My aesthetic takes influence from many different aspects. Sports wise, I love English soccer and so I like a lot of British things (which effects my vocabulary), but I’m also into adventure sports like hiking, climbing, and skiing, so I feel like I tend to be into the outdoors and appreciative of nature (and being nerdy about gear). Skateboarding is also something I love to do which goes back to when I was young, and has made me appreciate grunge and street wear.
Growing up outside of NYC I feel also contributes to my aesthetic. For sure how I talk, but also my attitude which can be tough and ambitious. For as much of an outdoorsman I like to be, I always love city’s (specifically subways), and I feel like my aesthetic is influenced by them.
In terms of design, I feel like my love for a more modern and sleek aesthetic has made me pay more attention to how I dress, however this does not mean my clothes are minimalist. My love for graffiti and street art as well as graphic design means I have a lot of graphic tees and retro 80’s windbreakers. My favorite 20th century design movement is probably Russian constructivism. It is equal parts interesting and unique but also minimal and clean looking, but also always has a purpose, which I think explains my overall aesthetic. My aesthetic is one comprised of different parts of a lot of different things.
Final Project update:
I have narrowed down what I want to do for my final project. I think combining the modern chair idea with the early American tattoo aesthetic would be an interesting design clash. The way it would work is that I would construct a chair that folds completely flat (see above for inspiration), and paint the tattoo design on the flat board. When in use it would serve as a chair with interesting details, but when not in use, with would be a mural like art piece that is both modern and grunge (I hope to find a balance). I’m not sure what style of chair I want to make, but I’m really drawn to the Robert Van Embricqs chairs (its the super cool one, you know which one I’m talking about out of the three (ok fine, the middle one)), and I think making a chair in that style would be an interesting challenge but also severe well for the modern style I’m going for. The clashing mix of detailed grunge and sleek modern reflects my personal aesthetic as well.
images:
Products by AMBIVALENZ Fläpps Folding Chair Collection | Archiproducts
Robert van Embricqs on Behance
Folding Chair by Leo Salom – MOCO LOCO
American Traditional Tattoos: History, Meanings, Artists & Designs (tattmag.com)
2 Comments. Leave new
Joshua,
I think your idea for your project and the aesthetic your thinking of incorporating is really cool. Myself personally have been looking for a new tattoo that I would want, and have found myself coming back to the early American tattoo aesthetic design. In terms, of your chair I’m interested in seeing how you go about making your chair portable while also making it look like a mural. One question I have is how many pieces do you think you will be using?
Hey Hunter,
So I think that going with the Robert Van Embricqs design would be the way to go. It folds the flattest, and seems to have the most uniform seams on the face (which would be the best for murals). Be cause I’m going with this one, it will probably have a lot of pieces (around 40 or so wood pieces roughly, not including the hardware).