User:Niek Hilkmann/Graduate Research Seminar 2013/2014 - Trimester 1

18/09

Version 1

Fairy tales in the age of digital appliances
Animism, Fetishism and Romanticism in Media Art and Theory

The galaxy is a vast immense space beyond any human understanding. The earth is just a tiny speck on its metaphoric canvas. The human race is just a temporary inhabitant of this little planet. I belong to this species. Since a couple of years I have made it my principal to goal to understand the universe that surrounds me. The problem is that it's hard to take any information for granted within this field of research. I am dependent upon the collected knowledge of a species called the homo sapiens and of these only the ones who are alive seem trustworthy in my conspiracy suspecting mind. The problem is that every once in a while humans tend to die and unfortunately this leaves them in a more or less permanent immobile state. Death causes quite some grieve, distress and confusion to the surviving members of my species. Often, they would have liked to keep the dead alive, safe with them, for as long as possible. Furthermore, the death of another human reminds them of their own mortality. All living things die in the end. Nobody knows exactly why and nobody knows what it exactly means to do so, although a lot of people claim to do this. These people make things confusing for me, for they believe this because they are told so by other human beings who have read things that were written by dead people when they were alive. Even though these dead people have written down certain facts about death and dying, it is hard to find out if these tales of old tell us anything about what death really means. In all likelihood, it could very well be that death does not mean a thing and that nothing actually happens when you die. This is of course not a pleasant thought, for it would make life and death an arbitrary thing. However, nowadays, this is precisely what a lot of people believe. Life can become a meaningless hubbub unless one puts in some meaning of his or her own. In this way, subjective thoughts have become one of the highest standard in modern day life. This is a confusing thing when one tries to understands the galaxy..

The text that you are now reading, is written only by me and is a highly subjective thing because of that. The paradox consists in the fact that if you follow along with what I am going to tell you, it implies you shouldn’t pay too much value to what I, a single individual with only a limited amount of experience, am going to relate. Human memory does not go back any further than the time we are born, yet even that memory is not reliable. Our minds are sophisticated ‘machines’ helping us to get through life in the easiest way possible. This means that we forget things and reshape our memory according to our needs. We can look at troublesome moments in life with a feeling of sincere satisfaction bordering on the fetishist level. You probably know some examples of this within the older generation of your family. Human beings always seem to compare their current lives to these memories that were shaped in a melancholic mindset. The past, abstract as it is, is a time that leaves a great impact on humans, for they come across it at an age when one is easily impressed and they take it with them for the rest of our lives. Objects that belong to this past get new meanings within current times every now and again. In our personal narratives these things resemble lost promises, memories and hopes. Yet, just like the past is being shaped by the human mind, objects are often made by human hands. Even though the galaxy confuses me, I seem to get some grasp over the past and history by means of inanimate objects. Home appliances are understandable and hold meaning.

During the previous academic year I have worked with old media objects, abandoned ideologies and the concept of conserver-ship. I approached these in such a way that I could ask myself what terms such as redundancy, reinstallation and reissue would mean within a confusing meta-modernistic age that succumbs to an overload of digital information. When I approached the Piet Zwart Institute I had an hunch that a pre-Socratic approach to materiality might be the answer to understanding the universe. In ‘Sein Und Zeit’ by Heidegger a distinction is made between ‘things’, ‘tools’ and ‘art’. While I am not going to claim that I am an expert in Heideggers philosophy (and I think just waving around with philosophy quotations in theoretic art tractates is an unnecessary distraction), I would like to use this discreet distinction in my text to emphasize some issues that I am working on. A ‘tool’, according to Heidegger, is a ‘thing’ that is shaped in such a way, according to human need, that we perceive and define it’s meaning through the way we can use the object. For instance, a toothbrush finds meaning in the way it is able to brush teeth. It is shaped by humans accordingly and doing something else with it is an infringement of its specific ‘tool-ness’. In the same way using a ‘thing’ as a tool implies that we only have eyes for it’s usefulness to us as human beings, while in reality it is not shaped for us, but exists outside of it’s relation to humans. As such, ‘a thing’ is an object outside of use with a goal within itself, like a rock. Heidegger continues this stream of thought by adding that ‘art’ is like ‘a thing’ because it does not have a specific human use, yet it is man-made and as such is unlike a regular 'thing'. It fits a human need, but contains meaning within itself and not through action. It communicates and is an object of introspection at the same time. For me, following this line of thought, understanding the universe would mean understanding things within themselves.

Within media art inanimate objects are often considered and appropriated. Objects are often stripped bare to their material core, open to be looked at by it's perceiver. This is exactly what is necessary to consider things as 'things'. However, are things merely things and is there anything to be understood through things by their thing-ness? I believe there is an element missing in the mix. Often, artworks comment on their relation to human beings. This relation, as I have written down earlier, is often shaped through memory. I believe materiality should be approached with regard to the human mind. Approaching media tools within the field of art without concerning the nostalgic attitude people have towards them seems like a shame. That is why I am going to focus upon this relation between mind, machine and emotion. Every once and again the bond between man and object is taken to extreme levels. Throughout history there have been countless tales about these bonds, take for instance 'The Teapot' by Hans Cristian Andersen or maybe even more fitting, Thomas M. Disch’s sci-fi tale ‘The Brave Little Toaster’ from 1980. In this lovely example, which should not be confused with the Disney movie of the same name, we encounter living household appliances on an epic quest to find their former ‘master’ who has abandoned them. In fear of their upcoming redundancy they start looking for him again and try to make themselves useful once more. This is a case of animism, by which I mean 'the worldview that natural physical entities—including animals, plants, and often even inanimate objects or phenomena—possess a spiritual essence.' Maybe there is something to be learned about the galaxy through this strange form of affection.

During the next couple of months I will look at the borders of nostalgia, animism, fetishism within academic research, more specifically, within the field of media art and media theory. My essay will compare 19th century romantic ideals with current trends and try to give answers to some of the following questions: Is the iphone a little teapot? Is a non-nostalgic incorporation of redundant media possible or are we doomed to revisit the past through a gleam of nostalgia, and if so: Does this actually matter? Is Heideggers pre-Socratic thinking perhaps no more than the seed for modern day recycling hype? Do human beings actually have responsibility towards inanimate objects? Is the past truly communicated through objects that belong to these periods? Or is this an example of animism? My final project will incorporate this diffuse attitude towards old media by means of an installation incorporating sound, image, light and animatronics. It will bring certain media ‘to life’ during a 10 minute show that will be open to the visitor during specific intervals that will be indicated by a shining lightbulb.

25-09

Version 2

Fairy tales in the age of digital appliances
Animism, Fetishism and Romanticism in Media Art and Theory

The galaxy is a vast immense space beyond any human understanding. The earth is just a tiny speck on its metaphoric canvas. The human race is merely a temporary inhabitant of this little planet. My name is Niek Hilkmann and I belong to this species. A couple of years ago I decided that I was here on earth to understand the universe that surrounds me. A quite ambitious task, i agree. The problem is that it's hard to take any information for granted within this field of research. I am dependent upon the collected knowledge of a species called the homo sapiens and of these only the ones who are alive seem trustworthy in my conspiracy suspecting mind. Besides that, every once in a while humans tend to die and unfortunately this leaves them in a more or less permanent immobile state. Death causes quite some grieve, distress and confusion to the surviving members of my species. Often, they would have liked to keep the dead alive, safe with them, for as long as possible. Furthermore, the death of another human reminds them of their own mortality. All living things die in the end. Nobody knows exactly why and nobody knows what it exactly means to do so, although a lot of people claim to do this. These people make things confusing, for they believe this because they are told so by other human beings who have read things that were written by dead people when they were alive. Even though these dead people have written down certain facts about death and dying, it is hard to find out if these tales of old tell us anything about what death really means. In all likelihood, it could very well be that death does not mean a thing and that nothing actually happens when you die. This is of course not a pleasant thought, for it would make life and death arbitrary things. However, nowadays, this is precisely what a lot of people believe. Life can become a meaningless hubbub unless one puts in some meaning of his or her own. In this way, subjective thoughts have become one of the highest standards in modern day life. This does not help one understand the galaxy any quicker.

The text that you are now reading, is written by only me and is a highly subjective thing because of that. Human memory does not go back any further than the time we are born, yet even that memory is not reliable. Our minds are sophisticated ‘machines’ helping us to get through life in the easiest way possible. This means that we forget things and reshape our memory according to our needs. We can look at troublesome moments in life with a feeling of sincere satisfaction bordering on the fetishist level. You probably know some examples of this within the older generation of your family. Human beings always seem to compare their current lives to these memories that were shaped in a melancholic mindset. The past, abstract as it is, is a time that leaves a great impact on humans, for they come across it at an age when one is easily impressed and they take it with them for the rest of our lives. Objects that belong to this past get new meanings within current times every now and again. In our personal narratives these things resemble lost promises, memories and hopes. Yet, just like the past is being shaped by the human mind, objects are often made by human hands and because of that are truly able to relate 'something' to us. Even though the galaxy as a whole tends to confuse me, I seem to get some grasp over the past and history by means of inanimate objects.

During my first academic year at the Piet Zwart Master Media Design I have worked with old media objects, abandoned ideologies and the concept of conserver-ship. I tried to find out what terms such as redundancy, reinstallation and reissue would mean within a confusing meta-modernistic age that succumbs to an overload of digital information. Believe it or not, but when I applied to the Piet Zwart Institute I had an hunch that a pre-Socratic approach to materiality might be the answer to understanding the universe. Let's take a step back. In ‘Sein Und Zeit’ by Heidegger a distinction is made between ‘things’, ‘tools’ and ‘art’. While I am not going to claim that I am an expert in Heideggers philosophy (and I think just waving around with philosophy quotations in theoretic art tractates is an unnecessary distraction), I would like to use this discreet distinction in my text to emphasize some issues that I am working on. A ‘tool’, according to Heidegger, is a ‘thing’ that is shaped in such a way, according to human need, that we perceive and define it’s meaning through the way we can use the object. For instance, a toothbrush finds meaning in the way it is able to brush teeth. It is shaped by humans for this specific need and doing something else with it is an infringement of its specific ‘tool-ness’. In the same way using a ‘thing’ as a 'tool' implies that we only have eyes for it’s usefulness to us as human beings, while in reality it is not shaped for us, but exists outside of it’s relation to humans. A 'thing’ is an object which purpose lies within itself, outside of the human sphere, like a rock. Heidegger continues this stream of thought by adding that ‘art’ is like ‘a thing’ because it does not have a specific human use, yet it is man-made and as such is unlike a mere 'thing'. It fits a human need, but contains meaning within itself and not through action. It communicates and is an object of introspection at the same time. When we follow this line of thought, understanding the universe would mean understanding 'things' as 'things' and not as 'tools' and we can learn to this by appreciating 'art'.

Heidegger's notion of art is of course somewhat dated. Within media art 'tools' are often considered and appropriated. Objects are stripped bare to their material core, open to be looked at by it's perceiver. In a way, this could be exactly what is necessary to consider things as 'things'. However, 'tools' are not 'things' and as such such, I believe there is an element added when they are incorporated within artworks. Especially when artworks comment on their relation to human beings and the social sphere there seems to be an element that is overlooked with regards to materiality, since these relations are often shaped through memory. I believe the concept of materiality within media art should not be approached with regard to it's 'tool-ness', but to it's relation with the human mind. This means it is necessary to approach media 'tools' within the field of art while concerning the nostalgic attitude people have towards them. That is why I am going to focus upon this relation between mind, machine and emotion. Every once and again the bond between man and object is taken to extreme levels. Throughout history there have been countless tales about these bonds, take for instance 'The Teapot' by Hans Cristian Andersen or maybe even more fitting for our media art related tractate, Thomas M. Disch’s slightly ironic sci-fi tale ‘The Brave Little Toaster’ from 1980. In this lovely example, which should not be confused with the Disney movie of the same name, we encounter living household appliances on an epic quest to find their former ‘master’ who has abandoned them. In fear of their upcoming redundancy they start looking for him again and try to make themselves useful once more. This is a case of animism, by which I mean 'the worldview that natural physical entities—including animals, plants, and often even inanimate objects or phenomena—possess a spiritual essence.' Maybe there is something to be learned about the galaxy through this strange form of affection.

During the next couple of months I will look at the borders of nostalgia, animism, fetishism within academic research, more specifically, within the field of media art and media theory. My essay will compare 19th century romantic ideals with current trends and try to give answers to some of the following questions: Is the iphone a little teapot? Is a non-nostalgic incorporation of redundant media possible or are we doomed to revisit the past through a gleam of nostalgia, and if so: Does this actually matter? Is Heideggers pre-Socratic thinking perhaps no more than the seed for modern day recycling hype? Do human beings actually have responsibility towards inanimate objects? Is the past truly communicated through objects that belong to these periods or is this an example of animism? The research for this thesis starts with a short summary of animism throughout history, sails the seas of nostalgia en utopias, takes a look at conserver-ship and ends with a reflection on current trends in media art and theory. My final project will incorporate this diffuse attitude towards old media by means of an installation incorporating sound, image, light and animatronics, imagine a dimly lit room with small robots made from appliances performing a show about history, time and death. It will bring certain media ‘to life’ during a 10 minute show that will be open for all who feel like it.

Texts

• The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen, 1981.
• The Future Of Nostalgia, Svetlana Boym, 2002.
• Sein Und Zeit, Martin Heidegger, 1927.

Extra

• The Brave Little Toaster from Print to Film: Obsolescent Appliances and Capitalist Allegories, Margaret D. Stetz, Opticon 1826, 14: 21-26, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/opt.aj, 2012.
• The Brave Little Toaster, Thomas M. Disch, 1980.

Worklog

Here are some things I am doing at the moment:

1.

Can VHS save the world? An evening of videos, performances and talks 6 November – 20.00-23.00

In the last couple of years the before redundant video medium called VHS has started to reinvent itself within both ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture. Artworks, music videos and nostalgic pulp-evenings revolving around plastic tapes are increasingly entering the public sphere. Video tapes that used to be at the bottom of the economic ladder are slowly turning into collector’s items, selling for thousands of dollars. Now, with the concept of de-activism in full swing, WORM invites you to a discussion and referendum about this development with knowledgeable speakers from different fields talking about their like and dislike of the medium and it’s recent resurgence. Expect videos, performances, talks and music, but above all the answer to one question: Can VHS save the world?

2.

3.

2/10

Excerpt

Fairy tales in the age of digital appliances
Animism, Fetishism and Romanticism in Media Art and Theory

The galaxy is a vast immense space beyond any human understanding. This is not so strange, because when we compare it's size to that of a human being, humans are indeed very small creatures. However, When we compare an atom to a human, it has to be concluded that the human race is actually quite huge. As such, this draft proposal starts with the concept of relativity. Is it possible for a text to come to a significant and interesting conclusion from such an ambiguous starting point? Strange as it may seem, relativity is one of the reigning lines of thought in our modern day of age. Most knowledge is regarded with skepticism, certainly from a metaphysical level and as such, subjective relativism holds the scepter in western academic thought. That is why this text starts exactly there.

What you are now reading, is written by a single person and is a highly subjective thing because of that. Most texts are written in exactly the same manner, depending on the human brain and it's ways of thinking. However, the mind is not reliable. Brains are sophisticated ‘machines’ helping human beings to get through life in the easiest way possible. This means that we forget things and our memory is reshaped according to our needs. The past, even as an abstract concept, can only be found in memory, probably like time itself. It leaves a great impact on humans however, even though it is debatable if it is or ever was even present. When 'looking' to the past one has to rely on sources to find out more about what has been. Objects appear to tell something about of the past, for they were made and used some time and are still present in the 'now' in more or less the same form. By studying them humans hopes to find out more about what was. One looks at these things as bearers of lost promises, memories and hopes.

During my first academic year at the Piet Zwart Master Media Design I have worked with old media objects and abandoned ideologies. I tried to find out what terms such as redundancy, reinstallation and reissue would mean within a confusing meta-modernistic age that succumbs to an overload of digital information. When I applied to the Piet Zwart Institute I had an hunch that a pre-Socratic approach to materiality might be a way to understand the universe somewhat better. Within media art objects are often considered by stripping them bare to their material core, open to be looked at by it's perceiver. In a way, this could help one to understand 'the essence' of things. However, I believe now that one does not understand the universe better by studying inanimate objects. Materiality should be approached with regards to the meaning it holds for the human mind. This means it is necessary to approach media objects while considering the nostalgic attitude people have towards them.

In the next couple of months I will look at the borders of nostalgia, animism and fetishism within the field of media art and theory. My essay will compare 19th century romantic ideals with current trends and with a little help of psycho-analysis and metaphysics try to give answers to some of the following questions: Is the iphone a little teapot? Is a non-romantic incorporation of redundant media possible or are we doomed to revisit the past through a gleam of nostalgia, and if so: Does this actually matter? Is Heideggers pre-Socratic thinking perhaps no more than the seed for modern day recycling hype? Do human beings actually have responsibility towards inanimate objects? Is the past truly communicated through objects that belong to these periods or is this an example of animism? My final project will shed some light upon this diffuse attitude towards old media by means of an installation incorporating sound, image, light and animatronics.

Recoup

Let’s be slightly more specific:

1. This text will be about animism, fetishism, anthropomorphism and romanticism with regard to inanimate objects and the form these concepts take in current media art and theory.
2. It will consider the history of anthropomorphism and animism in general and will specifically focus on the way they occur in relation to inanimate 'media'.
3. The metaphysical state of objects and their relationship to human beings and art will be heavily elaborated on with help of psychoanalysis and philosophy.
4. A study of these principles and their manifestations within current media literature and art will be made. It might be suggested that Media Art is actually a religious school that practices animism and that media theory is actually a field of religious study.
5. A proposal will be made of how appliances and human beings can relate to each other and how Media Art can lead mankind in the direction of a metaphysical brotherhood between man and appliance.

Or:

Replace part 4 with an more elaborate existential talk about human fragility and the analogy between animism and conserver-ship. This might be more interesting, because it will contain plenty of romantic god complexes and makes it possible to talk about complex human emotions. Immortality is after all often transferred to objects, they are containers of the past and the dead. A study of contemporary media art and literature will fall in it's place in part 2 and will be less important in part 5.

Suggested Literature

• Something about the object as a container of the past and as such history at large.
• Something about the relativity of time and the human mind.
• Something with examples of eccentric re-stagings of historical events or periods.
• Something with examples of early animatronics.

Project

It should be said that even though the form of my project is quite clear (a show of about 10 minutes performed by programmed animatronics incorporating sound, image and light), what they are going to perform is inseparable from the outcome of my research. As such, my first practical step is to read and write a lot, while enhancing my skills at the practical side of the project (animatronic programming etc.).

Mini-proposal #1

My final project will shed some light upon this diffuse attitude towards old media by means of an installation incorporating sound, image, light and animatronics. Relativity is one of the reigning lines of thought in our modern day of age. Most historical knowledge is regarded with skepticism, certainly from a metaphysical level and as such, subjective relativism holds the scepter in western academic thought. The past, even as an abstract concept, can only be found in memory, probably like time itself. When 'looking' to the past one has to rely on sources to find out more about what has been. Objects appear to tell something about of the past, for they were made and used some time and are still present in the 'now' in more or less the same form. By studying them humans hopes to find out more about what was. During my first academic year at the Piet Zwart Master Media Design I have worked with old media objects and abandoned ideologies. I tried to find out what terms such as redundancy, reinstallation and reissue would mean within a confusing meta-modernistic age that succumbs to an overload of digital information. In the next couple of minds I would like to approach materiality with regards to the meaning it holds for the human mind. This means I will look at the borders of nostalgia, animism and fetishism within the field of media art and theory. My essay will compare 19th century romantic ideals with current trends and with a little help of psycho-analysis and metaphysics.

9/10

Mini-proposal #2

My final project will shed some light upon the diffuse attitude human beings have towards old media. This will be done by means of an installation incorporating sound, image, light and animatronics. In an age where information is abundant, most historical knowledge is regarded with skepticism. This is certainly true from a metaphysical level and as such, subjective relativism is one of the reigning philosophical outlooks within western thought. Even so, when 'looking' at the past one has to rely on sources to find out more about what has been. Objects appear to tell something about of the past, for they were made and used during a specific past time and are still present in the 'now' in more or less the same form. By studying them humans hopes to find out more about what was and themselves. During the previous academic year I have worked with old media objects and abandoned ideologies. I tried to find out what terms such as redundancy, reinstallation and reissue would mean within a confusing meta-modernistic age that succumbs to an overload of digital information. In the next couple of months I will approach materiality with regards to the meaning it holds for the human mind. This means I will look at the borders of nostalgia, animism and fetishism within the field of media art and theory. There will be comparisons between 19th century romantic ideals and current media trends with a little help of psycho-analysis and metaphysics.

Mini-mini-proposals

project proposal 1
a sound installation

project proposal 2
performance, lecture and public intervention

project proposal 3
comic-book

project proposal 4
Fairy tale

project proposal 5
Animation

16/10

Mini-proposal #3

My final project will shed some light upon the diffuse attitude human beings have towards inanimate objects, to be more specific: old media. This will be done by means of an installation incorporating sound, image, light and animatronics. In an age where information is abundant, historical knowledge often is regarded with skepticism. This is certainly true from an ontological perspective and as such, subjective relativism is one of the reigning outlooks within western thought today. Even so, when 'looking' at the past one has to rely on sources to find out more about what has been. Researchers often turn towards objects for information. These appear to tell something about of the past, for they were made and used during a specific past time and are still present in the 'now' in more or less the same form. By studying them humans hopes to find out more about what was and themselves. This is a form of historic research that permits romantic speculation. During the previous academic year I have worked with old media objects and abandoned ideologies. I tried to find out what terms such as redundancy, reinstallation and reissue would mean within a confusing meta-modernistic age that succumbs to an overload of digital information. In the next couple of months I will approach materiality with regards to the meaning it holds for the human mind. This means I will look at the borders of nostalgia, anthropomorphism and fetishism within the field of media art and theory. Comparisons will be made between 19th century romanticism and current (anti-)media trends with a little help of psycho-analysis and object orientated ontology.

Proposed Literature

• Evil Media, Matthew Fuller and Andrew Goffey, 2012.
• Anti-Media: Ephemera On Speculative Arts, Florian Cramer, 2013.
• Remediation: Understanding New Media, Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin, 2000.
• Tool-Being: Heidegger and the Metaphysics of Objects, Graham Harman, 2002.
• Guerilla Metaphysics: Phenomenology and the Carpentry of Things, Graham Harman, 2005.
• The Democracy of Objects, Levi Bryant, 2011.
• Alien Phenomenology, or What It's Like to Be a Thing, Ian Bogost, 2012.
• Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things, Jane Bennett, 2009.
• The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places, B. Reeves, B and C. Nass, 1996.
• Machines and mindlessness: Social responses to computers, C. Nass, C and Y. Moon, 2000.
• You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, Jaron Lanier, 2011.
• The Future Of Nostalgia, Svetlana Boym, 2002.
• When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, 1996.
• The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen, 1981.
• Sein Und Zeit, Martin Heidegger, 1927.
• The Brave Little Toaster from Print to Film: Obsolescent Appliances and Capitalist Allegories, Margaret D. Stetz, Opticon 1826, 14: 21-26, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/opt.aj, 2012.
• The Brave Little Toaster, Thomas M. Disch, 1980.

Key Texts

• Tool-Being: Heidegger and the Metaphysics of Objects, Graham Harman, 2002.
• The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places, B. Reeves and C. Nass, 1996.
• Evil Media, Matthew Fuller and Andrew Goffey, 2012.
• Sein Und Zeit, Martin Heidegger, 1927.
• The Brave Little Toaster, Thomas M. Disch, 1980.

Recoup #2

1. This text will be about fetishism, animism and romanticism with regard to inanimate objects and the form these concepts take in current media art and theory.
2. It will consider the history of anthropomorphism and animism in general and will specifically focus on the way they occur in relation to inanimate 'media'.
3. The metaphysical state of objects and their relationship to human beings and art will be heavily elaborated on with help of media equation theory and object orientated ontology.
4a. A study of these principles and their manifestations within current media literature and art will be made. It might be suggested that Media Art is actually a religious school that practices animism and that media theory is actually a field of religious study.
4b. Or replace 4a with an elaborate existential talk about human fragility and the analogy between animism and conserver-ship. This might be more interesting, because it will contain plenty of romantic god complexes and makes it possible to talk about complex human emotions. Immortality is after all often transferred to objects, they are containers of the past and the dead. A study of contemporary media art and literature will be made anyway.
5a. A proposal will be made of how appliances and human beings can relate to each other and how Media Art can lead mankind in the direction of a metaphysical brotherhood between man and appliance.
5b. Or there will be made a proposal of how to face mortality while being looked upon by inanimate objects and house appliances. Which is probably more realistic.

30/10

Final proposal draft #1

Throughout the years I have collected and worked with many old media objects and abandoned ideologies. I tried to find out what terms such as redundancy, reinstallation and reissue would mean within a confusing meta-modernistic age that succumbs to an overload of digital information. Somehow, I keep on asking myself what kind of meaning objects and ideas have during specific moments in time and how these are constituted. In an age where information is abundant, relativism reigns and historical knowledge is often regarded with skepticism. Even so, when 'looking' at the past one can only rely on old sources in the form of historical objects and texts old to find out more about what has been. This is only logical if one considers that these were present in the past that one tries to understand. Also, they are still here as a remains of this time, while the people who made and/ or used them are not. By studying them humans hopes to find out more about what was and themselves. This is a form of historic reconstruction that permits romantic speculation. One thing that continuously interests me is the way objects lose and obtain meaning by means of their relation to human beings and the way certain members of this species cling to them. My final project will shed some light upon this diffuse attitude people have towards inanimate objects. This means I will also look at the borders of nostalgia, anthropomorphism and fetishism within the field of media art and theory. I will turn my research into something concrete by means of an installation incorporating sound, image, light and animatronics. Objects from my personal past are orchestrated and manipulated to narrate a false, mutated personal history in the form of a 10 minute show bearing similarities to the type that can be found in amusement parks. As such, I will peer at what would remain of me when I wont be there to speak for myself, through the eyes of the eyeless.

06/11

Final proposal draft #2

Throughout the years I have collected and worked with many old media objects and abandoned ideologies. Somehow, I keep on asking myself what kind of meaning objects and ideas have during specific moments in time, when and how this meaning shifts and what they actually transform into. Within the current digital age information about such matters is abundant and as a result relativism reigns. All information about all possible pasts are equally presented on the web and in digital libraries. Even so, when 'looking' at the past one can only rely on sources in the form of historical objects and texts old to find out more about what has been. By studying them humans hopes to find out more about what was and themselves. This is only logical if one considers that objects usually surpass the lifespan of the humans who used them. They become containers of the past one tries to understand by simply being there in the present. When referring to objects to tell something about a past no living being is still able to recount, one busies a form of historic reconstruction that permits romantic speculation. One thing that continuously interests me is the way objects lose and obtain meaning by means of their relation to human beings and the way certain members of this species cling to them. My final project will shed some light upon this diffuse attitude people have towards inanimate objects. This means I will also look at the borders of nostalgia, anthropomorphism and fetishism within and without the field of media art and theory. Certain specified objects such as the dodecaeder, the narwal tooth, John Dee's speculum and the image of the dodo will be taken as an example of cultural division. The question is what sentimental reasons lie behind this metaphysical metamorphosis. I will turn my research into something concrete by means of an installation incorporating sound, image, light and animatronics. Objects of the pastl past are orchestrated and manipulated to narrate a false, mutated personal history in the form of a 10 minute show bearing similarities to the type that can be found in amusement parks.

Vague Proposal Draft #1

Nothing is as vague and as attractive as the past. It is never really present, though it's traces are everywhere. The most appealing bit about it however, is it's tangibility. One can never really encounter what has happened in the flesh, but concrete objects collecting fungi in moist basements can help reconstruct what has happened. They are the stuff culture and history is built upon. Once they were made and used by actual living human beings with thoughts and feelings, but at one point they simply stopped being issued. Even though these objects and the persons who used them are not literally being seen on the street anymore, they still have a very real place within society. Historians and collectors are attracted to the objects and the stories behind them. They are able to project certain feelings and ideas upon them. Sometimes, such ideas lead to very elaborate narrative constructions, which are retold and reshaped over and over again and get new uses within current times. Nowadays, many of these different interpretations can be found on the web and in digital libraries. Each one of these is presented in such a way that it is just as true as the next one. As such, the past appears to be a relative subject outside the reach of truth and the human mind. However, something gets lost within these new narratives and the web constitutes this cultural division. The metaphysical meaning of objects shifts between romantic speculation and sentimental relativism. One question I continually ask myself is what it means when an object becomes redundant or is being reissued. I probably contemplate on this because I wonder what it means to be redundant and reissued myself. At one point in time I will die and leave behind traces that might help to construct a narrative. I wonder if it is possible to get lost in translation in a digital age. This is my main thesis question. To answer it I will look at what kind of historical sources are enforced by the web and how they constitute a form of metaphysical estrangement that differs from a pre-digital one. Certain specified objects such as the dodecaeder, the narwal tooth, John Dee's speculum and the image of the dodo will be taken as an historical example of this shifting of meaning and essence. I will turn my research into something concrete by means of an installation incorporating sound, image, light and animatronics. Objects of the past are orchestrated and manipulated to narrate a false, mutated history in the form of a 10 minute show bearing similarities to the type that can be found in amusement parks. One important factor in this show is the use of animation, for anthropomorphism is the start of any form of romantic misinterpretation. Everything together will tell the story of the struggle between mankind and it's past and future by means of insensitive objects.

20/11

Few 'things' are as vague and attractive as the past. It is a concept that is never really present, though it's traces are everywhere. The most appealing the past might be it's tangibility. One can never physically encounter what has happened in everyday life, but concrete objects collecting fungi in moist basements can help reconstruct the past. Inanimate objects are the stuff culture and history is built upon. Once they were made and used by actual living beings with thoughts and feelings, but at one point in time they simply stopped being issued. Even though these objects and the persons who used them are not literally being seen on the street anymore, they still have a very real place within society. Historians and collectors are attracted to the objects and the stories behind them. They are able to project certain feelings and ideas upon them. Sometimes, such ideas lead to very elaborate narrative constructions, which are retold and reshaped over and over again and get new uses within current times. Nowadays, many of these different interpretations can be found on the web and in digital libraries. Each one is equally represented and just as true as an historic document as the next one. As such, the past appears to be a relative subject outside the reach of 'truth' in the broadest sense of the word and 'the human mind' in the slightest.

However, something gets lost within these new narratives and the web constitutes this cultural division. The true meaning of objects, by which I mean it's particular essence, shifts between romantic speculation and sentimental relativism. One question I continually ask myself is what it means when an object becomes redundant or is being reissued, as I demonstrated by repurposing 20th century elitist avant-garde music and everyday cartoon VHS-tapes. While I am not a psychologist, I think that I probably contemplate on this because I wonder what it means to be redundant and reissued myself. At one point in time I will die and leave behind traces that might help to construct a narrative. I wonder what it essentially means to get lost in translation nowadays. This is both my main thesis question. To answer it I will look at what kind of historical sources are enforced by the web and how they constitute a form of metaphysical estrangement that differs from a pre-digital one. Certain specified objects such as the dodecaeder, the narwal tooth, John Dee's speculum and the image of the dodo will be taken as an historical example of this shifting of meaning and essence.

I will turn my research into something concrete by means of an installation incorporating sound, image, light and animatronics. Objects of the past are orchestrated and manipulated to narrate a false, mutated history in the form of a 10 minute show bearing similarities to the type that can be found in amusement parks. One important factor in this show is the use of animation, for anthropomorphism is the start of any form of romantic misinterpretation. I should point out that every form of misinterpretation consists within a triangle of the narrator, narration and reader. When enforced upon an object, we encounter the start of misinterpretation. This entire process will be present in my final work. Everything together will tell the story of the struggle between mankind and it's past and future by means of insensitive objects.

27/11

Few 'things' are as vague and attractive as the past. It is a concept that is never really present, though it's traces are everywhere. The most appealing bit about the past might be it's tangibility. One can never physically encounter what has happened in everyday life and as such one is able to make things up about it without any historical characters complaining. The only thing one has to account for in this matter are concrete objects collecting fungi in moist basements that were actually present when the past occurred. As such, inanimate objects are the stuff culture and history is built upon. Once they were made and used by actual living beings with thoughts and feelings, but at one point in time they simply stopped being issued. The objects became redundant at this point and stopped being part of any contemporary discourse.

Or are they? Even though objects and the persons who used them are not literally being seen on the street anymore, they still have a very real place within society. Historians and collectors are attracted and attached to objects and the stories behind them. They are able to project feelings and ideas upon them. Sometimes, such ideas lead to very elaborate narrative constructions, which are retold and reshaped over and over again and get new uses within current times. Sometimes they even become part of a brand new ideology or story, either as an icon or as a brand new object incorporating elements of the past item. This is possible by way of reissuing which necessarily relies on past objects and sources.

Nowadays, different interpretations of an endless variety of subjects and objects can be found on the web and in digital libraries. Each one is equally represented and as true as any other historical document. By this I mean that every alternative to a conclusive past is an option or a vantage point for a contemporary route that was not taken beforehand. Take for instance, certain technologies or philosophies that didn’t catch on in the time when they were proposed, but are now being used as a speculative approach to the present or future. As such, the past appears to be a relative subject outside the reach of 'truth', since it can be bended and shaped by the ‘human mind’, which is the only true contemporary container of memory.

However, something gets lost within these translated new narratives and the web constitutes this cultural misinterpretation. The true meaning of objects, by which I mean it's particular essence, shifts between romantic speculation and sentimental relativism. One question I continually ask myself is what it means when an object becomes redundant or is being reissued, as I demonstrated by repurposing 20th century elitist avant-garde music and everyday cartoon VHS-tapes. While I am not a psychologist, I think that I probably contemplate on this because I wonder what it means to be redundant and reissued myself. At one point in time I will die and leave behind traces that might help to construct a narrative. I wonder what it essentially means to get lost in translation. This is the question on which I want to focus during my graduation year. To answer it I will look at different approaches to the handling of historical sources, some pre-digital and some that are being enforced by the web. I am curious what kind of metaphysical estrangement they constitute and how they do this. Certain specified objects such as the dodecaeder, the narwal tooth, John Dee's speculum and the image of the dodo will be taken as an historical example of this shifting of meaning and essence.

I will turn my research into something concrete by means of an installation incorporating sound, image, light and animatronics. Objects of the past are orchestrated and manipulated to narrate a false, mutated history in the form of a 10 minute show bearing similarities to the type that can be found in amusement parks. One important factor in this show is the use of animation, for enforcing your will upon inanimate objects to construct a narrative is the start of any form of romantic misinterpretation. I should point out that every form of misinterpretation consists within a triangle of the narrator, narration and reader. When enforced upon an object, we encounter the start of misinterpretation. This entire process will be present in my final work. Everything together will tell the story of the struggle between mankind and it's past and future by means of insensitive objects.