User:Mxrwho/The Final Project/The what, the why, the how
The what
An installation comprising a series of projects on different media placed close to each other, and (at least two) mirrors, the first one at the entry point and the second.
(1) An illustrated booklet on biases and gender dysphoria, based on my personal experience.
(2) An audio playback device (hopefully 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) Three virtual midi devices (for now built in python but may convert to Web API), where on one the 'player' 'plays' between "I am", "You are", "He/She is" and "They are", on the other one each key produces a derogatory characterization and on the third one each key produces positive adjectives. (It invites people to feel overwhelmed by what is thrown at them and to make combinations that turn the negative wording into positive.)
(4) A series of playful short advertisements on screen(s) playing on repeat, promoting the notion of empowerment through subverting derogatory characterizations with the help of repetition.
The visitor is invited to sit in front of the first mirror, then interact with each project in order to experience processes and results that occur naturally in societal interactions, and then sit in front of a second mirror and fill in the prompt "I am ___". This order adds a performative dimension to the work and creates a visual analogy with the positioning of the individual in relation to nominalism. [The purpose is to show 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) An illustrated booklet. 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) Three virtual midi devices (for now built in python but may convert to Web API), where on one the 'player' 'plays' between "I am", "You are", "He/She is" and "They are", on the other one each key produces a derogatory characterization and on the third one each key produces positive adjectives.
(4) A series of playful short advertisements on screen(s) playing on repeat, promoting the notion of empowerment through subverting derogatory characterizations with the help of repetition. Advertisements can be a good vehicle towards this purpose. I am considering colorful stop-motion videos with cardboard models (rather than fully animated).
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) Mid-October: One of the songs is ready (and by the end of the week hopefully a second one) to be presented at the public moment (beginning November) in a digital format. It was created using Audacity and the music was made purely by manipulating the "lyrics" to an extreme degree. One more is in the making, but this time I will use a different approach. 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. Should I go for cassettes instead?
(3) (Update 22 October) The three midi devices are integrated into one. The "game" is better designed now, but I still need to make some changes based on the feedback I got on one of them during the colloquium (include more voices) but I have made some choices regarding the direction this project is taking. Since the project will be presented on a screen, it makes sense to add instructions on its use (and maybe a short introduction) there. I will also create a Web API version and decide between the two. This is something that will 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. In this project I will focus on gender dysphoria and biases to keep it narrow and hopefully relatable enough.
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 creation of biases, the formation of habit, the process of overturning biases, the role of repetition and performativity. Each work will contribute to the narrative in a different manner.
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.