piano and violin building

This amazing place is in Huainan, China. The impressive Piano and Violin looking building is considered by the locals at least to be the most romantic building in China such that a lot of brides and grooms love to take pictures there.
This strange Piano and Violin shaped building built in 2007 serves as showroom for exhibiting the plans for newly created district of Shannan in Huainan City, China.

The transparent Violin houses the escalators and the staircase for the main piano building which displays various plans and development prospects for newly developed area. Moreover, it was reportedly designed by Hefei University of Technology and has been built to a scale of 50:1.

When I first saw this picture, I couldn’t understand it. But once I saw the Violin, I understood that it was a building. I was surprised by the idea, and found it wonderful and original. It is creative and artistic. It is very rare to find something that looks like this. We can consider it as a modern piece of art, that its main influence is the musical instruments. China is known for new technologies and new innovations, this is why I was astonished when I knew that this building was situated there. I am sure that many people are curious to go and visit it and see how it does looks like internally, and I can join their curiosity since this is something that attracted me a lot.

project 1: Moroccan Women

The picture above was produced in order to represent Moroccan Women depending on the regions all over Morocco. The message I want to deliver is: In spite of being different , they are one!
I have chosen the brides with different clothing and this to represent each region's traditions.Most of the time, the bride wears a dress that represent her origin. Concerning Moroccan people, they can easily recognize the dress at the first sight, but foreign people can look at it as a diveristy of dresses that Morocco has concerning weddings.
Moreover, I have chosen to put the "zelij" -typical Moroccann mosaic- as a background in order to give a moroccan touch beside the dresses. I have played with the opasity of this latter so that it is not that clear and see only shades of it. Also, I have created a layer in order to produce the red color and this is to represent somehow Morocco ( since the Moroccan flag contains red). In addition, I have chosen to make a circular movement, and make a clear focal point that can be seen as a sopping power as well. So the brides are displayed from the bigger one to the smallest: Middle --> Left-->right. 

Indien Sari

The Indian sari is an article of clothing worn traditionally by the women in India. It consists of one large piece of cloth, rectangular in shape, and averaging in length to about six yards. The cloth is woven from cotton, then wrapped and draped about the body, to end at the feet.

The sari, which originates from India, is more than five thousand years old. India is the first place to grow cotton, therefore using it to create their cloth for the sari. The mention of the sari in the Vedas, which is the oldest existing text, shows its true historical longevity and proof of origin.

The traditional sari is more than just clothing. There was significant meaning and symbolism attached to the garment in the form of different colors or designs. The various patterns and colors of the sari depicted such information as beliefs, virtues, and the region the person came from.

There were numerous designs and symbols used on the traditional sari. The paisly and fish were used to show fertility. They also represented the abundance of food and children. These patterns were mostly seen in the coastal regions where the people survived on fish.

Designs in the form of an Elephant symbolized water, fertility, wealth and good luck. It also exemplifies the god Ganesh who is the remover of obstacles. The Conch was also a symbol of the gods and represented the bugle used in war.

The use of colors in the sari has also had specific meaning behind them. Red, used in the traditional sense is associated with the warrior and a sign of valor.

The color black was used to show sorrow or bad luck. It was probably for this reason that very few saris were made of black. In contrast, there were many saris made of blue because of the association to the working class. Farmers, weavers and manual laborers were said to have worn blue.

One historical legend surrounding the sari, involves Pandavas, a mythical character. It is said that his stunning wife Draupadi was lost to the enemy in a gambling duel. The Lord Krishna promised to protect Draupadi's virtue. The enemy tried to corrupt her virtue by unraveling her sari, but they pulled and pulled, never to find and end, thus keeping her virtue intact.

An old folktale about the sari, tells a story of a weaver who dreamt of an attractive young woman. She had silky long hair and was crying. His dream inspired him to weave a long beautiful fabric for the young woman. When his work was complete, he was happy with himself and he smiled.

The history of the Indian sari is full of tradition, pride, and innovation. It represents the culture of India and symbolizes their way of life. The many ways that it is worn says much of its versatility and durability. Today, the wearing of the sari is a representation of the civilization of those before us.

As far as I am concerned, the Sari is something that I like very much, especially when it is used for Moroccan dresses. I find it original and full of creativity and inspiration. The mixture of the colors and the way it is sewn gives to the tissue a great value.

Ikebana

 Ikebana is the Japanese expression for "the arrangement of living material in water." It is the ancient Japanese art of flower arrangement. Ikebana follows certain ancient rules that aim at achieving perfect harmony, beauty, and balance. Some describe Ikebana as sculpture with flowers. In Japan it has been practiced for fourteen hundred years. Buddhist monks in the sixth century practiced the art using pebbles, rock, and wood with plants and flowers. In Japan Ikebana was evolved and practiced exclusively by men-priests first, then warriors and noblemen. Today, of course, Ikebana is practiced by millions of women as well as men, although the great flower schools in Japan are mostly headed by men.
Ikebana is something that attracts a lot my attention since the first time I saw my mother doing this flowers arrangement. I find it simple and very original. It does not need a lot of materials in order to come up with a beautiful arrangement. I also tried to attend few years ago some sessions that were held by a Japanese women in Rabat to learn about the branches and the combinaison of the materials. This latter impressed me a lot and gave the opportunity to develop and valorise more my sense of appreciating the flowers. 

Assignment 1

Assignement 1: contemporary design:

            Frida kahlo is a Mexican painter. Most of her paintings were influenced by herself and the majority of the latter are auto portraits that represent her when she had to stay in her bad for nine months after an accident she had. Her paintings represent her pain and suffering. Among those drawings here is one that represents her during her recovery:

Assignment 2 : ads analysis

-          Ad 1 : the first ad is about got milk campaign who use celebrity endorsment as a strategy to attract people’s attention and to convince people to drink milk. In the following picture we can see the actrice Rebecca romijn with her two babies. Moreover and based on the citation written in the ad, milk is essential for the whole family, and since the mother drinks milk, she automatically inflences her children so that they can get the habit of doing the same thing. Moreover, her statement about building a strong family has two meanings in my opinion:

ü  Physically: good health, strong bones (…)

ü  Emotionally: learn good eating habits and being positively influenced by each family member.

àTarget audience: families and especially the mothers because they are the ones who educate their children and influence them to follow the right path.

-          Ad 2 : this ad displays a shocking image and the use of fear intends to show that even with little speed, major damages can occur which can lead to death especially when the drivers don’t put their seat belts on. To remedy to this, the French government launched a campaign to sensitize people that using seat belts is necessary because starting 20km/h accidents can cause death.

àTarget audience: the ad targets French drivers, car owners, and all the passengers of the car because it simply states that seat belts are essential to avoid injuries.