Name: Katy Ellen Monaghan
MA Course Title: MA Graphic Design
Status: Full-time
Date: 04/05/2012
Version No: 7
Explanation/Outline of Project:
Aims: To create a playful design solution that will allow
the public to engage and interact with
whilst also allowing the user to uncover the hidden past of the Barton section
of the Bridgewater and Manchester Ship Canal.
Context/Rationale:
A steamboat, a public park and the
steam hammer… it is an unusual collection. But what do they all have in common?
Well the answer is that these are just a handful of national and international
‘firsts’ that were initially founded in Salford.
Salford’s heritage is full of
pioneering and revolutionary ‘firsts’ that with time people have forgotten
about. One of such inventions is the Barton Swing Aqueduct, which is part of ‘The
Bridgewater Canal’.
The Bridge is famous for it’s suspension of water whilst unconnected to the
rest of the waterway by a 90-degree swing mechanism and when
closed allows water to past over the ‘Manchester Ship Canal’ and connect to ‘The
Bridgewater Canal’ on the other side. It was designed so that it would not
obstruct the waterway beneath and would still allow the passage of tall ships
to continue on their journey to Salford Docks.
Inspired by this section of the
canal, I would like to create a solution that brings peoples attention and
tells the story of this unforgettable gem of the canal through sound and
textiles.
Key Areas of Research:
It was the mechanism of the Barton
Swing Aqueduct that gave it the title of one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the
Waterways’. Thinking about the engineering and industrial revolution of this
section of the canal highlighted the many textiles, imagery and the lost sounds
from the canals rich industrial past, which have been my key areas of research.
Focusing on these points I have looked
at how music and patterns interacts with each other, which led me to discover mechanical
music and hole punched pattern cards, which were used in the textiles mills
throughout Salford. The mechanical music device has the same principles as the
Jacquard inspired hole punched pattern cards, which is that if there is a
hole/gab in the strip, it will be read by the machine as yes and no hole/gab
reads no.
Through research I discovered that
the song ‘The Big Ship Sails’ was inspired by the Manchester Ship Canal and in
my latest research development stage I have created a series of strips that capture
the song ‘The Big Ship Sails’ within different patterns and designs. I have
explored different materials and applied different ways in which a note can be
read by the musical device.
My research has uncovered a method
of communication in which I would like to explore further. My intention for the
music strips is that they inform the user visually whilst the audio supports
what the user is seeing. How the music interacts with a design is importance in
understanding what does and does not work, throughout my experiments I have
discovered that a note has to be precise to the music lines to work efficiently
and that only certain thickness of materials will work, however as long as
these rules have been applied almost any material can make music.
Intended Outcomes of Projects:
I would like to focus on finding
new links and connections to how I can connect and develop my research towards
a digital solution. I would still like to create an outcome that will allow the
audience to engage and interact with, nonetheless every thing included into a
strip needs to have a purpose for the user to engage with.
Due to the size of the music
machine, I have found that there are limitations to print/fabric strips in
terms of design. This is another reason why I would like to transfer the music
strips methods into a digital solution.
Ideas include creating a moving
image information graphics piece from the boat data I have uncovered. I also
like the idea of materials containing a hidden message, which is only
discovered when placed through a music box.
However, I would like to push the
theory of creating a musical visual piece, showing fabric interacting with
music, which could be made into a music visualisation for example.
I will continue to develop my
research and approaching and discovering new links and connections to push
forwards my work.
Student Signature: K.E.Monaghan
Date: 04/05/2012
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Learning Agreement 8
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Learning Agreement 8
Name: Katy Ellen Monaghan
MA Course Title: MA Graphic Design
Status: Full-time
Date: 29/10/2012
Version No: 8
Explanation/Outline of Project:
Aims: To create a playful solution that will allow the
public to engage and interact with
whilst they uncover the forgotten sounds of Salford’s industrial past centered on the Bridgewater Canal in Worsley.
Context/Rationale:
The objective of my research is to
create an original form of expression. By this I hope to recapture a forgotten
story of the local heritage from the Bridgewater Canal, which was at the heart
of Britain’s development during the Industrial Revolution. This famous waterway
has a vivid history and its most important stretch flows through the Worsley
district of Salford connecting the district to the centre of Manchester,
bringing coal to the growing development of cotton factories. It was the
mechanism of the Barton Swing Aqueduct that gave it the title of one of the
‘Seven Wonders of the Waterways’. Thinking about the engineering and industrial
revolution of this canal section highlights the many lost sounds of the canals
rich industrial past.
I feel in the present day the
canals historic status goes largely unnoticed, I have therefore set out to
explore and uncover its industrial past through its unique sound identity. The
visit of Queen Victoria to Worsley in 1851 was a mark of its then importance
and using the study of this, I intend to draw attention back to the first ever
canal developed independent of a natural water source.
Key Areas of Research:
Inspired by this section of the
canal, I would like to create a solution that brings peoples attention and
tells the story of this unforgettable gem of the canal through sound and
imagery. Sound is a vital component of communication, which enhances memory
throughout my project I have looked into different ways sound, can be captured
and debated the difference between sound as noise and sound as music.
Additionally I have explored sound
and vision as two forms of communication and how they compliment each other.
This relationship between sound and vision will overall form the basis of my
practice, to create an audiovisual representation of Worsley’s historic canal. I
began to look into how music and patterns interacts with each other, which led
me to discover mechanical music and hole punched pattern cards. The mechanical
music device shared the same principles as the Jacquard Loom (commonly used in
textiles mills throughout Salford) mechanics of giving instructions through a
hole punched pattern cards. Which basically meant that if there were a hole/gab
in the strip, it would be read by the machine as yes and no hole/gab read no.
Embracing Salford’s engineering
culture I have decided that I will include a mechanical music device in my
outcome. Because of the fix notes need to create a tune from the music strip
further research was needed to find the right musical pattern. Through
development I discovered that the National Anthem was sang for the Queen by over
eight thousand Sunday school children when she visited Salford. This
will be the song I will use to be read by the musical device.
Intended Outcomes of Projects:
My outcome will combine all the
research and techniques I have discovered throughout my learning.
I will include illustrated music
strips to visually inform and supports what the user is hearing, which could
also be a moving image animation. Due to the size limitations of my previous
music machine, I have found a larger version, which will give me 20 notes per
line instead of the previous 15 notes. Which also has the additional bonus of a
few more centimeters in space in the strip’s width.
Student Signature: K.E.Monaghan
Date: 29/10/2012
