Go big team!

Hank wanted me to remind everyone of how well we work as a group, and though we are all crazy busy, we need to continue to support one another.  If you need help, ask!  Also, if you are worried (or even slightly worried about INTs) let Hank know, and he will call Faron.-Sutton 

No meetings tomorrow! unless you need it!

Hi Kids!!!  I hope all is well and no one is panicking yet.  Just wanted to tell everyone know, I just talked to Hank and we are going to forgo the meetings tomorrow.  He will meet with folks that need it between 9 and 10:30am.  SO, show up if you need him.  Also go track him down at any other point in the day—we are his priority!   Don’t hesitate to call him if you need anything, he can make magic happen.  If there is a problem, call him first.

ALSO, Hank still wants to enter some of the poeticas in that contest.  It is due soon, so let him know if you are going to be out of town over break and where you will be so if he needs something he can find you.

I think that’s it!  K ready go!!

right about now . . .

I feel a little like this:  

Tuesday Meetings with Hank

Here’s the lineup for TUESDAY meetings with Hank.

 

9:00 – Philip

9:20 – Jessica T.

9:40 – Jessica G.

10:00 – Melissa

10:20 – Jessica S.

10:40 – Ali

11:00 – Elise

11:20 – Charlotte

11:40 – Ray

12:00 – Jackie

12:20 – Elania

12:40 – Audrey 

Melissa’s Place tonight

Hey guys– I’m thinking that later this week might be better- I’m not as far along as I thought I would be!  Sorry to cancel late notice!! m 

Idea Sharing Quote

Don’t worry about people stealing an idea. If it’s original, you will have to ram it down their throats.

Howard Aiken

‘RETHINK! REVOLT!’ BOOK FORM.

I have finally figured out a simple, yet powerful form that translates the core aspect of what I am saying in my Poetica.

The statement, just to recap, is: “For social change to occur, we must realize that the internet is a new breeding ground for radical discontinuities in the way we perceive the governing structures that surround us.”

The idea is to rethink and redefine the way we see the information flow on the internet. I was talking to Hank about this the other day, and we realized that I nneded to create a rupture in what we perceive to be a book. It needs to be something non-linear. Books are essentially records; they are meant to store information, much like the intangible, artificial world that is the internet.

The internet is an abstract thing. I am trying to visually represent in my project, how information, ideas, knowledge, are able to transcend the medium. The flow of ideas from “place” to “place”.

—So I am planning on having a board that represents the artifical world that is the internet. I found images on the internet that have maps…of the internet. These are maps of the 256 “galaxies” that exist currently exist. Each “galaxie” has 16 million cubes. Each cube equals a website. Etc.

—I want to use the “map” of the internet in the background, making that once articial world, real. By having a visual representation of the internet as a place, I am giving it a physical location.

—There would be pieces [cube shaped] that could move around the “map”. These cubes are suppossed to represent information, ideas, and the physical world. You could move these cubes from “place” to “place” around the board.

—Each cube (or at least 13 of them) would have parts of my essay. They all reiterate the same points, in different angles. Other cubes would have visuals that support my thesis. ["other information"]. Eventually, if you move the right pieces around and place them in a spoecific order, you will read RETHINK REVOLT.

—The cubes would be transluscent, so you can “see” the map of the internet behind it, at the bottom. [Going back to the idea that ideas can easily transcend, back and forth, from one place to the other. The medium is the message, but the message transcends the medium.

Anyhow, here are the statements I will have on each cube.

R – Redefine the way you interact and perceive everything that surrounds you. Find out what is going on in society—you should be able to control the extent and the quality of information you are receiving.

E – Evolution is revolution! To evolve means to advance in small increments. It is the gradual process of modification through natural selection. But if we are highly adaptable beings, and our world is rapidly facing irrevocable damage, we should be able to change our behaviour accordingly—hurriedly, and without hesitation!

T – Take a look around, and see what we have created and what we have lost. We have created hierarchical institutions that are economical, political, and societal in nature to help us understand our existence. On the other hand, we have lost hope. These institutions have failed us! And thus, we have become sad and cynical. These structures may not be perfect—but there’s always room for refinement and change.

H – Human beings, at their core, have an instinctive desire for interaction. There are currently more than 33.1 billion active cell phones in a planet that has 6.6 billion humans. The cell phone is considered to be the fastest global diffusion of any technology in human history— because it keeps us the most interconnected.

I – Individual freedom is impossible without social freedom, and vice versa. Cornelius Castoriadis, philosopher and radical thinker, describes freedom as something that can only be achieved when the social individuals take a direct part in the formation and implementation of the their institutions. We should be able to participate in all social decisions that affect our existence, or the general course of the world in which we live.

N – NewMindSpace, ImprovEverywhere, Flashmobs! These are just a few groups that are part of the new Urban Playground Movement. They organize unique social happenings in public settings all over the world. The goal of these free events is to replace passive, non-social, branded consumption experiences like watching television. The reason why these events are becoming so popular is that at their core, they are about connecting with other people.

K – Knowledge can be evenly distributed without any restrictions or discrimination in the institution that has become the Internet. It allows for the convergence of radical thoughts and ideas. On the other hand, social networking websites like Facebook and Myspace are spreading all over the web like mini-malls. The Suburban Sprawl is crossing over to the online world. It is our duty to make this new amalgamation serve a greater purpose. We must not let this new structure fall into that vortex of futility that is the capitalist imaginary!

R – Rebels, revolutionaries, deviants! Where is the radicalism and defiance? The Kardomah Café, the old house at rue du Chateau…these used to be the places where Radical Thought was born. The bars and cafes are now legends, mythical sanctuaries where the mind was allowed to germinate. Sadly, they have now become side-notes in Art History books, but the true spirit of insurrection lingers, and continues to haunt those who question.

E – Expectations have been surpassed. Communities are being born online every day—the internet is allowing us to become informed and educated. It is a new place where we can share our inconformities. What started as a group of young people directing their anger at the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Facebook, ended as a world-wide event called “One Million Voices Against FARC.” Thousands of people took to the streets of Colombia and other major cities to protest against the nation’s oldest and most powerful rebel group.

V – Violence is futile! You can bring down a government without firing a single shot. In 2001, more than one million residents of Manila, capital of the Phillipines, were mobilized and coordinated by a surge of text messages, to meet at the site of the 1986 “People Power” demonstrations that had toppled the Marcos regime. The national protest lasted over fours days, and as a result, Prisident Joseph Estrada was forced to step down from his position.

O – Our capacity and willingness for creation and ideation has not changed, even if the way we communicate and interact with one another has. The internet is allowing us to become informed, and therefore educated. It is also enabling us to communicate faster and in ways never before thought possible. There is a sense of urgency now more than ever to share our ideas with one another.

L – Like a living, breathing organism, we can work simultaneously to create massive change! It has been proven that the whole is sometimes smarter than the sum of its parts—one of the most striking behavioural patterns of a shoal is its synchronization. Hundreds of small fish glide in unison, more like a single organism than a collection of individuals.

T – Those of us who see the possibility of change should realize that every single technological advancement created should be at our disposal. Everyday we face things that we consider unacceptable. But these are not inevitable! They stem from a poorly structured society—one that does not use technology to enrich or develop itself.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TOMORROW

Bon jour!

In light of the fact we have meeting tomorrow morning I just wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow we spring forward an hour.

Waaa.

xo

JT

More Theater Images

I figured out how to make the walls translucent the way I want them in my file.  I also added the images to get a feel for how the lighting would work.

Sunday Meeting!!

We all have to be at school at 9am on Sunday. Individual meetings while the group discusses and helps projects along. The meetings are starting at 9:30, because I think that’s a more reasonable guesstimate.

9:30 am – Melissa

9:50 am – Elaina

10:10 am – Charlotte

10:30 am – Ray

10:50 am – Audrey

11:10 am – Jessica G.

11:30 am – Jessica S.

11:50 am – Elise

12:10 pm – Ali

12:50 pm – Jessica T.

1:10 pm – Philip
1:30 pm – Jackie

I know people have work conflicts, etc. so I tried to accomodate that. If something isn’t working, just let me know and I’m sure people can work around things. These meetings never just last 20 minutes, so I guess be prepared for it to run a lot longer. Hank wants us there at 9am. Power through! Home stretch! Love you all!

-Ali

Ray’s chair…updates!

So after the last post, I realized that I was sort of complicating it with the whole gender roles thing, and although I think that gender/sexuality is still part of the story, it shouldn’t be the central point. My chair [and my story] is about all aspects of myself; how I created my own identity, while still inhabiting a world/society that at times is contradictory to my beliefs. In that sense, it should reflect the way I act, and feel…

So the elements that need to be part of the chair are: [I made an outline for this, yes.]
I. a physical structure that seems rigid, defined, stale, immobile. [i.e. the communities I belong to, was born into]

II. A more fluid, comfortable, “giving” structure that seems to be “breaking out” from that solid, rigid structure. [i.e. I cannot ignore the fact that I live in this world, I am part of these communities and their inherent contradictions. But by creating my own set of values and therefore my identity, I break free from social expectations/cultural stereotypes. This way, I am able to "sit" comfortably in these communities, and even invite people to sit with me and try to make them understand "my world", etc. [I'm sorry if this is all sounding extremely cheesy, or new age or 'sensitvity seminar']

III. Wheels! I still want my seemingly static, rigid structure of a chair to have hidden wheels. This way, I can easily move wherever I want, and interact with my surroundings, while still being abel to maintain my own identity.

Sketches:

Fabric choices: The structure of the chair, I am thinking could be either very dark wood (walnut) or metal? What do think?

If it were the 1st sketches I would use a sort of leather upholstery:  <a href=”http://www.interiormall.com/images/cat/fabric/leather/Garrett_Chatham/F04_251jade-621.gif”>Picture</a>

or for the other ones, I was thinkingof using some vibrant/striped fabric upholstery that contrasts the chair’s rigidity. [and looks like me...]

 

crazy chairs..and other stuff

hey guys I just came across this blog…cool stuff, and some great modern furniture.http://2modern.blogs.com/2modern/design/-sutton 

melissa Swastika: update

swastika3.pdf

Poetica confusion still scares the BeJesus out of me

here is my current outline but speaking to Melissa has made it seem both more right and more wrong so it thought I would post it… 

Thesis: With the increased access to information, the acitive, intuitive decision maker’s opportunity (value?) increases in an information and knowledge based economy. If knowledge is synthesized data, the IDM is able to quickly and oridinally synthesize data.

 

I. Characteristics of IDM

A. Speed

i. Experience happens immiediately allowing the IDM to react instantly. Rejection accelerated: if your assertation is not accepted, the disention happens more quickly. An IDM is able to react more quickly to solve problem asserted.

ii. LDM depends on information gathering which requires more time making them slower.

B. Originality (independence)

i. Without the requirement of logic (reasoning) to reach conclusions, the IDM is able to reach more unexpected conclusions – more originality. Anything is possible. One plus one could equal YELLOW! There is no resction based on logic.

ii. The LDM is affected by dependency on a formula (if x=y, y=z, then x=z). 

 

II. Knowledge and information based economy

C. Advantages of Company can be eliminated overnight with mobile information

i. the IDM’s speed can provide quick solutions

ii. IDM Original solutions

D. Advantages of company depend on process of innovation

i. IDM’s ability to produce authentic originality

ii. Logic stuned by reason hinders innovation. 

E. The need for solutions becomes a constant stream of competitive problems

i. Job security goes up for the problem solver

F. Comapnies must be able to derive value from information better

i. IDM synthesis large concepts quickly

III. Conclusion: While original quick ideas are of high demand in the knowledge and information based economy, the logical thinker still has a place in the economy when it comes to execturion. Because of increased information exchange, logical execution can be googled or otherwise looked up whereas intuitive decisions can not yet be technilogically generated. This, speed and originality in higher demand increase the opportunity of the IDM.

 

Melissa Swastika

x: Swastika = fear generated and venerated by silence
y: Media saturation= generates silence, and ‘other’
 z: Otherness exists through perception– there is no your, there is only our.  

Space

It took me way too long to do this. Anyway . . . JT’s performance design space (also known as a “theater”).

Again the idea is that the walls are slightly translucent. Made of parachute material or other. The lights are on outside of theatre space. Also on outside, on arms are words written and art pertaining to show. Oh, all the walls are curved.

You exit through the legs!

elise – Swastika thoughts

Okay so this is an idea that’s been brewing in my head but I have yet to execute it. I’m letting it simmer while I work on other stuff…but I decided to put it out there for critique. While concepting for my Poetica I started relating my ideas to the Swastika project…which led me to imagine a Swastika symbol that is made of tactile materials. A poster that is tactile, built of materials that beg to be touched, physically understood, etc. This I metaphorically relate to the notion that we do not want to touch taboo subjects and symbols such as the Swastika. By physically encouraging people to want to touch something that is taboo, I’m metaphorically encouraging them to talk about it. And how does physical touch change our perception of a particular symbol? Other subjects that come to mind are death and sex. Taboo taboo taboo. And also so uncelebrated in our culture. Death is somber. Sex is dirty and something to feel guilty about. Also what’s interesting about the Swastika is its past history as a positive symbol, which we are now very familiar with at this point. Can the Swastika be “reclaimed” by touch? There is the risk of choosing materials that are somewhat playful, which could thereby anger those who place such horrific meaning behind the Swastika (i.e. what if…now just let yourself imagine, I know this is a little weird, BUT…the white circle is made of some sort of soft “fur” material…what if the “X” is a black, coarse sandpaper…what if the red is a velvet or satin fabric. This might sound ridiculous but when I see these materials, I want to TOUCH them.) My concept is informed by my exploration of play, which overlaps my Poetica project. And while I don’t want to downplay a symbol’s (such as the Swastika’s) meaning, I do want people to realize IT IS JUST A SYMBOL and that we can change our perception through touch…and metaphorically remind people that we shouldn’t be afraid to “touch” taboo subjects/symbols.  

Philip’s Swastika

The swastika’s meanings of racism and hatred cannot be erased right away, it will take a long time to educate the western world of its origins, if it ever happens. This got me thinking about racism that exists in our society subconsciously, or racism that we as a society almost tolerate.

Enter MWWS, That’s “Missing White Woman Syndrome”. Why is it that white women get, by far, the most national missing persons media attention? Statistics show that the highest missing rate for race/sex is black males. Simply put, its racism on a massive scale that our society generally accepts. Media attention means greater search and law enforcement efforts, and if you aren’t a white woman (generally an attractive, upper middle class white woman) you are denied this attention.

I want the poster to be a simple confrontation to the viewer. Obviously white women aren’t the only people that go missing.

I also had a poster series where these same women were placed next to women of different races/status that went missing or were murdered under the same or similar conditions. Under the faces were the first names with a blank for the last name. The idea is that the viewer can fill in the last names of the white women because their names were drilled into their heads.

This poster is a little simpler, and the message is conveyed faster. The series is a bit too confusing, and it takes a little longer to figure out. Comments?

White Woman Missing Poster

-A. J. Liebling

“I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better. ”

“Cynicism is often the shame faced product of inexperience.”   -A. J. Liebling  don’t know if i agree with this stuff but i thought it was interesting. 

People Pieces: Jessica’ Play Yo!

Hey Ladies and Gents (2).

So sigh. Yes, I am writing a play. But don’t think I was that weird social outcast that was into believing I was a vampire in high school or anything. Nor did I exclusively hang out with the guys that didn’t know they were gay yet . . .  actually I did. Moving on!

1. THE PLAY ITSELF: The first act of my play is attached. Again I am trying to combine a well structured story line following the traditional arc of ordinary world, climax and resolution (logic) with a conceptual narrative that is radical in its approach (pathos).  By combining these I am hope to reach a large audience, that when they see the play, are so MOVED by the message they themselves realize they must act.
2. THE PHYSICAL SPACE: So after thinking a lot of talking to Hank, it became obvious to me that this is not a piece in which the audience sits down and watches it. Sitting, you get bored and tired, and the point of this whole thing is action. I also don’t want to do that annoying thing where the actors talk to you, etc. So the physical space of the theater is going to be a body that you move through. Think installation. The body will be made out of parachute-like material pulled over a simple wood frame. Easy to re-create. This actually goes back to the origins of theater which was about going into a cave (honestly they were trying to re-create a womb like experience. The original translation of theater is re-birth) to understand life and become another person. Oh how perfect eh? Aye. The book, being a guide for anyone to put this play on physically mimics the the space of the theater. By pulling the one long piece of paper in the book, the whole thing unfolds into a body/theater shape. The shape itself is very tribal in nature, reflecting back to what I discussed before.
3. By the way, Church, as we know it . . . began out of the theatre tradition. Check it out. Theater history is human history!
4. MOVING THROUGH THE SPACE: As the audience moves through the space there are certain areas that are basically two pieces of cloth sandwhich so you have to feel the cloth to get through. It will feel good. Ligh. Airy. Feeling/touching is inspiring. They “are touched” thus inspired. Also the play will be performed in Round Robins. Light and sound will come from outside of the space. Hands will press up against the fabric. So say you are in the act one space, and another act is being performed in another space. You experience both because the nature of the show is in fact NOT LINEAR. Again, going back to my thesis of our need for change that is non-myopic, non-reactional. When you think myopically you are thinking linearly. The point of all of this is to encourage creative rebirth.
5. Love you all. You are some of the smartest people I’ve ever worked with. Such a great team.

playfirstact.pdfA little sketch of the above view of the theater space. and the PDF.

Learning by doing

Was reading this excerpt on Josef Albers. It’s so applicable to what we are all doing right now: ”The ability to invent through construction and to discover through observation is developed–at least at first–by undisturbed, uninfluenced, and unprejudiced experiment that is (at first) a playful tinkering with concrete goal, that is to say unprofessional (i.e. not burdened with instruction) experimental work. It often happens that what were thought to be innovations in the application or treatment turn out afterward to have existed before. But the result is experienced and thus a possession because it is LEARNED and not taught. Sometimes the results of these experiments represent innovations of material. But even when we evolve methods which are already in use, we have arrived at them independently, through direct experience and they are our own because they have been re-discovered rather than taught. Learning is better, because it is more intensive, than teaching: the more that is taught, the less can be learned.We know that this instruction by learning takes longer paths, even detours and false paths. But no beginning is straightfoward. And mistakes that are recognized encourage progress. Conscious detours and controlled false paths will sharpen criticism, will make those once burnt twice shy, and will produce a desire to find the right paths.” So, The Cowboy has been right all along…  - elise 

Swastika Combined JG

Here is the one with three symbols combined. One religious, one political and one cultural. I also flipped the binary code so that it looks more like it is composing the symbol… swastikacombine.jpg 

MEETINGS TOMORROW

Plan 15-20 minutes for meetings tormorrow, starting at 8 am. We will all sit downstairs and discuss chairs, poetica, and swastika. If anyone has a conflict, find someone to switch with you.

8:00  Jessica T.

8:20 Ali

8:40 Elise

9:00 Jessica S.

9:20 Audrey

9:40 Phillip

10:00 Ray

10:20 Jessica G.

10:40 Elaina

11:00 Jackie

11:20 Melissa

11:40 Charolette

my my, a chair (elise)

Hello Giant Table People, here is where I currently am with my chair. Still ruminating, and I will sketch some more before tomorrow. Wanted to post my progress for initial feedback before we meet again. Below are three directions I’m playing with, each involving tension situated at the back of the chair. The first is visual tension, the second is physical tension with a cable, the third also physical with a metal “I” or “H” shape creating a concentrated amount of tension (I’m envisioning the main part of the chair in wood). Still interested in the idea of rocking as well. I am trying to simplify the shape down to its barest form, as this is what the Swiss did. Plus I always complicate matters, and in doing so exacerbate the tension/conflict in my life. So, simplifying is pertinent. The forms I showed last week were getting too complex. Again here is my chair statement: Being open to conflict and its potential for positive change, I reaffirm my values and strengthen my voice. But perhaps that can be simplified to this idea: Conflict is functional, and it informs positive growth. I see the conflict/tension as being at the center and informing the entire function (including the support) of the chair. And like I said above, I often make the conflict in my life out to seem larger than it is (another reason I run from it), but really it is a more concentrated matter, one that can be rationally approached/dealt with. Please let me know what you think! Thank you….  

Design Observer: Swastika!!

check it out: http://www.designobserver.com/archives/033744.html