Final Statement

Book One: She is your shelter.


Book Two: Walk With Me...

After the construction of two final accordion style books, I have learned a lot though this exploration of graphic space as it utilizes rythym, texture/tone and figure ground relationships. Starting in partners (Ian), with the creation of simple line studies, the class attempted to communicated three specific variables; balance, progression, and random. As seen in the previous post (Sequential) we followed a specific process that gave birth to both spontaneous and conscious compositions through manipulation of these studies with the use of a projector, scanner, photocopier and camera. Without being able to plan for a final book, I enjoyed letting the somewhat ambiguous process lead me by trying to focus on each individual composition. After the manipulation, the lines studies were then paired with site specific photographs from the city that were then refined, either by pencil to vector drawings or simple adjustments such as framing/cropping. The process was fresh and directly related to beneficial design principles. Going into the environment to find juxtapositions with our created line studies was an exciting and challenging aspect of the process. Finding juxtapositions that fulfilled the studies, both manipulated and raw, required a conscious approach to the creation of compelling compositions at the same time as working juxtapositions. Expanding on this, the final editing process* required that each pair, not only found a connection with the two joined compositions, but also with the theme and other pairs found within the book.

*Editing the juxtapositions became an important part of the process and one that I found almost as challenging as the actual creation. However, despite excluding quite a few proposed compositions, I was left with a large amount of pairs. Due to this, I chose to divide them into two books, each with different texts and overall concept.

Book One: She is your shelter.

She is your shelter.

Snow, freeze, cold

stone.

She is your shelter.

Fog, sprout, moist

plastic.

She is your shelter.

Rain, bud, humid,

glass.

She is your shelter.

Sun, bloom, heated,

concrete.

She is your shelter.

Wind, wilt, bleak,

wood.

She is your shelter.

Storm, die, rough,

brick.

Considering that a large amount of my chosen juxtapositions were very symmetrical and centered, I chose to unite them as a theme throughout the book. Many included architecture and environmental elements that gave a sort of post and lintel view of a shelter. All of the photographs provided the viewer with a specific, public site in Kansas City that one could walk under or be in. In addition to the reference of shelter within the text, each word contains a symbol that is relatable to Kansas City. The second line, first word, represents a season or element of weather experienced by the city. The second word of the same line gives the linear process of the growth of a plant that would take place in the event of the weather given in the previous word. This could be compared to the growth of the city or certain district (e.g. old Westport vs. new Plaza). The third word emphasizes the feeling one would experience during this weather. In addition to this, it also correlates with a characteristic of the given building material. This last line directly verbalizes the material used in the actual construction of the structure shown in the corresponding photograph. It was my hope that the juxtaposition would embody the implied feeling of the text as one flips though each page.

Book Two: Walk With Me...

Each line represents a dream. Every composition travels through scenes in my mind, a replay of the memory, shared and alone. Loose Park, tennis courts, Business District, late night, World War I Memorial, one walk, Residential Downtown, stars and swings, Plaza, red light. The right is my dream, the left, a reality.

This book focused on not only the actual juxtapositions of the photograph paired with the line study, but also the contrast between a dream and reality. As seen in the text, the left interprets a memory as if it were to be seen within a personal dream, a perception of an experience as opposed to the actual representation. The photograph represents the reality and origin of that memory. There are 6 spreads included in this book, excluding the title/text page and each are explained with the 5 given locations stated in the text (two photographs used were taken from the same location). The book gives a personal and sentimental view of the city as the viewer walks "with me" through each specific location.