thinking about audience

How to let audience understand my work is the most important consideration. What I’ve got are my works, but how to combine them and show them to make audience understand better?

My project is about simplicity and complexity, which is really hard to distinguish them from a theme, because they exist in many objects. Now I’ve chosen two kinds of buildings and the complicated scene behind the windows of office building as the objects that contain my aim. So I shouldn’t put too much information in my project, less is more.

So the processing works I did for simplifying the photos should be considered.Do they too much? or Can I make a closer connection with my theme? Because in the processing video much information reduced than previous photo. But the linear moving image is a kind of increasing information at the same time. Audience may ask, “why is linear image, not quadrate, punctate image?”

So in my opinion, I am thinking to use the window shape to create the simplified processing work which looks like we stand outside the office building. In degree show, audience walking around, is inside the building. If I show the image seems like from outside, and has been reduced, the aim of my project will be more obvious and understandable.

the complicated simplicity in earthquake-stricken area

©cfp.cn

©cfp.cn

When I was in Greece, 7.1-magnitude quake hits Qinghai Province, China. Just like two years ago parts of Sichuan Province were hit by a devastating earthquake, I was unable to do anything for  these people who lost their families. The above picture was taken by a photographer of cfp.cn, which moves me deeply. The quake zone is in chaos, rubble of houses makes the helpless woman and her baby so lonely.

The next photo shows that these kids are going to put their money in the donation box, they are disordered but have only one simple wish which is to help these people of disaster area to rebuild their home.  It’s so powerful because of  these kids are main characters, and the composition of the box and them is great.

I’ve seen lots of pictures about the quake. There are so many photos which contains complicated background, but I always can see the beautiful and simple wish from these photos. I am thinking about taking some videos or photos from the area.

questions I want to explore in paper

My project is about simplicity and complexity particular emphasis on simplicity in digital arts. The question I want to explore is:

How “Less is More”(The phrase as adopted by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe as a precept for minimalist design) work in New Media?

This question seems oppose two myths examined by Pierre Gander in his paper Two Myths about Immersion in New Storytelling Media, “more sensory information, more immersion”; “more paticipation, more immersion”. 

I can explore through some aspects to define the board question.

1. “Simplicity is the art of complexity, is about substracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.” — by John Maeda
2. Does simplicity reduce an immersive experience in new media? Or instead, it may increase with appropriate methods and how.

DEFINITIONS.1.一.out of focus

I need more definitions about “simplicity”, to search it in my personal experience.

Yesterday, I went to an exhibition, when I waited for my friends, I took some photos what I think is simple.

work for a complex nature

Here is a video about John Maeda’s Nature series which is showed at La Fondation Cartier in Paris. The Nature series consists of a series of seven “motion paintings”.

Piet Mondrian’s abstract paintings especially these composition trees are made from nature as well.

I want to focus on visually simplifying complex nature in visaul part.

narrow my research question

simplicity：

•  The quality or condition of being easy to understand or do. 
• The quality or condition of being plain or natural. 
• A thing that is plain, natural, or easy to understand.

(“simplicity.” The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 Oct. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>)

 I emailed my project research question to Andy for some advices. Andy’s suggestion is that I need to narrow my question, clarify and focus on field I want to explore.

Simplicity and complexity cover a wide field. What I would like to explore will be focused on two parts.

One is about people’s daily life especially when someone is going to keep his mind on something, like reading a book. When a man is reading a book, he really immerses himself in reading it because of only the book in his mind. We can call the condition simplicity. What if there is a cup of tea beside him, beautiful music, or a blast of wind, situation becomes more complicated but still mild and balance. What if music is noisy, wind blows off paper on desk, and then it loses balance.

Another part I would like to focus on is how to visually represent the relationship between simplicity and complexity.

water and ink

Clean water looks simple and pure, and may be the simplest thing in the world. Once a drop of ink enters it, the most complicated image presents.That’s the most interesting point about relationship between simplicity and complexity, just one tiny step, it totally changes.

I took four photos of the process to record.

Happy Birthday, My Motherland!

Yesterday was China’s 60th National Day. Happy Birthday, My Motherland!

Unfortunately, I got burned on my figures when I cooked.

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I found a good book about simplicity. I quote some words from its back over.

      “Isn’t it strange that we are constantly developing new technologies to simplify our lives and work, but in the end we are left with the impression that everything’s just become a lot more complicated?

      SIMPLICITY — more than just the pipe dream of a society dominated by technical revolutions, global networks and inundations of information. No other concept of late has enjoyed such widespread popularity and so accurately expressed the needs of our times. Just how are we to cope with the increasing degree of complexity in the reality we in habit? how can we tap and utilize the potential of global communication in an efficient and responsible way? How can we develop systems, devices and programs that are responsive to our strengths and intuitive capabilities?

      … …

     SIMPLICITY is not the opposite of complexity–it is its complementary key.”

simplicity&complexity in100%Design London

Last Sunday, I went to Earl’s Court for 100%Design London. There are some interesting designs.

The most impressive products are some funitures made of paper. These complex and elaborate lines constructed by paper remind me John Maeda’s work. Both of them have complicated lines, but always in a simple shape.

shadow simplifies complexity

The most common and direct sample of simplifying complexity is shadow. 

Where sun or light exists there is always a simplicity following a complexity.