Closed curve

CLOSED CURVE

CLOSED CURVE Erica, Alison, Polly, Angela, Grace, Nico, Vancy, Andie, Eddy, G November, 2017

CONTENTS Introduction Art of Circle Abstract of Circle Circle and Architecture Circle and Music Circular Film Culture of Circle Language of Circle Symbol of Circle Circle and People The Knights of the Round Table Ganggangsullae Why People Like to Surround a Circle?

How People Think about Circle?

Time Circle

INTRODUCTION When we talk about closed curve, it conjures up the shape of circle. If you look more carefullly, you can find this closed curve is everywhere.

Our eyes, clocks, the wheels, badges and so on. Why all of them are circular? What is the cultural meaning of circle? What will happen when art meets circle? What kind of relationship between circle and people? The objective of this book is to explore the meaning of circle from three aspects, history, culture and society.

Our group attempted to use primary research and secondary research to explore its historal, cultural and societal meaning. This book contains three chapters, art of circle, culture of circle, circle and people. Through these chapters, you can understand the subtle relationship between circles and our lives.

ART OF CIRCLE This Chapter will explore the art of circle. This beautiful closed curve manifests in various forms in art area. Looking back the history of art, we can see various abstract of circle in artworks. Meanwhile , the circular architectures and circular melody always delivery an electrifying for us. Futhermore, circular screen bring about experimental breakthrough in film industry.

ABSTRACT OF CIRCLE

Circle, being as a geometric shape, it’s common to find out when we have an extensive look into different periods of art works. Artists experimented with new viewing position of material, visual drawing and perceptions, which gave them fresh ideas and changed their style of art works in functional and exploratory way.

BAUHAUS

Rectangle and circle, 1915. Silkscreen print by Kazimir Malevich

László Moholy-Nagy: The Olly and Dolly sisters, around 1925 A floating circle

CONSTRUCTIVISM

The art of inheritance inherits the main idea of “Russian Formalism” and “Czech structuralism”.From the beginning of Russian art , and the constructivism propaganda picture of Kazimir Malevich, gradually influenced the western design fields, the art of composition gradually began to be applied by more designers. Kazimir Malevich advocated to use square, circular and other geometric figures to form abstract modeling, to promote the beauty of machinery, and to find rhythm in machinery (Song, 2003).

Bauhaus’s teaching theory is “advocating the unification of art and technology, and the unity of art and science.”. The aim of design is for human but not for product. Design must follow natural, and advocate the use of new materials and technologies in architectural design and industrial design.”

So the works of this period less exaggerated modeling and design, return to the simple shape and the use of the material itself to design the texture (Song, 2003).

MINIMAL ART

POP ART Yayoi Kusama, 1960

Blue Disk by Yves Klein, 1957

Painting with only one color, French artist Yves Klein (1928 – 1962) created complex and enigmatic works of art. He painted monochromes so that only the purity and absoluteness of color would make its impact without what he called the “prison grating” of lines.

Shocked and disheartened when an exhibition of his monochromes was misunderstood, the artist decided to paint all future works in only blue and developed his own patented shade called International Klein Blue. The blue circle in Blue Disk is a gorgeous and recognizable art print by Yves Klein that boasts the purity and absolution of color and life (Tom, 2008).

Kusama thought the circles she draws have the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colourful, senseless and unknowing (David, 2012).The Hippie counterculture prevailed in In the late 1960s. Lots of people in that era attempted to become a rebel in their society. They protested Vietnam War, took addictive drugs, advocated sexual liberation, pursuited oriental mystery, seeked shelter with foriegn religions. And Kusama’s Circle plays a crucial role in counterculture in 1960s. Those infinited repeated circles from her paintings, naked body and environmental installations contributed to pop art and feminist movement (Yoshimoto, 2015).

More importantly, this brand new art form led people to break the rountine. Her insaneness in circles is a revolution in America in that time (Cornelia, 2007).

In A Zen Buddhist Way

The Enso symbol , Clarity Zen – Mindfulness Meditation

HOW TO DRAW A CIRCLE ?

Ensō (円相) is a Japanese word meaning “circle” and a concept strongly associated with Zen. Ensō is one of the most common subjects of Japanese calligraphy even though it is a symbol and not a character. It symbolizes absolute enlightenment, infinity, strength, elegance, the universe, and the void; it can also symbolize the Japanese aesthetic itself. As an “expression of the moment” it is often considered a form of minimalist art. Most broadly, Enso represent the vast qualities of the universe, conjuring up its grandness, limitless power, and natural phenomena. But enso can just as easily represent the void, the fundamental state in which all distinctions and dualities are removed: ‘Outside — empty, inside — empty, inside and outside — empty (Dionne, 2013).’

The ensō is also a sacred symbol in the Zen school of Buddhism. In Zen Buddhist painting, it represents the infinite void, the ‘no-thing,’ the perfect meditative state, and Satori (enlightenment). Ensō symbolizes a moment when the mind is free to simply let the body/spirit create. The brushed ink of the circle is usually done on silk or rice paper in one movement and there is no possibility of modification: it shows the expressive movement of the spirit at that time. Zen Buddhists “believe that the character of the artist is fully exposed in how she or he draws an ensō. Only a person who is mentally and spiritually complete can draw a true ensō. Some artists will practice drawing an ensō daily, as a kind of spiritual practice or diary (Dionne, 2013).

CIRCLE AND ARCHITECTURE

Pantheon in Rome VI royalty

The application of circle in architecture is originated from geometric figure such as circular column building, dome structure and the round top. Besides, circle can also be used in the functional device and decoration in interior design. For designer, the Circle is a universal symbol with extensive meaning.

It represents the notions of totality, wholeness, focus, infinity, unity, timelessness, the Sun, the Moon, and the entire Universe, and then gives people various visual perceptions.

THE SPHERE IN PANTHEON

Pantheon Rome Travel Tips, Photo by Nick Hughes

The Pantheon is a former Roman temple, now a church, in Rome, Italy, on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus. The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon’s dome is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 142 feet (43 m). The Pantheon’s large circular domed cella, with a conventional temple portico front, was unique in Roman architecture. Nevertheless, it became a standard exemplar when classical styles were revived, and has been copied many times by later architects (Wilson, 2003).

https://hiveminer.com/Tags/moongate%2Csuzhou

MOOM GATE IN CLASSICAL GARDEN OF SUZHOU

A Moon Gate is a circular opening in a garden wall that acts as a pedestrian passageway, and a traditional architectural element in Chinese gardens. Moon Gates have many different spiritual meanings for every piece of tile on the gate and on the shape of it. The sloping roofs of the gate represent the half moon of the Chinese Summers and the tips of the tiles of the roof have talismans on the ends of them. Chinese Gardens are often used as a display of class and beauty in many different Western Cultures. The purpose of these gates is to serve as a very inviting entrance into gardens of the rich upper class in China. The gates were originally only found in the gardens of wealthy Chinese nobles (http://www.garten.uni-rostock.de/en/outdoor-garden/ japanese-garden/).

The ‘Bramante’ staircase, Vatican museums, showing the two access points at the bottom of the stairs

SPIRAL AND HELICAL STAIRS A pure spiral assumes a circular stairwell and the steps and handrail are equal and positioned screw-symmetrically. A tight spiral stair with a central pole is very space efficient in the use of floor area. Spiral stairs have the disadvantage of being very steep - only if they are tight or are otherwise not supported by a center column. This is because of two reasons. The wider the spiral, the more steps can be accommodated per spiral. Therefore, if the spiral is large in diameter, via having a central support column that is strong and a special handrail that helps distributes the load, each step may be longer and therefore the rise between each step may be smaller. Otherwise, the circumference of the circle at the walk line will be so small that it will be impossible to maintain a normal tread depth and a normal rise height without compromising headroom before reaching the upper floor.

An example of perimeter support is the Vatican stairwell shown in the next section or the gothic stairwell shown to the left. That stairwell is only tight because of its design in which the diameter must be small (BBC, 2010).

The term “spiral” has a more narrow definition in a mathematical context, as a mathematical spiral lies in a single plane and moves towards or away from a central point. The mathematical term for motion where the locus remains at a fixed distance from a fixed line whilst moving in a circular motion about it is “helical”.

The presence or otherwise of a central pole does not affect the terminology applied to the design of the structure. Spiral stairs in medieval times were generally made of stone and typically wound in a clockwise direction, to place attacking swordsmen at a disadvantage. This asymmetry forces the right-handed swordsman to engage the central pike and degrade his mobility compared with the defender who is facing down the stairs. Helical or circular stairs do not have a central pole and there is a handrail on both sides. These have the advantage of a more uniform tread width when compared to the spiral staircase. Such stairs may also be built around an elliptical or oval planform (BBC, 2010).

CIRCLE AND MUSIC When we talk about music, it will be generally to think about melody, harmony and rhythm, the essential element of a song or a musical composition. The function of circular melody in one part makes the sound feeling endless and harmonious, just like keep drawing circle. .

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE ARE FLOATING IN SPACE

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space by Spiritualized

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is the third studio album by English space rock band Spiritualized, released on 16 June 1997 (Rob, 1997).

There are several paralleled circles in album cover because most of songs in this album are a kind of Polyphonic Music, a circular music. It is one type of musical texture, where a texture is, generally speaking, the way that melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic aspects of a musical composition are combined to shape the overall sound and quality of the work. In particular, polyphony consists of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, which is called homophony (Hugo, 1974). The melody of this kind of music is like a circle, even though the different audio track and different phonic wheel in the whole music, they will always back to the center.

First page of Mus.MS 16481-8 from Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – the oldest surviving copy of Johann Pachelbel’s “Canon and Gigue in D major”

https://www.power-plus-learning.com/pachelbel/

PACHELBEL’S CANON AND CIRCULAR MELODY

Within the context of the Western musical tradition, the term polyphony is usually used to refer to music of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Baroque forms such as fugue, which might be called polyphonic, are usually described instead as contrapuntal. Like the dance in that era, polyphony has graceful curve, like a circle. Also, as opposed to the species terminology of counterpoint, polyphony was generally either “pitch-againstpitch” / “point-against-point” or “sustained-pitch” in one part with melismas of varying lengths in another. In all cases the conception was probably what Margaret Bent (1999) calls “dyadic counterpoint”, with each part being written generally against one other part, with all parts modified if needed in the end. Pachelbel’s Canon is the common name for a canon by the German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel in his Canon and Gigue for 3 violins and basso continuo. Canon is a polyphonic device in which several voices play the same music, entering in sequence. In Pachelbel’s piece, there are three voices engaged in canon, but there is also a fourth voice, the basso continuo, which plays an independent part (Robert, 2010).

CIRCULAR FILM

In daily life, the images of film are usually in rectangle shape because of saving the roll film’s (or film strip) usage. However, in 2014 Lucifer is the latest in a religion-themed trilogy in which director Van Den Bergh makes use of a newly invented circular camera lens called the Tondoscope. This idea developed by Van den Bergh and his cameraman,

THE FIRST CIRCULAR FILM “ LUCIFER ” Lucifer is an unique movie filmed with a high-sensitivity circular lens directed by Gust Van Den Berghe in 2014. The technique is called Tondoscope. The entire movie has a circular framing instead of a rectangular one, making it a very unusual viewing experience.

Also, the image created by a catadioptric system, such as the one devised

by Van den Berghe and his cameraman, has the capability to capture a lot more information in this circular film (Shipra, 2015).

The screenshots from the movie Lucifer, 2014

The inspiration to shoot “Lucifer” within the confines of a circular frame — as opposed to one of the more standard aspect ratios — stemmed from a desire, in Van den Berghe’s own words, “to create a paradise.” According to a websitewhere Van den Berghe has published extensive research and development materials on the Tondoscope, “the images filmed using the mirror symbolize the higher power, the all-seeing eye that transports the spectator outside the personal worlds of the characters in the film and shows the entire universe“ (Shipra, 2015).

“You could easily do it with a Fisheye, put a Fisheye upside down, but the Fisheye is always pointing towards the center,” said Van den Berghe. “So the center stands out and the sides become compressed, but the sides are the parts that I want because that is where my characters were.” Two mirrors were produced and used on set interchangeably, depending on the distance between the characters and the mirror, as well as the desired amount of focus, because in spite of the persistent circular frame, not every shot was designed to include a 360 degree panoramic view (Shipra, 2015).

they shooting through a cone-shaped mirror, a technique used to capture a panoramic view within a circular frame. From carving the lens to sound mixing, Tondoscope posed a lot of challenges and food for thought. In 2016, Chinese film director Feng Xiaogang also use the round format for his new film “I Am Not Madame Bovary’’.

I AM NOT MADAME BOVARY is so new that “all the creative crew of the film, except the cinematographer, were against my decision, “ Feng said at a press conference held in Beijing. Feng explained he didn’t know if the round screen image is good or whether it will be

accepted by the audience (Zhang, 2016). The biggest hits in this movie was the change of the screen shape, it was a kind of visual communication, served for the theme of the film. There are three types of screen in this film, round screen, square screen and widescreen.

The screenshots from the movie I Am Not Madame Bovary, 2016

Chinese film director Feng Xiaogang’s new film “I Am Not Madame Bovary” (2016) was presented on an innovative round screen format. The round screen, which only show limited round-shaped imagery on a normal rectangle film screen,

Feng used round screen in the plot of heroine’s southern town daily life.

You can see, the round screen gives you a sense of peering heroine’s wandering in the little southern town. This accorded with her realistic situations.

Feng used square screen in the plot of her petition in Beijing. The “Square” symbolized an attempt of breaking through to her situation.

The screen spaces which was trapped by “Round” symbolized her trapped realistic situation. Through the changes of screen shape, we can see her life was framed in that fated circle again and again.

CULTURE OF CIRCLE This Chapter will explore the culture of circle. When we talk about culture, it always can be back to the language. Therefore, we will discuss the language of circle from different cultures, like Chinese and Japanese culture, also, the contemporary pop culture, like Emoji. Futhermore, there are some symbol of circle from different culture we need to explore, like Yin yang, Dharma and Kamon.

LANGUAGE OF CIRCLE

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&-

As Language playing a major role in communicating with others in simple life, it conveys the purpose and emotion to the target. Circle in different language can be read as individual meaning, such as standing for fulfilled, perfection and being together with family. On the other hand, it represents OK, correct and yes in Japanese culture.

Nowadays, a new language came out with the popularity of Internet and social media, Emoji, which is designed by picture (face) and character. In addition, an attractive science-fiction film “Arrival” has a deep relationship between circle and alien language in the whole story.

EMOJI Nowadays, emoji are used much like emoticons and exist in various genres, including the circular facial expressions, common objects, places and types of weather, and animals. Originally meaning pictograph, the word emoji comes from Japanese e (絵, “picture”) + moji (文 字, “character”). Either by coincidence or as a cross-language play on words, the term “emoji” also bears resemblance to the English words emotion and emoticon (Caroline, 2015). Originating on Japanese mobile phones in the late 1990s, emoji have become increasingly popular worldwide since their international inclusion in Apple’s iPhone in 2011, which was followed by similar adoption in Android and other mobile operating systems (Jeff, 2013). Emoji are now used in around half of every sentence on sites like Instagram, and Facebook as a way of expression your reaction to a post. Some outlets have claimed that emoji are an emerging language that could soon compete with English in global usage. To many, this would be an exciting evolution of the way we communicate; to others, it is linguistic Armageddon (Neil, 2015). These circular facial Emoji are existing in our daily social software like WhatsApp, Wechat everyday.

No doubt, Emoji redefined the meaning of circle. Our faces, expressions, emotions and languges are all included in these little circles. The facial circles in Emoji can express our emotions more directly and make our communication become minimal and convenient.

CIRCLE IN CHINESE

圆 A perfect circle (圆，yuan) is almost impossible to produce by unaided human hands, and is why I think the shape was valued so much. In Chinese culture, the circle stands for “fulfilled”, “oneness”, “perfection”, “unity”. More specifically, it’s the process of something coming full circle that bears the most importance.

Family members get together to celebrate the day that the moon is at its fullest (Mid-Autumn day). Two halves of a broken round mirror symbolizes the reunion of spouses who were separated. Yin and Yang forms a perfect circle divided by a sinuous line (taichi symbol), and stands for the oneness of conflicting forces inside everything. More than just visual design, circles have became overloaded with so many meanings during the course of history, that they don’t require much to trigger responses in people’s minds. The simple circle gradually became the cornerstones of Chinese language and mindset (Gao, 2012).

CIRCLE IN JAPANESE

まる 丸 (まる, maru) is a Japanese, the meaning of まる is circle ( ). Circle plays a crucial role in Japanese culture. When Japanese people talk about “maru”, it contains many meanings: • OK; correct; yes; supported; available (like ; note that the check mark usually means “wrong” in Japanese examinations) • masked/censored character (like * in English used to mask characters in certain words; see this) • rival horse; second likely to win (horse race; favorite horse is marked with ) • win; victory; 白星 (when used as opposed to 黒星 = = lose) (まる) symbolizes “OK, Right,” Perfect,” while X （ばつ）symbolizes “No,” “Incorrect,” and “Wrong.”The test method that requires the testees to answers in Yes ( ) / No (X) format in school examinations and the written examination of driver’s license is called ”まるばつ式テスト.”

The poster of film Arrival

CIRCULAR ALIEN LANGUAGE IN FILM “ARRIVAL”

The Oscar-nominated science-fiction film “Arrival” tells the story of two scientists attempting to communicate with alien beings who arrive in massive stone spaceships at various locations around the globe. But “Arrival” still boasts great visual complexity. Perhaps the most obvious example is in the alien’s written language. The symbols look like circles of randomly splattered ink, but in this fictional world, every inky tendril is intentional. Circles are a very important, recurring theme in “Arrival.” The story explores the nature of time as a circle, and circles appear in many places throughout the film — for example, a hospital where two crucial events take place in the movie has a circular layout. Villeneuve wanted the aliens’ written language to be based on circles (Calla, 2017).

The symbols all start with a black circle, which then has loose tendrils and splotches branching out from the solid ring. The splotches look as though they were made by hand using an ink pen. The aliens in the movie squirt the ink out of their bodies, sort of like a squid or an octopus.

In the film, the scientists discover that the circles typically represent a full statement, but the statement can be broken up into words. The protagonists eventually create an index of these inky words, so they can write messages to the aliens. In reality, Vermette said he and Villeneuve had their own index of about 100 alien words made in the style that Bertrand designed. As the project moved forward, the pair consulted with real-world linguists and archaeologists to help refine the design (Calla, 2017).

There is an interesting introduction about Japanese family crest, Kamon, a family’s identity, which clearly revealing the family name of its owner.

SYMBOL OF CIRCLE If people from all over the world sitting together to think about circle, the first thing comes into their mind may be totally different, since each culture has their own symbol of circle.

Tantric mandala of Vajrayogini

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mandala_52.svg

Dharma Cosmic Wheel

The dharma wheel, one of the oldest figurative symbols in religious meaning , is used to represent Buddhism. A traditional dharma wheel is chariot wheel with varying numbers of spokes. At the central point, sometimes there are three shapes swirling together, although sometimes is a yin-yang symbol, or another wheel, or an empty circle. Various traditions has projected description in divided three basic parts, the hub, the rim, and the sporks. The circle of the wheel represents the perfection of the dharma, by means of the Buddha’s teachings. The rim represents meditative concentration and mindfulness, which hold practice together, in the wheel. The hub represents moral discipline. The three swirls often seen on the hub are sometimes said that can represent the Three Treasures and may also represent joy. When a wheel has eight spokes, the spokes are representing the Eightfold Path(Barbara O’brein,2017).

MANDALA

YIN YANG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang

DHARMA

In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (yīnyáng, lit. “dark-bright”, “negative-positive”) describe how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Many tangible dualities (such as light and dark, fire and water, expanding and contracting) are thought of as physical manifestations of the duality symbolized by yin and yang. According to many psychoanalysts, the Oedipus complex is preceded by the pre-Oedipal relationship of the mother and infant. This relationship is best described by circle, which functions in many cultures as a symbol of unity. The Ying Yang symbol exemplifies the ideal of dual unity, of two interpenetrating halves coming together to form a perfect whole.

A mandala (Sanskrit, literally “circle”) is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the universe. The basic form of most mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point.

Mandalas often exhibit radial balance. Mandalas are commonly used by tantric Buddhists as an aid to meditation. By visualizing “pure lands”, one learns to understand experience itself as pure, and as the abode of enlightenment. The protection that we need, in this view, is from our own minds, as much as from external sources of confusion. In many tantric mandalas, this aspect of separation and protection from the outer samsaric world is depicted by “the four outer circles: the purifying fire of wisdom, the vajra circle, the circle with the eight tombs, the lotus circle”. The ring of vajras forms a connected fence-like arrangement running around the perimeter of the outer mandala circle (Khanna, 1979).

Various Kamon can be seen in the Battle of Sekigahara

CIRCLE AND KAMON The term “Kamon” refers to a crest used in Japan to indicate one’s origins; that is, one’s family lineage, blood line, ancestry and status from ancient times. Influenced by the Japanese culture Wa (harmony), most of Kamon have circle shapes. Circle is the most perfect shape to interpret the unity of family. Kamon is a unique culture and tradition you can find only in Japan. Kamon is an example of Japan’s own culture which has been in use up to the present day. A Kamon was created to serve as an unique emblem that represented a family’s identity, clearly revealing the family name of its owner. During the peaceful, tranquil, rather uneventful, Edo Period, there were few hard battles fought among samurai so, the former practical role of Kamon, such as; distinguishing friend from foe in battle, had changed to be a kind of symbol of authority. Japan was

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF JAPANESE FAMILY CREST

a hierarchical society of samurai, farmers and merchants during the Edo period, and Kamon were used as a means of indicating the social status of your family to others and ascertaining the social standing and lineage of others, enabling you and your family to dress accordingly. In addition, Kamon were possessed and used by common people as well. Japanese Kamon are well known abroad because of the symbolic design and simple structure. Virtually all modern Japanese families have their own “Kamon” crest. On occasions when the use of a Kamon is required, one can try to look up their families in the temple or shrine registries of their ancestral hometown or consult one of the many genealogical publications available. Also, many websites offer Kamon lookup services. Kamon are seen widely on stores and shops engaged in traditional crafts and specialties.

They are favored by sushi restaurants, which often incorporate a Kamon into their logos. Kamon designs can even be seen on the ceramic roof tiles of older houses. Kamon designs frequently decorate sake, tofu and other packaging for food products to lend them an air of elegance, refinement and tradition.The paulownia Kamon appears on the obverse side of the 500 yen coin, and Imperial Kamon appears on Japanese Passport. Kamon add formality to a kimono, which is the Japanese Traditional Cloth.

The Kamon themselves can be either formal or informal, depending on the formality of the kimono. Very formal kimono display more Kamon, frequently in a manner that makes them more conspicuous. In the dress of the high class people, the Kamon could be found on both sides of the chest, on each sleeve, and in the middle of the back.

Heian Periods The origin of Kamon goes far back to the latter part of Heian Period. Since the Nara Period, when Shotokutaishi (Prince Shotoku) lived, various designs had decorated furniture and dishes which later were not only for artistic quality, but also to distinguish the property of Kuge who served the Imperial court.

Imperial Crest

Royal Takamatsumiya

Kamakura Periods During the Kamakura Period, when there were many wars raging, like the Jokyu no ran and Bunei-Koan no eki, they provide many opportunities for samurai to prove themselves in battle. To identify themselves, confirm their achievements and distinguish friend from foe, samurai decorated all manner of things with Kamon, including Manmaku, flags, Umajirushi and sword scabbards. Kamon were a kind of alternate identity so, it was increasingly used among samurai to show who they were. In addition, the increased use of Kamon was also motivated by recognizing achievements that contributed to clans they belonged to in the ancient samurai society.

Sasarindō

Agehanochō

Muromachi Period During the middle of Muromachi period, when clothes like ‘Suo’ and ‘Kataginu,’ developed from Daimon, Kamon were becoming fashionable. Around the same time, haori (a Japanese formal coat) was created. In addition, some families with the same Myoji had a common Kamon, but at the beginning of the Muromachi Period battles among them increased. Using the same Kamon caused confusion between friend and foe so, that the number of Kamon rapidly began to increase around this time.

Mōri

Ashikaga

Tokugawa

Toyotomi

Tokugawa

Edo Period During the peaceful, tranquil, rather uneventful, Edo Period, the former practical role of Kamonhad changed to be a kind of symbol of authority. During the Genroku era life gradually became more extravagant so, people without Kamon were offered the opportunity to have Kamon. for example, lower-class people favored ‘Gosan no Kiri’ according to the time-honored custom of Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI. Besides, common Kamon also became decorative and Kamon of samurai and common people were both designed to be glitzy and graceful. It is thought that during this period, bilaterally symmetrical and diphycercal and circled Kamon began to increase.

CIRCLE AND PEOPLE This Chapter will explore the the relationship between people and circle. We will learn the history of kinghts of the round table, the circular dance in South Korean, Ganggangsullae. Also, there are some interesting interview in this chapter which discuss why people like always surround a circle, how people think about circle from different culture and the time circle in our daily lives.

When it comes to Round Table in the Medieval Times history, the famous story of Knights of the Round Table will be mentioned commonly.The Arthurian legend is about how King Arthur defeated the Saxons and established an empire over Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Gaulhas with his Knights in the 12th-century.

The Round Table plays an essential role in the success of King Arthur’s kingdom, it implies that everyone who sits there has equal status. The Round Table implemented the concept of equality amongst the Knights. It is considered that King Arthur built the Round Table to resolve a conflict among his knights, when they are quarreling about the question of precedence.

There is a large round wooden table in the Great Hall at Winchester, it has a reputation of being King Arthur’s Round Table. The Round Table is consist of 121 separate pieces of oak and measures 18 feet across. Some statement suggested that the table might be made at the command of King Edward III, who wished to have a revival of chivalry. However, he gave up the idea then created the Garter in the end, with the table being remained. Others claimed that the depiction of the king has a extremely resemblance to the Tudor King Henry VIII. It is interesting to note that the Tudors stated to have same lineage to King Arthur, and it became an additional justification for their reign (Kibler, 1991).

Painting where King Arthur presides at the Round Table with all of his Knights. From Wikipedia

THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE

2004, by National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage

GANGGANGSULLAE Ganggangsullae is based on a 5,000 years old Korean ritual in order to pray a seasonal bountiful harvest and fertility, it became a dance performed especially during the Chuseok holidays, the 15th of August by the lunar calendar. Under a bright full moon, dozens of young, unmarried village women gather in a circle, join hands and sing and dance all night under the direction of a lead singer. Now practiced as a performing art throughout Korea, it can be seen as a representative Korean’s folk art and it became world known as one of UNESCO representative lists of the intangible Cultural Heritage of humanity in 2009.

As the moon rises, women gather at circle.

Holding each other’s hand, then start to turn round and round yelling ‘Ganggangsullae’ with one voice rotating clockwise. any instruments. The dancing of women in Hanbok (Korean traditional clothes) makes wonderful scene under the moon light, singing about their personal hardships, relationships, and desires. The easy tunes and movements can be learned quickly for this communal practice and the dance can last until dawn. making a circle means love, cooperation, collaboration and humanity during people dance.

5000 years old Ganggangsullae was once used as a military tactic during the 16th-century Japanese invasion of Korea. In the historic Battle of Myeongnang. Admiral Yi Sunsin commanded a small fleet of iron-plated warships, the first such warships in naval history, to decisively defeat one of the largest Japanese naval fleets ever amassed in a naval battle. Vastly outnumbered on land and sea, Admiral Yi Sunsin ordered all the women to wear military uniforms and dance the Ganggangsullae in the high mountains for many nights (Lee, 2006).

SURROUND IN A CIRCLE People usually sit around in a circle in the absence of a table.

WHY PEOPLE LIKE TO SURROUND A CIRCLE? There are many team discussions or sharing in many social activities. People usually sit around in a circle in the absence of a table. Usually they do not have to indicated this instruction in particular, but people naturally gather in a circle by the subconsciousness. However, we hope that through the questionnaire survey to explore and discuss people’s significance for this behavior. The question is: When you need to discuss or share with the group members but no table, what will you sit in the following way, why?

Testers thought this way reminds them of King Arthur’s round table warrior. Round table means no high and low points, everybody is equal. And the geometric image of the circle has the meaning of “unity”. It’s not only convenience to discuss and also provide the cohesion in the spirit when we surrounded by a circle.

Testers thought it is hard to calculate who goes to which side if we sitting in a triangle because triangle is the most deliberate shape. When everyone leaning together and need to face-to-face, this situation is naturally to be a circle.

Result: After investigation, we found that sitting in a circle of behavior have many applications of the principle practically, whether it is effective communication or eye contact. From a psychological point of view, some testers have mentioned the meaning of the circle symbol such as unity and cohesion. This represents the circle from the geometric imperceptibly change into an ideology. From a psychological point of view, the concept of equality of all shows that people try to reduce the conflict with each other, more pressure-free sharing of personal opinions in a harmonious condition.

Testers thought this way is not convenient to communicate with people. The speaker communicates the message to the audience is a tendency to unidirectional message delivery that haven’t a conversation with each other.

HOW PEOPLE THINK ABOUT CIRCLE? A p sy c ho a n a l y s i s i n s i s t s t h a t t h e m ea ning o f sign, is dependent o n the perso na l a nd f a milial his tory of each pers on, a his t o r y w h i c h i s i n t u r n s h a p e d b y t h e culture in which people grew up. Since humen being’s culture are powerfully effected b y re l i g i o n , a f t e r re s e a rc h e d t h e m ost religion in Chinese, South Korean, and Thai found that circle sign was significantly symbolical re c o g n i z re d , t h e re b y this interview was created to be tool for seeking that people cultures can be shaped b y b a s i c s i g n - C i rc l e , i s t h a t s o ?

CHINESE CIRCLE

THAI CIRCLE

NAME: Song WORD: Ball

NAME: Yinyin NAME: George WORD: Roll WORD: Women Power

NAME: Wangxiao NAME: Max WORD: YinYang WORD: Earth

NAME: Yanmeng WORD: Black & White

NAME: Thanapron WORD: Japan Flag

NAME: Tarn Pimlapat WORD: Circle

NAME: Thanatjen WORD: Basic

NAME: WORD

NAME: Lixue WORD: YinYang

NAME: Zhang NAME: Miaomiao WORD: Taiji WORD: BOBO Ball

NAME: Rain WORD: Moon

NAME: Wang WORD: Chicken Roll

NAME: Tarn Patchaya WORD: Joy

NAME: Kai WORD: Simple

NAME: Tuk Varaluk WORD: Circle

NAME: WORD

NAME: Dong WORD: Earth

NAME: Gain Pitchaya WORD: Balance

SOUTH KOREAN CIRCLE

: Off D: Balance

NAME: Phusana Treebyrut WORD: Basic

NAME: Gichang NAME: Jione WORD: Completed WORD: Correct

: LM D: Mild

NAME : Aey Benjalak WORD: Infinity

NAME: Sanghee WORD: Moon

NAME: Joosu WORD: Target

NAME: Hunyoung WORD: Crossing road

NAME: Junsung WORD: Coin

NAME: Minjung WORD: Perfect

NAME: Jin WORD: Crossing road

NAME: Janghyune WORD: Center

NAME: Youngsun WORD: Won

NAME: Nana WORD: Bubble

NAME: Sujin WORD: Won Buddism

http://www.yankodesign.com/2017/05/26/50-shades-of-day/

TIME CIRCLE Time circle is our societal primary work, the link between society and time is strong. We attempted to explore this subtle relationship. The research is inspired by the images of the hands moving around the clock.

As time goes by, it will create a circular sector, and these graphs become a cycle day after day. Therefore, we decided to record how long do people in Kingston work in one day by drawing their working time in the Time circle. We interviewed nearly 60 people withvarious occupation and age. After collected the Time circles, it is showed that people usually go to work at 7 to 9 AM and finish it at 5 to 6 PM.

Occupation: Author Age: 50 Working Time: 6:00-22:00

Occupation: Hotel waiter Age: 21 Working Time: 17:00-24:00

Occupation: Make up artist Age: 26 Working Time: 7:00-23:00

Occupation: Book buyer Age: 50 Working Time: 6:30-16:30

Occupation: Nurse Age: 23 Working Time: 5:00-22:00

Occupation: Manager Age: 40 Working Time: 5:00-23:00

Occupation: House wife Age: 73 Working Time: 6:00-21:00

Occupation: Operative Age: 57 Working Time: 7:00-16:00

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