Diagrams
Pictured below are the diagrams I began with in my project. The first image is a strict recreation of the original painting. The second diagram is a tartan grid, showing the organizing grid and lines within the painting. I made the 4 lines that make up the center cross the boldest, as they are the central lines. Next is the proportion diagram; here, I focused on how shapes and geometry relate within the piece. I utilized the section highlighted in blue and diagramed how that rectangle is proportionally repeated throughout the design. The fourth diagram is light. Here, I imagined the lines of the painting as walls and simulated how shadow and light would come from the piece. The fifth diagram, axis, also shows the geometry of the painting whilst highlighting the major axes. Lastly, the static/dynamic diagram emphasizes the movement and interaction between pieces in two ways. The hatched pieces represent color- I noticed in the painting that the top left and bottom right sections had a yellow hue that slightly distinguished them, so I emphasized this with hatching. The shading shows how the lines seem to almost be avenues as they connect the parts together.
Study Models
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The first model (pictures 1 and 2) was meant to represent the tartan, axis and static/dynamic diagrams. It is more simple, as I was still learning about how I wanted to use the dowels and planes (we had a max of 15 to use in each model). I started with the central axis of the painting, shown in the thickest dowels. I played with blocked vs. open spaces. From the front, one can see through everything but the top left and bottom right sections- emulating the hatched part of the static/dynamic diagram. From the left side, the only blocked space is the small section near the bottom where the pop of red is located. From the top view, the original painting is replicated and there are no open spaces. The tartan diagram is shown in the use of thick vs. thin dowels.
The second model focuses on light, proportion, and axis in a more complex fashion. The model is split into quadrants based on the painting. The thick dowel axis used in the first model is replicated, but instead horizontal. I used this to mirror the idea in my light diagrams of the lines as walls by placing planes under the axes. Using my proportion diagram, I crated an overlay that sits on top of the model, not interacting with it directly but adding another dimension. I wanted to highlight the top left and bottom right sections of the painting, so I focused on those 2 quadrants in the model. On the wall pieces, I used "blocked" pieces to show the hierarchy of that section of the painting. In the front right section, the stair structure emulates the hierarchy of color. I thought about how the red draws the eye immediately so I put that at the bottom to simulate that. I created the geometry of that space by scoring and bending a single piece of chipboard. The top of the piece is on the same level as the main axis. In the back left section, I created the vertical axis on the left side.
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Final Model and Drawings
For my final model, I focused more on the second study model. I still wanted to use the different views to represent different parts of the painting, especially with the use of hollow and blocked spaces. The top still uses the proportion overlay, slightly altered to also cover parts of the bottom left quadrant. The steps still work the same, but I made them connect back to themselves for more stability. I made all of the dowels intersect the planes, calling back on how the lines intersect the painting to create the geometry. I added to the other two corners of the model to showcase hierarchy in 2 different ways. For example, if viewed from the left side, the "hollow" spaces are distinguished from the blocked; the L-shaped piece leaves the colorful sections hollow, as the upper left corner is also hollow. The opposite is done on the right side, where the piece itself represents those same colorful sections. I also added a vertical thick down to the main axis in the center, so that axis is continued in the other views as well.
For my digital axonometric, I did a 30/60 degree drawing that portrays the other corner. I made the model in SketchUp, then exported an image to Illustrator and traced with line-weights. That and the shadow again add depth to the drawing. I also added shade to both drawings to make them more realistic. I cut my plan at 4" because most of the model is in the lower half, so thus most is visible in the plan drawing. I added shade and shadow to all of my drawings to again add depth and realism to them. I used line weight to establish what was closer or farther. I chose the front, right and left sides because I thought that they were the principle views of my interpretation, each unique but connected. For my first section, I wanted to showcase the back, because it is hidden in other views. For my second section, I wanted to show how the stair piece works, as well as how the pieces transform (sometimes it can be hard in orthographic drawing to see if a piece changes as it gets further away).
Overall Thoughts
I enjoyed this project. It was an interesting challenge to create something from an abstract piece like Mondrian's works, but it was a good practice of terminology, modeling and drafting techniques, and abstract interpretation. In my final review, I received mostly positive feedback. The reviewers liked my use of consistent language throughout, the differentiation between hatching and shading in my diagrams, the way my presentation layout worked (the first image on this page), the use of shadow in all of my drawings and the attention given to the main axis. The only negative things were the slight inconsistencies in my section markers and a few adjustments to my presentation boards (for example, the use of a black background losing the shadows of the physical model).