Friday, May 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Chandelier Creative Office Doors
Concept:
This project started as collaborative dialogue with Richard Christiansen from
Chandelier Creative. The initial concept was loosely based on "the gates of
hell”, a sculptural work of Rodin, mixed with Richards key words of "dildos and
doll parts".
We wanted the doors to reflect Chandelier Creatives' unconventional style as
taste makers by creating an electronic baroque, fusing franchise capitalism with
moviefantasies and exploring the relations between media and topological
surface.
Design Process:
The front of the doors was created through a collision of media and technique.
We gleaned our hard drives, harvesting bits and pieces of past projects sculpting
the surface through digital collage. This allowed for an unusual balancing act
where recycling digital ready-mades lead to a reclaimed authorship and to the
composing of new narratives developed out of over-saturated media.
The back of the doors we created by unfolding, [a sort of reverse digital origami]
a 3-dimensional digital model of the head of Star Wars hero Yoda, into a
2-dimensional pattern. We used the flat pattern to generate a decorative skin
and thus discovered a way of developing pattern and texture as the byproduct.
The trim around the edges was based on blending the explicit sexuality found in
ancient Kama Sutra carvings filtered through the stylings' of Victorian crown
moldings.
Production Process:
Richard wanted the end product to have a pink, high gloss finish reminiscent of
the high chromium stainless steel sculptures of Jeff Koons without the cost. To
achieve this finish meant the surface quality needed to be smooth. Much of our
design process occurs during the machining, converting toolpath strategies into
decorative elements leaving the residue of production on the piece. The result
was tool chatter and embellished machine marks which aren’t necessarily
smooth. We experimented with a series of thermoplastics to act as a protective
skin molded over the surface. This skin could then be electroplated, turning it
into chrome. This idea was problematic due to the deep draw of the surface,
[over 4” in some sections].
Exploring other options, we found southern California artist, Gary Watson owner
of Creations’n’Chrome, who developed a custom, sprayable chrome process that
could replicate a chrome finish. We started over using a 6” thick block of high
density polyurethane foam. This allowed for the entire door to be carved in one
piece. After the machining, Gary began the chroming process. In order to
chrome the doors, they couldn’t touch anything. This was another problem as
doors were over 200 lbs. a piece. We solved this by engineering a rotisserie
style jig that would not only suspend them but allow for rotation and ease of
movement. After the doors were chromed, Gary finished the doors with a high
gloss urethane topcoat, [used in the car industry] tinted with a candy magenta
to achive the final effect.
This project started as collaborative dialogue with Richard Christiansen from
Chandelier Creative. The initial concept was loosely based on "the gates of
hell”, a sculptural work of Rodin, mixed with Richards key words of "dildos and
doll parts".
We wanted the doors to reflect Chandelier Creatives' unconventional style as
taste makers by creating an electronic baroque, fusing franchise capitalism with
moviefantasies and exploring the relations between media and topological
surface.
Design Process:
The front of the doors was created through a collision of media and technique.
We gleaned our hard drives, harvesting bits and pieces of past projects sculpting
the surface through digital collage. This allowed for an unusual balancing act
where recycling digital ready-mades lead to a reclaimed authorship and to the
composing of new narratives developed out of over-saturated media.
The back of the doors we created by unfolding, [a sort of reverse digital origami]
a 3-dimensional digital model of the head of Star Wars hero Yoda, into a
2-dimensional pattern. We used the flat pattern to generate a decorative skin
and thus discovered a way of developing pattern and texture as the byproduct.
The trim around the edges was based on blending the explicit sexuality found in
ancient Kama Sutra carvings filtered through the stylings' of Victorian crown
moldings.
Production Process:
Richard wanted the end product to have a pink, high gloss finish reminiscent of
the high chromium stainless steel sculptures of Jeff Koons without the cost. To
achieve this finish meant the surface quality needed to be smooth. Much of our
design process occurs during the machining, converting toolpath strategies into
decorative elements leaving the residue of production on the piece. The result
was tool chatter and embellished machine marks which aren’t necessarily
smooth. We experimented with a series of thermoplastics to act as a protective
skin molded over the surface. This skin could then be electroplated, turning it
into chrome. This idea was problematic due to the deep draw of the surface,
[over 4” in some sections].
Exploring other options, we found southern California artist, Gary Watson owner
of Creations’n’Chrome, who developed a custom, sprayable chrome process that
could replicate a chrome finish. We started over using a 6” thick block of high
density polyurethane foam. This allowed for the entire door to be carved in one
piece. After the machining, Gary began the chroming process. In order to
chrome the doors, they couldn’t touch anything. This was another problem as
doors were over 200 lbs. a piece. We solved this by engineering a rotisserie
style jig that would not only suspend them but allow for rotation and ease of
movement. After the doors were chromed, Gary finished the doors with a high
gloss urethane topcoat, [used in the car industry] tinted with a candy magenta
to achive the final effect.
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