Alien Walk: Commons Living Room Post 2

Today I worked on seeing the room. I put in earplugs and tried to not engage with friends as they walked by.

I noticed the color scheme of the room: blue chairs complimented by soft, yellow lights. The design for the soft lighting plays into the psychological effects leading students to sit and stay longer in this communal gathering space. The shiny black piano drew my eyes' attention away from the brown leather high-backed chairs and tables. Dispersed throughout the room, green plants of various sizes add life to the static scene. As always, the fire burned silently, as it is electric, but it's colors and movement screamed loudly compared to the otherwise dull, stationary furniture. I took a few panorama views of the room to get a different perspective on the center of the space. I've added one here:

Examining the walls of the room, I discovered that the designers of the room had worked hard to imbue a sense of the school's character into the walls of this central space. I found a quote from President Elrod, after whom Commons is named, inscribed on the wall.

It was joined on the opposite side of the fireplace by the official mission statement of the school. I think that the presence of these statements in this space reaffirms the notion that this room was created with the purpose of not only being the heart of the school to students, but also the space where prospective students and their families can come and learn who we hope to be.

Comments

Everglades Adventure

Over the Feb break, i went to Everglades National Park for a sea kayaking trip with W&L Outing Club. The trip let us embraced and appreciate the true wilderness and we learned to survive on an isolated island. Over the trip, we followed the "Leave no waste" rule from permaculture, which i think is really interesting. We used biodegradable dish washing liquid and other environmentally friendly products when we were on the island and we picked up all the trashes (from us and from other people who left trash and didn't pick them up after) Human leaves footprint wherever they go. What we can do to make our footprints sustainable is to be conscious about the waste we are making and recycle them. It is the same in permaculture design. When we try to build things and make progresses, we have to be conscious of our actions. We had campfire every night and everyone sit in a circle (and we burn the burnable trash such as orange peels and tissues to leave no waste). We also use...

Making my own paint

In this exploration of place, I have come to realize how much coffee is the essence of Coop. It is one of the most commonly ordered items on the menu. The smell permeates the space (and now my room). The sound of the coffee machine is the soundtrack underneath the conversation and laughter. When approaching this in progress critique, I struggled with how to bring that essence into the piece. A simple cup of coffee did not have the same effect, it was not overwhelming. Inspiration from my third visit inspired me to use the drink in a different way. I spent my weekend painting with coffee. I used a variety of "canvases" to see how the textures affected the way the "paint" dried. I used napkins, paper and cardstock. The varying degrees of thickness determined how quickly the material soaked up the liquid and the patterns it dried in. In addition to staining the surface, the coffee left behind the faint scent of Coop.

Photography Conference

I spent this past weekend at a photography conference in Philadelphia. The theme of the weekend was "Uncertain Times." I attended a panel by Byron Wolfe and Matt Klett about their most recent project, Drowned River . They spent several weeks documenting Glen Canyon and the effects of the Glen Canyon Dam. During their trip, they rephotographed sites shot by Eliot Porter back in 1963. I kept coming back to this idea of rephotography. While not specifically eco-art, their photographs demonstrate the change in environments over time. In Drowned River , they illustrate the negative impact the dam has had on the water. Specifically, the canyon that Porter photographed is now underwater. I am interested to hear how you all think eco-artists can engage with photography in their work. You can check out more of their work here: http://www.klettandwolfe.com/

Eco Art

Search This Blog