Paper Airplanes & Flight

(Courtesy: Matt Chang)

Tuesday's class involving paper airplanes was a great learning experience. It bridged the gap between 2D material and 3D models. It was curiosity that lead man to reach new heights and discover flight. Pioneers in China around 400 B.C., discovered the earliest form of flight with the invention of the kite (Shaw, 2014). Since this event, many other innovators and inventors went on to create their own flying mechanisms bringing them closer to the modern invention of the airbus. Most notably are Leonardo da Vinci, The Wright Brothers, and Alberto Santos-Dumont (JACO, 2016).

Before class it was each student's responsibility to act as innovators and inventors, using previous paper airplane designs to craft our very own models. There were no restrictions to what a student could craft, leaving creativity as well as imagination unhindered. Personally, it was a far greater outcome without the existence of guidelines or a criterium. As for my model, I searched many sources which had claimed to feature the best design, however, I ended up testing the few that I thought to be promising but reverted to a model that had worked for me in the past. Many of the other  models caught my attention with colorful and rounded designs.

The competition between the class revealed that some had the most creative, shortest, longest, and most aerodynamic designs. I personally liked moving out to the parking garage giving each student the chance to demonstrate how aerodynamic their paper plane was. During this event, it was Joey and Dozer's airplanes that impressed me the most. Their models had been crafted in a way such that the wind carried them a great distance with little to no resistance. My plane on the other hand did not do so well outside despite winning the longest distance indoors. Overall, this was a powerful activity that brought out creativity and competition amongst myself and the other students.

Shaw, Robert J., Dr. "History of Flight." History of Flight. NASA, 12 June 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2016

JACO Aerospace. "History of Aviation: Aircrafts Through Time. " www.e-aircraftsupply.com. Jaco Aerospace, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.

Pjotr Sapegin’s Madama Butterfly

Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly (Courtesy: https://i.ytimg.com)

Pjotr Sapegin's Madama Butterfly was a creative spin of Giacomo Puccini's 1905 opera depicting the tragic reality of temporary marriages forged between naval sailors and the indigenous females. The animation was interesting to say the least. I had not seen the original opera so as soon as the video began I was taken for surprise. With the first few minutes elapsed and the story beginning to unravel, it was clear that there was deep meaning behind the initial scene which ultimately turned out to be a devastating ending. The woman was left behind to bear the sailors child only to have him return and be stripped of the child and emotionally scarred eventually pushed to take her own life. The spirit and innocence the woman once had in her physical form was not lost when she took her own life but was carried into the afterlife when her spirit took form as a butterfly. The butterfly resembles the freedom that she had always wanted or deserved while waiting for her lover, which she can now fully achieve after being given wings. Overall, the animation was well choreographed and extremely thorough, however, took a great degree of interpretation to arrive at the exact significance.