Feedback session on project proposals :) 11/8/21 Wenjun Ding Background: Spatial / Graphic, Fashion, visual merchandising and branding. Major Project: Chinese concept of Hukou (local residence) Interest in deep fakes, wants to create an ironic take on Hukou My notes on your project proposal: - Hukou: household registration. - defines who you are by location, certain idea of social/cultural status, impacts future social relationships (dating etc) and also the opportunities of your children - you are wanting to critique that and get away from it somehow, but you also want to encourage people they are not alone in dealing with the cognitive dislocation caused by Hukou - you want to create a project that looks at the phenomenon of Hukou in an i ronic way, as a kind of critical resistance to it. QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: - what format do you envision for the project? You mentioned the Balenciaga deepfake fashion show in your references. Do you see digital technologies playing a role in your project? It would be good to get more specific about this before the second hand - in. - will it be a collection of stories from real - world informants (anthropological/ethnographic type project), or fabricated stories (fiction) or somewhere in between? - what is the ultimate end goal of the project? REFERENCES: - Shalini Kantayya’s Coded Bias documentary: https://www.codedbias.com/filmmaker - 1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/nadjasayej/2021/06/09/shalini - kantayya - on - her - groundbreaking - documentary - coded - bias/?sh=7c0a35ac3afc https://networkcultures.org/longform/2020/06/22/on - the - basis - of - face - biometric - art - as - critical - practice - its - history - and - polit ics/ - fake passport artworks that address social and political issues: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment - arts/story/2020 - 04 - 16/pilar - castillo - artist - fake - passport https://hyperallergic.com/27630/fake - palestine - passport - stamp/ (perhaps you could cre ate a fake Hukou or series of fakes for each interviewee?) Haruka (Haru) Katsuyama Background: Web Design Major Project: Screen time and combatting passivity My notes on your project proposal: - emotional impact of technology, particularly smartphones - studio set up with lights and props - non - intrusive ambient sounds - combat passivity brought on by excessive screen time - mixed reality environment (digital and physical) that stimulates the senses; helps us understand how people use their free time; helps them think about how their free time can be made happier - online and offline dimension to the piece: think carefully about instagram component, could be really subversive in a great way but is also occupying a problematic space (that causes some of the issues you want to address) QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: - is this room designed as an antidote or to raise awareness of the i mpact of screen time on our mental health? would be good to get more specific in the purpose of the project for the second hand - in. - big question that will be ongoing this year: how to encourage a healthier and happier relationship with our screens that isn’t too instructional, or over simplified? - what further steps or future behaviors could your project encourage after people have the experience inside the room, and re - enter the world? - is there any potential to expand field of collaborators to an i nternet psychologist, maybe? to better understand how the internet impacts our mind and mood. REFERENCES: - Total Space reference (a multisensory exhibition environment that reflects on the digital/physical divide and how the senses can help us overcom e it) http://matyldakrzykowski.com/works/total - space/ https://pinupmagazine.org/articles/article - total - space - museum - fuer - gestaltung - krzykowski - fopp - reversible destiny foundation (Japanese architect and American poet), wanting to create a space where yo u can live forever, to combat mortality http://www.reversibledestiny.org/architecture/ https://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/arakawa - madeline - gins - achitecture - death - exhibition/ Zhijing (Dongdong) Qu Background: Exhibition and Interior Design Major Project: Experience for young and elderly My notes on your proposal: - crisis of the elderly across cultures - this project argues that in order to combat elderly loneliness, we need to not group elderly people together or encourage them to be selfless (confucian system in China) and only serve their grandchildren. support in care homes is also not a perfect solution. - we need to produce a space where the elderly and the young can co - exist and boost each other up - to encourage the younger generations to think critically about the needs of the elderly QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: - how do you plan on telling these stories of the elderly in a way that’s interesting and relevant to your younger audience? - installation targets lonely elderly and younger people who have not spent time with their elderly relatives. but what about the average young person who’s grandparents/parents haven’t become lonely yet, but might become lonely soon? what about middle aged people with aging parents? (Stonebridge Library Breathing Light s was a nice intervention in public space that draws every passerby’s attention to this issue.) likewise, love me hug me example is an ingenious way of taking selfie culture/ instagram architecture and using it as a means of spreading awareness. - would b e good to see you get more specific about collaborators and the environment you’re planning to create - in many ways the pandemic has exacerbated the pandemic of loneliness you’re talking about. but it’s spread beyond just the elderly and has become a universal problem as we’ve all been isolated. this could be a great way to rouse empathy and understanding / interest in the exact project you’re describing. Can the psychological /social impact of the pandemic be woven into this project somehow? - is the re a way to encourage a sustained relationship between the young and old, after your audience experiences your project? REFERENCES: - Aging in Place theory - the rise of multigenerational households (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/10/rise - of - multigenerational - family - living) - the positive impact of studies done on intergenerational art experiences (https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1362&context=expressiv e_theses) Natasha and Edit, feel free to get in touch with your project proposals once you’ve submitted them and I’m happy to offer feedback like this over email :)