A Changing World
From what I understood of Stefan Hajkowicz' lecture, the future of design itself seems to depend on knowledge about our world and its future. Especially in what seem to be increasingly volatile circumstances relating to both situations mostly within human control (conflict and economic depression) and mostly outside of our control (climate change), there is an ever increasing demand for understanding and prediction. Furthermore he spoke about 'megatrends', a term given to streams of action, thought and issues most important to today's civilisation. The trends the CSIRO had come up with are grouped within the following:
- limited resources
- digital vs natural
- personalisation of products & services
- urbanising & increased mobility
- divergent demographies
It struck me as interesting that, unknowingly, most of these trends have been covered in the projects done by our class. My group, Unmasked is definitely focusing on divergent demographies - as I've mentioned before our project is largely based on finding the individuality hidden in several target groups of people. Bottled up and Taking the Piss is looking at the opinion of individual people and Traces Of Darlo is focusing on individual experiences through photography. The furniture group are concerned with personalising products discarded by the greater community (which also creates a cradle-to-cradle* phenomenon) and is related to the idea of limited resources. And Grassroots is all about promoting greener urban spaces.
Perhaps there's something in this megatrends idea?
*McDonough, William and Braungart, Michael 2002, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way we Make Things, North Point Press, New York
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
85701 - Mid Sem Break
Public Art
One of the best things about our project, I think, is the blurring of lines between art and design. I guess one thing I don't like much about my professional degree (fashion) is how tailored it becomes to what will sell - it limits the creativity. I think in design projects like situational city, we can use that creativity in more of an artistic way rather than minimising our work for the consumerist world.
In the semester break I saw a lot of the art & about exhibition around the city.
One work in particular reminded me a lot of our group's project. It focuses on images of Sydney sider individuals, showing a range of ages, sexualities, ethnicities, and vocations, essentially the City of Sydney's eight target groups* - (children, young people, older people, women, Aboriginal people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with a disability and gay, lesbian and transgender people).
We're aiming to do something similar with out film sequences, focusing on the quirky details that make each individual special.
Through Lucas Ihlein, I've gotten in touch with David Urquhart, a very charistmatic, interesting man who works at the MCA. He has agreed to "star" in one of our sequences. I'm building a storyboard surrounding some of his own eccentricities as part of our "older man" demographic. Hopefully we'll have most of our trial and error filming work done by this week and we can start filming! I'm very optimistic about Open House. I think some of the project are really cool and the night will be an awesome success.
*City of Sydney 2006- 2010, Social Policy and Social Plan, viewed 12 October 2010 <http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/council/formspoliciespublication/SocialPlan.asp>
One of the best things about our project, I think, is the blurring of lines between art and design. I guess one thing I don't like much about my professional degree (fashion) is how tailored it becomes to what will sell - it limits the creativity. I think in design projects like situational city, we can use that creativity in more of an artistic way rather than minimising our work for the consumerist world.
In the semester break I saw a lot of the art & about exhibition around the city.
One work in particular reminded me a lot of our group's project. It focuses on images of Sydney sider individuals, showing a range of ages, sexualities, ethnicities, and vocations, essentially the City of Sydney's eight target groups* - (children, young people, older people, women, Aboriginal people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with a disability and gay, lesbian and transgender people).
We're aiming to do something similar with out film sequences, focusing on the quirky details that make each individual special.
Through Lucas Ihlein, I've gotten in touch with David Urquhart, a very charistmatic, interesting man who works at the MCA. He has agreed to "star" in one of our sequences. I'm building a storyboard surrounding some of his own eccentricities as part of our "older man" demographic. Hopefully we'll have most of our trial and error filming work done by this week and we can start filming! I'm very optimistic about Open House. I think some of the project are really cool and the night will be an awesome success.
*City of Sydney 2006- 2010, Social Policy and Social Plan, viewed 12 October 2010 <http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/council/formspoliciespublication/SocialPlan.asp>
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
85701 - Week 4
Relational Aesthetics
Personally, I was very inspired by Lucas Ihlein's lecture. Not just because I want to be an artist but because coming from some background in psychology and philosophy, the artworks he spoke about seem to resonate on many different levels with me. Audience- inclusive artwork seems to be something fairly new, I suppose it took a while for acceptance of "performance art", now we're asking people to actually participate.
I moseyed on down to the MCA and have been helping Lucas with his latest work, an ongoing investigation into the environmental impacts of the exhibition which it is a part of. That's meta-art if I ever saw it. Some of the discussions from random visitors have been very interesting from design obsolescence to whether we use more electricity sharing light and heat in a museum than if we stayed home. The point is, everyone seems enthusiastic to add their part.
As Lucas mentioned yesterday, the inclusion of the audience isn't restricted to art, but it's everywhere now. That's why reality TV is popular, why adverstising often asks you for your input - it's all about putting your vote in, feeling included. I wonder if this can be traced back to psychology and self-importance. I'm sure Freud would have something interesting to say about it. I'm looking forward to exploring some more of this in my essay on the topic.
Personally, I was very inspired by Lucas Ihlein's lecture. Not just because I want to be an artist but because coming from some background in psychology and philosophy, the artworks he spoke about seem to resonate on many different levels with me. Audience- inclusive artwork seems to be something fairly new, I suppose it took a while for acceptance of "performance art", now we're asking people to actually participate.
I moseyed on down to the MCA and have been helping Lucas with his latest work, an ongoing investigation into the environmental impacts of the exhibition which it is a part of. That's meta-art if I ever saw it. Some of the discussions from random visitors have been very interesting from design obsolescence to whether we use more electricity sharing light and heat in a museum than if we stayed home. The point is, everyone seems enthusiastic to add their part.
As Lucas mentioned yesterday, the inclusion of the audience isn't restricted to art, but it's everywhere now. That's why reality TV is popular, why adverstising often asks you for your input - it's all about putting your vote in, feeling included. I wonder if this can be traced back to psychology and self-importance. I'm sure Freud would have something interesting to say about it. I'm looking forward to exploring some more of this in my essay on the topic.
Friday, August 27, 2010
85701 - Week 3
The Creative Era
The idea of the work place as a dark dingy brutalist building without fresh air, communal spaces and windows to the outside world has become a bit of an urban legend now. I suppose the idea was to stop people remembering there was an outside world, remembering their family and friends and good times happening outside the office - thus they'd stay and work until the work was done. Now it seems, at least in the best cities, this idea has not only been subverted, but used for the benefit of the company itself. Now buildings have lobbies with pebble gardens, tropical aquariums, companies have child minding areas for employee's children, companies have communal areas, coffee carts, even company basketball teams. The idea of life has been brought into the office. And companies fight to locate themselves in cities where there is diversity - music and art enthusiasm, cultural diversity, varying recreation and altogether a sense of creative life.
This is apparently, all to attract people like gays, rock chicks and spikey-haired dudes with slogan t-shirts. People, as it seems to me who would be offended by being called a collective "class". But as Florida defines them, the creative class are people working in "a wide variety of industries---from technology to entertainment, journalism to finance, high-end manufacturing to the arts" (2002).
The idea of the company and largely the city itself changing in order to attract these people, is apparently something of a new phenomenon (Florida 2002) but nothing very strange for someone in their early 20's, living in a progressive city like Sydney. I can completely understand the diversity of ideas, enthusiasm, passion and debate brought to companies by these kinds of people, that smaller cities are lacking.
Newcastle is one of these cities, losing the 'creative class' because such people gravitate to Sydney and Melbourne where they can find their culture and others like them. Now, not every city can be a creative city, and not everyone can be a part of the creative class. So, does this phenomenon create exclusion? Will it eventually mean cities will be inhabited by certain kinds of people only, who fit into its creativity or lack there of?
The idea of the work place as a dark dingy brutalist building without fresh air, communal spaces and windows to the outside world has become a bit of an urban legend now. I suppose the idea was to stop people remembering there was an outside world, remembering their family and friends and good times happening outside the office - thus they'd stay and work until the work was done. Now it seems, at least in the best cities, this idea has not only been subverted, but used for the benefit of the company itself. Now buildings have lobbies with pebble gardens, tropical aquariums, companies have child minding areas for employee's children, companies have communal areas, coffee carts, even company basketball teams. The idea of life has been brought into the office. And companies fight to locate themselves in cities where there is diversity - music and art enthusiasm, cultural diversity, varying recreation and altogether a sense of creative life.
This is apparently, all to attract people like gays, rock chicks and spikey-haired dudes with slogan t-shirts. People, as it seems to me who would be offended by being called a collective "class". But as Florida defines them, the creative class are people working in "a wide variety of industries---from technology to entertainment, journalism to finance, high-end manufacturing to the arts" (2002).
The idea of the company and largely the city itself changing in order to attract these people, is apparently something of a new phenomenon (Florida 2002) but nothing very strange for someone in their early 20's, living in a progressive city like Sydney. I can completely understand the diversity of ideas, enthusiasm, passion and debate brought to companies by these kinds of people, that smaller cities are lacking.
Newcastle is one of these cities, losing the 'creative class' because such people gravitate to Sydney and Melbourne where they can find their culture and others like them. Now, not every city can be a creative city, and not everyone can be a part of the creative class. So, does this phenomenon create exclusion? Will it eventually mean cities will be inhabited by certain kinds of people only, who fit into its creativity or lack there of?
Sunday, August 15, 2010
85701 - Week Two
A Situationist City?
Being 22 and a poor student on a centrelink benefit, this is probably the most interested I have been so far in a federal election. And for Australia, it's a fairly history-making election, what with having a female prime minster for the first time and all. And yet the politics of it all strikes me as extremely annoying. Yet it is a political election. But I use politics in the derogatory sense - the sense that the future of a country I happen to be very proud of, hinges on some kind of beauty or popularity contest. The campaign to me, sucks. The television ads suck, the ease to which people will believe anything the media writes, sucks, and frankly, our lack of choices, sucks. And so, having just lived a year in France, where people take the idea of revolution more seriously than their own lives, compared to being back home where people think handing in a blank ballot paper might make a difference... makes me think the situationists kinda started with the right idea.
If it was all hinged on the fulfillment of desire, then I think what they were desiring in those days was rebellion against a society dominated by the politics of capitalism and media telling everybody what to think (Debord 1967). The 60's as it seems now, were a time for revolt, and I think this can be summarised by May '68 in France, an event constantly refered to by every one of my professors whilst I was there.
I don't know if it's just my age and the fact that I'm at a point where I'm very opinionated and interested by worldly events because of my education, but it feels to me that we, or at least, I, am unfulfilled by the politics of the society in which I live. If I am unhappy about irresponsible media, sacrificing young lives for possible alterior motives in war, the lack of choices for our country's future, unsustainable living on Earth, the continuing presence of capital punishment in seemingly contemporary societies, a lack of complete democracy, corrupt justice systems, and the presence of prejudice towards people who have had no choice in their race/ class/ gender/ sexuality/ disability/ etc, the maybe a hell of a lot of other people are too. We are creating a situation which I've already stated that to me, means something along the lines of an artistic nature. And it seems to me that in history, when politics fail us, artists take over. Maybe it's time for a new revolt?
Being 22 and a poor student on a centrelink benefit, this is probably the most interested I have been so far in a federal election. And for Australia, it's a fairly history-making election, what with having a female prime minster for the first time and all. And yet the politics of it all strikes me as extremely annoying. Yet it is a political election. But I use politics in the derogatory sense - the sense that the future of a country I happen to be very proud of, hinges on some kind of beauty or popularity contest. The campaign to me, sucks. The television ads suck, the ease to which people will believe anything the media writes, sucks, and frankly, our lack of choices, sucks. And so, having just lived a year in France, where people take the idea of revolution more seriously than their own lives, compared to being back home where people think handing in a blank ballot paper might make a difference... makes me think the situationists kinda started with the right idea.
If it was all hinged on the fulfillment of desire, then I think what they were desiring in those days was rebellion against a society dominated by the politics of capitalism and media telling everybody what to think (Debord 1967). The 60's as it seems now, were a time for revolt, and I think this can be summarised by May '68 in France, an event constantly refered to by every one of my professors whilst I was there.
I don't know if it's just my age and the fact that I'm at a point where I'm very opinionated and interested by worldly events because of my education, but it feels to me that we, or at least, I, am unfulfilled by the politics of the society in which I live. If I am unhappy about irresponsible media, sacrificing young lives for possible alterior motives in war, the lack of choices for our country's future, unsustainable living on Earth, the continuing presence of capital punishment in seemingly contemporary societies, a lack of complete democracy, corrupt justice systems, and the presence of prejudice towards people who have had no choice in their race/ class/ gender/ sexuality/ disability/ etc, the maybe a hell of a lot of other people are too. We are creating a situation which I've already stated that to me, means something along the lines of an artistic nature. And it seems to me that in history, when politics fail us, artists take over. Maybe it's time for a new revolt?
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
85701 Research Based Design - Week One
An Exercise in Flanery
The "flaneur" is a concept I'm fairly familiar with, having studied French, a little philosophy, literature and photography. For me, being the flaneur means going out and emersing yourself in the quotidien life - that is, just the everyday normal processes that people go through. Being the flaneur means having so specific destination, no will to change anything about what you see, just to see, listen, smell, touch, observe, chuckle, or cry. Whether it's window shopping, or as the French call it "faire la leche-vitrine" - literally to "do the licking of the shop windows", perambulate through streets following nothing but your curiosity, or go on walkabout to photograph the nuances of the streets, essentially I believe this act is a kind of catharsis for the wanderer. In literature, TS Eliot, Plath, and Joyce wrote what was coined a 'stream of consciousness, and the flaneur does essentially the same thing, on the street instead of pen to a piece of paper.
I think technology bring interesting changes to the practice of the flaneur. It is now technically possible to wander down the streets of any city, sitting in your lounge chair with your laptop and an internet connection. Google street view is a fascinating program in that you can technolocigally walk down any street of your choice, and see what it looked like, what was happening there, what cars were parked there, at the time the photo was taken. A story on my newsfeed on facebook came up a few weeks ago where people had gone and found images of working girls on Google street maps. Although I wasn't too thrilled at this demographic being singled out, I was intrigued by the concept - what else has been frozen in time and made available to everyone? A drug deal? A car driving without licence plates?
To me, the issue of anonymity is crucial for the flaneur. It is important to not have an identity. To not draw attention to oneself. You want to take in what is around you, not change anything by subjecting it to yourself. Cameramen recordning wildlife don't stop the lions from attacking the zebras - if they did, they would disrupt the natural circle of life and never see what happens when lion do attack zebras. In the realm of photography, I think the idea of anonymity comes out a lot in 'flaneur photography". Cartier-Bresson, a photographer famous for hiding himself behind newspapers and using zoom lenses to take his photos stated, “..approach the subject on tiptoe, even if it is a still life”. This idea comes out in many of my favourite photographers - Doisneau. Mary Ellen Mark, and the ones Paul Sutton introduced us to in his presentation. Sander did a photographic project a few years back entitled "Extraordinary images of ordinary people". I think this title captures the essence of what it means to be a flaneur - noticing the extraordinary in what appears to be ordinary. To some extent I used this philosophy when I did some street photography a few years back:
Our 'flanery' from UTS to Darlinghurst brought up many observations for me - the different sounds of the city, graffiti, the histories of certain places, moments in time, being on "autopilot" and not usually noticing these things, the streets being a very solitary place, the different perspectives everyone had on their journey, etc. But I guess the most noticeable thing for me was what makes something or someone noticeable? What makes you slow down and take a look?
This 'situation' we're creating isn't entirely clear to me yet, I guess that's normal. My initial response was an artistic approach - I thought of flash mobs or silent raves or thousands of naked people at the opera house. What keeps being repeated is the idea of 'researching a question', and I'm intrigued as to what this will be. A cultural or social commentary, a political debate, a personal story? I'd like it to be something that addresses that idea of solitary streets or a cold world of strangers. I think walking down the street should be a friendlier experience.
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