Blog compilation PDF: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KTC8rCGZvs07gwV7JW7AUX_TQVRgByV4
Final project documentation PDF: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JmPncEBQvnV1WVG9jPBL2mnJ85ZSQR5I
thanks!
Week 9 was dedicated to finishing our projects in class and having opportunities to get feedback from the TA and Kaitlin. Thankfully my proposal to change my project from the dual screen device to a set of postcards was me with approval and I began work on creating short video works that could be activated via the Artivive AR app. My focus will have to be on rising sea levels, animal welfare, and air pollution as the Artivive service only allows me to create three artworks for free before requiring me to subscribe at an unreasonably steep price.
During Week 8, we had the opportunity to meet and talk with a guest speaker Kaitlin Bryson. We all reviewed each other's progress on our projects and I found this time valuable to reflect on my own project as well as be inspired by others' processes and progress. I wasn't present for the second class but the time I did spend was valuable in continuing to hone down my project's focus and redefine it from a digital screen experience into a printed postcard + augmented reality one.
During Week 7, we began focusing on the role of genetics and genetic engineering - specifically in CRISPR, a recently discovered innovative technology that may be (or is already) the key to changing life as we know it. CRISPR allows us to manipulate specific genomes within the genetic code of things such as plants, animals, and even humans.
This week in class, we got to experience the ArtSci installation and interactive experience in which a pad served as a stage for users to walk up on and balance in order to experience the effects and implications of noise pollution and microplastics in the ocean. What I found most interesting about this art installation was the use of sound design and its interactions with the visual of trying to keep the plankton still and calm.
This week on Monday, we visited the Biomedical Library to view a special collection of old literature, ornaments, toys, decorations, and books. The collection was impressive and featured things such as ant farms, a book created out of compost bags, a collection of grain with instructions to create flour, and a book comprised of toxic lead.
This week, after exploring the world of fungi and micro-organisms, I felt especially inspired by the wide variety of mushrooms and fungi, including those that break down plastic. But besides the mushrooms we ate in class and the mycelium material we made using kombucha, I was curious about psychedelic mushrooms, their history, and current placing in modern culture.
in thinking about plastics...
they're used to wrap and package bread
which is made of water and flour (and etc)
water that's central to our environment
and used in recipes for sustainable materials like mycelium
organic materials like this require time to cultivate
if we're ok with plastics lasting thousands of years
we need to have the patience to create a more sustainable environment
???
This week, after reviewing the workshop series from the previous weekend, we reviewed Victoria Vesna's Hox Zodiac project. We then began reviewing each animal and surveying the class for their background, stories, and histories behind their corresponding zodiac animals. Each animal apparently had a corresponding color, organ, taste, and more. These characteristic selections were what I found most interesting about each animal in the zodiac.
The most exciting portion of the symposium that took place on Thursday was the piece and introduction by Ina Conradi because she explained her involvement with the Media Art Nexus at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
Edited 04/09 to add this introduction: