Architecture Investigation 15

Artist Statement

For this piece, I wanted to experiment with showing the process of showing how an architectural drawing can come to existence from beginning sketches and lines to the final design. I wanted to experiment with the layers of a building and how the lines overlap and build on one another.

To experiment more with my materials, I chose to draw on tracing paper, which due to its semitransparent nature allowed me to build details that would remain visible throughout the layers. I worked with graph paper, as it has an appearance associated with sketching and architectural planning, as well as graphite to demonstrate the beginning processes of designing. I then moved to pen, to pick out set shapes and the final form of the building, as well as layer on details to show the finished design.

Having never worked with tracing paper before in a more formal artistic setting, I struggled to find a way to let all of the layers I had planned out show through. I found that no more than two layers of tracing paper would allow the bottom most layers to be visible, leading me to break into a series so as to not lose details. While sketching and planning, I experimented with different colors and lines, with pen and graphite, to see how each would respond to the tracing paper. With this planning, I found that strong graphite lines would continue to show through the tracing paper, reflecting the beginning steps of the design process. Sketchy, incomplete lines in pen reflected the more final forms of the building, and lastly the top most layer of the last piece in the series was the most complete, final design.