Reflection 02

What I learned from the abstraction works of artists in 1950s France is how they abstracting the important elements in cartographic maps to their drawings. 

One of the important features of the site is the plantations that located northern and southern to the  industrial complex. Although once the industrial district was considered rural and even isolated, Cinclare is now pressed by development on several fronts. However, the immediate area surrounding the district is still planted in sugar cane, thus retaining much of its historic appearance.

Invention 02 French abstraction of 1950s

In the 1940s, these painters experimented with abstraction and large format canvases loaded with paint, pattern, and texture. They worked in Paris after the Second World War, a time of intense creativity and renewal in France. 

·What I want to learn from these works is how they use and overlap paint, pattern, texture on the canvases. I could use the same method to try to abstracting the important elements in cartographic maps and other landscape features of the site.

[Sketchbook] Project 01 Progress 1

 Reflection

I use water color+oil pastels+ fork scratch and photoshop to try to make my first drawing of the project 01. I'm als try to experiment the method from the artist Todd Hido of arranging different layers into simple and strong narratives about showing the features of the filed.(More layers will be added after my research of the geographic study of the site) 

1. Firstly extract the simple colors of the site and paint on the sketchbook, and coated with black oil pastels to represent the dark color of soil.

Use folk to scratch on the oil pastels to get the texture of the field. This is how it looks like when it's done

 I also find that it actually can better represent the texture by watching from the back of the paper when you place it in front of the yellow light. It looks like below:

And then Use digital tool to combine and rearrange this picture with my second site observation sketch.

 

[Sketchbook] Site Observation 02

Every time I go to the sugar mill, I will pass the agricultural space first, so for this site visit I'm gonna focus on the fields that surround the cinclare sugar mill. In this agricultural space,  the chimney stack still looks pretty high in the sky while you can also see other part of the industrial complex that sets down quietly asides the fields. In the agricultural space, there’s almost nothing here in the field of this season, soil are uncovered, most of the plants are still not turn to green, the color tone of the place is pale yellow.

The field is about 1 feet high, compare to the industrial complex especially the chimney stack, it’s a really flat and large open space.

[Sketchbook] invention 01

I saw this photo in a magazine last year, the color tone, details of view and the way of showing the elements with different features, making them in contrast with the background but are also able to integrate them in order to show a strong emotion to audience attract me. 

These art works are from Todd Hido, an American artist. His work spans multiple genres including night scenes, landscapes and portraiture. 

What I love about his works is the rich, syntactical layers that he expertly sequences into simple, powerful narratives about relationships of many kinds. Also, the photographs he produces have large, highly detailed and luminous color that I am pretty interested in learning how to gather these elements into my ownproject.  

You can see more of his selected works on his website if you are interested :) → http://www.toddhido.com/

There are part of his work I love in the genre of landscape. 

[Sketchbook] Idea of the first project

Site Observation :

The Cinclare Sugar Mill Historic District is of statewide significance in the areas of agriculture and industry because it is one of relatively few resources remaining to directly represent Louisiana's very important sugar industry. 

When people first came into the industrial complex of the site, you can barely find any trace of people that once working here, all that remained here are only some of the structure of the architecture, color fading signs, rusty surface and the weed etc. The complex features wood frame, brick, and metal construction with building heights ranging from one story structures to a chimney stack which towers above the mill and differentiate the flat agricultural space aside it. 

During my observation, the relationship of the sugar mill complex and surrounding area draws my attention. As a deserted place, you can barely find any valuable landscape on the site except the only pathway that planted with trees on both sides that lead people to pass through the district to the neighborhood from boulevard. All the weed and some other unknown trees that already took over the place, vines and dead branches that twined up the rusty frame, it looks like the aged, pale skin of medal surface.

Another interesting contrast of the site is the nearby agricultural zone in the district right next to the sugar mill, all the elements and resources in the Cinclare Sugar Mill Historic District illustrate the appearance of a historic agricultural/industrial complex.

My drawing of the first project will be focus on the relationship between the sugar mill and its surroundings(Mainly about the agricultural space) in the historic district. From the perspective of horizontal, vertical  to the color, texture differences,  how the features of the industrial and agricultural space and how they in contrast with each other.

[The site] Cinclare Plantation Sugar Mill

The Cinclare Sugar Mill Historic District is located slightly north of the small community of

Brusly on the west bank of the Mississippi River in rural West Baton Rouge Parish. Its resources

consist of  a sugar mill and associated support buildings, which are already abandoned in this area. Besides, there're also an agricultural area located right beside the industrial complex and still in use now, which makes the components of the site become more interesting.

 The reason that I choose here as my observation site is although we will never know the exact number of agricultural and industrial company towns in Louisiana, it is clear from the available data that they numbered over 100. However, today only about a dozen survive with any semblance of integrity, and Cinclare is one of the best. It is conspicuous in this regard because it retains so many of its historic components, including the main house and its dependencies. In fact, Cinclare is one of only four company town complexes that still retain their industrial component.

The group of buildings at Cinclare is significant because it is a rare surviving example of a South Louisiana sugar complex. Today barely a handful of these complexes remain to illustrate the important role sugar played in the economy of the state's southern region.

Photos I took during my first site visit:

 The chimney stack that towers above the mill

Inside of the Sugar mill

Color-fading "Entrance sign"

 The only road that planted with trees 

 Barn

The only road that planted with trees

Agricultural space

Industrial components

 Vegetation on the site

 chimney stack