March 6-14
319 Scholes St, Brooklyn

More about  Not Spring Not Winter and SITEFEST

Come take a pull.

After some time spent thinking about the effects of nuclear radiation, and the evolutionary processes it triggers/will trigger as we not only face the disasters of Hiroshima and Chernobyl, but begin to cope in a long-term way with the waste that is generated worldwide by harnessing nuclear power for energy, I saw this:

The Radiation Collection by NOCC

“We imagined a scenario in which traditional pieces of furniture would have endured some kind of radiation; where their genes would have mutated “ said Jean-Christophe Orthlieb and Juan Pablo Naranjo, co-founder of NOCC. “The next generation of these pieces would then manifest the mutations. We came up with many versions of possible mutants. We then wondered which of these mutations would be “positive” evolutions, that would enable the entity to better survive in its environment, while others we called “negative” evolutions (these comprised the majority) and did nothing, even reducing the ability of the entity to survive in its environment.”

The mutations incurred by wildlife, nature, our habitat due to our introduction of nuclear material is an issue that enjoys some kind of \’cult\’ fear status, but is not often at the forefront of media attention in practical, solution-oriented ways. In the pursuit of clean energy, nuclear is heralded as a solution. But how will our world, and ourselves, deal with the unavoidable fallout of mistakes, accidents, and unforeseen events in the harnessing, transport, and disposal processes that will no doubt introduce radioactive material into the environment?

I\’ve been thinking about ways to introduce the idea nuclear mutations, and their impacts and effects to general audiences in response to Columbia Art Journal\’s 10,000 year design competition.

And then I find – furniture? With a big open gaping hole in public knowledge and consideration of nuclear mutation effects, why is one of the few public art/design explorations of this issue dealing with the fairytale of furniture mutations? Amidst the countless unknowns nuclear radiation raises, we explore new forms for chairs?

Truth is stranger than fiction.

But again, there’s something there, I can’t tell if its creative avoidance or this is yet another dance in the face of apocalypse.

What our bodies are like and how they function in the world…structure the very concepts we can use to think.

- Lakoff and Johnson

\”I think, therefore I am\” Descartes said all those years ago, and we still trudge along this path.  Our technology may have evolved light-years ahead but somehow our way of thinking stutters.  One might think that the impending ecological catastrophes that our way of being in the world has brought about would challenge our way of thought, but explorations such as Mind-Uploading (a hypothetical process by which you upload your scanned brain to the computer and it functions exactly the same, now sans body) proves that we continue a train of thought that allows for our existence outside of our bodies, outside of our mortality, outside of our nature.

Our knowledge is inextricably linked to our body, to our sensory perceptions of the world.  Our fingers remember numbers and keys even when our minds do not.  \”You can never forget how to ride a bike.\”  Contemporary work patterns often discount the embodied nature of knowledge, treating the human body as a vessel to be accommodated while the mind does all the work.

In a recent conversation with Joe Dumit, Director of Science and Technology Studies at UC Davis, and a man that knows a lot about knowing the brain, Joe shared with me his explorations into a visual study of knowledge work.  Fascinating.  \”Boring\” pictures of people at their desks, at their computers, come to illuminate minute differences in how we use our bodies to think.  But getting people to send you photos of themselves at work is not always the easiest thing to accomplish.

What if the computer did it for them?

As a first test, I decided to take advantage of the built-in-webcam that comes with so many laptops these days – and the laptop (and wherever it happens to be located) being often the \”place\” of knowledge work.  Using Processing, I built a simple little program that sits in the background while you write, or send emails, or do whatever it is you do, and it takes your photo.  It is currently set to take your photo every second for a total minute capture of you at work.

These photos are saved as JPGs in a folder, then played back in processing in realtime, and loaded into a quicktime movie which is easy to upload to the web.  The movie is sped up to 1ps, providing for a sped-up, exaggerated, more internet-friendly experience.  The processing playback has a tediously slow quality to it – that is, if your body movements are tediously slow in the minute.  It\’s nice to have both.

I\’d like to start a collection somewhere online – maybe Flickr? – where people can share an hour of their face at work.  We talked about starting a \”sitzfleish\” tag, the working title Joe has for this project.

\”Sitzfleisch,\” or \”sitting flesh,\” essentially refers to your rear end, butt, derriere or whatever else you chose to call the padded part of your body that you sit on. \”You have Sitzfleisch!\” can mean you have strong muscles down there (and can hang on when the airplane hits turbulence or the car makes a sharp turn, for example). It can, however, be somewhat less intimate and refer to your admirable patience in \”sitting out\” a difficult situation. Since this ladies\’ bench isn\’t experiencing any turbulence, we\’ll assume they\’re exhibiting incredible patience in waiting for their afternoon tea.

Here are some images from me at work, a final video, and the code.  Thanks to Sofy Yuditskaya for her sharp eyes and willing fingers.

import processing.video.*;

int n=0;

// the number of pictures it takes before it starts to show you and saves the movie
int you= 60;

int maxqImage = you;
PImage[] qImage = new PImage[maxqImage];

Capture video;
PImage saved;

int p=0; //p for picture, to load images

int x=0;
int y=0;

int time = 0;

int keeper = 1000;// 1 sec

int a=0;

//record a movie
MovieMaker mm;

void setup() {
frameRate(1);
size(500,400);
video = new Capture(this, width, height, 30);
saved = createImage(video.width,video.height,RGB);
mm = new MovieMaker(this, width, height, \”drawing.mov\”);
}

void draw() {

if (a==0) {

video.read();
//image(video,0,0,width,height);

// if one second has gone by, save a picture and restart the timer
if ((millis()-time) > keeper) {
time = millis();
video.save(\”q\” + n + \”.jpg\”);
println(n);
n++;
}

if (n==you) {
a=1;
}
}

if (a==1) {
//load the images
for (int i = 0; i < qImage.length; i++) {
qImage[i] = loadImage(\”q\” + i + \”.jpg\”);
println(\”loaded: \” + qImage[i]);
a=2;

}
}

if (a==2) {

//void display() {
//display the images
image(qImage[p],0,0);
mm.addFrame();
p++;
if (p >= qImage.length) {
a=3;
//save the movie
mm.finish();
}
}

if (a==3) {
p = 0;
a = 2;
}
}

sitzfleish face capture #1 from miriam on Vimeo.

Possible future developments:

- Include date stamp in the name of the saved video.

- Have the video and or/images upload directly to the web from the user\’s computer.

- Play with different animation possibilities.

- Allow users to choose at the start how often an image will save.

Food is the fundamental social ordering of utopia.

Carol Steel gives an interesting talk about how food shaped the physical structure of cities, and what happened when we gained autonomy from food…

We live in \”sitopia\”  – \”food place\” – if we understand this, food becomes a powerful conceptual and design tool to shape the world.

Use food as a way of seeing.

What else can you use as a way of seeing? Reminds me of the man who mapped his suburb not by streets, or hills, but Jack-O-Lanterns.

from WMMNA\’s post on The Art of Fashion: Installing Allusions runs until 10 January 2010 at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.

I guest taught a 3rd grade after-school engineering & architecture program at PS.9 today.  Small people are funny and creative.  They were very clever and I was impressed.
I introduced the concept of visceral_Switch.  I focused too much on energy – I\’m sure they are hearing energy green politics everywhere, and I didn\’t really want to join the of it push on them.  By the time I got around to the visceral part, I had lost their attention.  (Note to self:  Don\’t talk for more than 15 minutes to 3rd graders.  Or maybe anybody at all).  This also highlights that I have been lagging on the visceral nature of my switch.  Which is important, which is where I started –>  matching not just action to systemic impact, but matching feeling of action to feeling of result.  Let\’s not forget that this all started with a fantasy project that let me squeeze so hard that I would fly away….

When I asked where energy came from, we couldn\’t get past the wall.  It was interesting to watch their faces as they realized that the don\’t know how electricity gets into their wall.  This diagram & schematic seems important to draw & display.  Perhaps next to any installation of visceral_Switch (light).

They really enjoyed Samsens\’ Buttons video.

The Buttons from nitipak samsen on Vimeo.

The balloon button brought delight and the elevator control brought exasperation.  One boy commented that his friend in a wheelchair wouldn\’t be able to get anywhere as he is just one person.  Another girl suggested that you could add a \”wheelchair\” button.

I asked them to make any control for light that they wanted.  At first they had a bit of a hard time getting past the idea of regular switches (they were just adding things on to the flip-light switches), but upon a many ridiculous suggestions weird looks turned into lovely ideas.  Children need more people to support their wacky ideas.

me:  maybe a bird flies by and the light turns on?
girl1: but what if you don\’t have a bird?
girl 2: buy a bird!
girl1: but what if you dont want to buy a bird (rolling the eyes)?  and no bird is flying by your window?
me: well what could you do to get a bird to fly by your window?
girl 2: feed it!
me: that\’s a good idea…
(…girl 1 does not seem hugely impressed)

Some worked in groups, some alone.  It was interesting to watch how much the kids preferred to work in groups, and didn\’t have too much of a power struggle as adults (although they did a little bit…\”hey that was my idea!  i get to build it…\”)

One boy made a paper airplane and was desperately asking permission to fly it.  I told him to work on his light switch.  He then told me it was his light switch, that you throw it and if it lands in the target the light switches on.  I told him it was brilliant and to draw it, that his light switch would train people to be really good paper air plane throwers if they wanted light.  He looked at me funny and said no, the target would just be really big.

We had feathers and I tried to encourage the kids to think about how they felt and how that could be a different kind of switch.  One girl came up with a switch that tickled your nose when you turned the light on so that it would make you want to turn the light off as soon as you didn\’t need it anymore.
A group of girls built a light switch that was fun.  Presenting is a really good skill, they were nervous a bit but got into it.  You should really start presenting as early as possible.  Their light switch was a kind of ball through the tube landing in a basket.  They said it made it fun, and self-critiqued that it probably wasn\’t very good for disabled people.  Another girl was all over it, asking \”How do you turn it off?  How many balls does it come with?\”  And a boy, \”Can I make a recommendation that you put sensors all along the edge of the basket so that if it lands anywhere there it will still turn on?\”  I guess these kids are self-selected engineering class kids but they are awesome.

Another group of girls made a personal automation light switch.  They used different colors to represent different brightness levels, and the light would self-adjust according to your personal (set) preferences.  It would have multiple users, and would know who you are according to your handprint.  Interesting how they bring up total automation… how easily you fall into a scenario where you trade convenience for submission to the machine.  I didn\’t push them to question this.  I would love to teach more long-term so that I could push slowly, and find out what their reactions would be once they became more aware of these issues.  But using the handprint as an ID is a beautiful idea…

A few children made sadistic light switches to encourage less use of energy. It seemed too much in my gut-reaction style..and made me realize that I really really really do not want this to be the main thrust of what I\’m getting across. Although, it was funny to watch. And it did get them thinking – how often are you asked to engineer things that are mis-functional? But – it was supporting this idea that to be good to the environment we need to suffer. Introducing and promoting empowering enjoyable environmental DO actions (as opposed to DON\’T) are so so necessary!  Maybe if I teach them in the spring…

\”if you press too long it goes really long if you press a short time it goes a short time.\”
\”watching you turn on the lights in a right way, if not it does not turn on\”
\”kind of clay that makes you see your fingerprint\”

Sometimes the term \”rule-book slowdown\” is used in a slightly different sense than \”work-to-rule\”: the former involves applying to the letter rules that are normally set aside or interpreted less literally to increase efficiency; the latter, refraining from activities which are customary but not required by rule or job description but the terms may be used synonymously.

Sometimes work-to-rule can be considered malicious compliance by employers as they pursue legal action.

In some languages (e.g. Russian and Hebrew) it is known as \”Italian strike\”, as it is believed that it was first utilized in Italy in 1904. In Italy, it is known as \”sciopero bianco\” or \”white strike\”.

(disclaimer: disorganized diving deliberations)

I.  First off, humans are animals.  It seems crucial to begin with this simple, obvious, and so often forgotten fact.  The frame through which to peer.

II. Doing some initial background research, I\’m looking for examples of:

1) homosapien-animal interactions in urban places
2) non-human habitats in urban (or human constructed) environments
3) what non-human animals eat/ how they survive in \”unatural\” (mutated? evolved?) environments

-  Nara park in Japan:  \”tame\” deer live wild among humans in the park, venturing into the city.  \”deer biscuits\” sold to tourists.  deer known to attack small children having picnics.

- nicotine-addicted squirrels ///true????//// from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/lane/4033/bio.html –>

Urban squirrels are susceptible to growing accustomed to human treats. In fact, once they are weaned on pizza, chocolate, and the like, they will reject natural foods. For example, British scientists were recently baffled to discover an entire park of squirrels who have become addicted to nicotine after chewing on littered cigarette butts!

I keep seeing this \”British scientists discover nicotine addicted squirrel\” story all over the internet, but can\’t find any reliable mention to the actual study… Urban myth?  Hmmm…..  If it is just an urban legend, what does that say about our conceptualization of squirrels?  Maybe nothing, but…

- cemeteries as the new urban wildlife safari!!!

Kingston, UK has a plan for some kind of history-wildlife theme park in the cemetery.

A brief inspection by the Ecology Officer (August) revealed field woodrush, cat’s ear, birdsfoot-trefoil, sheep’s sorrel, lesser stitchwort and red clover, although stunted by the existing mowing regime. Many species of butterfly flourish in sympathetically managed cemeteries. Tombstones and memorials radiate heat to which some species of butterfly take advantage of to bask, the same species seek out stands of nettles on which to lay their eggs. Other species associated with the peaceful setting of a cemetery are bats, ivy, lichen and churchyard beetles. Lichen covering gravestones is a habitat for many insects such as marbled beauty moths whose caterpillars feed on it. Ivy is an important food source for over wintering birds

…It is proposed that interpretation boards be installed to educate visitors with regard to local wildlife for example demonstrate how attractive a grave covered in with wild meadow flowers can be.

There can be conflicting views on how to look after cemeteries however, Kingston Cemetery is large enough to support differing management regimes. Controlled ecological management can take account of the people who visit the cemetery for a range of reasons. Some for quiet reflection and for others to enjoy the secondary benefits of the natural environment without the usual trappings of an urban park.

III.  Random other stuff

I came across this education effort to teach children about urban wildlife

http://www.opencourtresources.com/ocr/grade3/unitpages/city_wildlife.html

this site is great.  its curriculum geared towards 3rd graders.

here\’s something I found under \”chants\”

From the church in front of washington square park:

Better to suffer in their hell than to consent to their utopia?

\”i think many times, what they\’re buying is what they wish their lives would be..\”