Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Protect and Survive

Sounds like the Los Angeles Police Department's "To Protect and Serve", doesn't it...

For Sculpture we have received the following brief:

Theme: Protect and Survive
The primary objective of this project is that the student completes a sculpture using mixed media in a constructive way. This sculpture should have structural qualities, aesthetic qualities, and conceptual qualities, and should show that the student has investigated the properties, both physical and representational of the materials employed.


Protect and Survive brought to my mind things like

    a nest of baby birds

    breeding of eggs

    school, hiding under the table in case of a nuclear attack

    a fortress


I came back to class with TWO ideas:

IDEA I: TV and Chemistry - Eye protection

The sculpture would look like a television set, but instead of the projection tube it would have test tubes (as in a laboratory) with the colors of TV images (PAL composite; yellow, light blue, green, violet, red, dark blue). Next to it would be laboratory glasses to protect the eyes against the broadcasted images.

Something like this:

TV and Chemistry - Protect (against imaginary violence) and Survive (conceive life)

IDEA II: Lights and Armor - Fencing Off

The sculpture would be like a 'fortress' ... protecting its inhabitants.

Something like this:

Sculpture proposal - circle of 'protective' batteries, that propel air on the light bulbs with their powered (running through wires) fans, and glowing light bulbs trying to survive. Of course the battery power will run out and both the propellors and light bulbs will ultimately dim and pass out. How long will they survive...

Me and my teacher - Paul Carter - liked this second idea the best, so I will try to work this one out.

First I bought one of the tiny battery-operated handheld fans. Pound Savers sells these at... 0.99 Pound ;o)

Tiny battery-operated handheld fan

Demolished ...

and rearranged ...

then extended with a new propellor, made from cardboard.

Next, I will make the same kind of metal arms with a little light bulb at the end instead of a propellor.

Finally, I will seal the other ends of the metal arms in a can, and make them look like batteries. The batteries charge the light bulbs and propellors, while protecting them from the outside world; Protect and Survive!

This is my attempt to draw the accompanying electric circuit:

EMF Diagram

Images are following in next web logs for Sculpture.

Thank you for watching, have a good rest and feel 'Protected'.


Doerak said...

What an idea! I realy feel protected! And what was the qualification of this subject by your teacher! Do the other students have such marvellous ideas too? Emma

WvanHeemstra said...

Thank you for your support! I will try and include some of the other students' (ideas of sculptures) in my upcoming web logs as comparison. That is, if they allow me to make pictures of their work...and put them on the World Watches Willem.