User:Mania/Thesis outline: Difference between revisions

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Thesis Outline

“In short, spaces have multiplied, been broken up and have diversified. There are spaces today of every kind and every size, for every use and every function. To live is to pass from one space to another, while doing your best not to bump yourself. “ Georges Perec, Species of Spaces and Other Pieces

Perhaps we take these spaces we move through every day for granted. But maybe we can learn to look at them differently; then nothing will stop us from imagining these spaces anew, imagining other uses, other functions, other possible ways of navigating between them. I believe the first step to do this is to pay attention. I want to reflect on how we perceive urban spaces and reimagine these narratives, by working on a magazine for observing and engaging with a city in a new way.

1. How do tools shape what we see?

I'm interested in how even the simplest tools, which impose certain limitations, can open us up to unexpected opportunities. How can a tool with instructions or a script affect seeing our surroundings in a new way?

References to “techniques of the observer”. Crary argues that the way we "observe" things didn't just evolve naturally but was shaped by new technologies, scientific discoveries, and social changes. Before photography and cinema, people’s understanding and experience of sight were very different.

A reference to the artist, educator, and nun Sister Corita Kent, who, using such a simple tool as a cut-out frame in a piece of paper, encouraged her students to observe our surroundings with attention and curiosity. During a zine festival in Groningen, someone told me about her, saying that the paper tool in my project (part of the Scripts to Read the City project) reminded them of what Sister Corita called the finder.

2. Methods for spontaneous encounters - Situationists approach and the art of chance

This shift in how people saw things described by Crary was foundational for what we now call the "society of the spectacle," where we are heavily influenced by images and visual media. The term "society of the spectacle”, introduced by French theorist Guy Debord in his book The Society of the Spectacle, describes a society influenced and dominated by images, advertising, and media, where appearances are more important than authentic experience. Following this thought I would like to dive into "Report on the Construction of Situations" by Guy Debord (1957). In this manifesto, Debord explains the concept of "constructed situations" encouraging interventions in urban spaces that provoke new ways of seeing and interacting with the city.

I see this chapter as particularly important because it could serve as a testing ground for the magazine I'm working on.

3. What it means to be an expert observer? Attentiveness and paying attention

I’m inspired by observational cinema, or cinéma vérité, that aims to present life as it happens. Filmmaker acting more as an observer than a director, avoiding artificial staging is allowing situations to unfold naturally. I am inspired by how people who work in film view their surroundings, and through the process of editing and cutting footage, extract fragments, scenes, and direct our attention. How do they get to know a place through a camera? This tool makes them curious, makes them to talk to others, learn more, investigate, and film, then cut the footage, and rearrange fragments in a new order to show us how they see the world. The act of cutting footage into fragments and rearranging is something that inspire me in terms of what the narrative in the magazine could be.

Dziga Vertov – Man with a Movie Camera (1929) - This documentary film captures a day in the life of a Soviet city through the eyes of a "movie camera man.” There is no one plot, the film maker is experimenting with montage techniques. Vertov’s approach presents the city as a dynamic, interconnected system.

Agnes Varda – Daguerreotypes (1976) - In this film Varda focuses on her own neighborhood in Paris, capturing the lives of local shopkeepers and residents on Rue Daguerre. Althogh Varda's style is not purely observational, as she includes poetic and personal comments, her work encourages a more intimate observation of the city tangled with human stories.

Frederick Wiseman – In Jackson Heights (2015)- Wiseman’s observational, non-interventionist style invites viewers to engage with life as it unfolds. This documentary dives into the diverse neighborhood in Queens, New York, portraying the lives of its multicultural residents and examining issues of immigration, identity, and community.

What documentaries taught me? Deriving from observational cinema

In this context, the book Why I Make Documentaries by director Soda Kazuhiro is especially important to me. In it, he discusses observational filmmaking, speaking about rejecting the idea of preparing a script before shooting and instead creating a story based on discoveries that happen during the process. He also talks about the unexpected discoveries, encounters, and unintentional adventures that the observational filmmaking approach brings. I agree with not strictly adhering to a script, as it’s so easy to cut out even the most interesting scenes simply because they don’t fit a narrowly defined topic. On the other hand, I believe that a script that remains open to interpretation can actually enhance imagination and open up new ways of exploring public space. I believe that scripts and unpredictable encounters can complement each other, and I’m curious how I could explore this further.

If this research document is meant to open me up to knowledge, and discoveries, how can I then share these insights with others? Research isn’t conducted to stay in a drawer but to be shared and engaged with. Since I’m investigating urban intervetion, and the power of materiality to encourage readers to see urban spaces in a new ways, I imagine telling the story and my findings in a very visual way, almost writing with images. Can I present argumentation in a purely visual form in one chapter? I'm not yet sure how exactly I will formulate my final final research question. Therefore I still dont have a very clear idea how I want to share this research, but I would like it to serve as a testing ground for the magazine.

References:

Johanathan Crary, Techniques of the Observer

Georges Perec, Species of Spaces and Other Pieces

Guy Debord, Report on the Construction of Situations(1957)

The Situationist International (SI) - Situationist maps, like The Naked City (1957), fragment Paris into emotional zones, challenging the conventional ways cities are navigated and understood.

Soda Kazhiro, Why I make documentaries, on observational filmmaking

Kevin Lynch, The image of the city

Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

Rebecca Solnit, Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas (2010)

Jane Jacobs , The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) - Jacobs emphasized the importance of "eyes on the street" and mixed-use urban areas, critiquing large-scale modernist urban planning in favor of organic, community-oriented design.

Dziga Vertov – Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

Agnes Varda – Daguerreotypes (1976)

Frederick Wiseman – In Jackson Heights (2015)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==Session 4 Project proposal==
+[[SteveSuggestsThesisOutlieMania]]
-What do you want to make? Is it clear what is being proposed? If not, what could be done to improve this?
+==Thesis Outline==
-  Nadal chcę pracować nad magazynem, albo jakąś formą publikacji/ ksiązki. Podoba mi się idea magazyn bo stanowi kontynuację, a oprócz tego zorganizowanie open call i włączneie innych do tego magazyn było by dla mnie świetnym wyzwaniem. Chcę pracować na czymś co będę mogła kontynuować po zakonczeni studiów. Nad projektem który przyblioży mnie do innych zine lovers i zine makers, nad magazynem który będzie mógł wędrować po różnych eventach zinów.
+'''“In short, spaces have multiplied, been broken up and have diversified. There are spaces today of every kind and every size, for every use and every function. To live is to pass from one space to another, while doing your best not to bump yourself. “ Georges Perec, Species of Spaces and Other Pieces
-Chciałabym stworzyc do tego stronę internetową, coś bardzo praktycznego, dzięki czemu nauczę się też pracy z css. Wyobrazam sobie ze ta strona internetowa była by zbiorem fragmentow nad którymi pracuje.
+Perhaps we take these spaces we move through every day for granted. But maybe we can learn to look at them differently; then nothing will stop us from imagining these spaces anew, imagining other uses, other functions, other possible ways of navigating between them. I believe the first step to do this is to pay attention. I want to reflect on how we perceive urban spaces and reimagine these narratives, by working on a magazine for observing and engaging with a city in a new way.'''
-I still want to work on a magazine or some form of publication/book. I like the idea of the magazine because it is a continuation, and besides, organizing an open call and including others in the magazine would be a great challenge for me. I want to work on something that I can continue after I graduate. A project that will bring me closer to other zine lovers and zine makers, a magazine that will be able to travel around various zine events.
-I would like to create a website for this, something very practical, thanks to which I will also learn how to work with CSS. I imagine this website would be a collection of fragments I'm working on.
+'''1. How do tools shape what we see?'''
+I'm interested in how even the simplest tools, which impose certain limitations, can open us up to unexpected opportunities. How can a tool with instructions or a script affect seeing our surroundings in a new way?
+References to “techniques of the observer”. Crary argues that the way we "observe" things didn't just evolve naturally but was shaped by new technologies, scientific discoveries, and social changes. Before photography and cinema, people’s understanding and experience of sight were very different.
+A reference to the artist, educator, and nun Sister Corita Kent, who, using such a simple tool as a cut-out frame in a piece of paper, encouraged her students to observe our surroundings with attention and curiosity. During a zine festival in Groningen, someone told me about her, saying that the paper tool in my project (part of the Scripts to Read the City project) reminded them of what Sister Corita called the finder.
+'''2. Methods for spontaneous encounters - Situationists approach and the art of chance'''
+This shift in how people saw things described by Crary was foundational for what we now call the "society of the spectacle," where we are heavily influenced by images and visual media. The term "society of the spectacle”, introduced by French theorist Guy Debord in his book The Society of the Spectacle, describes a society influenced and dominated by images, advertising, and media, where appearances are more important than authentic experience. Following this thought I would like to dive into "Report on the Construction of Situations" by Guy Debord (1957). In this manifesto, Debord explains the concept of "constructed situations" encouraging interventions in urban spaces that provoke new ways of seeing and interacting with the city.
-How do you plan to make it? Do the steps proposed sound feasible? Are there any steps omitted?
+I see this chapter as particularly important because it could serve as a testing ground for the magazine I'm working on.
-Straciłam rachubę czasu w moim początkowym planie. byłam zbyt zajęta panikowaniem i płakaniem. Pierwsze 3 miesiace przewidziałam na eksperymentowanie z różnymi narzedziami do obserwowania. Zbudowalam camere obscura z mojego pokoju, kartonu i tasmy, papierowy pop -up który odsłania fragmenty miasta, intensywnie używałam lornetki jako narzedzia do czytania miasta. Dużo fotografowałam moją ulicę i fragmentowałam zebrane zdjęcia.
+'''3. What it means to be an expert observer? Attentiveness and paying attention'''
-Do public moment zamierzam skupic się na mojej ulicy i zebrac jak najwiecej fragmentow jak mogę. Bawie się kolazem, cieciem zdjec, rysowaniem po nich, reorganizowaniem zebranych elementow, zarówno zdjec jak i tekstu.
-Po public moment zakladam ze znajdę rózne punkty połączen i patterns that are emerging.
-Mając to jako baze będę kontynowac z magazynem, zbierajac narzedzia do fragmentowania i fragmenty w całość.
+I’m inspired by observational cinema, or cinéma vérité, that aims to present life as it happens. Filmmaker acting more as an observer than a director, avoiding artificial staging is allowing situations to unfold naturally.
+I am inspired by how people who work in film view their surroundings, and through the process of editing and cutting footage, extract fragments, scenes, and direct our attention. How do they get to know a place through a camera? This tool makes them curious, makes them to talk to others, learn more, investigate, and film, then cut the footage, and rearrange fragments in a new order to show us how they see the world. The act of cutting footage into fragments and rearranging is something that inspire me in terms of what the narrative in the magazine could be.
-Następnie open call
-Chciałąbym zorganizować cos w stylu warsztatow, albo jenorazowego klubu, gdzie mieszamy fragmenty i słowa i razem kładamy w nową całość.
-Design of the magazine and print
+Dziga Vertov – Man with a Movie Camera (1929) - This documentary film captures a day in the life of a Soviet city through the eyes of a "movie camera man.”  There is no one plot, the film maker is experimenting with montage techniques. Vertov’s approach presents the city as a dynamic, interconnected system.
-Website
+Agnes Varda – Daguerreotypes (1976) - In this film Varda focuses on her own neighborhood in Paris, capturing the lives of local shopkeepers and residents on Rue Daguerre. Althogh Varda's style is not purely observational, as she includes poetic and personal comments, her work encourages a more intimate observation of the city tangled with human stories.
-I lost track of the time in my initial plan. I was too busy panicking and crying. I spent the first 3 months experimenting with various observation tools. I built a camera obscura from my room, cardboard and tape, a paper pop-up that reveals parts of the city, and I intensively used binoculars as a tool for reading the city. I photographed my street a lot and fragmented the collected photos.
+Frederick Wiseman – In Jackson Heights (2015)-  Wiseman’s observational, non-interventionist style invites viewers to engage with life as it unfolds. This documentary dives into the diverse neighborhood in Queens, New York, portraying the lives of its multicultural residents and examining issues of immigration, identity, and community.
-For now, I'm going to focus on my street and collect as many pieces as I can. He plays with collage, cutting photos, drawing on them, and reorganizing collected elements, both photos and text.
-After a public moment I assume that I will find various connection points and patterns that are emerging.
-With this as a base I will continue with the magazine, gathering the fragmentation tools and the pieces together.
-Then an open call
-I would like to organize something like a workshop or a one-time club, where we mix fragments and words and put them together into a new whole.
-Design of the magazine and print
-Website
+'''What documentaries taught me? Deriving from observational cinema'''
+In this context, the book Why I Make Documentaries by director Soda Kazuhiro is especially important to me. In it, he discusses observational filmmaking, speaking about rejecting the idea of preparing a script before shooting and instead creating a story based on discoveries that happen during the process. He also talks about the unexpected discoveries, encounters, and unintentional adventures that the observational filmmaking approach brings. I agree with not strictly adhering to a script, as it’s so easy to cut out even the most interesting scenes simply because they don’t fit a narrowly defined topic. On the other hand, I believe that a script that remains open to interpretation can actually enhance imagination and open up new ways of exploring public space. I believe that scripts and unpredictable encounters can complement each other, and I’m curious how I could explore this further.
+If this research document is meant to open me up to knowledge, and discoveries, how can I then share these insights with others? Research isn’t conducted to stay in a drawer but to be shared and engaged with. Since I’m investigating urban intervetion, and the power of materiality to encourage readers to see urban spaces in a new ways, I imagine telling the story and my findings in a very visual way, almost writing with images. Can I present argumentation in a purely visual form in one chapter?
+I'm not yet sure how exactly I will formulate my final final research question. Therefore I still dont have a very clear idea how I want to share this research, but I would like it to serve as a testing ground for the magazine.
-What is your timetable? Does the timing of the project’s realisation sound feasible?
+[[File:Binaculars.gif|thumb]]
-Why do you want to make it? Is the motivation for undertaking the project clear? If not, how can this be improved?
-What spark me to make this connection between reading a city and fragmenting? Żaden obraz miasta nie jest skonczony, widzimy tylko częsci. Zestawiając ze sobą tak różne fragmenty, możemy uchwycic ten kontrast, zgrzyt, napiecie.
-What spark me to make this connection between reading a city and fragmenting? No image of the city is complete, we only see parts. By juxtaposing such different fragments, we can capture the contrast, the friction, the tension.
+'''References:'''
-Who can help you and how? Are there people in your network that might be of help in developing this project?
+Johanathan Crary, Techniques of the Observer
-De Boog - kochani ludzie którzy kochaja robic rzeczy wspolnie i sa tez print enthusiasts.
+Georges Perec, Species of Spaces and Other Pieces
-Relation to previous practice: Is it clear how this project builds upon work done before
+Guy Debord, Report on the Construction of Situations(1957)
+The Situationist International (SI) - Situationist maps, like The Naked City (1957), fragment Paris into emotional zones, challenging the conventional ways cities are navigated and understood.
-Relation to a larger context: Is it clear how the work is embedded in a broader context of art works, theory, etc.?
+Soda Kazhiro, Why I make documentaries, on observational filmmaking
-References/bibliography: Are there any references or sources you feel are connected to this project?
-Thesis
-Intro aka WHAT do you want to research: Is it clear what this text is about, what is its central research question?
-For each proposed chapter: Is it clear what this chapter will look into and is it clear how it relates and works towards answering the central research question?
-Method aka HOW will you go about answering your research question: Is there a choice of research method and if so, is it a good fit with the central research question?
-Mode of address aka HOW you want to tell your story.: Is there a choice for a mode of address and if so, does it fit the topic and method of the thesis?
-Key Texts
+Kevin Lynch, The image of the city
-* Any recommendations of related works of art, publications, games, literature, theory, etc. are most welcome :)
-Related works  / inspiration
+Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
-	- https://www.kellianderson.com/books/planetarium.html
-	- Bruno Munari's books
-French new wave cinema (especially Agnes Varda)
+Rebecca Solnit, Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas (2010)
-	• hand cameras
-	• Techniques included fragmented, discontinuous editing, and long takes that allowed actors to explore a scene.
-	• The combination of realism, subjectivity, and commentary
-LOT-EK
+Jane Jacobs , The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) - Jacobs emphasized the importance of "eyes on the street" and mixed-use urban areas, critiquing large-scale modernist urban planning in favor of organic, community-oriented design.
-https://lot-ek.com/33496733
+Dziga Vertov – Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
+Agnes Varda – Daguerreotypes (1976)
+Frederick Wiseman – In Jackson Heights (2015)
-Rapid Prototypes
-Do you see the connection between the gestures towards the project, the proposed project and the thesis outline? Any feedback here is welcome, from spontaneous and intuitive associations, to feedback on strengths in the sketches and potential synthesis between the three (prototype, thesis, proposal).
-deconstrction reconstrction in both text
-Making books involves collecting, selecting, linking, forming connections, highlighting analogies and patters. Can a book have a special place in a way we perceive our surroundings?  Books as shared resources that help us observe, see differently, and encourage us to question reality.
-I would like to explore different approaches to storytelling. Explore hidden structures by working with tools to fragment and mannuals for building a narrative from fragments / modules to embrace multiple perspectives.
-Play with deconstructing and reconstructing from fragments embracing multiple perspectives, cinematic references, demands for another possible form of urban life.
-[[File:Shapingthestory.jpg|thumb]]
-<blockquote>book
-that
-is
-not
-bound,
-allows for rearrangement and bringing back to the front. Imagining alternative ways of transfromation.
-[[File:Screenshot 2024-10-16 at 13.09.58.png|thumb|left|284x284px]]
-[[File:Screenshot 2024-10-16 at 13.06.35.png|thumb|282x282px|center]]
-</blockquote>
- How rearrangement of shapes of content can result in other ways of telling stories?
-== Key words: ==
-'''Seeing, moving, relating, grabbing, fragmenting, publishing'''
-- interlinked elements - collection -context and audience -element of surprise (observational cinema) - fragmenting - tools - Relational - Conversational
-- Non-linear
-'''- modules - breaking up into smaller parts. Repurposing. Reimagining'''
-- Modularity - im intrested in the modularity as a way to look at things in a new way, allowing to repurpose a d reimagine. Observations in a public space is a big source of inspiration in that case, to see how things are combined together and change their function.
-[[File:Screenshot 2024-10-17 at 14.05.25.png|thumb|left]]
-[[File:Screenshot 2024-10-17 at 13.46.43.png|thumb]]
- M  O  D  U  L  A  R  I  T  Y  -  This is what is at the back of my mind. This is the small element that sparks my curiosity.
-  d e c o n s t r u c t i o n  and r e c o n s t r u c t i o n
-[[File:Screenshot 2024-10-17 at 14.07.43.png|thumb|center]]
-[[File:Modularity1.jpg|thumb|left]]
-[[File:Screenshot 2024-10-17 at 14.14.44.png|thumb|center]]
-== Questions ==
- '''How tools shape what we see and what is a role of cataloging those fragments of reality and rearranging their order? What connections and patterns can become visible?'''
- Explore how objects can be used to challenge our perception and expose overlooked aspects.
- How using everyday materials (like paper) can be used to reveal hidden aspects of the city and create new forms of engagement with the city?
- '''How can a publishing practice allow multiple voices or perspectives to coexist celebrating unruliness?'''
- How can publishing practices create '''networks of exchange''', where publications are not just produced for consumption but become part of ongoing conversations and relationships?
- '''How the element of surprise influence perception and understanding?'''
- How meaning is constructed when traditional legibility or narrative is removed?
-<nowiki/>**********
-A) What do you want to write about ? Think about what you want to exploreand how do you want to tell your story
-'''pool of ideas:'''
-- Why I want to read a city
-- Places camera / tool takes you
-- Changing assumptions throug observation or thanks to observation. Changing your understanding of a place. Surprices that are revealed thanks to observing
-- Scripts vs non linear narrative (inspired by observational cinema - there is no objectyive truth)
-- Participation
-'''B) Outline 3 key issues you want to explore'''
-. Exploration of how we perceive our surroundings.
-	What it means to be an expert observer
-. What kind of city we accually want? Larning city - urban space as a space activating diffrent ways of knowing, learning and being together. City as a space for (un)learning practices.
-. Caring and participating through self publishing
-	Hierarchy and dominant norm - How knowledge production can be more horizontal?
-	De-hierarchicalization of knowledge - cultural exchanges, more intuitive langueage, using text, images to present other narratives
-	Collective creations
-	'''How it connects……..'''
-	One question and turn that into 3 sub topics:
-	How I can connect to the city by reading it with others?