Research Paper_4th Draft

The Characteristics of Fluidity and Transparency in Art and Architecture

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（Shei ,2006；Steven & Mara,2005）. 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. In addition, the feature of transparency in art and architecture can be regarded as the materials or composition of them makes a penetrating characteristic （Shei ,2006；Steven & Mara,2005）. 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, sum up the discussions of the relevance between the features and art works and architecture.

The Features of Fluidity and Transparency

Fluidity, in aspect of shape, is known as the free form. Fluidity not only affects the shapes, but creates a fluent route and free using of spaces（Shei ,2006；Steven & Mara,2005）. In these years, natural forms become a thinking way for designs to create their jobs. (This sentence is written by me, because in many of my architecture classes, teachers teach this kind of idea in design .So I wrote “natural forms become a thinking way for designs to create their jobs”.Sang: I got it! Thanks for your explanation.) We can observe many shapes existing in the organs of humans or animals and organization of biology. These shapes might be expressed as distorted, twisted, irregular, or convoluted shapes. As Steven and Mara（2005） report that at the early period of inventing the design works, these works featured complicated curves that blended into one another rather than two-dimensional radiused edges that rounded their way into a corner（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）. Furthermore, with the progressive materials, design works can be presented in transparency. For example, people are attracted to the iMac because it uses the transparent material with a streamline shape and broke the law we used think a design should create a box or a shell to hide and cover all the internal components. 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. Following will be the case studying of Gego and Toyo Ito. They both use the concept of fluidity and transparency to design and create their works.

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. And the works of Kinetic Art create the optical illusion because the art work moves. Gego at that time 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）. (This is a long direct citation. Check APA style for this kind of citation.)
Gego was (Gego is dead so can I use past tense or I should use present tense？ Sang: Yes!) 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. Gego（1981）explained:” I was interested in the transparency of volume so that a form could be appreciated fully from all angles of observation” (Direct citations need page numbers.). 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. People are used to live in the buildings with regular shapes, 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.
(This sentence is written by me; I saw the picture and wrote the image in my words to describe the shape of the building. Sang: Got it!)

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 reconstructed. （Ito & Sasaki,2001；Shie,2006）People in this space can experience unconstrained spatial atmosphere from their feeling.

Conclusion

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. In the case of Gego, she used diverse materials to make her art. Interlaced lines and frames formed the art in transparent way and create the specific vision experience for viewers. In the Sendai Mediatheque case of Toyo Ito, he makes different levels from outside to inside, vertical and horizontal. Routes of interior and plan organization are fluent, materials of facades and pillars are transparent. 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.

Reference List： (Check APA style guidelines.)

Steven, S., & Mara, H.（2005）. Blobjects & beyond: The new fluidity in design.Introduction: a glowing fascination with fluid form,11-19.
Gertrude, G.（2005）. Sabiduras and Other Texts by Gego .Nine answers to nine questions posed by Jose Antonio Pantin ,189.
Bruno, B.（2006）. 1957-1988: Thinking the Line .Siting the event , 21-38.
Holland, C.（2007）. Off the Page and in the Air, Drawing Transformed, from http://www.nytimes.com/pages/arts/design/index.html .
Shie, Z.Z.,& Shi, F.(Eds.).（2006）. Documents on Architecture issue_06. Garden City Publishers.
Ito, T., & Sasaki,M.（2001）Toyo Ito, Sendai Mediatheque, Miyagi, Japan, 1995-2000. A.D.A. Edita Tokyo.


Sang’s comment:
Hsiao-Ping, you did a wonderful job. Only areas you need to follow up more is APA style. You will check the guidelines and go ahead to work with your writing tutor. As long as your APA style is correct, you can turn it in as the final research paper. Start to write a reflection on the whole research paper project.