Wearable Project: Progress #2

So, I've been thinking about themes to work with. I'm not coming up with anything new, but I wanted to think about what fashion is and its functions for the average woman. A lot of clothing is designed to first hide and then disguise, cover up the appearance and then change it into an ideal shape. I'm thinking about using tulle and LED lights to conceal and transform parts of the human figure, perhaps with footwear (a boot, maybe?).

Fun and Relevant!

http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-blow-on-this-dress/

"Bat Head" Hypersensory Headgear

Here's the plan so far. Creating a realistic bat head is secondary to the function of the headpiece, which is to convert input from an embedded microphone into the operation of the headset's LEDs. When the user makes a noise, the LEDs will activate, allowing the user to see in the dark. Not exactly echolocation, but one can certainly feel "like" a bat in some sense.

Wearable Technology

I've been trying to figure out this fixation on bats that I have this semester. I realized that it is the physiological qualities of the bat (hyper-advanced senses, true mammalian flight), not the "psychological" qualities (mysterious, eerie, misunderstood) that I'm most interested in. A comparison of two comic-book characters outlines some of the differences.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman

I think it can be said that Batman's fixation with the bat draws from the thoughts and emotions that the image of the bat inspires in others. If a bat's physiology was not helpful in executing Batman's goals, it can probably be said that Batman would not retain any bat-inspired costume elements. Surely winged flight is an advantage for any crime-fighter, but Batman has never accomplished true powered mammalian flight (if anything, he can glide, depending on the incarnation. Comic lore really isn't my area of expertise but I'm going from the core idea of Batman here.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-Bat


This character, on the other hand, exemplifies the other qualities of a bat - the physiological qualities. He is capable of powered flight, produces and synthesizes echolocative signals, and generally looks like a giant bat. He makes an interesting foil to the Batman character. This is also the character, of the two, with whom I can most closely identify. If given the choice, I probably wouldn't care about fighting crime or creating an alter ego for myself. I'd just want to fly around and raid fruit stands.

So I established that I don't want to be Batman. Seems trivial, but I think it was an important step in understanding this "bat complex" I seem to have developed.

Here is a paper written by a modern philosopher named Thomas Nagel. In it, he describes why a human can never truly know what it is like to be a bat. He's actually striving to illustrate a much larger point, which he states better than I could. Repeating it here wouldn't do it justice, but if it's something that I decide to reference explicitly in the final piece, I'll do my best to distill some of those ideas. I'm not afraid to admit that it's pretty daunting stuff, in terms of first-time-around comprehension, but it's very relevant to some of the ideas we're exploring as Digital Media artists. I recommend checking it out if you want a good challenge.
What Is It Like To Be a Bat? http://www.clarku.edu/students/philosophyclub/docs/nagel.pdf

The paper is summarized on Wikipedia thusly: In "What is it Like to Be a Bat?", Nagel argues that consciousness has essential to it a subjective character, a what it is like aspect. He states that "an organism has conscious mental states if and only if there is something that it is like to be that organism—something it is like for the organism."[6]

If nothing else, I can grasp the gist of this; as a human, I will never experience the act of emitting echolocative signals and perceiving their resonances as spatial understanding. That is an ability limited exclusively to the consciousness of echolocating organisms. But on the other hand, how close to that experience does something have to be in order to be considered "like" that experience? Can I draw similarities to an experience that is structurally very different, but distills some of the experiential qualities of echolocation into a format understandable to human consciousness?

I'm going to create a piece of headgear that simulates the transference of sound production to visual information; the mechanism by which this is accomplished is different in almost every way from bat echolocation. But it is something that a human can experience. In keeping with my sense of aesthetics, yes, it will probably look like a large modified bat head.

Will post sketches as they are scanned in.

Wearable Technology Project Idea

I want to do something with augmented technology. I've done a few projects in the past that have to do with this. I've tried looking for videos of my projects, but haven't managed to find them; I intend to post them once I find them.

Two of the pieces used a Wii remote in conjunction with an IR-emitting glove that I made. Through wearing this glove, a person could control a remote-controlled car (in one project) by just moving his or her hand. The person can control the car essentially with only his or her mind (the mind tells the hand/arm to move, and the hand/arm tells the car to move) all without touching the car. Another project used the same apparatus to control a MIDI keyboard. The person moved his or her hand horizontally or vertically in order to produce different sounds as if they were moving their fingers over an actual keyboard. For example, if the hand was placed to the left, lower notes could be played, and higher notes were achieved by moving the hand to the right. Sharps and flats could also be produced by moving the fingers slightly up (mimicking the positions of the fingers on a real keyboard/piano). For these, I was very interested in controlling something that 1) had no physical interaction but had a very physical result, and 2) controlling something that doesn't really exist (at least physically).

For this project, I'm thinking about doing some sort of head-mounted device that inserts something virtual into the real world in a believable way. I'm not sure if this is going to be what it turns out to be, but this is my starting point.

Final Project Ideas

For my final project I was thinking of expanding a previous project I did with the keyboard triggered sampling. A predeceser of this kind of technology could be an mpc machine, here's a video of a guy playing on the machine:

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhdI1h0y00y06O9B4l

Wearables Progress

I was originally sort of pursuing a wifi-reactive jacket, and I haven't completely ruled it out yet, but I'm wondering how to make it different than this.

I've started to work on another idea with being completely anti-fashion, and purely utilitarian. It would probably involve a modified flight suit, and be more of a performance piece.

Starfleet Uniforms initially come to mind, as in their universe, they contain electronics that monitor vital statistics, communications, etc. They're pretty stylish, too. I using a flight suit because of the utility of it. They're covered with pockets, and pretty durable.

I did a piece last semester with going to the mall in a costume made from a flight suit, and videotaped reactions, which were pretty mixed. Wearing something vastly different from the normal, accepted fashion somehow strains social behaviors. I felt like I was being treated on a lower social level than everyone else, as they stared or even talked down to me. I found that interesting, at least.

Artist Presentation: Susumu Tachi and TachiLab

I'm going to present a few different wearable technologies invented by those at Tachi Lab in Tokyo.

Here's a Youtube channel that shows off a lot of their technologies:

http://www.youtube.com/user/tachilab#p/u

Artist: Studio 5050 (Despina Papadopoulos)

I couldn't decide on just one artist (more, I couldn't find too much information on a single artist I really liked), so I am going to present the work by Studio 5050, a multidisciplinary design studio based in New York. It's led by Despina Papadopoulos, and investigates the growing connections between art, design, fashion, and technology. The work of Studio 5050 blends "the style of an artist with the techne of an electrical engineer," and create electrically infused apparel and accessories.

The studio was founded in 1995 by Papadopoulos, and has included electrical designer and engineer Zach Eveland, information architect and painter Dana Chang, writer and editor John F. Sullivan, political scientist and aspiring filmmaker Ion Constas, and writer, critical theorist and independent curator Helena Papadopoulos as members of the collaboration.

Studio 5050 produces works that are interactive and innovative, and often surprisingly practical in terms of being basically functional, or catering to fairly simple wants. What I like best about their work is the sense of humor present in all of the finished pieces, especially the ClickSneaks.

Despina is especially interested in creating what she calls "philosophy machines," by using art to articulate an idea in space. As the human body is already home to natural parts heavy with symbolism, apparel seemed to Despina an obvious place to start. Clothing is, in a sense, a connection between the inside and outside. Despina hopes to create art that shows the "magic" of technology, and lend technology a softer, more human side, as conveyed in the works "Moi" and "Embrace-Me Jackets."


Moi: "Moi is a wearable electronic radiant light device. It is a wearable accessory representing a moment of magic. Everyone who has a MOI has a story to tell. Moi is a sparkle that creates a trail. A gift. The gift of light."

Something I find particularly attractive about the work of Studio 5050 is their need to use art to solve a problem. According to Despina, "wearable technology introduces unique design challenges on top of the technological challenges." The work of Studio 5050 is about connections, finding unique solutions to an array of problems or questions. The Temperature sweater provides simple yet useful answers in the form of showing the temperature on an LED alphanumerical display, with one sleeve showing Fahrenheit, and the other in Celsius. This temperature display is meant to highlight the connection between the wearer and the environment surrounding the wearer.




According to Despina, "...in my Studio, we are creating a series of limited edition design garments (the temperature sweater is one of them) so we can subvert the issues of large scale manufacturing. We also focus on very simple iterations of technology; non-functional instances of technology in the everyday. We think integrating technology into clothing has to happen slowly, simply and evoke the serendipitous, the frivolous, even. To excite people's imagination and invoke humor. We are curious to see what happens."

http://www.5050ltd.com/

http://www.crunchwear.com/category/companies/studio-5050/

http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#1U2Qln/www.groovygreen.com/groove?p=2717/

"Moi" - http://www.moinewyork.com/

Interesting Site

I don't think there's a link for this up on the syllabus site (I checked and it wasn't there, but please forgive me if I missed it), so I'll post it here:

Wearable Art Blog

It's got some fun stuff! And here's a group of artists I really wanted to present, but it doesn't have much to do with technology. However, I'll still probably say something about them tomorrow, because I really love their stuff.

Urban Camouflage

Final project mind-floaties

Okay so at first I was brainstorming all of these ideas concerning the arduino. When I first heard about this project I thought to myself " I don't want to work with the arduino", however when it was time to brainstorm everything centralized around it. The idea I latched onto was having this wearable vest which would have an LED screen on the pocket. I would have various sensors in the room, erhaps on the walls, so that whent hey sensed you they would send a signal to the arduino in your vest and it would write this message inr elation to you. It would give you this feeling of the technology being voyeuristic, or having this unknown eye watching you. I got all these links:


http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/01/sserial2mobile_sms_library_for_ardu.html

http://www.libelium.com/squidbee/index.php?title=New_GPRS_module_for_Arduino_%28Hilo_-_Sagem%29#Using_the_shield_in_standalone_mode_-_Send_SMS

http://www.libelium.com/tienda/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=59&osCsid=8bda9122d06c5a8ce047b3c7467df72a

http://tinkerlog.com/2009/05/15/interfacing-arduino-with-a-telit-gm862/

http://www.hwkitchen.com/products/gsm-playground/

http://dev.squarecows.com/2009/01/31/sserial2mobile-sms-library-for-arduino/

http://www.ladyada.net/make/eshield/index.html

I went from the LED screen to having the arduino text message you, which would be even greater. I researched and everything, but when I finished I felt it was getting a bit convoluted and decided I should clear the slate to make sure I didn't have any more ideas.

In my new brainstorm I went back to how I originally wanted. I didn't want to do my project with the arduino. While the project I was coming up with had potential, it would require at least another arduino and alot more money to put things together. A wearable doesn't have to use technology like the arduino. I was just so blinded by the arduino that it was hard to see. So i had to think really hard on how to make a project that I'd like without utilizing the arduino. If I could see past that wall, a whole slew of ideas could come to me.

Anyway I don't know what set it off, but suddenly my mind whispered "magnets" and my thoughts lit up! Magnets! Of course! I love magnets!

So jumping from there the idea that i am now favoring is to create boots with magnets in them. (not literally create boots, but recreate them) I know that with my lack experience I would not be able to make sturdy boots that could withstand the pull of magnets as I'd like them to, so I will use old boots or buy old ones. I'll also get a survey of everyone's shoe sizes so I can have 3 pairs of shoes. My feet are pretty big, so mine can fit most of the class, however I'll buy some old men's shoes or get my dad's? Whatever, that's not a problem.

Anyway I want to embed magnets in the sole of a pair of shoes. I want to creat a metal carpet; either with a metal sheet beneath a rug, or spots of metal on different parts of it where people must walk. I want to use both the positive and negative sides of the magnet so that, ideally, if you step on one side your shoe will be slightly repelled from the spot. If you step on the other, it will be a little harder to move your feet.

I want to reinvent walking and create an entirely new experience with it. What is the purpose of shoes that you can't walk in? WHat kind of conflict does that create? i want to find out.

First I have to test out the magnets Katerie has to see exactly how sensitive (distance wise) they are. I know they're strong, but I need to figure out what part of the shoe they need to be in. I also need to figure out if I need to buy stronger magnets or what. It's great I figured this out before break since I'm going home Wednesday. I can get all the old shoes I need. ^^

Wearable Project: Progress #1

Okay, so I've got a bazillion ideas swimming through my head, all fun with LED lights (which I really want to use) but not really connecting with art (haha, minor detail!).

Of them are:

A planetarium skirt (because it's fun and I'd wear it, both bad reasons, I'm sure)
A swim cap covered in LEDs (because really, who would swim with a bunch of electric nibs on their head?)
Hosiery lined with LED lights (I would LOVE a pair of these for fun, but again, I can't really think of an artistic reason for them)
A pair of pumping pumps (This one I'm not quite sure how I'd make, and it wouldn't be with LED lights...I was thinking of pumps on which you could adjust the heel height. Again, neat, but nothing to do with art)

WHAT DOES HOSIERY MEAN?

And I'm thinking of more ideas, but I thought I'd post this first.

Artist: Sabrina Raaf

Sabrina Raaf is an artist based in Chicago. She works with interactive sculpture, or, experimental sculpture media as well as photography. She has displayed art from 1995 to present and is currently an assistant professor at the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois. Her works focus on making people aware of the social space that they share. Her creations are dependent on the environment so that the works become more and more functional in relation to how many people come into the room. Her work's existence is dependent on our existence.
She is not specifically a wearable artist, however there are 2 pieces which I consider wearable art.

http://www.raaf.org/

http://www.raaf.org/projects.php?pcat=2&proj=10

...Saturday

The first is ...Saturday, which was created in 2002. Raaf was interested in the secret and intimate conversations between people which happened over the radio waves through telephone, cellphone, walkie talkie, etc. She collects snippets of these conversations, unbeknownst to the talkers, through use of consumer spyware. In the gallery, her piece is a white glove which a person must wear. If the person put the finger of the glove against their forehead, they are able to hear the conversations she recorded without actually using your ears. She uses bone transducers which turns vibrations into sound, allowing users to hear through touch.

http://www.raaf.org/projects.php?pcat=2&proj=11

Dry Translator

Dry Translator was created in 2002 as well. It is an installation as well as a wearable. When you walk in you will see 2 vests. The visitor will put on the vest and interact with a temporary wall jutting out from the main wall. Inside of the wall are microphones acting kind of like stethoscopes. They coordinate with 5 speakers which are located inside of the vest. So when you touch the wall, you feel it through your vest. You must explore the wall and discover the most sensitive spots on the wall. You may also record your actions against the wall sot hat when someone else puts on the vest they can press play and feel your interactions.


Why I chose Raaf:

I actually remembered this artist from my Sculpture of Machines class last year and really liked these two pieces. It was perfect since we were doing wearables. Also I was inspired by the vest piece to do my upcoming project for this class. I want to do something where you are wearing a vest or shirt and it interacts with the wall. I won't be putting my devices inside of a wall like with her piece, but I would like to have these visual things on the outside of the wall that people can interact with. I haven't fully developed anything. This is just the direction I'd like to go in.

Artist: Barbara Layne

For my artist I chose Barbara Layne, a professor at Concordia University in Montreal who focuses primarily on wearable technology as art. I stumbled across one of her works last year when looking through videos from the projects I saw on the Siggraph Website. (Siggraph is a yearly conference designed to cater those in the field of electronics, art, and 3D technology).

While teaching both undergrad and graduates in the art department Fibres (fiber/weaving/textiles), she also is one of the creators of Hexagram, which is a research institution that works with the intersecting of art, technology, and fashion. Hexagram is further broken down into five smaller teams, one of which, subTela, a group comprised mostly by students that works with textiles and electronics to create wearable technology art.

In 2007 she became well-known for her work "Jacket Antics," in which she created a pair of jackets that interact based on proximity of the wearers. The LED screens on the back of both jackets changes dependent on how the two users interact.

As quoted by her website:

"Jacket Antics are two garments that have unique texts and designs scrolling through the LED array on each of the backs. If the wearers hold hands, the LED arrays presents a third, synchronous message that scrolls from one to the other. When the wearers let go of their hands, the message reverts back to the individual themes. Traditional black linen yarns are woven alongside light emitting diodes, microcontrollers and sensors.

The garments impart meaning through both material and electronic languages. The capacity for interactivity in the animated cloth displays extend the narrative qualities of fabric and provide new possibilities for dynamic social interaction."

While I think this is an interesting piece, I was drawn more to some of her other works such as "Wearable Absence" (2009) and "Tornado Dress" (2007).

"Wearable Absence," which is a collaboration with another Hexagram team, is an interactive article of clothing that displays video, sound, and text based off of data being retrieved by biosensors. Unfortunately, the public is not privy to what sensors are being used, however, its purpose is to quantify the physical state of the wearer and display appropriate "memories." The system is designed to be integrated with a variety of clothes. The clothing chosen is a garment that was once wore by a person who is now deceased. Their "memories" are then stored on a database where the information is wirelessly streamed to the microcontroller which displays the appropriate memory based on the input from the wearer.

"Tornado Dress" is a lot simpler in its design and function, but I find that its simplicity is one of the garment's strengths. Using three photocells sewn into the outside of the dress, ambient light is detected and changes the display in a grid of LEDs (which is on the lower left portion of the dress). The LED display acts as a visualization of lightning, changing every time the lighting on the dress changes. The name tornado comes from the fabric they chose, which was a print of tornado.

Layne has created and worked on various other wearable technology which can be viewed (and watched on her website. She offers classes to the public as well, hoping to raise notoriety in this field. I strongly suggest visiting her website and scrolling through her projects, all of which are accompanied by a video showing the garment in motion.

project unfortnates

So I completed my project by Friday night, and printed the rest of it Saturday afternoon. I tested everything and used a checklist just to make sure. I even tested the connection to the projector on Thursday, but that projector broke apparently.

Let me assess what went wrong today. Everything set up and I just had to set up the audio. I didn't realize the audio wouldn't play through the computer.

A solution was given to bring up another iChat window and chat that way. That hsould have worked. However Kenya's computer would not be able to pick up my username. And while my computer would sent the video chat invitation, Kenya's computer would not recognize it.

Enough time was wasted and we had to resort to phones. I guess it was supposed to be that way originally (before I added the video). I had spent so much time testing the video and getting the backgrounds however, that the video element was hard to let go.

Then for some reason the computer refused to pick up the background and show whatever background I picked. I don't understand that at all. I tested it in my room (which also had somewhat white walls) and it worked fine. For this one however, it didn't pickup anything unless I used the default backgrounds provided. I tried it with the lights on and off and it stayed the same.

Then when it came to the actual conversation I only got to talk to one person. I know time was short and I had been allotted quite alot of time. I'm just frustrated that even with all that preparation, and me even coming 30 minutes early to class, that it took so long to set up only to fail. And Jason's convo ran long, so no one else got to interact. And it's like all of this work went into the project and the class could only see half of it. It wasn't fully experienced and I got not satisfaction from it. FAIL.

I tried to prepare for this. I don't know how an of this could have been prevented except if that I had eliminated video from the entire thing. That seems to be the solution. So if I had to do it over there would be no video. It's unfortunate all that work goes away, but all the problems go away too. :/

Google Earth Files

Just click to download these files. (They are zipped)

Google Earth Tour

If you don't have a way to unzip these files, you can download a program to extract them:

MACOSX

WINDOWS

Just drag the extracted files (there should be 6 *.kmz files) into google earth and it should load all of the files automatically. Click the folder for the particular site that you would like to view and start the tour!

If you don't have google earth, you can download it for free at:

Google Earth

Project 2 Link

http://www.ajsgrayson.com/College/Fall2009_Senior/Experiments/Project2/Terraform1.html

Project 2

Here are the six web sites that I used for my projects and the data that went along with them. There was a lot more data originally that I parsed through, but I feel that these particular sets were the best for discussing my point.

I gathered this information from multiple sources, including some on my own. However the two websites that I used which provided the most information was:

IP address finder
(This was used to find the IP address of any website)


IP2Location
(This was the website that I used to find the longitude and latitude of each IP address)

I also used a program called "IPNetMonitorX" which unfortunately is not free but would show me where my packets where being routed through and information about each server along the way.

Project Progress

My idea for my project really stemmed from the tour I posted earlier. Locations that are particularly relevant to me because of the memories associated with them. How I remember these places spatially and how they actually are creates a stark contrast. Instead of an on screen type project I would like to create a scrapbook or sketchbook of some sorts, that reflect certain locations, my memories of them and the space, as well as how they are currently.

My relationship with these locations are very much personal and aren't necessarily affected by the actual distances and places, only my memories of them. I would like to layer these maps in such a way that informs them and gives them context, either using tracing paper or transparencies.

Map Project: Progress #5

I know I will not be completely finished tomorrow, as I'm not sure what I'm doing is the best route to take this project. As of right now, I am using the lines derived from my traced steps in an atlas.

Virtual Reconstruction

The project had a rocky start, but here's what I'm running with. I'm working on virtually reconstructing my childhood house. I have been near it, but I haven't been inside it for nearly 15 years. To help suggest the recall aspect of the reconstruction, it will be textured in hand-made textures. By the end it might even have a vaguely Nintendo 64-era 3D look, as that was my first experience with 3D gaming, and it occurred within this very house.

Local Brochure: Islip Edition

Google Map

My local would have to lie in the quaint town of Islip (not to be confused with the chillier Iceland), on Long Island, just east of New York City and North of Fire Island.

I was born and raised in the hamlet of Islip, within the Islip township. Because of this, people of the hamlet of Islip have developed a superiority complex as being the true Islip of all of Islip; but don't let that fool you! Each hamlet is pretentious and inapproachable in its own special way.

The town of Islip consists of many hamlets, including (but not limited to) Great River, Bay Shore, Bohemia, East Islip, Islip, West Islip, Islip Terrace, Central Islip, Brentwood, as well as four villages and other communities that extend to the Famed Fire Island (the general setting for Peter Benchley's JAWS, as well as many fabulous Gay Friendly parties).



Fire Island is a place accessible by ferry where I used to spend many Fourth-of-July's and lazy summer days, either digging for clams or struggling to find some reading material in the home of my Grandma's wealthy friends. Fire Island is a major tourist spot, as it gets its name from the vast stretch of poison ivy that covers its surface and people seem to love scratching themselves. Whereas I have always found it to be a little boring, I might be considered biased, as I hate the sun--which is another source of the island's moniker, as its predominantly Caucasian residents frequently enjoy extreme cases of sunburn. Especially good examples of this can be seen in one of the many nude beaches scattered along the Atlantic coast.



When you're properly bathed and burned, a place to immerse yourself in the true spirit of Islip's yuppie-ry would be either in the absurdly extravagant estates of Bayberry Point (once home to Mario Puzo, the Entenmann's--yes, makers of soft cookies--and close to Billy Joel's ex-girlfriend), or at the eternally evolving hoighty-toighty restaurant on Main Street, Nico's. (Incidentally, the current owners of Nico's also live on Bayberry Point. Rumored to be members of the Greek mafia, their house is worth well over $2 Mill, and they are the only known family in Islip to have a bullet-proof front door.) Nico's owes its allure not to the sub-par Italian food it offers or even the soapy fountains that spout at its front next to the town Animal Hospital, but to its lush architecture and the story behind it. It was most recently known as The Gatsby, an equally arrogant atmosphere but with better prime rib, and before, it was my favorite place for a birthday dinner, Tangs, for elegant Chinese dining. But many years before that, it received even more business as the town brothel.



Once you've satisfied the urge to feel important, you can go somewhere to eat some real food. Gino's Tuscany Restaurant and Pizzeria is arguably the most popular restaurant in Islip, and for good cause. It has wonderful Italian food at reasonable prices, a warm, Pier-1-does-American-Italy themed decor, and a staff full of friendly locals. Its versatility as being both a hot spot for teens to grab a slice and a favorite of panini-munching senior citizens adds to its success in business, and lends it a uniquely pleasant atmosphere.



As for breakfast, you can't go wrong with a sausage and egg sandwich at Kleiber's Deli. (Actually, you can go wrong--in the past, the owner has made the unfortunate habit of hiring staff members who aren't quite through with rehab and always seem to mistake the silliest ingredients for each other...like ketchup and bacon. Or sometimes they forget the sandwich entirely, deciding that a roll would be easier on the customer's heart.) Kleiber's Deli--which happens to be right down the street from my house--is the convenient place to go for lunch, breakfast, and 10-year old cereal. It used to be a wonderful bright red, and was therefore known as the little red deli, but after its most recent paint job, I feel as though some of the magic is lost.



After you've eaten your way through Main and Maple Street, go east and then south (towards Town Beach) down South Bay Avenue to the spooky, hidden, and slightly haunted Scully Estate. This mansion has been through many hands, from homeowners to the Audobon Society. It is now property of Suffolk County (a.k.a. abandoned and creepy), and a wonderful spot to trespass, if you have the guts. In truth, I don't know that it is haunted. I've acted in a haunted house there once and scared myself, and it looks pretty old. But the scariest thing I've experienced was the fear of getting caught on one of the many times I've hopped the fence (a dangerous feat in itself) to explore the eerie grounds. October, Spring, and February are the best months for illegal travel in this Estate.



Once you've decided you've had enough of Islip, there are several ways for you to leave it. Islip is home to MacArthur Airport, the only airport in Suffolk County, and technically the only one one Long Island--unless you count LaGuardia and JFK, which are in New York City. You can also drive, use the ferry, walk, bike, or my personal favorite, hop a train at the LIRR Station at Islip. Many might argue and say that the parking sucks there and that you'd be better off driving to Babylon and boarding that station, but then you'd be missing out on all the wonderful sights and sounds of the Islip train station, which is just across the street from Path Mark and shares a parking lot with the lab where you deposit your stool samples. The walls of the station itself are covered in intricate, curling swoops of graffiti, and if it's cold outside, you can rest in the glass-walled sitting room, a haven of gum-crusted benches smelling faintly of stale smoke and body odor. From here, you can take the train to the east and tip back martinis with P. Diddy in the hamptons, or travel west and enjoy the city that never gets a good night's sleep and eat an overpriced hot dog in Manhattan.

I love my hometown, and I hope you enjoyed a small part of it, too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/islippubliclibrary/sets/72157603790566021/

http://365daysinislip.blogspot.com/

Map Project: Progress #4

Alright, so I have plenty of "research," from video footage to the drawings to the drawings transformed into layers on photoshop. I attempted to work with the lines on Google Maps, transferring the paths from my places of work, family, and school in Gainesville to my places of work, family, and school in New York. It didn't really work (though I didn't expect it to, nor was that my intention), and it wasn't very interesting, either. I don't find working with Google Earth very entertaining or very artistic. Though I'm sure some person could create engaging art with it; I'm just not that person.

My desire is to work with the lines I have come up with and use them to somehow insinuate a map. I must first remember that my objective is to explore the idea of local. Those lines express my local travels, but no one would know that without me explicitly telling the viewer. How can I use these lines to reference cartography, specifically relating to my daily experiences with travel?

Map Project: Progress #3

So far, I have explored three of my local routes on three occasions where I have visited them, each. By strapping the drawing board to my waist, I carefully "trace my steps" (using different tools each time to make it easier to delineate--ha ha--each different time of travel) as I make my way to and back from my destination, which is related to either Family, Work, or School. As I walk and draw, I attempt to look away from my drawing so as to not sway my subconscious decisions. However, as I inevitably feel that I am nearing the edge of the paper, I change my path to make it as condensed as possible. This can mean either subtly veering to the left or right, or stopping altogether and returning without meeting my destination.

As you can imagine, this made travel rather difficult, and thus exploits the futility of the pursuit of shortcuts. Ho, ho, ho!

I have had a friend carry my belongings for me while en route and videotaping my journey. This was sometimes difficult as I tend to travel late at night, and it was too dark to shoot. I'm not sure what I will do with the footage just yet.

I have taken pictures of the drawings and uploaded them into photoshop, where I have traced each line and put each one onto a different layer. Although I like the drawings themselves, they do not have any obvious connections with mapping, OR digital technology, so I needed to take it further. I'm not quite sure where to go with it, but I'm thinking about using them in an atlas.



Example: Work

Mapping project room design

So I finally got my instructions written out and just need to go print them at Target Copy. I also found that the best way to show my conversation with the different backgrounds changing would be to have my iChat window open, or perhaps Skype and use the background changing feature. I just spent the past two hours testing it out and it works fine. I just have to remember to wear my purple jacket to make a nice contrast against the background.

Also I was thinking about how I want the rooms set up. For the crit room, I'll have it so that the person having the conversation will be facing the wall that's opposite of the projector so that they can't see where I'm at. when you're on the phone, you can only hear the person's voice, so it wouldn't benefit my project if they could see what i was doing. I may have to set up a temporary wall to keep temptation away as well.

They will sit in a chair in the furthest corner, either completely isolated or surrounded by the temporary wall. I'll have to see if the wall I used last time is still there and available for use.

Also the audience will be in the middle of the room so that they can hear the person speaking to me as well as see (and hopefully hear) my side of the conversation on the projector wall. I will arrange the seats against the wall connecting the far corner with the wall my image will be projected on. That way they will be sitting evenly with a good view of us both. I'll have to come a few minutes early to finish setting up. So if anyone is planning on setting up in that room, here's my post! I'll try going first if I need to, but I need the entire room for my piece. (or if you need the room, please clean up your area when it' time for me to present) Shoot me an email if there's a conflict or anything ^^;

Project earthshake

So I got my 100ft svga cord wednesday evening and I tried it out between classes on Thursday. It reaches from the dma room to the crit room which is great. At first the projector wasn't showing my desktop, so I had to call Mchristo for help. He had to change where the svga was connected in order to work. So on Monday I'll have to plug it up to the router looking thing by the computer monitor instead of plugging it directly into the wall. I have to make sure the router switch is turned to 'B' and might have to toggle with the button on the wall that switches the screens. Also I may have to restart my laptop while it's connected to the projector. All in all however, it will work.

I'm not sure if I'll get the chance to do this, but I should be able to. I will come up with my instructions and make them sort of uniform. That way I can go to Target copy and print them out on a placard or something nice to polish my project more. I want the instructions to be restricting but open enough where every conversation will still be particular to the individuals which have them. That will be the toughest part about making the conversations.

I know that I will be restricting the time, but I have to decide on whether I want subjects to be restricted or specific words. Will I ban certain sentences from the conversation or will i ban certain behaviors? For example I could say " You're not allowed to be straight forward". You are only allowed to ask two questions.

Actually that sounds really good! If I limit how many questions can be asked, and perhaps set rules which say you must establish a certain mood before accomplishing your objective....that works. I think it will be enough if I make seven rules for each location. If seven is too much, I'll reduce it to five. Every rule doesn't have to be a major one, so 7 really shouldn't be too excessive.

Some rules might be the same for certain locations. For instance, since the objective is the same for every location, then you would want to establish the same mood in every location. The objective will be to get the person you're talking to to go onto youtube and watch your video art project, because you want to see someone's reaction to it. You don't want constructive criticism, and you don't want someone to look at it to add to your view count or anything like that.

You simply want your friend/family member to look at your work and get a candid reaction. You will have to manipulate the conversation based on their location and their mood to get what you want, or close to what you want. And while there will only be one location where the entire objective is carried out, all the other conversations can be manipulated to get pretty close to your objective.

I'll go plot out the rules now I guess.

Adam/Chase Project 2: Mapping Project Thoughts About Mapping

We've been working these past few weeks on a Simulation of the Fine Arts Complex for ArtBash.

Real Space vs. Virtual Space

What, Where and When is Virtual Space

Every thing that someone sees in virtual space is actually infinitely small, has no mass, volume, substance, etc, only visual. Illusion of substance. Considering molecular level, data is physical. This electron landscape or interpretation of this dataset becomes a landscape. Transference of electron landscape to visual, navigable landscape, to mental spatial awareness, to electron impulses in brain.

Where does the idea of this non-existent landscape reside? Ultimately, it is the electron where the idea rests --the landscape is constructed from data which, it turn is formed by the movement and charges of electrons. This is where the landscape lies. However, the idea of the landscape also resides within the mind, especially if the landscape is a fictional one first fabricated from creative thought. The landscape also takes shape and form within the mind once one begins to gain a spatial awareness of the area (repeated visits to a certain location solidify spatial awareness of area and self within the area). With this being said, what is the mind? Ultimately, it is the same as the data --pulses, charges, and movement of electrons. So while the idea of the landscape exists in two theoretical planes, it really only exists in one (the electron).

Again, at the same time, the landscape exists in more than just a theoretical plane. It is clearly visible on a computer monitor and is seen through the eye. In this sense, it is physical and it does exist. How is this space different from the real, physical space? What is real? Reality is defined by the perception and interpretation of our senses, so what makes the clearly visible, navigable space residing on the computer screen any less real than the one our physical bodies are residing in?

Why use this space?

The fine arts complex is one in which we have spent several years of our lives. We have a definite, preconstructed spatial awareness and mental map of the area. The process of Digital Reconstruction revealed secrets of the architecture previously unnoticed (The ground floor is a good 5 feet shorter than the first.)

Creating the space has changed our personal spatial awareness of the physical building itself. Playing/navigating the space virtually may perhaps further warp this awareness both to us personally and others who play/view the space.

In addition to changing our perception of the physical space, how will our perception of the virtual space differ/be similar to the physical and vice versa?

The building is 1:1 in architectural design. But it is certainly not detailed as such. It will be close, but things like posters on walls, tables, chairs, furniture, people, etc will not be present. Missing people and objects will reflect the hollowness and substanceless nature of the 3D model. But, without these objects or imperfections, the virtual space represents an idealized version of the space. Ideal in architecture, but not in almost any other sense.

Deconstruction/Reconstruction

Does it exist physically? Theoretically?

When navigating even a virtual space, one gains a spatial awareness of that space.

Liminal Spaces - Space between spaces that is simultaneously both spaces and neither space.

Actual vs. Virtual - Through navigation of non-physical space, participant gains a real(physical?) mental/spatial awareness of it.

SUPER hometown crazy time

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=lithonia+mlk+highschool&fb=1&gl=us&hq=mlk+highschool&hnear=lithonia&cid=0,0,2900747475242538000&ei=GZjxStvuG9XT8AbFtID5CA&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=4&ved=0CBQQnwIwAw

Go there for a map. Now time for my super long description.

When I go home, I'm not particularly proud. My hometown is only on its own maps. Artists don't go there, businesses are small and fumbling, and in the big picture it's not that different from alot of suburbs around the country. It's home to me however, and I am amazed by the small intricacies I find within it year after year.

Growing up, I had no sense of direction, so when the time came for me to drive I had to learn how to get to places from scratch. The first place I learned to go was to church. I had to make a 15 minute commute from my wooded neighborhood, through the busier traffic-jammed part of the city, to another quiet end where Fairfield Baptist church resided. The church is a medium size, bookmarked by the tire shop and tired dogs contained within a tall metal fence.

I always associated the filthy tire shop with the church, watching the building pass my sight and anticipating the rickety white Sunday school which replaced it. This was always the sketchier part of the street for me. The homeless roamed outside and strangers I wouldn't want to bump into alone. Within the parking lot I was safe. Surrounded by cars of people I've been seeing since elementary school, and a waving member of the church directing traffic; I can relax my guard.

In the church is an eternal painting of our pastor I've been looking at since my mother and I joined. As I pass it to go into the sanctuary, I always think about whether or not i can surpass the painter and make something better. Even more prominent than the preacher's stand and the choir behind him in the sanctuary, is the painting behind them. I stare at it during the entire sermon, dissecting its 14 year presence and the technique used to make it. It inspires me to paint, but only while I'm sitting there. It's a welcomed distraction that I associate with the church.

As I was saying, church was the first place I learned to drive to. The second place was my highschool. The drive was only ten to fifteen minutes by bus, but I feel asleep each and every time I rode the bus and was never able to pinpoint which way to go to get there. It took a few months of driving to finally memorize the path there. The ambiguous turn from my neighborhood, left or right would still bring me to the same place; the long route through the road shaded by trees, the five minute wait in traffic, and the freedom of the road afterward all brought me to Martin Luther King Highschool. Locals call it MLK however. Just say those three letters and they know what you're talking about. It's a school with a reputation. some of it's good, but alot of it's bad.

People always complained that my school was hidden in a ditch, behind a cluster of trees, and i agree. if you're going there for the first time, you'll probably miss it. Honestly, after not driving there for three years I forgot the way and got lost again myself. Once you drive down into the school you're brought into an entirely different world. The cars move slowly, parking wherever there is a space. You see kids milling about and suddenly you're self conscious about how they see you and if they're even glancing your way. You see teachers milling about, still authoritative figures even if you don't go there.

You park and head inside, but it has to be at 3:45, the end of the day, or else they won't let you in. You avoid bumping into other people, because it's as if touching a highschooler will turn you into one yourself. You'll be pushed back into time, feeling the same oppression and lose your sense of purpose. You have to enter looking like you have a purpose, or the security guard will give you a second look. You don't look like you're a highschooler, you hope it and you dread it.

The space is still a hubbub of activity. Talking teenager, playing around, practicing, and complaining. this was your world just years ago. It's amazing how small it is. You go down the almost silent hallways, peeking in open doors to see who's laughing and if you catch a familiar face. You manage to go upstairs and do the same without being spoken to by the upstairs security. They're cautious, but more about after school trouble-makers, than a student who already graduated.

When you leave, it's only natural to go to the next hubbub. The mall is the biggest source of entertainment around here. If you want to bump into old classmates, just stick around here for an hour or two. It's officially Stonecrest mall, however if you're a local it's usually understood which mall you're talking about when you say "let's go to the mall". It's only when you're older that you have to specify.

The mall is the center for everything. It's expansive and huge; the pride of the city. The movies are here, as well as any store you could need or restaurant. It is always full; always a source of energy even late at night. You enter through the main doors in front of the food-court and get hit by delicious aroma's. it takes a strong will to resist spending some petty cash so that you can go shop for what you intended.

What's amazing about the mall isn't the shops however, but it's the set up. There is an upper and lower floor. For the upper floor there are railings and benches lines long those railings making it easy to people watch. it's not uncommon for a person to stand against the railing for ten and fifteen minutes staring at the sea of people below. You can almost become hypnotized by it. You hear all of these conversations going on; typical conversations you would hear in a highschool or work place, but all individual the people having them. The place thrives on the energy of the youth.

When leaving the mall to go back home, I find myself passing Salem middle school. It's nothing big, but everyone knows about it. It was my middle school years ago, just as it was for my of my former MLK classmates. It was a place for great memories, but certainly not a place to be proud of. There were fights every day. Someone was always setting off some sort of stink bomb, giving the teachers panic attacks, trying to fight with the teachers or rooting as the teachers fought amongst themselves. It was a jungle; one we loved to be a part of yet easily abandoned after we graduated.

When the words "Salem middle" escape from someone's mouth it was usually followed by "with all those bad kids". It is a notorious school, one which apparently gets worse by year. What was tolerable when I attended has now transformed into a public nuisance. What was once a place of familiarity is now one that sparks fear and worry. It sits alone in the dust, trailers lining along the outside for a school too overpopulated to cater to true education.

Across from it is a playground for older kids and adults. I never set foot over there. I only saw grown men over there playing hoops and pushing each other around. It was a playground, but it wasn't meant for children. It never had a name, and no one really referred to it in my circle. it was just that place over there you didn't dare go to unless you knew the people already over there. It was mostly asphalt and hoops with a few spare swings; a sorry excuse for a playground anyway.

Right beside Salem middle was the strange house. We couldn't formally put a name to it, because we couldn't completely figure out what it was. There was a house right beside the school, on the right side, which looked pretty shoddy and rundown. Every morning when the buses pulled in however, you would see this old white man walking around in a white wife-beater and some shoddy pants. His hair would be unkempt and he would just kind of roam in his yard. Sometimes there would be another old white guy just sitting on the porch looking pitiful. Their appearance was strange. Also, Lithonia is at least 90% black, so their very residence there was strange as well.

We guessed it was a home for the mentally retarded, but that was just a theory. At first, before that was even a concept, we thought it was just a house of crazies. Then we thought that maybe they were brothers just growing old together. Maybe one was handicapped and the other was just old? The teachers never told us for sure, and it was fine to let us just come up with stories. We didn't bother them and they didn't bother us. Their presence was just strange, yet expected.

One other place, a dreaded place, is somewhere I don't stop but drive by as quickly as possible. It is another church to which numerous others attend. This church is the bane of everyone who doesn't attend's lives. This church controls the street it's on, including the traffic. If you are unlucky enough to pass by on a bible study night or after a church service, it is entirely possible to be stuck waiting for 10 minutes before you can go on your way.

It forces everyone to find shortcuts to get to and from the mall. I can say that the longest period I was stuck in traffic was when a graduation ceremony was being held in that church, and the traffic cop (secret church agent) held my lane at bay for 30 minutes before we could go. It's crazy. new Birth inspires fear when I hear the name, and it's not uncommon to see others shudder at the mention. At this point they have their own website and school.

These are the main hotspots I always notice when going home; more-so than my own neighborhood. The church that I grew up in, the highschool and middle school I attended, the playground that isn't a playground, the house of strange men, and the mall that everyone and their mothers go to. Lithonia connects to alot of bigger places, and is pretty close to other bigger attractions. Within the realm of Lithonia, however, these places are the attractions.

Tour of the neighborhood

The first elementary school I went to was about 15 minutes from my grand parents house. At the time we lived with my grand parents and my dad would drop me off everyday. This one particular day, my dad dropped me off, but for some reason I didn't want to be in school that day. I even ran after my dad's car my I wasn't fast enough. I decided to walk back to my grand parents house. Although there were all kinds of school officials and students around no one seemed to notice I was walking away from the school. I walk down the block and onto the main road which lead to my grand parents house. I've made a tour on Google maps that we'll look at in class

Universal Orlando Backlot

Over the past five years I've become very familiar with the Universal Orlando parks and associated "backstage" areas. I would estimate that on average, since leaving home for UF, close to a third of my time in Orlando, if not more, has been spent on Universal property. Highlighted on this map are some of the key areas that an average day on property will take me to.

Blue Line: Bus route that connects IOA and USF.

A: The employee parking lot. This lot is incredibly large, with eight different color-coded sections. It's often used as a meeting place after work or for out-of-work get-togethers. The parking lot is always at least a third full, regardless of the time of day. Common sights, sounds, etc.: third-party vendor trucks delivering food, plants, set pieces, costumes, cleaning materials, mechanical parts, pretty much anything the theme park needs. Periodic explosions and rising smoke from the Jaws attraction. On windy days, food smells and music are carried out to the parking lot from the New York and San Francisco areas of the Studios.

B: Studio Grill. This is one of two main cafeteria-style eateries backstage. The interior is nicely decorated and warmly lit, with comfortable areas to eat and watch from a selection of news and sports channels. On the walls are large framed photo prints of groups of team members, many of whom are the 20-year employees that pretty much everyone recognizes after a certain time. Common things: Food everywhere, of all different kinds. Laughter and talking from team members on their breaks. Painted/costumed performers (during Halloween, the Grill is periodically overrun with ghouls and whatnot.)

C: Wardrobe Complex. This is a huge self-service complex where non-performing team members get and turn in their wardrobe items. A card-scanning system locates individual wardrobe sets in the rows of hanging bags (the back part of Wardrobe is a maze of rack upon rack of revolving clothing tracks.) Common things: Constant beeping of items being scanned out, dirty clothing chutes thunking shut as people stuff their old stuff into receptacles to be dry-cleaned or machine washed. The smell of starch, stain remover, fabric cleaners, polish, and near the locker rooms, sweat. Overall a very busy place, not particularly happy in the mornings.

D: Entertainment Performance Center (EPC). Where most of my time on a work-day is usually spent. This is kind of the nerve center of the park's performing side, with three large break areas, lots of comfortable furniture, bathrooms/locker rooms/showers, makeup stations, a kitchen, a costuming room, a gym, a "performance room" with wall-to-wall mirrors for practicing monologues, dance routines, scene progressions, etc. Common things: Always very busy, with performers on their way out or back in from a set, suffering from varying degrees of heat exhaustion, in varying costume pieces. Lots of loud talking, laughter. Almost always some kind of movie playing in one of the break areas; people stretching, getting in or out of costume, complaining to stage managers, smoking out back. Very high-energy location.

E: IOAsis. This is pretty similar to the Studio Grill, with decor themed more toward the Islands of Adventure theme park. Common things: Again, smells of food. Often groups of performers from the "Seuss" entertainment break area next door.

F: Toon. More or less like the EPC, but specifically for IOA, rather than USF performers. Common things: People laughing, talking, stretching, watching tv. Performers getting in and out of costume. Spider-Man, for some reason, always walking around shirtless. Regardless of who is playing Spider-Man.

Local 'Brochure'

A few years ago my family had one of my cousins from Poland come over and stay with us for a few weeks. We took her to Disney Land and Sea World and all the usual tourist places, but there were also a lot of 'local' things which I never really thought about which she was really fascinated by. It was a pretty interesting experience, having all the stuff I took for granted literally re-interpreted through the eyes of a tourist.

One of those things was this big tree in the community where my parents' house is. I don't really know what it's called, but it's one of those really bit ones that grows however tall, and then expands horizontally by dropping roots down from the branches, so it kind of ends up with a forest of trunks that blend together in the middle. The one in my neighborhood isn't actually the biggest of the kind I've ever seen, so I was never particularly impressed, but when viewed objectively it's still pretty huge. I remember I used to climb it a lot when I was a kid, or just walk barefoot along its upraised roots whenever I passed by.

After the tree, in terms of everyday amusement value, there was the pool. There's one in pretty much every apartment community in Florida, nowadays, and it has a pretty weird touristy dynamic. I think it's one of the things people always picture when they think of Florida, or when it's represented in movies or whatnot, and it's usually portrayed as something exotic. To me, though, it's something more on par with a dishwasher. At least in that I might not use it for months at a time, but I don't think I'd want to move somewhere that doesn't have one. I don't know if you can get more taken for granted than that.

Then there's the beach, cousin to the pool. We would always go to the same one, Juno Beach, just north of the pier separating the dog-friendly area from the non-dog-friendly area, even before we actually got a dog. I'm not sure why that was, exactly, since I know that's not the closest one to where my family lives. Possibly something to do with the quality of the sand, or the little wooden poles with the water-fountains and showers there are at the exit of every wooden staircase down to the sand, or maybe parking.

Another thing my cousin found particularly unexpectedly diverting was going to Publix, or more accurately the whole little shopping complex where Publix was situated, along with Walgreens, the Dollar Store, and whatever random little stores, restaurants, and businesses. During winter they go to a lot of trouble to put up lights on all the tree trunks, and these weird shiny fuzzy-foil and wire constructions shaped like bells and candles and semi-recognizable angels up on the tops of the lightpoles illuminating the parking lot. Everybody would always make fun of them, but the area where my parents live is kind of semi-touristy in itself, and they put them up every year, along with a light-up wireframe santa, whose hollow belly made a very nice home for an impressively huge spider on at least one memorable occasion.

Mapping Project Progress

Right now I'm still fiddling with the way Processing's 3D graphics work and trying to get a workable 3D environment out of a fingerprint photo, since I think this is the larger part of the project in terms of actual mapping.

My brother actually has a laptop with a little fingerprint scanner in lieu of having to put in a password, so I might be able to borrow that. The problem would be getting it to interface properly with the processing application. I don't know if I'm going to have enough time to figure that out. I might default to just using it as a pseudo-interface, maybe.

Local Brochure

I know many people who have moved many times in their life. I, however, have only moved once, and it wasn't that big of a move, at least, physically. I moved about 3 blocks away --about a 5 minute walk. Despite this short distance in location, my old house was destroyed and a new house was constructed on top of it a few years later. Now, whenever I pass by the location, I see not my house but an impostor house in the same position that mine stood years ago. It is interesting to me because I have such vivid images in my head regarding the house, so even though there is a different building there, I can still very clearly see the exact location of all of the rooms in my house as well as the trees in the yard, the fence we had for our dogs, the old canoe my dad had sitting out there, the elevation of the land (which has significantly changed), and many other things. While I cannot convey these images to you at the moment (I do not have any photos of my old house with me), I think it will suffice to show you the location of where my house was along with the house that is there now as long as you look at the image with the knowledge that it has changed significantly since the building of the new house.













Unlike a lot of people, I only went to one school as a kid. Maclay School offers classes for grades Pre-K through 12th grade. So from the early age of 4 until I graduated from high school, I attended Maclay. I believe it's safe to say that, aside from my home, this is where I grew up. Maclay has a very nice campus. It's located just off of Thomasville Road (one of the main roads in Tallahassee). One of the great things about the campus is that it is very open and populated with lots of different elements of nature. Between buildings are big open spaces filled with all kinds of trees, bushes, flowers, and from time to time certain animals (aside from the ever-present squirrel or bird). On top of this, the campus as a whole is extremely large; it can take a good 15 minutes to walk from one side of the campus to the other.
In addition to me growing up at the school, the school itself grew up as well. Over the years, buildings were added, the track was redone, teachers came and went, and the shape of the campus changed accordingly. The best example of this was when I broke my arm on the playground in 3rd grade. The school used to have square U-shaped poles on the dirt area used as the playground soccer field. One day after school, I was swinging on the pole for fun. The fun, however, did not last very long as I soon lost my grip and flung out of control, landing on the ground with a nice CRACK --broken arm. A few weeks later, those poles were taken down and replaced with real soccer goals. This is a direct example of how the school grew up with me and vice versa.













My mom is a speech language pathologist, and she owns her own company. She works in home and visits patients' homes now, but she used to have a pretty big office in a business complex not too far from where we live. I spent a lot of time there when I was younger. That is where I spent a lot of time with good ole DOS and its lovely games. There is a gas station right next door to the building, so I would often get Slurpies while I was there. The office had a nice design and had one-way windows so the parents could watch their children during sessions; these windows fostered hours of fun for me. In addition to this, the office was full of all sorts of toys. Needless to say, I was kept quite content while there. However, when my mom went to remodel the space, things fell apart and eventually she ended up leaving because things were taking too long and the owners' of the building were being anything but helpful. Because of this, she has some not-too-good feelings about the place. Interestingly enough, there is a large black line that cuts through, not only the building, but the actual location of her office in the building as well. I have no idea why that line is there, but I find it quite fitting.

Local Musing and Project update

Please post about the following. After reading Lucy Lippard article, think about and decide upon "your local." Develop an alternative tour of this place. Take us to places that are important to you and others in the community. You can do this in the text and if applicable images in the form of a "brochure", in google earth with text and perhaps images or some other way. We should visit and learn about at least 6 places.


Please if you have not done so in the last 24 hours, write about where you are at with your project.

Map Project: Progress #2

Drawing my local walks turned out to be more of a challenge than I had expected. I kept losing track of my cardinal directions, trying to reference an angle for my path every time I got turned around. My map restricted my path, as eventually I would run out of room on the paper. I redid it several times, overlapping the map in different colors. With practice, I got used to the medium (and means of using it) and came out with some interesting (and strangely accurate repetition of) patterns.

Mapping Project jiblets

So I was thinking really hard on what I wanted o do for my project. Like I knew what I wanted the subject matter was but I wasn't sure how to present it. I didn't want my project to be this static observation-only thing. The workings of my mind aren't static, and I feel that a project presented that way wouldn't properly convey myself or my concept.

Right as I was about to go to bed I was hit with this idea of a game of sorts. I remembered this artist Katerie brought up in some class or another where the artist wrote out specific instructions for the museum to follow to construct his piece. I remember last year there was an artist, possibly the same one, who would leave out instructions for his audience and allow them to construct his piece.

This seemed like a good way to have others follow the mapping of my mind. My mind is very convoluted and strange, so making it a static visual or simplifying it into a video doesn't do it proper justice. I feel like I have to put people into my mind-frame in order for them to appreciate the sentiment.

While I will need the audience to participate in this, I don't want my project to solely depend on others. Since I have interest in it, and it supports my project, I will incorporate performance into this. I will act as my parents/friends whom I call. The audience will play the part as me.

I will have a bucket/bowl with sheets of paper in them. Each paper will have a location listed on it out of five given locations; at home, at work, out of town, driving, and at the store. I will be interacting with one person at a time, and for each person I interact with, I will have to choose a location from the bowl.

I will write instructions for the person interacting with me. They will be guidelines for the conversation we will have. All of the audience members will have the same objective. the way I have it set up however, only one location can lead to the objective being accomplished. Even if that location is chosen however, it's not certain the objective will be accomplished. It all depends on the person initiating the conversation.

I will update with the format of the objective and the conversation guidelines soon.
As for the aesthetic quality of the piece, I will perhaps invest in a phone for the other person to use while I use my cellphone. I'm sure I can find- scratch that I have a spare house phone laying around in my room. lol

I will have two chairs back to back. The person speaking to me will sit in one chair, and depending on my location, I may or may not be sitting in the other chair. Everyone else must stand out of the view of (at least) the person talking to me. A camera will be recording the entire interaction for the duration of my piece. This will be the visual mapping of our conversations.