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OGR 05/10/2016
ReplyDeleteEvening Maddi,
Congrats on getting your OGR up and posted a day early. You've obviously been working hard and pushing through your cities, and I like the variety of approaches expressed by your various thumbnails - everything from very intricate line art to some more abstracted and expressive digital paintings deriving from your explorations with Jordan. Good stuff.
So, Octavia it is... but I have a question for you: in your mission statement, you're referring to a 'circus' and the circus is the focus of your proposed paintings. My question is 'What circus?' Calvino doesn't describe one - but he does describe a city that is 'circus-like' in so much as we get a sense of trapezes hanging down, that giant safety net, and the sense we get of the Octavians probably having to do high-wire rope tricks just to go shopping. There is a big difference between you being inspired by the practical details a circus as inspiration for designing your 'hanging city' and you now drawing a circus. I happen to think your association with the circus opens up lots of possibilities in terms of suspended architecture and related details:
https://busybeetraveler.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/circus-4-girls-aerial.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e8cU0EAJAZo/maxresdefault.jpg
https://artblart.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/gm_05045201-web.jpg
I think you should take the essence of your circus idea - i.e. ropes, suspended walkways, ropes, tent-like structures - and explore that instead, so you can get back to some more general design principles for understanding Octavia; you might want to look at 'membrane architecture' for example as a means of looking at structures comprising ropes, tension and stretched fabrics: look at 'Fabric architecture'.
I really like the idea of setting your views at night, so we can see all the lanterns suspended across the view of the city - so maybe just look at 'paper lantern design' - not only in terms of the actual lights - but thinking more about the actual architectural structures too:
http://www.demilked.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/yi-peng-lantern-festival-chiang-mai-thumb640.jpg
https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1RL6GKXXXXXb_XpXXq6xXFXXXt/Japanese-Style-Industrial-Vintage-font-b-Paper-b-font-font-b-Pendant-b-font-font-b.jpg
http://chimecms.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/designer-table-lamp-shades-incredible-curved-lamp-shade-design-with-cool-patterns-for-table-lamp-on-chair-and-table-luxury.jpg
http://www.dollsofindia.com/images/products/lamp-shades/leather-lampshade-IU30_l.jpg
I think you just need to tread carefully between 'I'm painting a circus' and 'Octavia is circus-like' - they're not quite the same thing.
In terms of your interior then - it might be that Octavia does indeed have its own circus, but if I was seeking to get under the skin of this city, I'd be asking questions about its transport systems (for example is there some 'grand central station' for hand-winched cable-cars!? Is there some kind of suspended farm or orchards or gardens or...?). I'd pick an interior that can tell us something about what it is like to live in a city suspended high above the ground - something that gives us more insight into the culture or activity of its people. I love the idea that everyone in this city would have to either a 'trapeze artist' or tight-rope walker - so again, the circus idea is a strong one, but I don't think it should be used literally, but rather as a jumping off point for a bit more design and a bit more conceptualisation.
And remember - Octavia is a CITY - not a building or collection of buildings - it is an entire city suspended high in the air. I'd like to see you dealing with the sense of cinematic scale - certainly in your master shot.