User:Mxrwho/The Final Project/The what, the why, the how
The what
A series of projects on different media placed close to each other, creating a circle.
(1) Different (printed or maybe not only) versions of a photo book portraying a beach with poetic a text on repetition. (The different printed versions of the book stress the point that repetition doesn't necessarily produce the same results.)
(2) A record player and headphones with a spot light above the deck and a chair next to it. Four songs, hopefully pressed on vinyl, based on interviews with various people about their experience with biases. (Since much of nominalism is distributed as spoken word, the auditory element is important. The music will also include loops and repeated phrases, showing again how repetition can lead to novelty.)
(3) A virtual midi device, where each key produces a derogatory characterization. (A second one with positive adjectives.) It invites people to feel overwhelmed by what is thrown at them (and to make combinations that turn the negative labeling into positive).
(4) A series of playful short advertisements on screen playing on repeat, promoting the notion of empowerment through subverting stereotypes.
The visitor sits in the circle and interacts with each project in order to experience processes and results that occur naturally in societal interactions. This seating of the visitor in the center of the circle adds a performative dimension to the work and creates a visual analogy with the positioning of the individual in relation to dynamic nominalism. [The purpose of this design isn't to intimidate but to empower, showing exactly that there is agency for the (re-)formation, or indeed retainment, of identity and norms in our ability to think and interact with others, even when the setting is overwhelming.]
The how
The power and the many faces of repetition will be explored through different media:
(1) A photo book of the same beach with poetic text on repetition. Different printed versions of the book stress the point that repetition doesn't necessarily produce the same results. The book was created using GIMP for editing the images and SCRIBUS for the typesetting.
(2) Four songs, hopefully pressed on vinyl (currently researching different options), based on interviews with various people about their experience with biases. Since much of nominalism is distributed as spoken word, the auditory element is important. The music will also include loops and repeated phrases, showing again how repetition can lead to novelty.
(3) A virtual midi device, where each key produces a derogatory characterization. It invites people to feel overwhelmed by what is thrown at them.
(4) A series of playful short advertisements on screen playing on repeat, promoting the notion of empowerment through subverting stereotypes. Advertisements can be a good vehicle towards this purpose. I am considering colorful stop-motion videos with cardboard models (rather than fully animated).
The work as a whole is unfolding through exploring the role of repetition in the establishment of stereotypes, the formation of habit, the process of overturning labels, again through repetition. Each work will contribute to the narrative in a different manner, although repetition will be central in all of them.
Starting points: A frequent walk on the same route, the spreading of an opinion, an obsessive thought. Repetition and nominalism. Repetition as variation. Repetition as progress. The narrative value of repetition. Repetition and performativity.
Keywords: Dynamic nominalism, repetition bias, interactivity, intentionality, labeling theory. Associations, metaphors, counter-mapping, the dialectical space as a dynamic, contextuality.
Timetable
I will try to have everything ready or brought to a very good point by the end of February, and then fine-tune.
(1) The book is already there as a prototype, I need to make more (and different) copies. Hopefully I can present it during the public moment (end of October - beginning of November).
(2) I got the interviews at the end of last month and I am processing them in the beginning of October. I expect to have at least one or two songs ready by mid-October. Maybe also to present at the public moment (beginning November) in a digital format. Probably the most time-consuming part of the project as a whole will be getting the vinyl pressed and this is why I consider the end of February a safe estimation.
(3) One of the two midi devices is also there, I have presented it during the colloquium and got feedback on it, I need to make some changes (include more voices, decide on a sound methodology so that I can justify my choices). I need to create the second one (shouldn't take more than a week in total, so mid to end October I should have both, plus a clear idea and even a manual about how to combine them). I will also create a Web API version and decide between the two. This is something that will hopefully also be presented during the public moment.
(4) The last part is the most underdeveloped at the moment, so I need to get started asap and have something concrete ready before Christmas.
I will ideally also have the first good draft of the thesis ready by February.
The why
We are shaped by how others see us, to a degree that we often disregard. I want to explore the effect of other people's words, of the standards and values imposed on us by existing beliefs (and by the consumerist culture), and how the power of words shifts through action.
The who can help
Probably no one. I am doomed. Joking.
The people who participated in the workshops and submitted interviews have already helped a lot.
Feedback during the public moment or during other instances will also help.
Varied sources and conversations, from a common understanding of biases to a specialist's opinion help.
Maybe some insights into vinyl pressing and web API's vs python scripts could be useful.
Relation to previous practice
A lot of work with text, sound and image. The project brings practices that I have used in the past together. Regarding research, it also relates to work I have done in the past regarding nominalism, eg. to the SI23 project that questioned the server-client roles and the relevant terms.
Relation to a larger context
The work as a whole is unfolding through exploring the role of repetition in the creation of biases, the formation of habit, the process of overturning biases, again through repetition. Each work will contribute to the narrative in a different manner, although repetition will be central in all of them.
Starting points: A frequent walk on the same route, the spreading of an opinion, an obsessive thought. Repetition and nominalism. Repetition as variation. Repetition as progress. The narrative value of repetition. Repetition and performativity.
Keywords: Dynamic nominalism, repetition bias, interactivity, intentionality. Associations, metaphors, counter-mapping, the dialectical space as a dynamic, contextuality.