Last Project- RUNWAY ART SHOW-

It was such a good time the last day presentation, Here are all the pictures i took. Enjoy

some inspiration for you as you work. ideas we have covered this semester, roughly ... 

We have a RUNWAY

All - an artist has been kind enough to loan us a specialized flooring to use as our runway this April 29.
We should treat it with the utmost care. That means: *models only* on the runway.  : ) 


Best,
DR. T. 

Mechanization turns cookies into cutters and genericism explode

Thinking back from last class, in my process of creating my zip-tie light, I thought about the mechanization and the generic yet unique qualities i'm trying create with my light.  This made me think of how architecture today is morphing into a general design quality of futuristic with organic qualities.

What happened to all of the variety?  What happened to making things more than just plain walls and open spaces?  Where is the home, where is the personality of design?  Architects are building the shells of an egg, but an egg is not an egg without the yoke.  Without the yoke, the egg is something that can be broken and smashed and forgotten.  Design has progressed towards a generic quality of design; beginning from the industrial revolution to the ideology of the “American Dream” founded by the creation of Levittown, to now the Ikea mentality of cheap mass produced products.  Though in form building design has progressed farther away from the cookie cutter bland generic Levittown house, it is following the trend of organic crazy shapes such as those created by Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid.  There is nothing truly original since, the internet makes it so that any original idea is quickly dispersed and made into a general lack of consideration. 

Political Prisoner

I was reading about Ai Weiwei and found him an example of political prisoner.

I first heard about him when he had his Sunflower Seeds installed at the Tate Modern Turbine Hall, London last year. "The work consists of one hundred million porcelain "seeds," each individually hand-painted in the town ofJingdezhen by 1,600 Chinese artisans, and scattered over a large area of the exhibition hall.^[31] The artist was keen for visitors to walk across and roll in the work to experience and contemplate the essence of his comment on mass consumption, Chinese industry, famine and collective work."

Recently I heard from TED and other sources that because of the anti-country art works and his activist protest against the government, first surveillance cameras were installed outside his studio, then he got beaten up by the police, detained from leaving the country, imprisoned, and his studio was destroyed by the Chinese government.

I love his work as an artist and really appreciate his courage to stand up against the authority regardless of the threats to his life. I recommend you to watch the video below if you're interested in his story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vX8OM7f9sE

A brief biography of Ai Weiwei from Wiki:

Ai Weiwei (pinyin: Ài Wèiwèi; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese artist and activist, who is also active in architecture, curating, photography, film, and social and cultural criticism.^[1][2] Ai collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuronas the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics.^[3] In addition to showing his art he has investigated government corruption and cover-ups. He was particularly focused at exposing an alleged corruption scandal in the construction of Sichuan schools that collapsed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. He intensively uses the internet to communicate with people all over China, especially the young generation.^[4] On 3 April 2011 police detained him at Beijing airport, and his studio in the capital was sealed off in an apparent crackdown by the Chinese authorities on political dissidents.

News on Set Design/Props

Hi Students,

FYI's: 
You are in charge of bringing pedestals and any props you'd 
like to decorate our exhibition space.

Using tables for our runway is not going to possible - safety is the concern.


Have a great week and get your Artist Statements to me as soon as you can.


Dr. T.

A design competition - Queer Fashion

Hi Students,

I am organizing the Saturday night fashion show for this, below.  

UCLA is offering prize money for the best poster. 

--

UCLA LGBT Studies Poster Competition.  Prize: $500. 

Deadline:  Monday July 25^th, 2011

The topic of the conference is “Fashion” which we interpret very broadly to include the fashion industry, fashion history, and ways of ‘fashioning’ or making selves, families etc.  You can put the word “Fashion” on the poster anywhere you want. 

The poster should contain the following text. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

UCLA Queer Studies Conference 2011

Fashion

October 14 and 15, Royce Hall, UCLA

Keynote Speakers:

Jack Halberstam, Monica Miller, Mignon Moore,

Karen Leigh Tongson, Deborah R. Vargas

Closing Performance: 

“Queerture: A night of rocket science and fashion design”

with artistic director Tania Hammidi

Organized by the UCLA LGBT Studies Program

For more information see www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/lgbts

Contact lgbts@humnet.ucla.edu

---------------------------------------------------------

We are hoping for a poster that is strongly multicultural.  Other than that, we don’t have requirements for the style. 

Size: 8 1/2 x 11

(Ideally, you would also be able to adjust it slightly so that it could be printed as either

11 x 17 or 8 ½ x 11.)

Send as a jpeg file to contact below.  Should be available as a vector file with as high a resolution as possible.  (It should allow us to blow the image up to larger poster size.)

Should be somewhat flexible so that you can, for example, add a name later if we need to. 

You can see other examples of posters and can also get a sense of the papers presented at the conferences from--

http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/lgbts/events/pastconferences.html

Email Catharine McGraw at mcgraw@humnet.ucla.edu

415 Portola Plaza

146 Humanities

Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1384

(310) 206-1145

Alternative Body

This practice was about using zipper and words, 'Alternative Bodies' and create an image out of Alternative Body. The 'A' has a foot and zipper opens up and create a new space and on this space, there is the man and woman, I got them from the sign.

Collage

Collages of stripes and patterns and lot of passionate colors. I create an image of a cat.

Alternative Bodies Final Show Page

Hello all! So the poster/publicity team finished and ordered the postcards. I'm picking them up tomorrow morning in Oakland before coming to class. And. Surprise! We agreed upon creating an event page on Facebook for our final show. Since I don't have everyone as my Facebook friend, I couldn't invite all of you. Please follow this link, RSVP and invite your friends and family if you like!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117344491679852

Cheers!


For those who aren't here in class today, each of you need to give me $2.50 for the postcards because the total was ~$30 and there are 12 of us. You can pick up 3 or 4 cards per person. If you don't need them let me know, so that I can place them in A2 cafe. :)

The art that does not define the artist

Last week's discussion brought me back to a class I previously took called Heroes & Anti-Heroes.  This course touched upon the ideas of certain heroes having a different background than what they represented.  If an artist's background or personal choices affect the perception and reception of their work.  I would like to say that it doesn't, (because it shouldn't) but art is such an emotional extension of one's body and mind that to disregard the artist as a person would change the art and the definition of art.  The definition of art has gotten rather blurred, so its not a concrete definition, but for those who make art for arts sake or just because it looks nice still has an emotion attached to it.  I wonder how many people reconsider how they perceive someone's art once they find out more about the artist?

Music Team - Report in!

Music Team 
Read on - this is what I need from you!  We need about 20 mins of music that rocks - pick some fast songs and some slows songs.   Consult with the three designers + 1 illustrationist (see below for names) and ask them what kind of music they want for their designs. Create a music list that incorporates 4-5 minutes for the first FOUR names below.  Total: ~20 minutes.   We may fine-tune this list next week, but for now: get working please!


SUMMARYof all music needs 
Opening music for 3-3:20 pm.
Music for Fashion Show: 3:20 - 3:40
Music for Introductions of all students and projects to audience: 3:40-4:30
Quiet music for end of the main event: event ends 5-6pm.


ALL:  FYI. Please no alcohol prior or during runway walk, not for anyone in class nor the models.  Modeling is a skill and art form! Take it seriously and give it your full attention!


1 Caryn: DESIGNER  - Caryn: train your model/s! 
2 Maria: fashion illustrations 2D    Maria, I have an idea for you about the install - let's talk on Fri
3 Jason: DESIGNER - go for it!
4 Patti: DESIGNER - have a blast and train your models!
5 Eun: installation and wall space for 2D Eun, share your ideas with me about your install so I have an idea of it - let's talk Friday
6 Devin:  sculpture Keep me posted where you might want to put this and what the install looks like.
7 Amy: light installation Keep us all aprised of where you might put the light as next week or so comes around.
8 Adika: installation and wall space for 2D We're all set - ask any questions as they arise.
9 Martinus: installation and wall space for 2D Looking forward to your work - ask any questions!
10 Denali: painting installation and illustration Denali: let's go to 141 and you share your ideas about the install - even if it you are still feeling it out.
11 Peter: graphic novel Peter, will you install this on a platform, hand it out, or put it 2D on the wall?
12. Suri: Fashion catalgoue -- installing on a table top. Great!


See you all soon,
~ Dr. T.

Fun Vs Fear

Here is a link of an interesting video with a topic related to our discussion and novel.

http://www.thefuntheory.com/piano-staircase

In this video, a group of creative people is trying to prove that fun is a more powerful compare to fear (coercive VS non coercive). The aim is how to make a healthier lifestyle and saves energy by taking stairs rather than an elevator.

What they did was transforming the stairs into piano keys and they will sound just like a real piano, the tone will be higher as you goes up and lower as you goes down. Some people are even trying to play a song by going up and down. From this innovation, it has been observed that more people took stair than the elevator.

It is a good idea to apply this kind of non coercive method to create a sustainability or lowering the crime level in United States. Fun as a replacement for fear (prisoner).

Nation Building

After the discussions in class, i was thinking about the term "nation building". I was thinking about how a nation develops and how communities form. Superiority over another is what really interested me, because i think this is a problem that is also suffered in my home country Indonesia. The two races in Indonesia both feel that they are superior to each other, thus sometimes creates segregation between each other. I have been thinking hard how i can change this as a designer. I am very nationalistic and i hope that my designs in the future can help my country "nation build".

The video we were watchin in class made me realize that there are lots of people in this world that are not being treated fairly. Personally i think i would go crazy if i was put in a small white room for years.

Nation Building and Design

I was researching and reading some journals online to make sure I got the concept of nation building correct, and found these particularly nice/helpful articles I wanted to share:

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/nation-building/
http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=2167

They are not exactly about contemporary American designs, but very well-written!

Social Resistance

I keep thinking how there are people who find it important to speak their mind and i wonder why is that they have the need to protest.The way society is build, the powerful on top, then the rest who follow and the ones who don't care to belong and the once who care too much.
In every single group there is, I am sure, that person that feels need for change because of personal need or else.
I think the Hegemony system is not fare, it works because it is the organized way society is been built to work successfully. It is unfair because the people from the lower part of the triangle will never claim up, since they lack source, not enough education and most of all because the top keeps them oppress. It is suppose to be an agreement because there is not other choice for the unfortunate.

Nation and the movers

From last class, and thinking about nation building and what it means makes me think to the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.  Though this might not directly associate with what the main categories of an alternative body, I feel like (especially with the term nationbuilding) her novels, The Fountainhead, The Anthem, and Atlas Shrugged enforce this idea of individualism.  The protagonists celebrate individualism and ideas that seem to go against the current.  Society expects them to fit and form to the methods and traditions, and a quality of giving people a reward for such a lack of effort.  In nationbuilding, and thinking about the movers and shakers of the world, it makes me realize how much negativity is used as a natural fuel for motivation and drive.  Fear and insults drive people to do better, but why is this tactic necessary?  Thinking about the laughter as a fuel comment, it seems as though the main basis for why people might do something extraordinary is that they feel that they some how have to be vindicated for whatever trouble had affected them (directly or indirectly).  Leadership and the desire for leadership and changing is based off of negativity.  I was just thinking, what if we stopped and thought, and turning internal negative energy into supportive laughter. 

Structure of the 2-3 page paper

Hi students,


FORMAT/SUBJECT OF ESSAY


Turn in a professional, double-spaced essay that addresses this question:
what is the relationship between your design, and how the U.S. nation might be constructed?


You should reference Dylan Rodriguez's _Forced Passages_, pages 1 - 39 and p. 185-223 for this. 
If you do not reference Rodriguez, you will be penalized.


While you can help each other on this project (perhaps by blogging? or just talk to each other), your essay should reflect YOUR ideas about YOUR design process.


Yes, as discussed in class, you may reference your home country if it is helpful to compare what you know best, about your experiences as a designer/artist/illustrator in the United States.


STRUCTURE
A good essay will have an imaginative opening section, followed by your statement that describes what nation-building is, as we discussed in studio.  At the end of this section, you will asssert your THESIS.  A thesis is an opinion and belief that you can back up by providing EXAMPLES and ANALYSIS throughout the remainder of the paper. This opening should be 2 - 3 paragraphs long.


The remainder of your pages will be your argument, providing visual and/or verbal examples that support and build your argument (or, thesis).  In this secion, you can and should cite Dylan Rodriguez's book.   Reminder: don't just site Rodriguez in quotes. Also argue with him, bring up a subject he leaves out, discuss why or why not his ideas are helpful to you as a designer.


The last 1-2 paragraphs are your conclusion to the paper. Summarize what you have just told your reader, then finish with an exciting few thoughts of your own!


DUE
This essay is due as soon as class begins - noon.
No late papers, no absences.


Bring drawing and/or paint utensils to class this upcoming Friday.


My best,
Dr. T.

Keep Blogging!

Hi Everyone,


Wouldn't it be nice if audiences of alternative markets embraced the 'different' with the same
laughter and joy?


Let's see what you can do!  If you get stuck in your process, always defer to laughter. This is
something we haven't talked about much this semester. But: humor is often a great antidote for
Serious Topics.

http://vgportal.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/3481908/Transgender-singers-a-web-hit.html


Dr. T.

Alternative-ness

In thinking about more of what an alternative body is and the interaction between the alternative and the non-alternative, I realized that (though this may be an obvious observation) there is a constant duality between the two; there cannot be one without the other. Without the other, there is no difference. In a library that I am designing for my studio practice class, I am currently playing with the duality of things, and how form and structure and other non-material ways could create a shared cohesive interaction. Taking opposite ideas and objects such as temporary vs. permanent, adults vs. children; to further sculpt the space and the interactions that the different users will have.

Race and Disability - Event FYI

Folks,
This is an excellent event on April 8 - 10 in San Francisco.  I will go on Friday, the 8th after class.
All welcome to join me.

SINS INVALID - a night of performance on race and disability by a group of extremely talented Bay Area dancers, spoken word poets, visual artists, and anyone I left out.

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/157288

Dr. T. 

Date/Time of ALT BODS Fashion Show and LAST CLASS

FRIDAY, APRIL 29    3-6 pm   FASHION SHOW
Location: Room 141, CCA San Francisco
Set up in Room 141:  You can use the install from ~9 am to 2 pm.  
Group Meditation: 215-230 pm-->mandatory
DESIGNERS: dress your models before 2 pm.  Take a break with the class from 215-230pm for group meditation.

FRIDAY, MAY 6  Noon-6 pm, N9    CLASS CRIT
Each student presents their work for group crit.
snacks provided, bring any you want to share


best, Dr. T.

ADA for Accessible Design - pdf

Here is a link you may find helpful: a pdf of the current from the
American Disabilities Act for Accessible Design

http://www.ada.gov/2010ADAstandards_index.htm

I Shot Andy Warhol

I'm not a big fan of Andy Warhol, so I don't know a lot about his history. I think I might of read the SCUM manifesto before for a different class, but the name Valerie Solanas didn't stick with me.

I think the thing that impressed me most about the movie was how it portrayed her life in a neutral manner. The director wasn't trying to make her out as a hero of feminism or a villain against Warhol. She was just a opinionated and outspoken girl with mental problems, and that really came across in the movie.

Variety

Last class we had to listen to many versions of the song mad world. It frustrated me because I really didn't enjoy almost all of the versions. It simply wasn't the type of music that I normally listen to. What I was doing while closing my eyes was actually listening to all the different rhythms and melodies that each song had. I was quite amazed that one particular song had that many versions. I always knew that there would be different versions of songs, but not that many. At first I was thinking that everyone that enjoyed the music had bad taste in music, but then I realized that the way I was thinking was wrong. It made me think, since there are that many versions, there must be an audience for every single version of the song. People are different, and enjoy different things. As a designer I need to understand that people have different tastes, and I cant force others to like my personal taste, and I cant think that my taste is the best, I've got to be flexible. This is what I got from listening to all of those songs.

The movie "I shot Andy Warhol" was interesting for me, because it showed me how to appreciate my own work, and not let myself be bullied around by a "better" well know artist, I should always believe in my own work.

Reading Vs Listening

The listening session on the last class, makes me wonder of our senses' ability. Speaking and writing are considered as instruments of transmission, while what I want to discuss is the opposite of those, reception, which are hearing and reading. Which one works better?

For me myself, I found that reading works better for me. I think that reading require more effort for me to keep myself focus and on track, I also remember more thinks when I hear something compare to when I read something. But this is not an absolute answer, every person has different abilities for the senses.

After did some research. I found that in 1894 a person performed an investigation. What he did is to present a material using three different method. First is listening, second is reading (visual), and the last one is combination of both. His result showed that listening best works for young children, while reading works best for adult and older children. But those two things does not answer the question yet.

The best of the three is actually the combination of both, visual-auditory method. This method came up to be the best way to impart information for majority people.

Braille Bracelet

Eun may like this - and all of you check it out!  This design recieved a 2010 People's Design Award. The Braille Alphabet Bracelet.  http://bigthink.com/ideas/24604


By the way, in light of some of your concerns, tomorrow's lecture is entitled: Connecting Design to Advocacy and Educational Awareness: An Alternative to Being Super Radical

One student asked me this question, so I am answering en masse: yes, we will be dedicating more time to working on our projects in studio after Spring Break.  

EVERYONE WHO HASN'T BLOGGED: You Must Blog Regularly or receive a zero. Get to it! 

my best, Dr. T. 

Wearable Smart Technology

Just went through these websites and relevant info in my Interdisciplinary Studio class recently, and thought these links might be helpful for Eun's vest/jacket with GPS. These links are amazing, and should be interesting to others too.

http://www.gtwm.gatech.edu/
http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/

Being found in a world of madness

Last week when we had to listen to the song Mad World, it was interesting to hear such a variety of versions. Having only really listened to the version by Gary Jules, it brought back memories of dance, not only of choreography, previously done with my studio, but a dance choreographed by Stacy Tookey from the TV show So You Think You Can Dance. This dance immediately popped into my head when we listened to it, because Tookey talks about homelessness and the idea that one who may be homeless is someone who may be an old friend or relation who became an outcast. Two people who once knew each other; one character is a successful businessman and the other has become homeless, this dance talks about the reaction between the two when they meet up after some years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jykFBUHZqfA

Empathy vs Sympathy

Last week we discussed in class the difference between empathy and sympathy. And then I realized "snap...I used the wrong word on the blog post a couple weeks ago" Pardon me for the misuse of the word when I said "Sympathy is the key", I actually mean "empathy is the key".

sympathy |ˈsimpəθē|noun ( pl. -thies)1 feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune
empathy |ˈempəθē|nounthe ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

One thought about "I Shot Andy Warhol"

Before I start, I should mention that this post may not be so related to Valerie Solanas's feminist aspect. But since this keeps resonating in my mind I have to write about it here! 


That one question resonating in my mind is if it is okay to sell your body to support your soul (and body too actually). What most disturbed me while watching the movie was the fact that Valerie Solanas supported herself by prostituting. I have been trying to answer this question: why and how could she just sell her body to men when she actually loved women? I tried thinking that she could do so because survival is the first and foremost thing in life, and probably because she was mentally ill. But still, I kept remembering the lyrics of this song called "Girl Talk" by a Korean singer-songwriter Yuna Kim (not the figure skater!). In the song she looks back at her life thus far and says that she would, if possible, sing to her young teenaged self that she would not sell her soul to feed her body. I think this means she wouldn't abandon her own convictions and pride simply in order to make a living. I think this is what most artists should already be thinking, too. But then what Valerie did is the exact opposite of the lyrics: she sold her body so that she could keep writing, and she never changed the subject or style of her writing according to the standards of the publishing industry or the mainstream artists. Would Yuna Kim say this is better than selling one's soul to feed one's body, though? Should I not think of what Valerie did as something wrong?


Watching the movie, and after class also, I kept trying to answer which option was right if there were only two options: to sell one's body to support one's soul; or to sell one's soul to support one's body. Probably the first option is better. Probably none of the two is right. I am not sure at all, but trying to come up with an answer to this question will hopefully give me a lot more insight about how to live as an artist.


P.S. If any of you would like to get the sense of what song I am talking about is like, here is the Youtube link to Yuna Kim's live performance of the song:

I am mad madam

It was interesting listening to Mad World 10 or so times in a row. I certainly got sick of the song by the end but realized how many varieties people can make of the same thing. This truly shows how unique we are as humans and as creators. It seems no matter what you do, there will be 10 other versions of it out there. This fact of variety also appears in mental ability, where there is someone out of the ordinary mental ability, so to will there be 10 varieties of that ordinary person in abnormal form. This means that people suffering from mental disability are just varieties of an original whole or type and therefor are not that different. Sadly though, it seems, they are often treated like the homeless and given a wide berth. When it comes down to it, we are all varieties of the original whole and should therefor treat our fellow varieties with respect.

Criminal of Poverty...and Health Care!

I have read barely about the first half of Criminal of Poverty, but what I have felt most strongly so far is that the U.S. needs health care for sure. Especially because of the homeless and the lower-income population. Reading the book I felt many of those in the book might have led a better-quality life if they had benefited from a government-supported health care. I am from a country with a national health care myself, and have no fear whenever I get sick, however big the disease/problem is. If I caught cold, I would have to pay around 3 dollars only to see a doctor and get a prescription. If I caught cancer, I would have to pay a lot more but still I would not have to make my family go bankrupt. But coming here I needed to pay for an expensive health insurance, and was always afraid whenever I caught cold or whatnot, because I wasn't sure about what process I had to go through to use the benefits and how much I had to pay. Every single time I ended up not seeing a doctor and instead taking a DayQuil or Advil. I am pretty sure it will be a lot more problematic when homeless people get sick. I'm sure they won't even have chance to get a surgery if they become in need of one. Same for people from lower-income families, like Mr. Rodriguez in the book who had to kill himself to save his wife from going broke and homeless when he was diagnosed with cancer. This country indeed needs health care for the sake of the homeless and lower-income population.

Good work - Mad world

Good work with radical listening today, all.
We dug into some difficult material, and you all engaged with it like champs.


These seemed to be two songs that were popular:


by Elisa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjAf38VYd2Q&feature=related


and this is a different harp version, but give it a try:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4qXwOu4df0


Have a nice week, catch up with things, and come back to class with some bright ideas for your team and the PRODUCTION!


~Dr. T

Homelessness

Reading more of Criminal of Poverty I have a greater appreciation for the lengths people are driven to in order to attain the things we take for granted. Good food, shelter, and transportation are the fundamental building blocks to our comfortable capitalistic society. I did find it interesting, though, that the protagonists are forced into poverty and homelessness, where some of the homeless I have spoken to made it seem like they chose it as a way of life. We must appreciate what we have and not think differently of others for not having the same.

Tokyo Godfathers

Reading Criminal of Poverty reminded me of an animated film, Tokyo Godfathers. The movie is about three homeless people who live in Tokyo, and they find an abandoned baby girl on Christmas Eve. The whole movie is their attempts to care for the baby and returning her to the birth parents.

I really like the movie for all the little subtle actions in the movie that demonstrate how people usually treat homeless people, like standing as far as possible away from them on public transport. Another interesting aspect of the movie is the back stories of how each of them became homeless, like running away from a large gambling debt.

Anyway, it's a movie that I'd like to recommend for everyone.

Poverty

Hi, I was actually not feeling well and that was why I missed last class, but I think I understand a couple things what poor people feel. When I was little I went to a school located in a very poor area in Jakarta for a couple years. I went to school with lots of poor kids, I saw and experienced their lives. They were living a very tough life, I saw them struggle to pay for school tuition which was only 50 cents a month. I was invited several times to their homes and saw the standard of living that they had, it was very sad to see that they even struggled to get running clean water. I always tried to help my friends that had some financial problems, and I always tried not to make them feel uncomfortable when they were around me. By having these poor friends as a boy, I grew up always having the will to try to help the poor.

Common thread of homeless

After I started reading the Criminal of Poverty I started to give more attention when I encounter homeless people. I also try to remember the homeless people in my home country, how do they look like, their ways of survival, their problems.

They definitely have more than one reason of being homeless, some share same reason, while others have other reasons. Most of them look the same, they use same clothes for quite a long time, looks dirty. They seems to be able to survive in their semi permanent home, maybe some of us have noticed that some homeless have lived in their spot for quite a while. But they do not get their spot easily or without any extra effort. I noticed that in US as well as in Indonesia, police continue to raid them, distracting their well being for the sake of good looking city. I somewhat agree that it is a good thing to try to pursue a perfect urban management. But on the other side, I found that some homeless were evicted from their spot without being provided with any new place to live. They will just be neglected and need to start over their journey from the beginning, they need to find a new place to live. It will just become an everlasting cycle in their lives.

Do people ignore the homeless more than any other stranger?

I have no clue, It is provably like that for some. Since last class thought i have been paying close attention to the way i act when i see homeless people and i don't think it really makes a difference.
I give the same attention to homeless than people who seem to have an actual home, NO difference.
Although i am more aware of homeless that i am with "regular people"
i haven't figure out why yet.

Following the blind

This past weekend, for my interiors studio we had gone to Seattle, WA to observe the Seattle Public Library. Not only is this a phenomenal library to go to, but it handled accessibility issues extremely well. There is a section for ESL as well as providing technology for physical disabilities such as blindness and deafness. The floor that this area is on is a relief sculpture of words, similar to a letter press. What is interesting about this is that the floor boards act as a guiding system that I don't believe the architect planned for. They lead people toward the walls where the technology for deaf and blind people were.

In observing this area for quite sometime, there was someone who was blind who guided themselves fairly well through the space, with a great quickness speed and agility that I would not have initially assumed. This made me think about how (if they have had blindness for quite sometime) they are fully functional and do not appear to be inhibited whatsoever. The only indicator was the blind stick that this person was holding.

Catch up on your Blogging, Reading, and Research

Hi Everyone,

Some of you have not blogged at all. Please remember that your grade is based, in part, on your participation in all activities -which includes blogging once a week.  Your blog can be a new post, or it can be a response to another student's entry.   I check this blog regularly - and take note of who/when you have blogged. 

Also, as stated on the syllabus: 10 minutes late to class = tardy.  3 tardies=1 absence.   3 absences=Failure of the course.  I recommend being neither late to class nor absent!

Tiny aka Lisa Gray-Garcia is the author of the book we're reading this week, Criminal of Poverty. She also started POOR Magazine http://www.poormagazine.org/.   

     
There is a mural by the POOR group up for public view, in the Clarion St. alley located between Valencia and Mission St.s / 16th and 17th Streets.  Check this mural out to see visual work dealing with the subjects of poverty and mental disability that we are covering in class.


See you on Friday,  Dr. T.

Religion

I have not been really religious all my life, but islam has been forced upon me by my parents since I was little. I picked my project because that I felt that if I could not really be religious than maybe I could contribute to my religion by thinking of an idea to help the traveling muslims. I was also impressed by the ideas and the projects that the others were doing, I think all of them are great.

I have been trying to contact islamic groups in Seattle and Jakarta, and trying to ask them if my project would be a good idea or not. So far i have received feed back from several and they say that it would be great if they could have a luxurious looking watch that could remind them to pray and show which direction to pray.

btw, I have seen "we were here" also, and I think that the movie was good. kinda sad though.

Stripes and Mohammed Ali

Hi all, 
Check out this new art installation in Los Angeles. It is called "reALIze," was created by artist Michael Kalish, and depicts the image of U.S. boxer Muhammed Ali -- a world-renowned fighter.  Muhammed Ali was also a member of the National of Islam. He was Muslim.


I am in interested in not only the installation's success at putting a 25 foot face of an African American Muslim man into clear view all over Los Angeles and the internet, but also its brilliant use of materials.  The piece puts stripes into three dimensions - using air, light, and stark color contrast.  The sculpture's use of stripes fulfills a double function here: to both depict and make ephemeral the image of Ali.  As the wind blows through it, the piece transforms and morphs.  Yet the choice to create an image in this way was purely practice: Kalish needed to allow the work to exist not only in 3-dimensions, but also to endure a 24-hour day outside (ex. wind speed, air passage).

As L.A. writer David Ng describes, Kalish teamed up with the LA architecture firm Oyler Wu Collaborative to create the 25 piece. See the full article here, including a close-up of the materials and how the sculpture is put together. Genius! 
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/02/giant-muhammad-ali-art-installation-to-be-unveiled-at-la-live.html

Project Revision

After introduced my idea to the class on last Friday and after i talked to some of my friends, i eventually realized that my "flatfree tire idea" is not specific enough. It is just something that can be applied for everyone, not an alternative group of people.

After doing some research and talking with my families and friends. I came up with an idea to make a "fashionable hearing aid". I got this idea from my grandmother's hearing problem. She is not deaf, but she has a partial hearing impairment, she can still hear, but she is unable to hear some frequencies of sound. So when i talked to her, i need to be extremely close to her in order to communicate with her. She has a hearing aid, but the problem is that she really often forget to wear that, instead she never forget to wear her earrings. I never saw her not wearing any earrings, but i really often unable to communicate with her well. Even though she is eighty year old, but she still concern so much about her appearance, so that she never forget to wear her earrings. But with the hearing aid, the problem is that her memory is not as good as us and due to its relatively small size she always forget that, second she does not want to look like a disable person by wearing that.

So my solution is to make a hearing aid earrings that does not look like a hearing aid at all and embodies function and fashion. By combining two things into one thing, it means that it reduce the number of things that my grandmother or other elderly should remember, secondly it looks more attractive. Thus they will have less probability to forget to wear the hearing aid.