Vincent Lo: Modular Slots

Original Draft

 

Here are the original designs I had for my modular slots.

I've always been fascinated by Escher's work. I was inspired by his Ascending and Descending to create my first slot design. I originally incorporated the human figure and stairs as those are the essential elements in that piece.

However, I was dissatisfied with my design. I knew that if I put all these pieces together, the end result would be a jumbled, noisy piece, and I wanted the assembled work to feel coherent. After some more planning and thinking, I sketched out new designs for my modular slots. I came up with the following idea to better resemble Escher's Relativity instead of Ascending and Descending.

Final Draft

Here are the final designs I have for my modular slots. 

 I tested out my curves to make sure elements lined up correctly such as the characters' feet when they walk and bottoms when they sit. My design also supports placing characters in different angles which is at the heart of Escher's Relativity.

Concept

In order to elevate my concept beyond a simple mimicry of Escher, I incorporated actions we perform everyday and everywhere. I wanted to demonstrate the disconnectedness prevalent in today's society. Many of us don't speak with the people around us. Instead, we play games on our phones, keep our headphones on to listen to music, and essentially go about our lives without talking to the people physically next to us. I sought to combine the physical disjointedness found within Escher's work with the disjointedness found within today's society.

Techniques

For techniques, I used control point curves. Trim was used to chop away any unneeded edges. I tested the curves to make sure the characters could fit on the steps nicely. I made changes to the original curves if things didn't align correctly.

Materials

I used cardboard for financial reasons.