Assignment 2

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Originally uploaded by taylorone.

Irregular Tensegrity

After much thought about he use of a wire frame type of sculpture, I decided against it in favor of something more out of the ordinary. I thought of the different ways that tensegrity is used in my everyday life, elevators, bridges, and overpasses and then I thought about the deadline for the project. I chose to make a model of my bed, which is uses forces of tension and compression to suspend loose knit cord over a metal frame. The result is quite a good nights sleep… if you can find the right spot. To assemble the model I found an old piece of aluminum, formerly a piece of a window screen that was approximately 1/4 scale of my hammock. I then stole some bamboo chopsticks from the kitchen (4), 2 for the base and 2 for the rope, which was made from hemp. First I tied the cut pieces of hemp twine to the bamboo chopsticks. Then once each end had been connected to the bent aluminum by a protruding screw, the two suspended chopsticks were connected.

assignment 1

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Originally uploaded by taylorone.

Self Portrait

A few years ago I might have approached this assignment much differently. I would have gone to the art or model store to buy manufactured materials and supplies. Many would contain or produce as a byproduct, toxic chemicals. I do not want to contribute to environmental devastation so I try to minimize the amount of new things I buy.

Over the summer, I was able to visit Japan and go to the worlds fair. A popular item was a branch from a tree, with notes hanging all over it. I later found out that these were all wishes that people had written down as a superstition hoping they would come true. I wanted to make something that was sturdy, so I turned to nature for design advice. Trees and plants are balanced very well through symmetry and balance, and furthermore, they use tensegrity at the molecular level. I wanted to use the tree in the same way a genealogist uses a family tree, to make a visual image of many independent parts.

This assignment came as a surprise to me, not only that it was assigned on the first day of class, but also that it involved almost anything other than a pen, and paper, or computer. For me the decision was easy after I thought about the materials and design for a little while. I didn't want to have to go to the art store and spend money, and I wanted to make something out of all the junk that was beginning to accumulate in the backyard. I remembered a tree I saw over the summer that people were writing wishes down on a piece of paper and attaching them to a tree branch. So I cut down and shrub that was dying and trimmed off most of the leaves. I also found a juice bottle that was in the trash and filled it with concrete rubble that was left over after I removed some slabs of cement. I took pictures of myself and printed them on recycled paper, and put them on the branch. I also attached some magazine photos and old sketches I had drawn. A candle made of beeswax was put on a back branch to symbolize illumination. I thought of leaving a blank surface to project video images onto it, but I don't have a projector.

look at how cool i am with my ipod portrait

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Originally uploaded by taylorone.

sorry I didn't mean to sound, look or act like a myspace page, but sometimes the walking billboard in me just pops out.