Project no.01, Handout no.01, Understanding Your Object

Understanding Your Object

In order to communicate ideas about a subject matter that will be interesting and compelling, you have to know your subject matter inside and out. This week, research the object you chose for Project 01 in as great a depth as you can manage:

Categorize your object:

  • Is it a tool, a toy, a plant, a mineral?
  • What does it do, how is it used, where is it found?
  • How does it come into being?
  • What is it made of, and what’s important to know about that, if anything?
  • What is the history of that object as a kind of thing?
  • Does it have cultural significance?
  • Is it from the natural world or is it artificial?
  • Is it ever used as a symbol of something?
  • Are there economic or political or social aspects to the object?
  • How do you connect to the object—do you love it, or hate it?
  • Is it a part of your childhood, does it fascinate you, do you have memories or current experiences associated with it, is it mentioned in one of your favorite songs or in a story or film?
  • Why is it interesting to you? What other kinds of objects are similar (or different)—how and why?

Be as thorough and wide-ranging in the connections you make—go down every “rabbit hole” that your research leads you. — Use resources like Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, books, articles, and your own thinking and writing to create a body of knowledge about your object that you will be able to refer to and draw from later. Copy and paste the information you gather into a text file (Microsoft Word, TextEdit, or Pages). You’ll need this information to share with your colleagues and work with during class. The more info you can gather (and the deeper and broader it is), the better.

Same or Different?

Review the resources in this week's "Discussion" section of the website that are related to Semiotics and Form Identity that we looked at briefly during class. Based on your understanding, pair your object with other objects (or images of them) in four different ways:

01Similar syntax / Similar meaning
Pair your object with another subject that shares similar visual qualities (syntax) and also shares a similar meaning, function, idea, or context with your object.
02Similar syntax / Different meaning
Pair your object with a different subject that shares similar visual qualities (syntax) but is different, or unrelated, in meaning or context.
03Different syntax / Similar meaning
Pair your object with another, different subject whose visual syntax is very different from that of your object, but whose meaning, function, or context is the same, or similar to, that of your object.
04Different syntax / Different meaning
Pair your object with yet another subject that is completely different from it—both visually and in terms of what it means.

When you’re thinking about the meaning of images that are “different” from those that may be signified by your object, don’t be random about it:

  • How, exactly, is that object’s or image’s meaning different?
  • What is that differenc ein meaning about? Is it relevant or interesting?

To share your pairings with the class, you can bring physical objects (ones that you find or make); and you may also bring images (of objects, artworks, symbols, drawings, etc., of any kind) that you already have or find, or download or photograph with your phone (if you know how to print digital images, you can do that in the library; if you don’t know how to do that (it’s OK!) you can photocopy objects or material you find in books or magazines). You don’t need to make any compositions or present your pairings in any particular way for group discussion—you just need to have the things that you’re going to show as pairs.

OneDrive Class Folder Setup

Every student has access to storage space on the Art+Design OneDrive, as well as a subscription to Microsoft Office software. This week, familiarize yourself with these utilities and set up your personal One Drive folder for this course as desribed below. You can log into Office.com with your Purchase college email address and password. Once logged in, you have access to a suite of Microsoft software that includes Word, Excel, and OneDrive. 

File Organization, Naming, and Hygiene

In order to keep track of your work and files in a way that you can understand what they are, at a glance (and so your instructor can understand, as well), it’s important to define a clear way of organizing work files, the folders they’re in, and their names.

This week, create a general folder in your personal OneDrive for this course named Visual-Language (make sure to include the hyphen); inside that folder, create a general folder for the first project named Project-01 (again, make sure to include the hyphen).

Inside that folder, create sub-folders for the first project, using the following naming convention (be sure to adhere to the use of caps, lowercase, and punctuation as shown: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_P00_Week00 Example for Project 01, Week 01 > WILSON_DAVID_P01_W01 Example for Project 01, Week 02 > WILSON_DAVID_P01_W02 — Place all of your research related to “Understanding Your Object” in the Week 01 folder, using this naming convention for each file as needed: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_P00_Week00_SubjectDescription_DATE.extension Example > WILSON_DAVID_P01_W01_ChickenLittle-SkyFallingStory.pdf Example > WILSON_DAVID_P01_W01_HistoryofChicken.rtf Example > WILSON_DAVID_P01_W01_SouthernFriedChickenRecipe.doc

During class, we’ll take a quick look at your folder setup on OneDrive to make sure it works, and that the organization and naming are clear.

Readings and Resources

Familiarize yourself with the concepts in this week’s materials; apply your understanding to the assignments you’re working on in the homework. Additionally, make note of any concepts that you find confusing, or have questions about—as well as insights you discover that pertain to the work you’re doing—to share and discuss as a class.

Tools and Materials

  • “Same or Different” objects/images
  • Laptop with Adobe Creative Suite
  • Sketchbook or notebook and pne or pencil
  • Studio knife (X-Acto or similar) and a supply of blades
  • Steel ruler from Starter Kit
  • One or two sheets of large blank drawing paper (from Starter Kit drawing pad)