User:Menno Harder/reading, writing and research methodologies 2012

1.Am Kotti:

Am Kotti is a five minute film that shows a 3d model of the Kottbusser Tor square in Kreuzberg, Berlin. The model is build up using a collection of pictures taken on the square. The photographers are unknown in this model but all of the pictures are found on 4 different kind of online image galleries. These galleries are Flickr, Picasa, Panoramio and Wikimedia and their logo's appear on the picture where they were found.
While the movie plays the camera rotates around the model and by doing so pictures appear and disappear because of the direction and angle they are facing. Because of the depth of the movie the overlayed images cover and reveal underlaying pictures. Clusters of images can be found on several spots and also elevation is visible. A simplified map of the square including it’s buildings and streets is the lowest layer on which the images are placed on. The film loops.'
Although I had never been on this square before I was able to reconstruct it by carefully categorizing each picture and examining the buildings and places of interest in the background. The proces of creating this model was more about collecting and archiving then it was about designing. The construction formed itself by creating rules about placement and visibility of the pictures. The model shows not only spatial appearance but also social structures. For example: the Turkish community that resides in this area is visible, but also the touristic importance and drug-related problems can be found.
The model is quite basic since only a moderate number of images are used. This is one of it's flaws, as I could imagine the model being a lot more efficient and better to read if even more images were used and placement was done scripted instead of being picked one by one and placed according to what I think should be the right spot. This also makes it not perfect: I might have made mistakes in the process and images could have been shuffled or not placed because it wasn't completely clear where the picture was taken. What is interesting about this way of handling image is that the pictures themselves become a spatial, they are no longer the flat images seen on the screen. When depth is seen not only within the picture, but also around it, and to be able to compare with 'neighbouring' pictures, they become part of something bigger.
I understand that the real time location of the model is ever changing, this can make the model outdated quickly. One way to solve this problem would be to update the model regularly, re-organizing the archive of images and understanding what is happening in that area if you want to make it a tool that can not only show the change in space (new buildings, streets, bars, stores, nature, public transport etc.) but also the social issues that are present.

2.Toolkit for a Contemporary Protest:

The Toolkit for a Contemporary Protest is an interactive webpage, installation and poster series containing a collection of quotes and symbols used in counter cultures of the past and of the present. All the quotations are categorized and reveal the person who it is linked to. These quotes are cut up in pieces and each piece resembles an A4 sheet. The different quotes each have their own appearance by using different fonts and symbols. These digital A4 sheets can be moved freely and reorganized and can be placed on a blank canvas.
There is an option to download all these individual sheets and print them, to recreate the digital composition in real life. The protesters are fully able to create the posters and banners themselves by using these tools. The idea of this project is to reinterpretate quotes and give multiple generations the ability to speak up for any cause that is to be demonstrated about today.
To give an example for how it can be used: For a final project I printed these quotes on different kinds of writing-paper used by cultural instances in the Netherlands (W139 in Amsterdam, Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, De Vleeshal in Middelburg, Centraal Museum in Utrecht) that were severely cut down on subsidies due to the Dutch government at that time. This to make a statement about the cause, and to show the use of my kit on an important present-day issue.
Accessibility and 'easy-to-use' are important issues that come up and by making it accessible by a webpage I tried to merge printed matter and digital imagery. This is also of other importance, as it questions the notion of protesting online or actually showing up at the place where the protest is happening with your digital printed banners. I wanted to create a toolkit that really could be used by anyone. This is a problem, because the interpretation of some quotes can almost only be seen as a leftish political view, I think this happened because of my personal ideas about who should and could use it and for what reason they can. Another problem that comes to mind is the accessibility of this work. Because it is organized mainly around a webpage, and because of the need for a printer, people without internet, a printer or ink are not able to use the toolkit.
My common concern with both projects is the effectiveness and readability. In both works I try to address social issues in a subjective way. The reader/user/viewer is involved in the final outcome of the work, as his or her interpretation of it is as important as the facts that I try to show. The final image is created by the reader/user/viewer themselves. To have tried to not be objective in these specific projects proved to be rather difficult and is something that I would like to explore more in these and other works. Furthermore: these projects visualize past, present and future issues. Why is the past so important in present day problems? Maybe I could explain and relate these more.