Project C
The videos emphasize on the users' experience and examine the tensions when the users are using the giraffes and the cups. These objects can also be integrated to other contexts, such as rituals, important events, etc. But in these videos, I chose to focus on different users experiences. The videos captured my friend, classmates, my brother, and myself using these objects.
Iteration #2 captured me using these objects while being blindfolded; adds another layer of anxiety when I am using these objects. In the video, it captured my uncertainty to approach to these objects and my concern of accidentally breaking these objects. The initial intention for iteration #4 is to witness how my brother would handle these delicate objects, but surprisingly, he managed to use these objects more effortlessly and smoothly compared to my classmates, friends, and even myself. Perhaps this experiment suggests that the more we understand the values around an object, the more we aware our of actions and in some ways restricted our confidence in using these objects.
Project B
This project intends to explore a figurative yet functional form. Working with an abstract form of a giraffe and manipulated the legs to experiment the illusion of tripping or falling. The giraffes can function as vessels to hold beverages or condiments, and are intended to be used with the cups. The cups stand with three legs and are also designed to create illusions of instability. The giraffes are less decorative, while the cups involve more surface designs to suggest different "creatures". Each cups adapts a different surface treatment, including studio glazes (overlaying effects), wax-resistant, underglaze paintings, Mason stains, and some with glazes that are mixed by myself. Additionally, I also experiment with luster and illustrated on some of the giraffes and cups.
These objects, although they can function as vessels, they also function as "props" for the video piece (project c). These unstable looking objects are produced to create tensions or anxieties for the users who are using these objects. So the users are required to pay extra attention on how to handle these objects. Since the cups are produced in different shapes, and they have a different supporting point, the users have to think about how to pour the liquid into the cups and how much liquid they can pour into the cups.