Research Paper_3rd Draft

The Characteristics of Fluidity and Transparency in Art and Architecture (Good topic)

Introduction

Architecture is not only an object to let people stay, but also includes the elements of culture, technique and art. Nowadays the characteristic of fluidity and transparency becomes a concept in architecture or other design works. Fluidity can be regarded as the shape of the art or buildings which is irregular and flowing. (Do you have a source to borrow this definition? Or is it your own definition?) Architects and designers are not with limits of the traditional order of Euclidean geometries of sphere, cube, or cone and etc. More softer or natural forms are used in shapes, and theses shapes create some specific atmosphere of the space or to reflect the profound characteristics of society or culture.For instance, the TWA terminal of Kennedy Airport in New York designed by Eero Saarinen, the fluid shape express the images of flight and speed. On the other hand, (awkward, properly change these transitional words to others). a transparent feature in art and architecture can be regarded as the materials or composition of them makes a penetrating characteristic .This kind of design is a current trend and also creates several interesting ideas and inspires people’s imagination. This paper will explain the fluidity and transparency first and then analyze one art and one architecture case to demonstrate the characteristic of fluidity and transparency. Finally, (the discussions) sum up the relevance between the features and art works and architecture. (Hsiao-Ping, you made me so proud of you for achieving this progress. Look at this introduction comparing with the old version. I love this introduction. It is very clear and concrete. Well done!)

The features of Fluidity and Transparency

Fluidity, in aspect of shape, could be (is) known as the free form. Moreover, (No need) fluidity not only affects the shapes, but creates a fluent route and free using of spaces. (I guess you read some articles about this definition. Provide sources.)In these years, natural forms become a thinking way for designs to create their jobs. (Provide sources.) We can observe many shapes existing in the organs of humans or animals and organization of biology. They might be expressed as distorted, twisted, irregular, or convoluted shapes. At the beginning,(which beginning? Did you mean, in the past?) the works of the designers featured complicated curves that blended into one another rather than two-dimensional radiused edges that rounded their way into a corner（Steven & Mara , 2005, p.12）. After a few years, this fluid image becomes used widely of many designers in diverse kinds of works, such as furniture, cars, buildings, and etc. The fluidity creates a new curvaceous form and design works become more interesting. Artists Steven and Mara（2005） also believe that the fluidity inherent in their art works implies change, dynamism, progress, and thus give them cause for hope（p.18）. On the other hand (awkward)，with the progressive materials, design works can be presented in transparency. For example, the new iMac of Apple performs a transparent work in a fluid design shape. People were attracted of this innovation and can see through the components inside. It broke the law we used think a design should create a box or a shell to hide and cover all the internal components. (You can combine these sentences and make them shorter.) Relate this idea to an art work or architecture, the concepts of transparency could be a visual experience to present the ideas of artists and architects. Transparency, we can easily understand with buildings or art works using glass or some frame structures. And because they are not solid or closed, they can create transparent vision and this feature can communicate outside and inside of the buildings or art works and express the concepts and communicate with audiences. Moreover, buildings are not only a box which can keep out the wind and rain but can create a fluid and transparent form, route, and space organization. There are two examples to explain this idea. One is Gertrude Goldschmidt and the other is Toyo Ito.(Good, but elaborate this sentence more.)

The art work of Gertrude Goldschmidt

Gertrude Goldschmidt used to be known as Gego is a modern Latin American artist. The art trends during Gego creating her works are Op Art and Kinetic Art .These two kinds of art both have the characteristic about the communication between art and viewer. The art is arrayed by some order and composed the elements to present a geometric scene and create a sense of motion. The Op Art is static but made by the way of “optical illusion” to cause the viewer has an illusion of movement. On the other hand, (awkward) the works of Kinetic Art create the optical illusion because the art work moves. Gego at that time she created her own style. She believed that the ideas of motion from Kinetic Art are important. When the viewer went through the art, they could get different experience from the changing of lines. The art work created its site and area let people create a sense of motion to feel different atmosphere. During the 1980s she used concept of less geometric, more organic in spirit and the connections are nonlinear. “In Gego’s art, her aesthetic equivalence of solid form and shadow may be the most radical. Shadows are, after all, not objects; they depend entirely upon objects and a controlled environment to become visible. At the same time they are always, potentially, present. They are the negative to the positive, the virtual to the real, and the ephemeral to the solid. Philosophically speaking neither exists without the other”（Holland , 2007）.(Hsiao-ping, I am concerned about citations. Do you have triple journals? I want to see them.)

Gego was (Is Gego dead? Be careful in using tense.) an artist used different kinds of material such as paper and wire to present her concepts of art. She said that the most important result in her work is the idea of “Transparency” She explained:” I was interested in the transparency of volume so that a form could be appreciated fully from all angles of observation”（Gego,1981）. She didn’t use traditional way to make a valid sculpture but used mediums to create her art work. The mediums express what she made to what the art work gives the audience. Take her work “The invisible dog” (Figure 1)for example. She used a mimetic way to create an animal model. Through the bended lines of steel wire we can recognize the dog corporal relation with the work and see the faint head, body, legs, and the tail. She creates a site which “with an eye to studying its function in the actual practice and theory – the practical theory and the theory and the theoretical practice of her art”（Bruno, 2006,p.21）.

The architecture work of Toyo Ito

In the concepts of contemporary architecture, the architects release the form from the propositions of Euclidian geometry. We (I am not comfortable with ‘we’.) believe that the buildings were constructed by cubes, circles, or cylinders are the most beautiful in the scale and shape.(You already used this sentence in the beginning of this paper.) But now the shapes and forms from the biology and nature become a source that architects start to consider their elements and components.
Take the famous Japanese architect Toyo Ito for example, he uses a lot of glass as the materials to create a transparent spatial characteristic. Form and shape in his buildings is fluid. He used a spiral form to design the Sendai Mediatheque. We can easily see the shape “spiral” in our living environment such as the organs of biology or human bodies. It is an unceasing opening form and has a transparent property. (citations??)

Contrast with the static space constructed by the order of the propositions of Euclidian geometry it presents a dynamic atmosphere. Toyo Ito also believes that the spaces are not closed in a box but can expand without limits. The spaces in Sendai Mediatheque are design by three components: the plates, tubes and skins. The seven floor plates present the different ways of communication between people and people and between people and events. And there are thirteen arborescent elements to support the plates. They are also a way to make a relationship between the vertical spaces and different kinds of energy such as light, air, water and voice will pass through the tubes. Finally, the skin is an element to divide the spaces into inside and outside. There are not formal pillars, windows, doors etc. so it is a free space and can be re constructed. People in this space can experience unconstrained spatial atmosphere from their feeling. (I need to see your triple journals.)

Conclusion

In conclusion,(delete) this is an era that information is widely spread and more communication ways are used to present about the relationship between people to people, people to the objects, people to the events, and etc. Designers use the concept of fluidity and transparency to create a chance to use diverse forms and present their ideas. Audiences and users can use other ways and thoughts to observe and experience the innovative works but not be restricted with the formal rules. In architecture, the transparent and fluid space could even make a multiple and connectable spatial characteristics to create a fluidity of vision, activities and space using. Designers now can not only innovate and solve the problems externally but can also think deeply of internal components and respond to their concepts and the contemporary life. (In a way, you need to mention two artists in this conclusion.)

Reference List： (APA style).
Steven, S., & Mara, H.（2005）. Introduction: a glowing fascination with fluid form, Blobjects & beyond: The new fluidity in design ,11-19.
Gertrude, G.（2005）.Nine answers to nine questions posed by Jose Antonio Pantin , Sabiduras and Other Texts by Gego ,189.
Bruno, B.（2006）.Siting the event, 1957-1988: Thinking the Line, 21-38.
Holland, C.（2007）. Off the Page and in the Air, Drawing Transformed, from http://www.nytimes.com/pages/arts/design/index.html