Our project for Newark was to propose an idea that would encourage users to enter into Rutgers campus from a different way and bring attention to a ruin that has long been forgotten. For a full description of the project please click the link below.
http://siena2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/03/newark10-campus-project-green-monkeys/
Yarn theory was the name that our group Gruppo Satellite gave our project. Our project had to do with giving a life to an area around Siena that would most likely not have activity in the future. For a full description of the project visit the link below.
http://siena2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/siena10-yarn-theory/
In these collages I focused on what I believed to be good and bad government. When I think about government I also think about society as a whole, since government is for society as a whole.
My first collage I focused on what I believed to be bad government. When I think of bad government I think of events and things that have happened that have a negative impact on the government, the world, and society. In this collage I included images like September 11th, the Gulf oil spill, microscopic images of disease, and images of different rulers and warriors that overtook other areas, such as Brad Pitt in Troy. I also included images like Robin Hood which represented a man who was going against bad government to help the needs of the lesser man.
Bad Government
When thinking about good government, I tried to focus on positive things, events, and technology that has come about thanks to government funding and operation. I included pictures of structured gatherings, and events that seemed to have order, which government should have. I also included images of technology and programs that are always making discoveries such as NASA, and images of infrastructure from various countries. One major theme of good government which I feel strongly about is the military and police. I believe without them, without our government supporting them, that our country would be extremely vulnerable and not the super power we are today. Yes, in a perfect world everyone would get a long and peace would prevail and there would be no need for a military, but we do not live in a perfect world, therefore the defense of our country is critical to our survival and strength of our government.
Good Government
The image below is a watercolor analytique of the Porta Laterina. This port is the gateway out of Siena, but does not lead to any main road. This gate leads to Siena’s cemetery which is located through another gate.
First attempt
Testing of watercolor
Final Analytique
I started this project by outlining the shape of the piazza which is flat and folding the sides up to create the facades of the surrounding building.
From here I wanted to make the main focus of my pop up piazza the church that is located in it. The church is the main feature of the piazza and is where the eye is drawn.
From the church i wanted to create buildings and walls surrounding it. I tried to give the buildings some depth and used various folds in the paper to achieve this.
The final product added facades to the faces of the buildings that looked into the piazza and also shows the drop off on the east side.
Today we left the walls of Siena for another place that has a more transparent wall. The wall is a cliff and water. We left Siena to go to the beautiful island of Ischia which has steep topography that gives you incredible views from almost anywhere you are.
Traveling to Ischia is no easy task, we had to take a bus from Siena 3 hours to Rome, and a train from Rome and hour to Naples. From the Naples train station we took a cab to the port where we had to take a ferry to the actual island. From there we though it would be easy to reach our hotel, but we were wrong and took a 20 minute taxi to the bottom of a steep road that a taxi could not fit into; meaning we had to walk up the hill until we reached our hotel. This walk gave incredible views of the ocean and beaches below and the hotel room looked far out over the island where you could see water and the peaks of the high mountains inland.
Since it took us so long to reach the island we spent a few hours on the beach and relaxed most of the day, it was nice to sit and do nothing after all the traveling we went through, and the mishap of forgetting my camera in the taxi.
The next day after checkout we spent a long time on the beach catching up to try to get some much needed color. From the beach we made the trek back to the mainland of Naples where we stayed one more night in the center of the city. This night was our “going out” night, where we had a few drinks in the room and roamed the streets seeing the city at night. Not knowing where we were going and not having a specific destination in mind we wound up making one large loop just going where we felt and looking around having good conversation. It was a good night, relaxing but with a lot of fun as well.
It was a good weekend and I would love to go back to the island of Ischia again and this time stay on the beach instead of inland. Although the view from the hotel was incredible, the time was mostly spent on the beach which still had amazing views of the water and some incredibly expensive yachts!
What a weekend! I’m on my way back from Venice right now on the train and I cannot even describe how great of an experience I had. The idea of an island with no cars and only boats is an incredible thing. The island seemed so quiet and calm without the noise of cars or vespas flying around everywhere. Our hotel room was absolutely incredible and it turned out that they booked our room so they moved us to this amazing apartment complete with its own kitchenette, living space with couch, and bedroom.
Our first night there we wandered the streets making our way to Piazza San Marco. This piazza was amazing, and is a piazza that I have many times visited in one of my videogames at home, sounds lame but I thought it was cool how accurate everything in the game seemed to when I was actually there in real life. The piazza was organized in a way that one part was completely closed off and another area opened up to the water and a spectacular view.
After visiting the piazza and a few other touristy sights we went to find a nice place to eat, which we did, and the tiramisu was incredible, being that Venice is known for having the best in all of Italy.
After dinner we went back to St. Marcs Piazza where myself and RJ fed pigeons for what seemed like hours. It was more fun than I thought it would be. Having small breadsticks crushed up in our hands, pigeons came in flocks and would land on our heads, arms, and shoulders, it was a great time. In the same place I also got a chance to witness my first fashion show, there was a stage set up and many models walked the runway showing different designer clothes. I thought it would be lame but I now have a new respect for fashion shows in that the music was great and in between designers they had small performances.
One of the most amazing things we did while in Venice was to take an infamous gondola ride. We found an awesome tour guide who brought us through the Grand Canal and other side canals and told us stories of the history of the island, the typologies of the different homes, and even pointed out some summer homes of people like Bill Gates. The gondola was my favorite part and such a relaxing way to travel through Venice with a bottle of wine and a friendly tour guide.
The next day we went to the island of Lido, a narrow island off the coast of Venice. The beaches here were incredible and it was so relaxing to lie in the sand and finally be able to get a tan (or sunburn is more accurate). Saturday was a very relaxing and worry free day where we got to frolic in the water and relax in the sand.
All in all my first real weekend away in Italy where I went out on my own was incredible and I don’t know how it can be topped. Venice is such an incredible island and I would love to go back one day.
So I’m here sitting on a train on my first weekend away and I’m headed to Venice; and I thought what a great time to blog, or at least type up a blog to post later once I have internet. So I’m here typing in Microsoft word, or Microsoft wordpress as we’ve been calling it and I’m admiring the view out the window of the train.
The past few days have been great, I’ve really had a chance to explore all over Siena, inside the walls and in some districts beyond as well. In the past few days we’ve started having our lectures on the history of Italy, given by Peter Lang. Many things I’ve learned have been quite interesting, and really knowing how long Rome was such a superpower, for close to 1000 years is really astonishing. Our country has only been around for less than 300 years and we are a superpower, I can’t imagine where we would be if we were around for around 1000.
In the past few days we’ve also started our mapping project for Siena and finished up some final work for what we accomplished in the loony bin; check back soon for the blog post on that. Thursday we went to the museum that sits next to the clock tower seen in pictures of older posts and saw some of the first medieval artwork produced in Siena, not to mention a spectacular view from the back terrace.
All in all, the past few days have been great and I’m loving this city and all it has to offer. Its rich history and culture is fascinating and just imagining how citizens lived and worked long before my time is mind blowing. The rich history of the Palio is something I cannot wait to experience and cheer on the contrada of my choosing. From what I hear this event brings celebrities and important people from all over the world, anywhere from The Royal Family, to Fergie, so I’m looking forward to that experience that I’m sure I will never forget! The comradeship and brotherhood amongst those in a contrada is something to be admired for sure, I found it fascinating that one could only be born into a contrada, and even during times of the Palio that husbands and wives who were born into different contradas would return to their home and not be with the other. It shows how much honor these people have for their history and is something you do not see very often in the US anymore.
Our time spent at Santa Maria della Pieta was an experience I won’t soon forget. We struggled at first, but in the end we were all happy with the time we had there. We learned how to bond and live with each other, dividing work between cleaning and cooking. Our installation on the site had to do with restoring an old fountain and bringing attention to the site. A full description of our project can be found at the link below.
http://siena2010.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/s10-smdp-gruppo-satellite/
Matt Holdsworth's Blog 