ENVD 4310 █ Spring 2003 █ Instructor Michael Hughes= █ Part 1 of 3: Diagraming █ 5 weeks
In the first exercise of this studio class we exercised the universally recognized language of diagramming. A diagram is traditionally considered a drawing which illustrates geometrical patterns within a system, using scribe only for topical uses and not for description.
We began this first analytical exercise by deriving patterns from an obscure grayscale image which was presented to us by Professor Hughes. As we later discovered, the painting was a cubist work by French architect Le Corbusier, but in this early stage of study it was only identifiable to us as a series of interacting black and white geometries. This assignment was a practice in creating our own individual categories of interplay as well as decoding each category diagrammatically. As a grayscale image it was simple for us to abstract several dualities in this painting; heavy/light massing, the fluid/static hierarchy, the grid pattern, linear tension and many other systems. At this juncture we were then introduced to the color rendering of the painting for the first time. This engaged a dialogue between the partial information and the enriched information. As a class, we interpreted the continuity of the grayscale and of the color rendering. By doing so we honed our ability to interpret and diagram any architectural landscape before designing a construct. My diagrams of Le Corbusier’s painting used conventional threshold markings, such as varied doted lines and assorted hatch patterns, in order to easily identify contrasting elements. By the conclusion of this project I felt that my diagramed portrayal of the painting would inform an outside viewer of what might be a derived aesthetic of the painting. Furthermore, given my instructional diagrams, one might even be able to replicate the Le Corbusier painting to some end.