Thinspiration.

The Internet is often looked at to be a great tool, something which makes our lives a little easier and somewhat better because we have a world of information at our finger tips. But what we sometimes overlook is what some of that information actually is. Within our daily lives we may come across groups of people that hold views we feel are wrong. Extremes such as people who have no tolerance of homosexuality and people who support the acts of terrorism; or the more common sexist work colleagues or the classroom bully. Either way within England the majority of the country holds similar views, and within our society these extremists and bullies may find it hard to express their thoughts and spread their views. However anyone can find a way to say what they like on the Internet. As a regular teenage social network site user I was surprised at what I found on some teenagers Tumblr blogs. One thing that holds a strong presence on this site is 'Thinspiration' and 'Pro-ana' blogs.
Pro-ana is the promotion of anorexia and Pro-mia is the promotion of bulimia (this holds less of a presence). Ana and Mia are sometimes thought of as a girl, these 'girls' are the viewers role models and friends, offering them advice. 'Thinspiration' sites often show photos of thin women, these are seen as inspiration and the driving force to help the viewer loose weight. There is also reverse thinspiration which shows fatty foods or obese women, these are there to disgust the viewer and therefore inspire them. These sites also give tips and quotes. I found it shocking just how easy these sites are to find and the content that they hold :

1. Keep your hair in good condition so no one will suspect anything.
2. Say you are going to eat at a friend's house and instead go for a walk. You will be burning calories instead of taking them in.
3. If you start to feel hungry do sit-ups or punch yourself in the stomach. You will not feel hungry anymore.
4. Make yourself a snack, but instead of eating it throw it away. Leave the dirty dishes where your parents can find them. They will think you ate.
5. Take anti-heartburn pills if you're really hungry. They neutralize the acid that builds and makes you hungry.

My idea was to display these unhealthy messages within public areas. Simply taking a canvas and painting the sentence on, then finding a busy public area where I can quickly leave it. This was to draw attention to the shocking message. Or perhaps taking a Thinspiration photograph and applying the message. Surely if these images and messages were brought to the publics attention they would react, possibly removing the item; yet a lot of us know that these sites exist and we do nothing to remove them.
However after talking to my tutor I raised the issue that it could be seen as promoting thinspiration as the message would not be clear, he agreed and said that because the subject matter was so strong it could take away from the work itself.

Pulley System.

I realised that when I first wanted to create an interactive piece I was hoping to create some form of event, much like the work of Alexandre Bettler, but his work was just too present in my mind and I couldn't seem to knock down the metaphorical wall that was currently plastered in his work. So after devising my cup phone piece I wanted to follow through on the same path, creating simple interactive pieces.

Having already dealt with the spoken word I wanted to explore the written word. I had thought about letters and letterboxes before but I wanted something a little more unusual and playful. During a conversation with Steve we began to think of how prisoners used to try and communicate when locked up. This stumped me. I googled and googled but all I could find was things relating to the use of the prison telephone. I knew this wasn't what I wanted and I started to think about how they may have communicated in the past, perhaps holes in the walls just big enough to pass a message through, or maybe some form of knocking code. Steve later told me about a film he had seen where a man tied a note to a piece of string, carefully swung it out of his barred up windows to the next inmate.

I wasn't convinced that I wanted to use the swinging motion but I liked the idea of attaching messages to string, I thought why not create a pulley. Almost like a washing line you see hanging between the houses, a line that can be pulled in and out.

Rather than doing the pulley in between houses I thought to start it could go from my space in the studio to another students. I started thinking small going along the wall from my space to Vicky's (two spaces away from me). But once I started to talk about it with Steve I realised it should go further and ideally that I would like it to go across the room. The plan was that once the pulley was up we could begin to send messages to and from, therefore the other end would need to go to someone I naturally talk to a lot. And who would be more perfect than my best friend Tash. However there was a problem, we work in two different studios, with a wall separating us. This means that whenever I want to talk to her I either have to walk into the next room, which is annoying, or send her a text, which is sometimes pretty pointless since as we barely check our phones. If I could somehow find a way to connect a pulley travelling from my space to Tasha's we would actually find it rather useful! Steve was excited by this idea and since as there was plans for this separating wall to be knocked down next year he saw no reason to why I couldn't cut a hole through. This was now the plan.

Firstly Steve helped me to find the components to make a pulley. The first was easily found and was this device :

We wasn't too sure where this came from or what it was but it seemed perfect and came with a handle and moving wheel. The second pulley was harder to find, but we eventually found two of these :

These turned out to be parts used for bending pipes. These didn't move as they weren't a form of wheel but they would still work as they only had to hold the string. The person who's side this component was on would simply have to move the string by pulling the opposite string in the opposite way they wanted the message bearing string to move. Steve then helped me to assemble the pulley as this could have been slightly dangerous as we weren't quite sure how to fix them. We decide the best way would be to connect the pieces to a pieces of wood, making them the same height, we did this using hinges and large screws. Holding the pieces secure in a position which was safely away from the drill. Once both of the pulleys were connected we then attached these to a large plank of wood, this was need for installing the pulley. Once the pulley was made we quickly tested it.

Once the pulley was made we used a saw to cute a hole through the wall, large enough for the wood to fit through and in line with Tasha's wall. I then cut the plank of wood in half and attached one to my wall and one to Tasha's. With mine being close to the hole I decided that the heaviest pulley should go on my side, this way the wooden plank could rest on the inside of the wall, helping to keep it straight. To attach the pulleys I screwed pieces of wood into the walls, this helped the pulleys to stay in line. The plank of wood was then screwed onto this wood and the string was connected.  The pulley was ready and I went through to my space to clean up where I was quickly greeted with this message from the other class.

When things become real.

Today I was planning on creating the wall of photographs I have previously talked about. I still liked this idea, although the sheer scale of the thousands of photographs was holding me back. I sometimes wonder whether these more time consuming experiments are worth it, I understand that its the journey that you learn from; but from previous journeys I've learnt I hate it when I waste my time. Whilst looking for a subject person to use Gary, my tutor, came over and asked me what I was doing. I explained and was a little surprised by his response, he seemed to question the concept, which I found strange as the concept was thought of during a previous conversation of ours. Perhaps it was one of those ideas that sounds great at the time, hyped up in a long creative conversation, but then seems to loose meaning as the days go by.
Gary told me to think about the context and where I would be displaying the photos. He also questioned whether I was trying to expose someone, and I guess I am. My take on this concept is to confront someone with an aspect of their own life (published photographs), making them question just why we feel the need to show so much to the world and whether it is safe. However when bringing this into the real world, it seems to become a little more, sinister. People seem to feel protected on the Internet, yes you can choose to set your facebook profile to friends only, meaning only people you approve can see. Yet many people don't and still feel protected. I personally think that this may be because you cant physically see just who is viewing your profile, therefore you don't think about. However if I was to physically display these images in a real life in environment it suddenly becomes real. The subject will be able to see just who is looking at the images and this may shock the individual. I didn't want to make any one feel uneasy, maybe that's wrong of me, maybe I should dismiss my feelings for my art and take the risk, but in my eyes if I make anyone feel like a victim its not a risk worth taking. Some may disagree by saying they're allowing me to take that step since as they allow me to view their facebook; but I believe your art should be an expression of who you are, and I'm just not that person.
And then I think perhaps I'm just over thinking it all and no one would actually be that bothered. At the end of the day that's a challenge that art gives you, trying to find the balance of the thought process.
Now feeling unsure of this idea Gary tried to help me think of alternatives. These included becoming friends with someone on the basis that will not become real friends with them, taking their photographs and displaying them in their hometown. However I again don't think I would feel comfortable doing this. Another options is to expose myself. I am a person who keeps a certain distance between people. For example I am close to my parents and they do know my close friends, yet I find myself like many teenagers keeping them for the most part separate. I think I am one of those people that if my parents ever joined facebook I would reject that friends request without a thought. So maybe I am the perfect person to expose. I could take all of the photo frames in the house and replace them with facebook photos they will not have seen. Or I could cover a wall inside of my house. One idea that I did love was to cover the front of my house, making the piece public. With each brick covered with a tagged/untagged photograph, showing something which is somewhat hidden from my immediate surroundings.

Layered photographs on wall

Feeling detached...

During tutorials I sit with a tutor and discuss my work, the tutors then ask questions, offer opinions and advice, and it is during these conversations that most ideas come together or develop. Although as students we sometimes feel that there is a fine line between developing ideas and working with a tutor and them giving you the idea. However this line can blur. This happened when during a tutorial Steve showed me a piece of paper with a few ideas he had jotted down. All of these ideas were great, and we discussed them, but I felt uneasy running with the ideas as I felt like I had no involvement in how they came about. Its one thing to come up with ideas together and another to be given them. After expressing my concerns to Steve he explained how it was no different, he said that he couldn't have thought of these ideas without having spoke to me, seen my research, listened to my ideas or having seen my previous work, therefore I was involved throughout. To begin I didn't understand and felt guilty for rejecting the ideas, after all he had took the time to do this for me. With time I understood, it was no different to our face to face tutorials, but I guess its just the way that the ideas come about. See as I was presented with a piece of paper, covered in sketches and notes I felt so detached, whereas during a conversation the two people bounce off each other, the ideas feel as if they come much more naturally and you get a sense of personal involvement and ownership.

I decided that I would use the ideas if I could take them and adapt them. See the tutors give everyone ideas, but its our job take them and make them personal, change them to fit not their vision but our own, after all the ideas are driven from our previous vision that we have shown in our journals. However I was struggling to adapt these ideas. They were all so clean and simple, which I like my work to be, I like to have an idea and strip it back, making it less complicated. To add anything to these ideas would just lessen them and since as I didn't want to run with them as they are I decided to leave them for now.

Explanation of sketches :

Image 1 : (Paper cup phone) Highlighting that the distance is a main focus of the paper cup phone. Distance is a barrier and this leads the idea of a screen becoming a barrier. (Sketch of people at computers) This piece highlights how we use the Internet to speak, teenagers will often sit staring a screen for an entire night speaking to someone who could live a mere minute walk away; and adults may send emails to a person within the same room as them rather than waiting to speak face to face. For this piece two computers would be set up on a program which will allow you to type sentences, much like I am doing now, however no Internet is needed. These two screens will be placed next to each other but put facing the opposite way. Screen A's keyboard will then be placed in front of screen B, screen B's keyboard will then be placed in front of screen A. Person A will then stand in front of screen A and keyboard B, what they then type will appear on screen B, where person B will be standing typing back on keyboard A.



Image 2 : Two dark phone boothes for annominous texting. The only light source would be the phone, drawing people in. The only numbers within the phone would be the number of the phone in the next booth. The boothes would be stood next to each other creating a divide but losing the distance of the normal text conversation.

Letters and a letter box. Once again letters are normal sent because of the distance between two people. By closing in this distance the reply time will be faster creating a live chat, much like facebook chat but in a physical sense. I would be interested to see the messages sent between the divide as when I sat down to write Jade a letter I found myself writing alot more that I would normaly on a social networking site. I also found that I rambled on as I couldnt remove the text once it had been written.

Two tents in different locations within college, within each tent would once again be a mobile phone with each others numbers in. This time we would have created a distance, how would the messages change from the idea of having the phones next to each other? Also voice mails could be left to each phone, with each user carrying on from the other users previous conversation.

A cup and string.

Idea : stretching the cups out in between two boards, crossing string paths, challenge set for viewers to find a pair and label on each side.

Since my initial statement my project has rapidly changed. Rather than exploring and transferring text from the Internet I am now transferring and exploring the pure foundations of the Internet, that being communication. I realise that this is very different, but it is naive to think your work wont change from your initial statement, after all it isn't a set brief, it is a starting point, an expression of your first ideas and views. I feel that if I had carried on along the lines of what was said in my statement that my project would lack energy, inspiration, diversity, challenges and pure artistic expression; the project would have turned stale.

After finding Alexandre Bettlers work I knew that I wanted to create something interactive. Focusing not on how statements or blocks of information can change when taken from the Internet but rather how our interaction can change. I wanted to create a piece that asked to be used, and that could be used by multiple people at any given time.

I decided to go and speak to my friend Tash about how my project had changed, whilst talking we decided to try and think of uncommon ways to communicate which I hadn't explored previously. I wanted something fun and light hearted. Something people would immediately want to interact with. And whats less intimidating than the childhood toy of a cup/can and a piece of string. Yes my new idea is a simple cup phone.

Now it had been awhile since I had made/used one of these so I asked Steve if he thought the women who worked at the cafe would be willing to give me a few cups to use, he decided to write a message asking them to help. Once I had the cups I found some string and spent the rest of the afternoon playing with my new communication method! I found people asking if it really worked and asking to try it, surely this was a positive reaction!

The next day I made a trip to Morrisons and bought around 48 polystyrene cups. I then spent the morning making small holes in each cup and passing around two meters of string through two cups to make a simple phone. I know traditionally some people think that tin cans should be used, but being on a students budget, worrying about people cutting themselves on any sharp edges and for appearance wise I decided that cups may be better.  

This way they may be forced to communicate to someone they may not know. When on sites such as facebook we have control of who we socialise with, we can ignore a comment, decline a friends request, close a conversation or secretly look at an individuals profile. I wanted to take this level of control away from the viewer. I am interested to see how how the public will react when the control is taken away, will they feel liberated and have fun talking to people they may not normally chose to, or will they feel intimidated. I personally hope the it will have a positive effect, but either way I find it interesting.

I began to try and find a way that I could display my cups. To begin I liked the idea of suspending them mid air at mouth and ear height. I could then create a circle of floating cups, by putting multiple cups next to one another this would encourage multiple people to use them and hopefully this would allow two strangers to get caught talking to each other. I began to test this method out in the studio, I suspended them by threading see through thread through the top of the cup, this thread was then taped to the ceiling, I then did the same to the bottom attaching this to the floor to create the tension needed. However this process took a long time since as all of the elements where quite delicate. If I was to display this in the exhibition they would need to be alot more secure since as people would be moving around them constantly. As I was suspending my cups an ex student who was currently studying her masters came to speak to me, she spoke to me about how I needed to make sure the suspension of the cups didn't take attention away from the piece, we both agreed that the idea of mic stands holding the cups would be nice touch as this would encourage people to pick them up and use them, however we wondered just how hard they would be to get. After she had left I spoke to my tutors about how I could display the cups. I liked the idea of the string being made a focal point by using something to separate the cups and the string, by putting the string through two walls it would create a strong look, the boards would also help to keep the tension. By crossing over the cups I could also entice people to use them by setting them the task of finding a pair that were connected. Whilst talking to my tutors they liked the idea of the tension being created by these two boards and wondered that if the string was tight enough would it actually manage to keep the boards upright unaided? This would then create an interactive sculpture.

After thinking this through I like this idea and I think I will use it for a finale piece, however I will only make it once as I would like it to be sight pacific. However I worry whether it will be safe to have the string holding the boards weight when it is meant to be used by people. But I will cross this bridge when I come to it. 

Web of communication. (Still to be filmed)

This piece was inspired by Alexandre Bettler. To get the ball rolling I decided I needed to think of a simple idea that could be done within college using the aspects of the conceptual design process Bettler uses in his own work. I started by looking into his works and trying to figure out the main aspects, these were : Communication - I need to create a space that evokes. Reward/Reason - The public will need to be given some form of reward or reason to participate. Activity - Just what activity could create a reason to communicate.

I'm not sure how but string came to mind. The idea was to create a 'web of communication'.

Take the end of the string.
- Pass this card and the ball of string to a friend.
- Do not be afraid to pass the string outside of your immediate friendship group, as long as you pass to a person you know.
- You can receive the string more than once as long as it has not been passed by the same person.
This string can be held or placed on the floor.
When passing the string or stepping please move carefully.

The aim is to create the largest string web of friendship and communication that can be made in one place.

This process is still to be filmed.

I want to see just how big the web can get. In a perfect world I'd love to get the whole college together to see everybody connected. However this may be a bit too ambitious! I also attempted to include the length of the string into the concept. Trying to measure the outside perimeter of the college in string, I would then see just how quickly this string can be used up by and just how many students that took. However after finding the biggest roll of string I could I got half way around the college, dodging cars, climbing the hill and winding it around the football courts, when I realised the roll of string just wouldn't make it the whole way around.

This idea then sparked a conversation with Gary and Jade about how everyone's perimeter of communication grows as we grow older. Taking our childhood for example. To begin your allowed out into neighbours back gardens until tea time. Next you was allowed back out after tea time, until your parents shouted you in. Then you was allowed into the street outside your house. You was then allowed into the streets/closes next to yours, up to the big road. Until one day your allowed to cross the big road!
With each time your area was widened your opportunity for communication was also widened. It was interesting to see how different generations can still relate to this same childhood routine.
It also made me realise that this project based on communication seems to spark the largest personal conversations, in this case I feel like the journey is really where the importance lies.

Alexandre Bettler.

http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/1423-alexandre-bettler

After realising that I needed to stop thinking of my project as one about twitter or facebook it was time to start thinking of it as a project about communication; drawing from elements of the social networking sites. I began searching for new artists, after a very broad search on google with something along the lines of 'communication artist' I luckily found the graphic designer Alexandre Bettler.

After looking into his work its safe to say this is the artist who has left me the most excited. Although he is also the artist who has stumped me the most, with his piece shown above named 'Gradual - the Bread Friend Map'. This piece is so perfect for my project, and reading about it was one of those moments when you kick yourself, wishing that you could have thought of it first. But I didn't, so the only thing I can do is draw inspiration from it. Seeing this piece and many of his others I realised I want to make a piece which is interactive on a human level, being able to communicate face to face.

Gradual - the Bread Friend Map. As you can see from the top image this piece of work was based on translating the meaning of a French word. The idea was, you had a sticker on the wall with your name written on. You also had the same sticker on your clothing. Each person received a piece of bread. As you mingled you shared your bread, once the bread was broken you drew a line connecting both of your names, creating a conversation map.

I loved the Bread Friend Map where a web link was set up between two countries. Each screen was sat on a table and both groups of people had to create a map made from bread sticks which linked to each others maps by the edge of the screen. As the individuals talks more links would occur between the people on the map.

I also liked 'the Friendly Bread Map'. I think by offering almost a peace token the idea of communication is much easier. You don't feel as intimidated or stupid if each person is in the same boat.

Dear Jade,

So I spent this afternoon writing a letter to Jade as a contrast to our relationship on facebook. I met Jade at the start of my art foundation year and we have become good friends, spending time together not just in college but out during our own time. I think our friendship was able to grow to this level with the help of facebook, changing our relationship from acquaintances to friends. Will a letter hold the same effect? One of facebook great points is the pace in which you can communicate, replying to comments within seconds. With a letter the wait is obviously longer, can this take away from the meaning of the content? Or will this infact add another dimension to our realtionship, whilst writing the letter it felt much different from say writing a comment, it felt more personal, maybe because it was hand written or maybe because it was much more time consuming.

Since as im not used to sending letters the part where I actually had to send it often slipped my mind, and when I did finally get around to it Jade was too busy to reply. Maybe letters are used less now for a reason? It has to be said technology does make things easier!

Catfish.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/20/catfish-fact-or-fiction-film

This film is quite complicated so I found an interesting article to explain it better. It also highlights the fact that this film could infact be a hoax afterall it does seem a little too perfect.

Pro or Anti Facebook?

Facebook is a social networking site, with other 600 million active users and a simple concept based on relationships. It was only a matter of time before something so human evolved to the virtual world; something that seems somewhat, inhuman. But just how does this effect our relationships? Does it help to bring people together or does it create divides? Speaking from my personal experience with social networking sites I can say it assists my relationships in a positive manner. Taking my classmates for example. At the beginning of art foundation I went into the class with only acquaintances, and it was a daunting experience as the group tried to figure out its dynamics. Now nearing the end of my foundation year I am closest with Jade. In this situation I feel Facebook acted as a new extension of our friendship away from the studio. It bridged the gap between talking in college and talking outside of art, allowing us to feel comfortable creating a friendship outside of college, a friendship between two people rather than the larger group friendship which we network within during college time. However I feel it has also aided communication with people I don’t always see eye to eye with during art. I think this may be because the conversations are somewhat more controlled, during a face to face conversation tones can be added, looks can be given and the conversation can escalate in different directions at a fast and free pace. It allows me to tolerate a persons personality more as it is perhaps more controlled.

When regularly used I feel that Facebook shows a persons personality and character. As you see not just how a person interacts with you but also with other people. This can either help you to warm to the person, appreciating their nature and finding similarities or it may show sides of their personality that you may not be so keen on. I know from personal experience that someone’s Facebook profile can indeed grate on you to the extent that you question your relationship. Do I really want to be friends with someone who appears childish and two faced when talking to other friends? Or should I view the person as I would solely based upon our friendship? Facebook can definitely show someone’s side you’ve never seen before.

Possible works :

Rather than focusing on the imagery and text of these websites perhaps I need to look into the sole reason that they are used and how they can affect a relationship. To explore this idea I could remove Facebook usage with a friend and instead communicate in alternative ways. Sending text messages, exchanging letters, face to face conversations, sitting in silence (highlighting body language and eye contact) and drawing pictures. Showing the contrast of communication.



Texts exchanged between me and Jade

 

Being a bit of a lets say memory hoarder, this idea reminded me of my own box filled with somewhat useless items. Gig tickets, boarding stubs, cinema tickets, empty packets, invitations, handouts, leaflets, pretty much every train ticket I've bought and so on.



The next idea was building on this alternative communication, and rather than finding alternatives creating some form of anti Facebook or anti blog. As a piece of work I like the idea of creating a real life blog. Printing photos, writing posts and collecting almost mundane objects like the napkin given with toast (people often tweet about what they’re eating…how interesting). By collecting these piece I can create a physical presence for a physical world.

After numours emails sent back and two, I can finally access the websites that I may need in college!