Month: December 2024

Five Dangers:

• diseases
• misinformation
• pollution
• anxiety
• injuries

Five ways to extend my capabilities:

• less forgetful
• more creative
• better vision
• better reflects
• stronger

I’m choosing to protect my body from diseases because if I’m sick then I would lack the energy and motivation to do a lot of the things I like and need to do. It will be based on the mask of the plague doctors from the 13th to 14th centuries. These types of masks protected the doctors to a certain extent from the bubonic plague. The mask I will design will protect me from diseases. It will be made from more modern material to make it more effective by blocking out more bacteria and viruses.

1. Mask

2. Hazmat suit

3. Gas mask

4. Regular mask

5. Hospital

6. Doctors

7. Viruses

8. Bacteria

9. Gloves

10. Medicine

Step 2:

Keith Sonnier, Ucua, 2016

I think the led lights would look nice so I intend on combining led lights with the mask.

Step 3:

Dangers:

1. Fall damage
2. Extreme heat
3. Extreme cold
4. Disease
5. Wild animals

Extensions:

1. Breathing underwater
2. Farther physical reach
3. Cyber communication (Neuralink?)
4. Faster running
5. Ability to photosynthesize

Ability to photosynthesize:

I am choosing this extension because it ties into my love for biology and botany as well as my busy schedule and desire for more energy in my daily life. I’ve always been interested in plants, and I think it’s fascinating that they make their own energy from photons of light- a special power essential for organisms that can’t move. Giving this power to a heterotroph like myself would be “unnecessary” but immensely helpful for a busy person like myself. The device would contain bioengineered synthetic plant cells that once converting light into sugar would transfer most of it to me instead of themselves. I already try to prioritize getting sunlight and vitamin D for the sake of my hormones and therefore mood, but with this technology, I could also gain energy. This would remove the need for as much time allocated for eating and the money that goes into purchasing food. Since nothing even similar to this technology exists, it will require me to reach creatively further in my design process as well; I’d like to make it fashionable as well.

related people/places/things:

• Sun(light)
• Plants
• Chloroplasts
• Solar panels
• CRISPR-cas 9
• Bioengineer researchers
• Alginate textiles
• Mycelium leather
• Greenhouses
• Silicon Valley

Research Step 1: 

Five dangers you’d like to protect yourself from  

-Heatwaves/Extreme global warming 

-Embarrassment (maybe mind erasing abilities)

-Impact(driving or falling)

-Heartbreak 

-Natural disasters (tornado, hurricane, tsunami) 

Five ways you’d like to extend the capabilities of your body 

-Increased breathing capacity/ more oxygen (could also work for underwater breathing)

-Temperature control of your body 

-AI integrated into yourself

-Teleportation

-The ability to fly 

For my project, I chose to focus on a device that enhances breathing capacity and provides increased oxygen availability. I selected this concept because it is a realistic piece of equipment with versatile applications that can benefit a wide range of individuals. My initial inspiration was for its use in extreme sports such as mountain biking, skiing, and more. Enhanced oxygen with these activities could improve performance and endurance. The design will take the form of a helmet with integrated eye and head protection, providing functionality and even additional protection these sports require.

Beyond extreme sports, this concept could also be valuable for other athletic activities, like football, or even for medical purposes, assisting individuals who require supplemental oxygen. I envisioned this as a tool to boost performance, particularly for those operating in high-altitude environments.

This idea stems from my personal experience attending a semester school in Colorado, where I spent four months in the highest city in America. I dealt with altitude sickness and muscle cramps during extended hiking trips, which gave me firsthand insight into the challenges of low oxygen levels. While in Colorado, I noticed a product called Boost Oxygen, which sparked the thought that integrating such technology into a helmet could be even more effective and practical.

To align with its intended use for extreme sports, I aim to make the helmet aerodynamic, incorporating sleek and functional design elements. 

10 tangible people/places/things that are associated with the purpose of your project

Boost Oxygen 

Mountain Biking Helmet 

Gas Mask 

Sunglasses

Mountain/ High Elevation 

Ski Helmet 

Ski Goggles 

Sky Diving 

Rock Climbing 

Snowboarding 

Research Step 2: Borrow a strategy

(David Mesguich, Egoism 1.0)

I plan to draw inspiration from the cubist aesthetic, incorporating harsh edges and angular forms to give the design a unique and modern appearance.

Research Step 3: Create sketches

Step 1:

• List out five dangers you’d like to protect yourself from.

1. Needles
2. Jellyfish
3. Cancer
4. Global warming
5. Extreme weather

• List out five ways you’d like to extend the capabilities of your body  

1. Be faster
2. Breath underwater
3. Enhanced hearing
4. Photographic memory
5. Ability to draw energy from sun, plants, etc

• Choose one of the ten items you listed above

I chose to focus on the ability to draw energy from the sun, plants, and other natural resources because of its potential to address key environmental and health challenges. By utilizing these resources, we can reduce the environmental impact of food production, including greenhouse gas emissions and habitat destruction. This approach helps with sustainability and protects ecosystems while also providing a healthier alternative to traditional energy sources, which often rely on processed or artificial methods. The goal of this project is to find an innovative way to reduce dependency on large-scale food production while offering a sustainable and healthier energy option. With this solution, we can help combat issues like overfarming, deforestation, and the depletion of natural resources, paving the way for a more sustainable future. This project also considers the needs of individuals with dietary restrictions, disabilities, or health conditions that limit their access to certain foods or nutrients. For these individuals, traditional diets will not always give them the energy they need. By developing a method to draw energy directly from natural resources, we can create a consistent and inclusive solution to meet diverse nutritional and energy needs, supporting both human health and environmental conservation.

• List out 10 tangible people/places/things that are associated with the purpose of your project.
• Sun
• Leaves
• Vest
• Earth
• Energy
• Cells
• Elderly
• Health
• Food
• Bloom

Step 2:

• Find an image of a particular work of art that you find compelling.

• Artist: Saar Snoek
• Title: Werewere Kokako AotearoBra 
• Write just one sentence that specifies the attribute or strategy that you intend to borrow from the piece.
  • I intend to borrow the use of nature and natural elements in the wearable art and similar to here was going to incorporate it as a vest or top for a person to wear.

Step 3:

• Five sketches with 5 different ideas

Research Step 1: Choose and clarify the purpose of your wearable art

Five dangers: 

1. Being recognized 
2. Extreme cold 
3. Toxic air / air pollution
4. Predators or attackers
5. Overstimulation from loud environments

Five ways to extend bodily capabilities: 

1. Camouflage
2. Extendable limbs
3. Untouchable/sharp edges for protection
4. Hypnotizing features to distract or attract
5. Invisibility

Chosen idea: 

Camouflage 

I chose camouflage as the purpose of my wearable art project because it embodies a primal and desire to adapt to one’s surroundings, whether to avoid danger, embrace new identities, or blend into the background. I’m thinking of creating a wearable headpiece that will serve as a personal shield, allowing the wearer to visually blend into an environment. I’m inspired by the delicate anatomy of insects like spiders and butterflies, so I’m thinking the design will incorporate layered, translucent, and reflective materials to mimic the shifting colors and textures of nature.

List of associations: 

1. Butterfly wings
2. Spider legs 
3. Chameleons
4. Mirrors
5. Kaleidoscopes 
6. Moths 
7. Hexagonal patterns
8. Opals
9. Claws
10. Moss or lichen

Visuals: 

Research Step 2: Borrow a strategy

Iris Van Herpen 

Shift Souls Collection

I really enjoy the multiple layers and use of color in her designs. I think she also uses biomimicry in her designs.

Step 3: Sketches

Step 1

List out five dangers you’d like to protect yourself from

1. Dangerous animals (sharks, bear, etc.)
2. Sickness / disease
3. Rain / wind / bad weather
4. Anxiety and negative thoughts
5. Failure

List out five ways you’d like to extend the capabilities of your body

1. Be able to breathe underwater
2. Never get tired
3. Be able to make decisions instantly
4. Improve immune system, never get sick again
5. Mind reading 

Choose one of the ten items you listed above.

As someone who gets sick very often, whether it be migraines, colds, etc., I want to create wearable art that protects myself from sickness and disease for my project. While there are preventative drugs, vitamins, and other remedies people can take to prevent them from getting sick, there is really nothing that can truly guarantee protection from illness. Sickness could derive from many triggers, like germs, weather changes, lack of sleep, poor diet, or just having a poor immune system, so the wearable device would be able to defend me from sickness caused by all of these things. For this project, I will create wearable art that protects me from germs and sickness, and that improves my immune system to allow me to never get sick again.

List out 10 tangible people/places/things that are associated with the purpose of your project.

1. Mask

2. Hasmat suit

3. Medicine

4. Plants / Nature

5. Doctors

6. Bad weather

​​

7. Gloves

​​

8. Tissues

9. Pharmacy

10. Sleep

Step 2

Title: Pulse

Artist: Jan Van Der Laan

Inspiration: I like the free-flowing, organic form of this piece that almost resembles a filter, and its theme of unattainable purity, so I plan to borrow these aspects as I make wearable art that “purifies” and “filters” the human body from sickness. 

Step 3

Step 2

Artist: Yanobe Kenji

Work Title: Atom Suit

Attribute/Strategy I intend to borrow from the piece: The strategy I intend to borrow from the piece is the combination of tools commonly used in areas of high radiation with armor literally made from lead. I like how the protective gear already has Geiger counters attached which makes it convenient instead of having to occupy your hands with one.

Step 3: Sketches

Artist: Olu Amoda

Work Title: Street Vendor – Monsura Agbo I, 2019

Attribute: In Amoda’s work, he uses symbols of real people to create a mix of storytelling, repurposing scraps of metal to convey these stories. To some, this sculpture may simply seem like an expression of Amoda’s fascination with a street seller desperate to make sales. However, to me, this work represents much more. It symbolizes sacrifice and resilience in the midst of a discouraging atmosphere. In the Nigerian economy, resources such as water and food are becoming increasingly scarce, and the seller’s desperation to make sales in this environment symbolizes resilience. This is a motivating factor I would like to explore in my own work.

I want to incorporate my understanding of the angle at which the head is positioned into my own piece. The downward-facing head reflects the discouragement caused by the circumstances, yet the balance of the items on the head continues to convey the notion of resilience. This is a theme I wish to carry through in my own project.

1. List out five dangers you’d like to protect yourself from. (These could be environmental dangers, your own impulses, “frienemies”, aggressive dogs, nuclear war, worrisome thoughts, etc.)

• Procrastination
• Low energy
• Poverty
• Liars
• Depressive thoughts

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2. List out five ways you’d like to extend the capabilities of your body. (e.g., be stronger, be taller, be more flexible, be able to breathe underwater, be able to go without food, able to think more clearly, more comfortable around strangers, etc.)

• Have an immune system that prevents me from ever getting sick—the strongest immune system in the world.
• Spread positivity to anyone, everywhere I go.
• Super speed and efficiency.
• Great wisdom.
• Easy discernment—being able to make the correct decisions that are best for me and the people around me.

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3. Choose one of the ten items you listed above—this will be the purpose of your wearable art project.

• Easy discernment—being able to make the correct decisions that are best for me and the people around me.

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4. Tell why you chose to design a work of art that will protect/extend the body in this way.

I chose this purpose because during the Thanksgiving break, I found myself in situations where I didn’t have enough time to rest, and the thing I prayed for the most was the spirit of discernment—to make the correct decisions for myself and those involved in what I was going through. Having the ability to make clear and unquestionable decisions is a gift I strive to maintain.

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5. Give some more information on the purpose of your project. Explain its function in depth.

The spirit of discernment is something I have made a major prayer point in my life, as I feel like I’ve been making bad decisions recently. I often reflect on Proverbs 3:5, which says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding.” This verse reminds me to trust in divine guidance, rather than relying on my own limited perspective. The purpose of my wearable art is to serve as a reminder and a tool for grounding myself in wisdom and clarity, helping me to make decisions with confidence. It will act as both a protective shield against impulsive decisions and a physical symbol of my spiritual practice of discernment.

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6. List out 10 tangible people/places/things that are associated with the purpose of your project.

• Church
• Home
• Family
• Friends
• School
• Research institute
• The woods
• Laptop
• Cooking
• Walking
• For visual research, find an image for each of the 10 people/places/things that you listed above and include them in your post on the private class website.

`Church

Home

Family 

Friends

Research Institute

Woods

Laptop

Cooking

Walking

Five dangers I’d like to protect myself from:

• Venoms / poisons
• Diseases
• Sharks
• Radiation
• Bad Drivers

Five ways I’d like to extend the capabilities of my body:

• Better endurance (respiratory, circulatory, etc.)
• Invulnerability (denser / stronger muscles?)
• Survive in Zero / Low oxygen environments
• Fireproof
• Faster reaction time

Out of all these, I choose radiation to be the main focus of the project. I chose radiation because the idea of it being an “invisible danger” always interested me. How can you defend yourself against something that is invisible and can kill you after only being exposed to it for a couple of seconds? Currently there is no full proof equipment or gear that guarantees protection from ionizing levels of radiation. And radiation is something that we as humans have studied and learned so much about. Radioactive materials like uranium and plutonium are used in power plants for energy, and yet it is one of the deadliest substances to be around with zero guarantee of survival after coming into contact with such materials. That explains why we bury our nuclear waste deep underground. My project aims to remove these issues by guaranteeing survival when coming into contact with radioactive materials. I’m thinking of various pieces of protective armor and other gear that will have some components made out of lead.

10 Things Associated with the Purpose:

Visual References of my 10 choices: