For this part of the group assignment, students are required to select and read the chosen chapter from Italo Calvino’s – Invisible Cities. Subsequently, students are to extract the ideas and describe the story through a series of mind-maps. The extraction should focus on three distinguished elements and methods to resemble the characteristics of the story. Students are then to creatively adapt the story by way of graphical/visual representation
PROJECT 1A: THE ART OF ADAPTATION
PROJECT 1B: OBSERVING THE EVERYDAY
Using the same chosen chapter from Calvino’s - Invisible Cities in Assignment 1A, along with the findings, analysis and artwork produced, students are required to identify the tools/perspective/lens that Calvino used to identified the city’s characteristic. With the identified tools/perspective/lens used by Calvino selected, students are to apply those outcome to a chosen area in the city of Kuala Lumpur in a one-day observation and narrate the scene observed. Students are to record and document their observation through various mediums necessary and highlight main physical character of the city (i.e. architecture language, planning pattern, landmarks, etc.) Students are required to select a minimum of 3 images (A3 size) from the site to describe their findings.
PROJECT 2: RE-SYNTHesized: An Experiment
Cities and the Sky 4: Perinthia
"They guaranteed Perinthia would reflect the harmony of the firmament; nature's reason and the God's benevolence would shape the inhabitant's desire.”
While in KL, urbanisation and modernisation took over. A huge contrast can be seen from Jalan TAR, with tall high rise building now forming the backdrop of Jalan TAR.
In 25 years time, human self-proclaim the ruler of Earth, played along with technology, created machineries, robots, stating that from now on they will help make our lives easy. Banners and advertisement on buildings now feature robots, mecha, and military. Little do they know, machineries now start to take over, eliminating the locals in terms on workforceand efficiency. Many of the people around Jalan TAR is now jobless, even homeless.
50 years from now, the continuation of development now brings in more disaster. Pollution from factories and sickness from rubbish around. Scientist now says that the world is being attacked by unknown bacteria, due to the side effect of change of climate and weather. Smoke, flood, rubbish scattered around the place is starting to take effect in humans. Weird looking people spotted hiding around Jalan TAR, some have big belly, or even fins or fur?
100 years passed, mutated humans now can't hide anymore. What is done is done. Humans proved themselves that what they initially planned and thought of, is wrong, and is now reflected that they cannot take over as god themselves. Aliens, spaceships from outer space now invades Earth. Are they here to prove that, they are the next ruler of Earth, they are god themselves?
For this assignment, students are tasked to translate and adapt the essence of “Invisible Cities” into the greater context of the city of Kuala Lumpur. Based on Assignment 1, students are to identify the issue that contributes to the significant characteristics of the city as narrated by Calvino. Students are to structure a storyboard proposal of how the city changes through time if the issue is unresolved. Students are to create a projection timeline of the predicted situation in 25 years, 50 years and 100 years from our present time. Thereafter, students are to identify the projected timeline to be visualized as a dystopia or utopia city and produce the creative adaptation using appropriate tools and reference that were identified in the proposal. Students are also required to produce a 250 words post-production text to explain the elements translated in the short and why it is appropriate or relevant with accurate references and citations. There are no restrictions to the choice of medium for the artwork, but students should visualize their idea through a media that best represents the scenario.
IN-ADAPTATION
MIND MAP AND ARTWORK
PARTS OF JALAN TAR
PRESENT
25 YEARS LATER
50 YEARS LATER
100 YEARS LATER
POST PRODUCTION TEXT