Opus 3: Consistency

I chose to title this opus "Consistency" because I felt all of these words have to do with that idea. Design needs to be consistent and make sense in it's context.

Scale

When drawing, its important to make your image accurate. If you're drawing a building, you want to make sure the size of the doors make sense in relation to the people in the drawing. In Suzanne's class we have been working on drawing scale figures. Another thing we practiced was conveying depth when drawing someone and making sure that sizes are correct. For example, in this drawing the feet are closer to me so therefore they are twice the size of the head. This technique can be used when drawing a building ("this wall is 3x the length of the window").



Scale was also important when constructing our wall for studio. I made sure that my scaled artifact was accurate to it's actual size. That helped me figure out what size to make the frame for it and where to place it on the wall.

We have learned in history how the Egyptians would use scale to show status and power. The pyramids at Giza are a perfect example of this mentality.

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"When Napoleon sat at the foot of the pyramids, he reportedly calculated that there was enough material in the three to build a wall 3 meters high and 1 meter thick around the whole of France" (Roth pg. 197). The monumental pyramids rise far above the surrounding city and give a sense of power.

Unity

I found that drawing vignettes was a good lesson in creating unity. We had to include part of the surroundings of our subjects, the "entourage." Putting in these extra elements really makes the drawing feel more real and cohesive.

The ancient Greeks also knew how to create unity in their buildings. They were the first to incorporate the porch, court and hearth in all buildings. "Aside from this specialized room, the house consisted of a small cobblestone court open to the sky, with a series of rooms opening to it" (Roth pg. 226). Having these three elements in a home or public building makes the structure feel more harmonious and unified. Almost all homes built today include those three areas, which shows how influential the Greeks were.

Section

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We use section cuts in drafting in order to show information you can't tell in other views. I chose this section cut of a pyramid at Giza to illustrate this. We can't tell what's going on inside the pyramid by just looking at it. "The cross section reveals the changes in the design, with the first proposed burial chamber deep below the pyramid, the second shifted to a position above the initial layers of the stone blocks, and the final burial chamber shifted to a point nearly at the center of the mass" (Roth pg. 199).

We do the same thing with our section cuts of Pat's chair. It allows us to understand exact measurements and how the structure works.

Boundary

In History we have read about how early civilizations were influenced by eachother through trade. These influences are shown in their furniture and buildings. The Egyptians were influenced by places in the Middle East. Across from Egypt over the Mediterranean were the Greeks who got ideas from Egypt. According to Plato, "Whatever the Greeks acquire from foreigners is finally turned by them into something nobler" (Roth pg. 215). Even though there are geograpical borders, no boundaries really exists when it comes to translating designs into other cultures. The Greeks believed that they were basically the center of the world and had extra protection because they were surrounded by water. I've drawn a map based on an ancient map from Greece:

Vignette


Vignettes are all about showcasing a scene and making it special. If you're drawing a vignette, you kind create an imaginary frame around the sketch. The Temple of Karnak's design reminds me of this. The two sides of the building make you focus on the center and wonder what is going on there. In history we discussed how this temple represents religious and social hierarchy and how only certain people were aloud inside. Like a vignette, this building combines those ideas in a striking composition.
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Here are some of the vignettes I drew in Suzanne's class. These show the mood of each of the situations. The first couple were very quite and reserved, even the colors of their clothes were drabby. The second one shows more communication and emotion between the people.