So for my HUA project I had two main ideas inspired by a few of the things we have talked about in class already:
“Unbroken”:
The first is a wearable art piece, or more specifically a partial face mask, that is directly inspired by my 2023-2024 academic year, a very difficult time for me personally and professionally. Its’ current working title is “Unbroken”, and with it I want to capture the emotional scars I sort of collected by doing the “RBE speed-run” (taking at least 3 RBE courses in 1 year), however I also want to show that despite it all I still survived. The mask design itself will be based on a traditional Japanese Oni mask, originally made out of wood but in this case 3D printed, with reactive light elements installed to respond to speech and or music (I haven’t decided yet). It won’t be a full mask however, I want to have at least part of my face exposed through a section which looks broken, highlighted using neon LED strips. Once the piece is finished, I plan on taking some really edgy cinematic shots (which is why I ask about the fake blood in class), however I do want this mask to be usable outside of that.
“A Quiet Moment” :
The other idea I had is directly inspired by my research into Hari & Deepti and their work. I wanted to try and recreate one of their pieces, a completely original scene of course, but in their same style and process. Its current working title is “A Quiet Moment”, and within it I wanted to capture the healing process I did after my 2023-2024 academic year. My plan is to mostly use white craft paper for the overall environment, a soft calming backlight, and thin strips of colored film paper to give more detail to the overall background. I also want to try and experiment with paint, other materials like cloth, and again a reactive light element, this one specifically connected to soft music which could play in the background. As for the scene itself, I want to base it off of their newer pieces which focus a lot on the night sky, but I still want to capture that real sense of depth their earlier works push for. The main plant type I want to dominate the setting with is mushrooms, not only because I like them just in general, but also because part of my healing process was accepting and starting medication, something very new to me. Aside from that, I don’t really have too many plans about what the piece will be like in the end.
Questions :
- Any feedback on the pieces, what can I do to make them better?
- I’m trying to choose between these two concepts. Which one do you think is the most interesting, cool, or the one that really speaks to you?
- I want to make a sound reactive light element, but I really don’t have any experience with this. Do you have any advice on how I should go about doing this?
- I do have a plan for how I want to model a 3D mask, however does anyone have any experience and or types which could make this easier?
Both of your ideas are stunning. I think that really when it comes down to it, you have to pick the idea that excites you the most. I personally would choose the second pieces, but hearing you talk about it, the mask seems like something that you connect with a bit more. Focusing on the mask, I really like half mask picture that you added. Thinking about the way that the piece connects to you, I think that the half mask really allows you to shine through while also getting your message across. I think that starting with a base mask will help save you a lot of time, energy, and frustration. From there, you can start to add on and customize it without worrying about the base falling apart or not fitting in a good way.
I like both the ideas! If you wanted to make your life more complicated you could do the mask piece, but incorporate the lit up paper cutouts into a part of it (the eye perhaps?). Otherwise I would say do the project will bring you the most enjoyment to make, not just the final result. For the sound reactive light element, it might be best to consider what source code exists online for processing sound into leds already, and pick from those. Also factor in what languages you are comfortable in. For the paper piece, would you use leds for the backlight and change them, or leave them static?
I really don’t have a preference for the pieces but have a lot of experience on working with face related shapes. One idea you may not have considered, is using a vacuum form to get a physical base for you mask once you have a rough model of your jaw. I know WPI has one, but I don’t know the size of it. Alternatively, you can buy a cheap Halloween mask online and then just add to that with clay, 3D prints, or other materials.