Hey everyone! Hope everyone is getting excited for Christmas break! However, there are still just a few more days of studying and school work we have left to get through. Anyways... enjoy this post!
Just recently, Commack High School's IB Design Technology classes (standard level and higher level) took an exciting trip to the Museum of Modern Art(MOMA) in NYC. The purpose of the trip was to take what we learned in class and apply it to real life.
Our trip started off by piling over 30 excited kids onto the Long Island Railroad. After about an hour long train ride and 30 minutes of walking, we finally arrived.
Our first step was the to visit the Applied Design exhibits to learn about materials and design as well as how form and function can be combined to produce things we use everyday. There are people who think that design is just about making things, places, and people pretty, however, MOMA's exhibits will change that thought. We had the opportunity to see 3D printed objects, hand made objects, animal made objects, and even video games! Below are just some of the many exhibits we got to see:
The Endless Flow Rocking Chair
Dirk Vander Kooij created a chair different than most. What made it so unique was that it was 3D printed. He used an old, industrial robot and reprogrammed
it in such a way that it could "print" furniture. The robot extruded recycled refrigerator interiors into chairs and any other kind of furniture. The term "endless" refers to the chair's endless thread of
synthetic material as well as it's endless design possibilities.
Mine Kafon
When the Afghan countryside was covered with over ten million land mines, Massoud Hassani invented a 70 kg, 190 cm diameter, machine that meanders across the terrain by chance, propelled by the winds, detonating bombs as it tumbles over them, mapping it's whereabouts by GPS. Though it’s simplicity and symmetry made it so aesthetically appealing, its quality of design was even better. With each detonation, Mine Kafon only lost a few legs, allowing it to destroy three or four mines in one journey. It was simply built using $40 worth of recycled bamboo and plastic along with a skeleton made of spiky plungers.
When the Afghan countryside was covered with over ten million land mines, Massoud Hassani invented a 70 kg, 190 cm diameter, machine that meanders across the terrain by chance, propelled by the winds, detonating bombs as it tumbles over them, mapping it's whereabouts by GPS. Though it’s simplicity and symmetry made it so aesthetically appealing, its quality of design was even better. With each detonation, Mine Kafon only lost a few legs, allowing it to destroy three or four mines in one journey. It was simply built using $40 worth of recycled bamboo and plastic along with a skeleton made of spiky plungers.
The Honeycomb Vase "Made by Bees"
Tomas Gabzdil Libertiny designed and made a vase by
casting solid beeswax into a shape. Then, he decided to see what
would happen if he allowed bees to contribute to the process. He created a vase-shaped space
inside a beehive and installed a camera to film the process. The bees worked like a
machine. Slowly, layer by layer, they added tiny bits of beeswax. He and the
bees have now produced a dozen Honeycomb Vases. This shows that even animals can use applied design to create magnificent pieces of art.
While eating pizza for lunch one
day, Toru Iwatani had a vision of a character- a giant yellow circle with a wedge removed for a mouth. The
player controls Pac-Man with a joystick, directing him to eat all of the dots
in the maze while eluding the ghosts, who can end his life. If he succeeds, he
moves up a level. Eating special power pellets gives Pac-Man the ability to
kill the ghosts, and by eating transformed ghosts, assorted fruits, and other
objects the player can gain bonus points. Eating to gain power, Iwatani has
said, was a concept he borrowed from Popeye. He used ideas from other influences as well as applied his own ideas to design a video game that is still played to this day.
After completing the Applied Design exhibit, we explored the remainder of the museum and saw other interesting pieces of art and designs made by artists who are popular to this day. Here are some more pictures of students viewing the artwork from the rest of the museum:
'
After the museum, we stopped at Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree and take pictures. Here are some cute group shots:
Later, we went to Dallas BBQ and had a feast. It was like Thanksgiving all over again! We had a large assortment of appetizers, from fried onions, cole slaw, vegetables, to even chicken wings. Then, for our meal, we got a giant, personal rotisserie chicken, french fries, and corn bread. It was delicious! To top it off, we got an ice cream sandwich for dessert.
After a long day filled with walking and eating, we were all ready to go to the train station for the train ride home. It was an amazing day filled with learning and memories. Not only did we learn a lot about the importance of Applied Design, but we all had some good laughs and bonded over the trip.
Hope you enjoyed the post!
~Ashley
