Okay - Diomira, seductive city with a dark underbelly - nice - and I like the film noir idea, because film noir was always associated with the city as a place of attraction and danger. Not sure about the hanged man thumbnail - it's a literal illustration of an otherwise poetic image in Calvino's text, so I would get too hung up on it *excuse the pun* - especially as it tells us nothing about the environment.
I think you need to focus on some actual real world visual reference to move your thinking towards more architectural elements; you are, after all, challenged to envision a city, and I think you need to think more structurally about the details. I'm going to suggest you look, not at architecture, but at some other categories of objects that might inspire the ornate, transparent architecture of Diomira: for example, look at sculpture and also jewellery...
My broad point is I think you need to drill down into the actual structural identity of your city now and think about how the descriptions suggest a strong visual/architectural concept. A city is a collection of shapes - identify a theme or approach that sits satisfyingly with Calvino's vision.
This same advice has been given to a number of students, but as you start to refine your metropolis, I want you to extend the logic - so think what real world cities have and map those attributes onto your depiction of Diomira - transport systems, power sources, cathedrals and stadiums - and then wrap those elements up in the logic of your visual concept (for example, building technology based in glass...).
The other challenge of this city is to express it's 'hidden face' - and perhaps this might make for a good choice in terms of the interior image - an environment that tells us something about the city that the exterior shots conceal.
In short, I think you need to think about the design principles sitting under your vision of this city to ensure you're creating an original, suitably visionary metropolis.
OGR 10/10/2014
ReplyDeleteHi Brem,
Okay - Diomira, seductive city with a dark underbelly - nice - and I like the film noir idea, because film noir was always associated with the city as a place of attraction and danger. Not sure about the hanged man thumbnail - it's a literal illustration of an otherwise poetic image in Calvino's text, so I would get too hung up on it *excuse the pun* - especially as it tells us nothing about the environment.
I think you need to focus on some actual real world visual reference to move your thinking towards more architectural elements; you are, after all, challenged to envision a city, and I think you need to think more structurally about the details. I'm going to suggest you look, not at architecture, but at some other categories of objects that might inspire the ornate, transparent architecture of Diomira: for example, look at sculpture and also jewellery...
http://sylvaindeleu.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Adrian_Sassoon_Galia-Amsel_June_2012-0038.jpg
http://scribol.com/art-and-design/7-incredible-glass-sculptures
http://www.anthonyscalaglass.co.uk/images/5-Annulum.jpg
https://m1.behance.net/rendition/modules/50292547/disp/3e1ca72196b48ee8cf81a28319574d76.jpg
https://www.tallulahbelles.com/media/catalog/category/bryce-tippner-jewelry-artist.jpg
My broad point is I think you need to drill down into the actual structural identity of your city now and think about how the descriptions suggest a strong visual/architectural concept. A city is a collection of shapes - identify a theme or approach that sits satisfyingly with Calvino's vision.
This same advice has been given to a number of students, but as you start to refine your metropolis, I want you to extend the logic - so think what real world cities have and map those attributes onto your depiction of Diomira - transport systems, power sources, cathedrals and stadiums - and then wrap those elements up in the logic of your visual concept (for example, building technology based in glass...).
The other challenge of this city is to express it's 'hidden face' - and perhaps this might make for a good choice in terms of the interior image - an environment that tells us something about the city that the exterior shots conceal.
In short, I think you need to think about the design principles sitting under your vision of this city to ensure you're creating an original, suitably visionary metropolis.