what i talk about when i talk about participation 9:29 PM

the idea of participation seems to come up fairly often in my thesis / other work & i would like to address this now, while i am procrastinating a bit on my thesis presentation [i like to think of it as 'multitasking', thankyouverymuch].

participation in design [or at least within the context of classes in this program, etc] tends to be involved with ideas of interactivity, of engagement, of people doing things alongside & with other people. participation for me, based on my crazy ideas, has more to do with things like this. or:

[{Original} Participation is] a kind of consciousness for which it was impossible to perceive unfiguratively. But what does one mean when one speaks of perceiving figuratively? One means a kind of consciousness which does not, which cannot, perceive the material merely as such, which in perceiving its environment, perceives at the same time an immaterial within or through, or expressed by it. . . . a kind of consciousness for which there is no such thing as a merely "outer" world".*

so, yes. owen barfield had a lot of crazy ideas but this one stuck with me. one interpretation of this state of mind / consciousness is to think about what it feels like to be utterly afraid: to simply know that an object or a being has this kind of immense power and control that is greater than you. then think about imagining that the whole world is like that. not necessarily that you are afraid of the whole world, as i was when i was much younger**, but that everything external to you is what has power, what has agency; that the whole of the self is external to what we now understand as the self.

this is an interpretation of what barfield calls 'original participation', which he argues is a developmental phase of human consciousness that we have evolved out of. but barfield also talks about 'final participation', which he argues is the next phase of the evolution of consciousness. it involves an understanding and awareness of original participation but not an attempt to emulate it; it's complicated & i feel like i have only a very base understanding of this. we were warned against attempting to finally-participate on a trip to greece i took with the professor who exposed me to all this nonsense.

but so my point here is that this is what i talk about when i talk about participation: i am talking about a shared understanding, a shared 'tapping into' something that is larger than either participant or participated thing [object, activity, etc]. when i talk in my thesis work about creating work that encourages users to participate in it or in a narrative, i am talking about the power that work or narrative has [or can have] to elevate the experience. that it gets at this external thing that i understand is something like final participation—though of course it isn't, it has nothing to do with that; the most i can hope for is a nudge in that direction, & that is what i am talking about. that direction.

& now i have to go finish this presentation.



* thanks, owen barfield! this is, as can be found on the above link, from his history, guilt and habit.
** though this has led to one very interesting folio project already

when you are swallowed by a wolf [1] 11:52 PM

have been thinking about this project for some time now but have only just gotten around to mocking it up.














so the concept behind this tiny sketch is that sometimes the form a book should take is not a paper-&-ink thing. sometimes a thing like a place setting is perhaps more appropriate.

this is one of the wolf stories sasha wrote [under my direction]. it is the first in the series & the text of this part is:

When you are in a house that is swallowed by a wolf, the best thing to do is to wrap yourself in a blanket of water and set the house on fire. The fire will then spread to the wolf and the wolf will burn and you will walk out just fine, and with your dinner already cooked. You will however no longer have a house.

in creating these sketches, i have removed the beginning of this story ["When you...wolf,"], understanding that these items will appear in a context where that beginning is made clear. i have also split them up into the three sentences & sequenced them fork > knife > spoon, which is the same as 'reading' a place setting left to right.

& the truth is that i am kind of really excited about these. i know it would probably be cost-prohibitive to actually engrave a significant number of place settings with this much text, but i love the way the objects relate to the text, how the objects relate to the other objects i have in mind for this project, & how each line of the text informs / is informed by the individual object it is on. pretty happy with this for a sketch.



mmmmm, storytime!

details explorations 9:09 PM

potential thesis mini-projects 12:02 AM

so that when i am feeling like i can't remember what i am doing i can come back to this page & go 'oh that's right, i should stop having this panic attack, i can do all these things here'

DETAILS:
+ photograph details
--> considerations: scale, size, frame, hierarchy
--> multiple shots of one item
--> start with one kind of thing, then move on to others - document, catalog

+ elimination
--> take existing design (photograph or not) & eliminate details
--> same, but eliminate everything but the details
--> diptych/triptych

COLLABORATION:
+ take a look at the wolves again. something will pop out at you.
--> storyboard it.
--> imagine as instructions
--> imagine as narrative
--> imagine as objects
--> imagine as lack of text

+ work with existing text, deceased author
--> exploration in how lack of collaboration affects design
--> obviously working against an already-designed text

OBJECTS:
oh man. oh man. not touching this one.
there is a reason for this. don't make this the goal. thesis topic adjusted!

TBC

potential thesis proposals 12:02 AM

as presented in class friday, replicated here for posterity / documentation / whatever:

THREE POTENTIAL THESIS PROPOSALS

1. Art & Copy
This thesis is an exploration of the process of collaboration between writer and designer specifically relating to works of narrative fiction. Following the traditional advertising-world relationship of art & copy, I propose a new model for publishing, where the relationship between designer and writer is intimate, resulting in works that communicate to a degree where traditional e/books fail. Through bringing a designer into the writing process at an early stage, both writer and designer are able to create one whole that functions far better than if both writer and designer worked and created independently from one another. This thesis will create both a framework or methodology for (designers’) collaborating with narrative fiction writers as well as a body of work proving the process of collaboration (the “final products”), which may be in book form or any other media that is best suited to the narrative.
Proposed Sub-Projects:
- Setting up a method of collaboration (note: this will largely determine the rest of the sub-projects)
- Chapbook/s as collaboration with poets / flash-fiction writers
- Web-based or visual work
- Interactive work

2. Ordinary Objects for Extraordinary Lives
This thesis is an exploration of the design of objects as intermediaries or bridges between narrative and reality. Objects on their own have the potential to tell stories; with the addition of typography and narrative, they have the ability to draw their users into a dual-world of both reality and narrative. I am interested in exploring both the innate narrative qualities of objects and also the imposition of narrative onto objects. Part of this thesis will involve collaboration with narrative fiction writers in creating these objects.
Proposed Sub-Projects:
- Kit series (1: IN CASE OF being swallowed by a wolf)
- Culinary tools relating to a memoir
- Two-dimensional work that transforms a space into a narrative space
(getting away from objects, but still on theme)
- Something encouraging the user to create his/her own narrative through the use of the object

3. Devil in the Details
This thesis is an exploration of the use of details in design. It will begin with a definition of “detail”, which I hypothesize has much to do with scale, size, perspective, and paradigm, among other factors. On focus here will be the idea that details can act as more than just the “little extra”; they can in fact be a significant portion of the communication of design. I am interested in design that communicates on at least two levels: the first, primary, immediate or obvious level (which would include the primary message), and the secondary detail level (which may or may not add to / subvert the communication of the primary level). This thesis would examine the role of details in different media, including print, digital, and product or object design, among others.
Proposed Sub-Projects
- This is so vague I think it might be best to consider it as part of a larger thesis topic.


IN GENERAL I AM INTERESTED IN:
+ communicating a literary narrative in a visual way
+ creating work that makes the user think
+ creating work that makes me think
+ being able to work in a variety of media, including print, digital, object, social (interactive), etc
+ examining the designer's role as collaborator / facilitator
+ a topic that allows for spontaneity and serendipity
+ examining and cultivating my own process
+ bringing my small obsession on mythopoetics into a visual space
+ the meaningful

IN GENERAL I AM NOT INTERESTED IN:
+ book design
+ defining a specific audience for my thesis
+ branding
+ authenticity
+ pushing type around

I KNOW THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH / I WOULD LIKE FEEDBACK ON:
+ how best to combine these three main topics into one whole that makes sense / incorporates ideas from all
+ the content of these communications, or whether it has to be more specific than ‘narrative fiction’
+ defining a specific audience for my thesis
+ breaking up what I see as large-picture topics into smaller, actionable projects
+ figuring out how to make a proposal presentation out of all of this


feedback & ideas from friday:

+ encouragement to take the first or second tack (based on latest things, probably a combination of the two)
+ keep on experimenting with different angles
+ idea of the "right" form & how there often isn't one, that this is part of our role as designers
+ narrative | process | form as key points of this thesis
+ narrative replaces all instances of 'book' - new model, new formats
+ look at what is minimally required to communicate ideas
+ blankness of design to intentionally encourage projection / participation
+ how to utilize this if/when a form is intentionally explicit (an axe, etc)
+ maintaining integrity in the relationship of narrative and form
+ tangibility / intangibility
+ sequencing
+ issue of relying / depending on writer. i need to be able to make my own narratives.
+ projections
+ space as object or lack of object (jenny holzer, etc)

now, where can i go from here?

proof that all i do is think about thesis, really 11:36 AM

this is going to be a long one, folks. hold on to your horses, or is that even the right way to say that

anyhow. the other day i had a thesis meltdown & then i had a momentary flash of inspiration / idea-generating & then i came back to this blog & read all the things i had written over the summer about thesis & decided i should really get back to recording that, if for no one else but me.

so here is some catchup on what i have been thinking w/r/t thesis.

ideas that came up the first week of thesis (or, typin' up my notes)
+ series of small projects.
+ gimmick vs things that work.
+ interaction, intelligence
+ collaboration: writers, artists, designers—process, writing about form
+ designer as collaborator or author? (note: this one is a NO)
+ significant objects.
+ what makes the physical memorable (or the other way around), or the personal universal (also other way round)
+ participation (thanks barfield)

i came out of the first week of thesis a bit confused still. i'd written up a whole mind-map of ideas & had set forth a preliminary project, which i mentioned before on here: a kit containing items that tell a story of what happens when you are in a house that is swallowed by a wolf. i approached sasha with the idea & told him what i wanted to do & roughly how i wanted to communicate & he wrote (& continues to work on) a series of short snippets about this topic. i was pretty excited about this idea but didn't communicate it all that well in class.

second week notes:
+ consideration of form & function
+ creating opportunities to share experiences
--> "show us how you did this" for gain
+ brand / experience
+ authenticity / simulation
--> what is authentic? raw?
--> extremes of significance; inherent qualities of ____ (sensory, audiovisual)
--> disneyland; postmodernism; neoclassical revival
+ authenticity in process
--> handwork, lack of polish; is this a trend or something we are hungry for & why?
--> artisan / artist / art's place in commerce
--> art vs branding - the thing
+ authenticity vs appreciation. privilege in the authentic.

somehow this week devolved into discussion of creating a branding experience, determining the authentic. i think it was in the air that week because it came up in other classes too. this is still a consideration in my work but i want to take the word 'branding' out of it. for the purposes of the thesis solely, i want to free myself to not think about realistic expectations, which is basically what branding is.

after class, i met with debra, one of my thesis resources, & in talking with her we came up with the idea of dissecting a book, examining the form & experience of the book / reading, investigating the compelling. we talked about how the beauty of a book is how it exists in one state when you are not interacting with it but then really just disappears when you are interacting with it, allowing the text (or narrative, or whatever) to exist in a space more prominent than the physical. i mentioned this earlier, too, about how i was going to be a book entomologist; while i have my resources, i still haven't gone through with the dissection. more on this later.

third week notes:
+ mosaic / gestalt
+ survey of book objects; ideo's book ideas
--> something about ideo makes my skin crawl. figure out what it is.
+ scale of objects?
--> miranda july / why not industries
+ collaboration. living with designers / writers / artists / etc.
--> how the best design works as collaboration, with respect
--> maybe take video of the collaborative process that happens w/s in the apartment?
+ think about limitations, not just delimitations

i was really not prepared for this week. i had been recovering from a number of things & hadn't had time to make anything or do much besides think, if that. so what i did instead was bring in some of my recent & in-progress work in the hopes that the class could help me do what designers do & look for patterns, look for themes, look for something that's already happening in my work that i couldn't see because i am too deep in it.

somehow the topic still kept coming back to books & i got frustrated. i don't want to focus on books. i keep saying it & i think i just have to not say anything about books at all anymore. it doesn't do anyone any good to talk about what a thing is not if i can't define what it is.

we talked a little about how my idea for a 'kit' could really be understood as a 'book', but a book made of objects. i liked this idea a lot but i mentioned that i hadn't yet started making any of the objects yet. that when it came down to it, i hated pushing type around, which is what i felt like i was doing. but i have been thinking about it more & reframing the way i view it & i think if i start small, with something like a notebook for you to record all the things you will do once you are no longer in a house swallowed by a wolf—something tangible & actually usable, i mean—i can make some progress.

while i loved the idea of dissecting a book, something about the process of it (even in the name of Science) felt kind of unbearable to me—even though the book i was using was a $1 used book from the strand that meant nothing to me personally. i would still like to undertake a less physical dissection, but every time i start working on it, i get caught up in how subjective it is & feel like this whole thing is insular & stuck. i seem to run into this thinking a lot & it's really detrimental to my work but i don't know how to step out of it.



this week, we are not meeting, which is partly why i am blogging. i am using this time productively!

in class on wednesday, one of our professors / speakers was talking about the role of designers, & said that designers must now be creators of systems, not ephemera or images. i totally disagreed with that & started writing furiously in my sketchbook about it. in my mind, our work is always ephemeral, whether it is a system or an image. nothing will last for ever; nothing will be relevant for ever; thinking that it will has, i believe, led to the recent move towards 'eco-friendly' design, 'design thinking', etc etc. i am not interested in looking at sustainability but instead at paradigms, at perception, at understanding & communication. plus systems are great but ultimately they too break, they too must be replaced, they too become 'ephemeral'.

so this has led to a new framework for this 'dissection': it becomes an exploration of the temporality of design, trying to figure out what lasts & what doesn't (we have some heirlooms from ages past but how many of the things made in the last 10 years are going to last 10 more? probably not the things we intend!), & encourage an awareness in / by the user of the temporality of design, too. my notes read something like:

+ ordinary objects for extraordinary lives
+ best made: emphasis on long-lasting, simple, connotative
+ modern heirlooms. how to create objects that encourage cherishing? is this possible?
--> opium vol. 8—lengthy, temporal design
+ how to move towards not fearing but embracing change / temporality / use
--> i am scared of change! i don't want to mark things up! get over this!

& i think this is going in the right direction. i can get excited about this. & i like how even going over all the notes that seemed irrelevant makes a larger picture. feels like i'm starting to get on track with all this.

NOW TO GO PUBLISH MY INNERMOST THOUGHTS ON THE INTERNETS, THIS IS THE MAGIC OF BLOGS AMIRITE

stress cookies I 12:19 AM

last week i made oatmeal-caramel-chocolate chip cookies but tonight i really just needed to stress-bake. this recipe is provided for therapeutic purposes only. other recipes might actually be better. i won't argue. but this is one of the easiest / easiest-to-remember i know.

stress cookies mark i, or, the first real stress-cookie of the semester
or, goodbye september, please let real fall weather be here soon cookies
yields about 24 + 2 'test' cookies, if you know what i mean

+ preheat oven to 350 degrees f.

cream together:
+ 1 stick (8oz) butter
+ 1 cup sugar (note: i like doing a 3:1 brown:granulated sugar ratio, but use what you've got)

add, mixing well after each addition:
+ 1 large egg
+ 1 tbsp vanilla extract*
+ 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

in separate bowl, mix together, then add to wet mixture**:
+ 1 cup flour (note: probably increase this to 1 1/2 cups)
+ 1/2 tsp baking soda
+ 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt

gently fold in:
+ 1/2 bag (6 to 8 oz) chocolate chips
OR
+ 1 cup raisins
OR
+ 1 cup toffee, or caramel candies chopped into chunks
OR
+ about the same volume equivalent of whatever you want to put in your cookies. nuts if you like. coconut. i don't care. go crazy!!!!

now for the baking part
+ line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper. you could butter them too i guess.
+ using the 'two-spoon' method or however you prefer, transfer dough to prepared sheets in generous spoonfuls
+ leave room between the cookies. these babies will spread.
+ place sheets in the oven & time for about 5 minutes
+ after about 5 minutes, rotate sheets & switch racks, leaving them in for about 5 more minutes
+ when they are golden-brown, they are done.
+ take them out of the oven & transfer to cooling racks (or let them sit on the top of the oven after you've turned it off) & don't eat them until they have cooled at least 5 minutes
+ try not to eat all of them at once



* homemade is best! a month or so ago we got a bottle of light rum into which we put maybe 8 vanilla beans because we are impatient. you could use fewer if you are not. we refill the bottle as we deplete the extract. it is awesome & easy & you should totally do this.

** yeah right like you need to dirty up two bowls with this. feel free to dump everything into the same bowl at this point. this is stress baking, after all.