SML Pro Blog: 2006-07

Functional = Beautiful

Living objects found in nature took their form not by how attractive they are aesthestically, but how useful their functions are. Yet, almost everything we find in nature is stunningly gorgeous. Man-made objects often sacrifice functionality to keep its beautiful form, but is statistically less beautiful than living things.

This is one of the main reasons why Manhattan Bridge is an ongoing subject for me. It is a functional utilitarian object created not for its beauty, but for its function. Like nature, living things take their forms not for its appeal, but for its necessity.

Here are some highlights from my Manhattan Bridge set on Flickr:

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Manhattan Bridge, New York City / Project (Set)
HDR Photography / Project (Set)
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Photography = Composition

1 comment:

Photography is a very good and effective way to study composition.

I started using photography as a mean to study composition when I bought my first digital camera. For the first time, I was able to capture and review my visual decisions instantly. The immediate visual feedback is very powerful.

For most people, photography brings back memories of particular moments and events. For me, photography brings back memories of how I used to see. It serves as a visual diary of how I interpret what my eyes see. It enables me to analyze and criticize my visual decisions, and enables me to catalog my progress along the way.

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Functional = Beautiful
HDR: Manhattan Bridge in Black and White
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Theorizing aesthetics

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I have always had an idea of theorizing aesthetics. I believe that aesthetic judgement, though seemingly abstract, can be quantified. And through the discovery of these aesthetics principals, it is possible to create aesthetic composition through programmatic algorithms.

Designers don't like this view of the world. The larger part of the design community, will in fact tell you that designers should be ashamed of themselves if their designs were formed by theory. I, on the other hand, believe that aided with such tool, it will provide enormous advantages in realizing a design.

The music community has created many variants of algorithm-based music generators. Artists have long utilize color theories in their paintings. Itten, from the Bauhaus, wrote a monumental book called The Art of Color on the subject matter. The language of architecture and urban planning was eloquently catalogued in Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language. This book on architecture has in turn inspired four programmers (Gang of Four) to write a book called Design Patterns, which revolutionized the object-oriented programming space.

So why is the design community so afraid of composition theories?

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Education before college

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I grew up in Hong Kong, and the education system allows for two focus-paths: arts or science.

The science track is formed by subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Advanced Mathematics. Most everything else is grouped into arts: History, Geography, Literature, etc.

The arts category seem odd at first, so I formulize the categorization in my way: by the kind of tests given to the students. Subjects that allow you to score an A by answering the only possible answer is Science. Subjects that have a larger range of flexibity in the form of essays, and usually graded subjectively is categorized as Arts.

High school is the stepping stone to getting into a great university. In order to achieve the goal, I have decided to go with the path that will allow me to get good grades given equal study efforts. My early education, before I entered college, was thus constructed by a science-biased view.

I never really dream to be a scientist, however. Almost everything that I did in my spare time had nothing to do with science. My life was surrounded by music, and I spent most of my time as a pianist for choirs, choruses, ballet schools, etc. Although I was never really good at it, I also tried to draw, sketch and paint. I find the experience very relaxing.

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Saturday, July 1, 2006

Functional = Beautiful

Related SML Flickr sets and collections

Related SML Pro Blog entries

SML Copyright Notice

Photography = Composition

Related SML Pro Blog entries

SML Copyright Notice

Theorizing aesthetics

Related SML Pro Blog entries

SML Copyright Notice

Education before college