Final Project (15/2)

For my final project, I created a "pop-out" cityscape of New York City, representing my experience of moving to New York and living in a big city. My words were experience, crafts/paper, and digital painting.

I'm originally from the suburbs of Chicago, but moving to New York City last July was my first time being immersed in city life for more than just a weekend. When I moved here, I found myself walking around and constantly looking up at the towering buildings and appreciating all of the architecture and colors of the skyline. In this representation, buildings aren't necessarily drawn completely accurately, and they're arranged in a new way that's different from where these actual buildings are located in relation to each other. I placed all of the buildings close together to show my experience of the crowdedness but beauty of the city.

On the far left, I drew my loud, colorful, and busy experience in Chinatown. In the middle are the towering Empire State Building and Chrysler building, and on the right is one of my favorite building views of the Essex Hotel from the rocks in Central Park South. I digitally painted the cityscape of my iPad with the app Art Set and printed out the drawing on matte paper in the media lab. Then I used the laser cutter to cut out small windows to let light in from the other side (when the piece is held up to a window or when a light is shown through it from behind). Then I used pop up book folding techniques to pop some buildings out and others in. The final product is a stand-up "pop-out" landscape of my experience in New York City!