11.15.2010

Equilibrium Sculpture

Tian, Parsa and I did this as a group project for our Materials and Construction class at the GSD. The assignment was to make a sculpture that illustrates principles of equilibrium. The sculpture should have a pivot point at least 12 inches from the ground.

We wanted to take an everyday object and suspend it in an unusual orientation, in order to preserve a moment in time and space. This moment — when the stool is about to fall — is one of alarm and distress. We wanted to turn it into a pleasant surprise. The viewer who happens to glance at this stool thinks that it will fall and that they’ll hear a crashing sound, but it doesn’t. That makes the viewer happy.

3 comments:

  1. this reminds me of delirious new york, when koolhaas talks about the anticipated failure of the roller coasters (?) in coney island (and later, elevators), and how we feel thrilled when it succeeds. though i guess it seems more tenuous in this exercise! how'd you do it ?

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  2. Haha, wow, Koolhaas is such a good hero and an equally good villain. That's such a positive, hopeful idea about the roller coasters. That is Architecture.

    As for this "sculpture" it's all there. We approximated the position of the stool by hanging it upside down, and then we attached metal wire to each of the stool's legs. We then attached the opposite ends of the wires to the wood and to the hanging dumb bell.

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