Project Brief:
This project was to design and make a container for an object with significant meaning to us. The purpose of this project was to get us to learn about the qualities of objects and to understand collaboration with creating. When making, you have to collaborate with your materials and tools, you must understand what your material(s) can and want to do and what they are trying to communicate to you. Your materials and tools also have to collaborate with each other. We were asked to focus on "Object-Oriented Ontology." Within this project, we were also asked to put our own wants for the final product aside and to design the container for our object.
Process:
To start our project, we were first asked to create a list of descriptive verbs for our object, so the love lock for mine. We could then use this to help us understand the deeper meaning of our object and how to create a container for it.
I went through various iterations of sketches and prototypes before deciding on the form of my container. At first, I wanted to make a puzzle box of sorts where the lock would be inside the container and only my fiance and I would know how to open it. I then realized that the lock's purpose was to serve as a reminder and symbol of our commitment and that it deserved to be on display, so I changed the design to the lock being on the front of the container. I considered having the inside of the container completely closed off and the keys inaccessible, but I realized that the keys are also a part of the reminder that we used both of them to lock the love lock and I felt that it was important that the keys are still able to be seen.
Final Design:
Concept Statement:
This container, Containing Commitment, encloses the keys to my fiance and I's love lock. We each have a key, representing the decision and commitment that we both will make during our upcoming wedding ceremony, during which we will lock the love lock, committing to our relationship and marriage to one another. On the front of the container, the lock will be displayed, showing the commitment it is representing. Concealed within the container will be the two keys. The front of the container is able to swivel open, in the same motion as the top of the lock opening, so that the keys can be seen. However, there is a solid piece of acrylic over the top of the keys so that, while visible, they cannot be touched or used. Theoretically, once the lock is locked on our wedding day, it should never be unlocked, therefore, the container restricts the use of the keys, strengthening the representational function of the lock. The container can be opened from the back, which is how the keys can be placed in it. While the ability to open the container will be hidden from other viewers, my fiance and I will both know how it functions, therefore, it will be a choice not to unlock the lock, just like it is a choice to commit to loving each other every day for the rest of our lives. The love lock container will, eventually, hang on the wall, displaying the lock, which is why I chose for the scale of it to be larger than it needed to be to just hold the keys; I wanted the container to have significance because of the importance of the objects it is containing.
