Methods

Imagination

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To use imagination as a method to subvert one’s expectations means: to spark one’s ability of the mind to form new ideas, images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.

The project examples that use imagination are often installation art pieces; artworks that the spectator has to walk through in order to engage fully with the work, they are complete unified experiences. For example the ‘Icebergs’ installation, an enclosure of blue netting with giant shard-like forms that jut upward and downward and appear to mimic an icy underwater scene. Providing a structure that feels so different from daily life, it makes it easier to dream off and spark your imagination.

Often this method is used in playgrounds or playing activities.

To achieve sparking the imagination of participants, the use of contrast in shape can be used. This can be done by designing parasite-like structures; new, odd, structures that are attached to existing structures. Like the ‘Oase No. 7’ project.

Constant Nieuwenhuys was somebody that imagined a world without boundaries, where people do not need to work, where they are free to play and travel. You can clearly see this in his models, and in one of his life size prototypes, the ‘Ludieke trap’. Inspired by Constants ideas, MVRDV designed a giant staircase going up the Groothandels Gebouw, and in this way providing a different view on the city. This intervention made it possible to dream about different uses of the city’s public space and the possibility to add a second layer to the city.