Date of Submission

Spring 2015

Academic Programs and Concentrations

Studio Arts

Project Advisor 1

Arthur Gibbons

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Jackson Dill

Senior Project Artist Statement

Gradation

(The Nest & The Cave)

To begin this project I took inspiration from Traditional Japanese Architecture. I was interested in developing the aspects of Traditional Japanese Architecture that related the edifice to the natural. This concept has, for a long time, intrigued me because it revolves around coexistence. The artfulness of this type of architecture lies in relationships; not in massive structures or forms that eclipse nature to exist, like much of what I have observed Western architecture does. The spotlight in Western architecture is often starkly on the building or structure, while in traditional Japanese architecture the lighting is seemingly much more diffused—it is about the environment and the structure becoming one through the skill of the architect and the beauty of the organic. For example, in its literal form, light takes on a very artificial role in western tradition—it is often used as a means to illuminate the dark. In eastern tradition lighting is much less of an imposition—shadows are considered gentle subtleties of the natural. You’ll often find in Japanese architecture that natural light is softly diffused with Shoji, not with opaque blinds or curtains.

I was also attracted to the form of Traditional Japanese Architecture because the practice of combining two seemingly polar opposites was mimetic of traditional architectural processes. The architect creates the small-scale model as a way of mapping out a larger project. I tried to eliminate the mutual exclusivity of these scales by including the two in the same room. I wanted them to coexist. My goal was to find the connection in the vast gradation of the small or large, natural or man-made.

The sense of wonder is what originally drew me to the architectural model. Architectural models hold an elusive charm that is far different than their final projects. Buildings are motionless and static, where as the model, the sketches, the notes are always in progress and fluid.

In the room, you’ll find a large structure overgrown with moss and obstructed by different elements of the natural world. The structure is made from Birch wood, as I was drawn to its organic stain. It is not important, at least to me, what the structure is—the viewer can use their imagination to imagine any sort of dwelling or building. It is brightened from the inside with a very soft yellow light, and all “windows” are created from traditional Shoji paper. I wanted to limit access to the room so I put small openings in the walls for onlookers to see inside. This was a way for me to control the perspective of the viewer—it allowed me to curate the space compositionally.

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