Assignment 2 : Be Water, My Friend.

Research

Source: Wikipedia

Who is Bruce Lee

            Bruce Lee who was born 27 November 1940 was a Hong Kong – American martial artist, actor and martial arts instructor. He was the son of Cantonese opera star, Lee Hoi Chuen. He was also credited to be the person who changed the way Asians were presented in American films. He initially trained in Wing Chun Kung Fu but later rejected the style. Instead he mixed styles from various sources and later was dubbed as Jeet Kune Do (way of the intercepting fist). He was considered an innovator in film and martial arts through bringing people together regardless of race and religion. Through his interest in philosophy and martial arts, many motivational quotes can be traced back to Bruce Lee. Sadly he died at an early age in Kowloon Tong on 20 July 1973 at the age of 32.

“Be Water My Friend”

            The quote “be water my friend” can be traced back from the “Longstreet” TV series. The full original quote was “Empty your mind…be formelss, shapeless, like water. If you put it in a cup, it becomes the cup. If you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or creep or drip or crash. Be water, my friend”. The meaning behind the quote is that in order to win a fight or to resolve any situation in the best way, we must adapt to the surroundings and the situation in any way possible to achieve something. According to him, no two situations are alike. This quote is considered Bruce Lee’s most well-known quote ever.   

Artist Statement

            The words used for the Type Expression artwork is the words from the ‘be water my friend’ quote. The background is red to reflect Bruce Lee’s bold personality and charisma from during his lifetime. The words “Formless Shapeless Like Water” is warped and formed to portray Bruce’s face and neck in white. Whereas his famous yellow jump suit (featured in his last film ‘Game of Death’) contains the words “Be Water My Friend”. The hair and hands are only vectors to give the complete form of Bruce Lee.

Assignment 1: Running on Fuel

Research

Source: Wikipedia

Fossil Fuels

            Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years. Fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include coal, petroleum, and natural gas. They range from volatile materials with low carbon hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquid petroleum to nonvolatile materials composed of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal. Methane can be found in hydrocarbon fields, alone, associated with oil, or in the form of methane clathrates. The theory that fossil fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants  by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over millions of years  was first introduced by Georg Agricola in 1556 and later by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century.

The Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2007 the primary sources of energy consisted of petroleum 36.0%, coal 27.4%, and natural gas 23.0%, amounting to an 86.4% share for fossil fuels in primary energy consumption in the world. Non-fossil sources in 2006 included hydroelectric 6.3%, nuclear 8.5%, and others (geothermal, solar, tidal, wind,wood, waste) amounting to 0.9%. World energy consumption was growing about 2.3% per year.

Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources because they take millions of years to form, and reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being made. The production and use of fossil fuels raise environmental concerns. A global movement towards the generation of renewable energy is therefore under way to help meet increased energy needs.

The burning of fossil fuels produces around 21.3 billion tonnes (21.3 gigatonnes) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, but it is estimated that natural processes can only absorb about half of that amount, so there is a net increase of 10.65 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year (one tonne of atmospheric carbon is equivalent to 44/12 or 3.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide). Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases that enhances radiative forcing and contributes to global warming, causing the average surface temperature of the Earth to rise in response, which the vast majority of climate scientists agree will cause major adverse effects.

Artist’s Statement

            Firstly, the background chosen is yellow to resemble the colour of petrol. The petrol pump takes one side to show a source for people to get fuel. This is considered the thing that controls society today. The person next to the petrol pump is pumping petrol into his head because in society, whatever happens to petrol price, tax or whatsoever will have big affects on society. This shows today’s society is literally running on fuel.