Function follows Form

Function follows Form Melissa Bedford My paper kite was made in the Art Studio at Monash Peninsula Campus alongside colleagues during a research workshop.The colourful abstract design was completely intuitive, drawing inspiration from the sensation of movement in 1960s op art and recent memories of a visit to Castlemaine Art Gallery (CAM) where I viewed a suite of recent tapestry works by acclaimed Australian artist Melinda Harper in the exhibition Groundswell. I think I might be more interested in form than function and first attempted to fly the kite outdoors without tails with some MADA colleagues. After a few wobbly starts, we quickly learned the tails were crucial to balance and a successful take off and returned to the studio to add them. No sooner than we attached the tails, the kite remained aloft and was a joy to fly. I love that kites are kinetic, multidisciplinary and bring together artistry, engineering and in this case the kite research involves some good humour and collective problem solving.