The Charleston: A tornado of energy-organized chaos.

I want to make a correlation between characteristics The Charleston Dance, and a Tornado.

Tornado: A tornado is a violent rotating column of air. Often encircled by clouds, with it's narrow end touching the earth.

The Charleston could be described as smooth movements, creating big energy, using a core for balance, in a centralized area.

key words or phrases: rotating or rotation, encircled, narrow end touching the earth.

My project is: A rotation of spaces, which encircle the core, and the narrow end touching the earth.

This is a 1/4 in. scale. The Little guy is 6 ft. tall. The highest points of the walls are 20 ft. The center space is twenty feet in Diameter. The second model consists of form ideas for overhead enclosures, wall height, openings, relationship of walls pertaining to spaces.

Question I have about the model:

I'm not sure about the wall height difference on this first photo (if you look at the far right wall, and follow the top of it, there is a jagged characteristic) this was more of a mistake, but I thought it asked an interesting question. It creates a difference as compared to the other walls. But also looks like a shark fin, and doesn't necessarily go with the make of the rest of the building.

Any thoughts?

Organization of Space

Well, I haven't updated my blog with any consistency up to this point, but I do have a lot of interest in what we are doing. The project, as I understand it, is to create a spaces that exhibit unique qualities pertaining to our individual dance, and as someone participates in these spaces, they should have an understanding of what important qualities our dance exudes. The form may attribute in some way to the understanding of our dance, but it is the arrangement of the spaces that should most identify our dance. With that being said, my dance is the Charleston. If you want to have a full understanding of what the Charleston is, then I would recommend you type in "charleston style" in youtube. You wont be disappointed, I promise. If you are too lazy to make a few wrist movements and neuron fires, then I will tell you the the Charleston consists of big swooping leg kicks and arm swings, all in a central area, but without any real uniformity, as the dance is constant improvisation, or as I like to call it, organized chaos. I want to create space that encourages movement, but improvised movement, with smooth transitions between spaces, all surrounding a central core area, because in the Charleston, a central core is important for balance between leg kicks and arm swings.  I'm pretty sure I want to use a spiral-like formation of space, with openings in the walls (which make up the spiral) so that people can make smooth transitions from space to space. 

Here are a few photos of initial ideas. Any input is very much appreciated. Thank you.

New Pictures of Diagrams

somewhere I have never traveled-ee cummings

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond 

any experience, your eyes have their silence: 

in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, 

or which i cannot touch because they are too near  

your slightest look easily will unclose me 

though i have closed myself as fingers, 

you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens 

(touching skilfully, mysteriously) her first rose  

or if your wish be to close me, i and 

my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly, 

as when the heart of this flower imagines 

the snow carefully everywhere descending;  

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals

the power of your intense fragility: whose texture 

compels me with the colour of its countries,

rendering death and forever with each breathing 

(i do not know what it is about you that closes 

and opens; only something in me understands

the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)

nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

ee cummings

Somewhere I have never traveled

 

-       ee cummings

 

Case Van Arkel

 

Every angle, form, line, and opening in this project serves a purpose to create a space for the poem “somewhere I have never traveled”.  The poem uses key words, such as beauty, fragility, and the phrase “penetration of the heart” to create imagery. I wanted to highlight what I interpreted as a balanced communication between two parts to create a central idea. I envisioned the two parts being contrasted as thick and thin, working in unison, to in return create a symmetric whole. This can be seen with the arrangement of the two sets of walls, in a balanced, symmetric, and cohesive cube-like structure. Openings on either side of the space gives the reader an option of decision making, just as the individual decisions of the interpretation of the poem are not narrowed down to one right answer, or path. A lowered reading level, relative to the sight, lets the reader feel like they are stepping into a specific space that has a purpose, and is separate from the sight around them. Elements running along side the wall and overhanging the space represent a “looming assertiveness”, as well as signifying a specific space. The elements come from behind you and overhang you as you read, creating a feeling of  “closeness” and intimacy; also the direction of the elements encourages movement to the outer walls. The thin windows running along three walls in the project represent the idea that reading one line in the poem will not give you an understanding of what is the author is trying to portray, you must take a closer, deeper look at the slits to see the outside world, just as the reader should take a closer, deeper look at the poem to grasp a meaningful understanding. 

-I would like to thank anyone who viewed or gave feedback to my original designs and study models. I value the input greatly. The project (though not even over) has been a process to say the least. Unfortunately I think I focused too much on what "I" thought was "ashtectically pleasing" and not enough on the constructive feedback from Shane and others, for a specific direction to choose. In the end of this model design process I went with my original thoughts, combined with my understanding of the constructive feedback, to make the poetry space I wanted to portray.