. In Feng Shui thinking, accumulating the Water Element is linked with amassing wealth, explaining the prevalence of water features in Feng Shui practice.
These Elements follow a strict production sequence: Water - Wood - Fire - Earth - Metal - Water.
In the mentioned building with Water floors, the surrounding walls and ceiling are sculpted in metal, reinforcing the Chinese Element of Metal. As Metal generates Water in the elemental cycle, the designer aimed to further strengthen the Water Element in the building, ultimately contributing to the creation of noticeable wealth for its owners.
To enhance these elemental energies, corresponding physical elements can be utilized. For instance, in the Malaysian Airlines Golden Lounge at Heathrow airport, all five Elements are present, with an emphasis on Water through elements like large terracotta jars representing Earth, water trays symbolizing Metal, growing plants embodying Wood, and subtle Fire represented by strong lights. The focus is particularly on Water as a prosperity accumulator.
Utilizing devices like houses transformed into optical contraptions with various apertures, overhead transparency projectors generating "expanded cinema," and the re materialization of architectural images, these artists facilitate reflections on how media fabricates the self, subjectivity, race relations, and muddles different levels or modalities of experience. Through an examination of the intersections of phenomenality and materiality, they respond to the built-in obsolescence of images, a phenomenon aligned with the needs of advertising to consumers.