Mimi Jiao Looking Outwards 3

Andrew Kudless, a designer and professor as well as the founder of the design firm Matsys, has created many generative physical and digital works. His creative interest lies in the manipulation of form, growth, and behavior in materials and their intertwining qualities of all of them in a system. This interest is clearly shown in his work P_Wall (2013), created first using software generated designs in Grasshopper, Rhino, and Kangaroo, and then translated into physical form through using a thin-shell concrete fabrication process that consisted in the use of fabric-cast plaster patterns and rubber molds. The initial form of this piece is what attracted me instantly. The design appeals to me on an intuitive and emotional level – the smooth curves tell me to get closer to it. It pulls me in and makes me want to touch it and bury my body in it. The irregularity in form is perfected through slight variations and inconsistencies throughout the installation while maintaining the core structure throughout. It begins to take me to somewhere familiar, and brings me to think of trees, or some other type of organic form. I admire his work because he is able to evoke the sense of familiarity and comfort in forms while using materials and fabrication methods that are typically not associated with such feelings. One thing that I would like to see more of is P_Wall (2013) in real time. I think this piece would be interesting as a time-based installation, where we can see people in the space interacting with the piece. It would be interesting to see how his exploration of form affects others from an emotional standpoint. Would people be like me and walk up to the work to touch and experience it? How and what aspects of the form appeal to people and what parts repels people? For me, I would definitely interact with this piece if it was presented in my life. It would be great to experience the physical qualities of something generated by computers; it is the coming together of digital and physical environments.