Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Monday, 28 May 2012
existentialism; how it is perceived and is it relevant today?
In this essay i aim to understand and explore different philosophers viewpoints on the subject of existentialism as a lifestyle role. I will do a triangulation between Sartre, Heidegger and Nietzsche. I will then go onto explore options and questions about weather existentialism is currently relevant in the present society we live in, by comparing an example from the 50's with one from today.
In my understanding, existentialism is a philosophical view point or perspective in life, that a human in their existence has a responsibility to themselves to develop their existence though acts of free will. Also that their being is individual to the person and that they have the choice to use their life in any which way they like despite all of the pressures of society, by making choices that define their true intentions. i feel that today the main factors that effect the possibility of this are confidence, being able to use recourses, an education of possibilities and to have the courage to go through with the actions necessary to make possible the lifestyle that you want.
'Nietzsche's commitment to developing a new version of existence originates, then, in his recognition of western reflection upon life has traditionally been structured by the metaphysical opposition between a number of fixed terms' (L.Spinks [2003] Friedrich Nietzsche, p134)
'the violent domination of the weak by the strong' (L.Spinks [2003] Friedrich Nietzsche, p133)
In this essay i aim to understand and explore different philosophers viewpoints on the subject of existentialism as a lifestyle role. I will do a triangulation between Sartre, Heidegger and Nietzsche. I will then go onto explore options and questions about weather existentialism is currently relevant in the present society we live in, by comparing an example from the 50's with one from today.
In my understanding, existentialism is a philosophical view point or perspective in life, that a human in their existence has a responsibility to themselves to develop their existence though acts of free will. Also that their being is individual to the person and that they have the choice to use their life in any which way they like despite all of the pressures of society, by making choices that define their true intentions. i feel that today the main factors that effect the possibility of this are confidence, being able to use recourses, an education of possibilities and to have the courage to go through with the actions necessary to make possible the lifestyle that you want.
'Nietzsche's commitment to developing a new version of existence originates, then, in his recognition of western reflection upon life has traditionally been structured by the metaphysical opposition between a number of fixed terms' (L.Spinks [2003] Friedrich Nietzsche, p134)
'the violent domination of the weak by the strong' (L.Spinks [2003] Friedrich Nietzsche, p133)
- define how walking is an existentialist activity...
- walking as existential.
- guy debord
- 1 example from 50's compared to today
- derive = drift -situationists.
- tradition vs. existentialism
Monday, 21 May 2012
‘Please draw a line
behind you on your route’
Instructions: if you find
one of these, please draw a line behind you on your route to wherever you are
going. When you don’t want to partake anymore, make a mark on the ground that
is individual to you (e.g. initials, a drawing, your name etc.) and drop the
stick, ready for the next person to find.
Thankyou for your
participation!
My name is Samantha Jones.
I am currently studying Art and Design in Leeds. If you are interested in
looking more into the project feel free to visit my blog address… http://linesbehindyou.blogspot.co.uk
so i did the chalk square thing today aka 'lines behind you' draw a meter square outside car phone warehouse (near urban outfitters) with parcel tape. the aim is to stay in this square because if i call people over then it can be the starting point, but to also highlight the fact that i'm in a boundary and that they are not, so maybe an underlying idea that they might think about the amount of freedom they have?
at first i thought i would spend a good few hours in the square but was surprised that the sticks and chalk were given out within about half an hour. i tried to ask a wide range of people, young, old, people from different races, people that were trying to ignore me! i tried to avoid people who were running from the train, people on the phone and people that had i pods in.
i asked the people... 'hi there, could you help me with my project please it wont take long. i have a stick here and i'd like you to draw a line behind you to wherever you're going. when you've had enough of drawing please make a mark on the ground that is individual to you, e.g. a drawing, your name or initials and prop it up against the wall for the next person to find. there is a note on there for them to read that explains what they have to do if they want to partake'. i then documented this by photographing the participant whilst they were walking away with the stick. i also documented to sticks i found at the end of their trails and the markings people had made.
i got denied by 6/7 people straight away. one girl i explained it to and then she was like, erm i don't really want to is that ok?! so i let her go :) the other people were hesitant, others were really enthusiastic and were asking more questions about it.
one old guy came over and was asking about my project so i had a long conversation about it with him, but he didn't want to take part. another had found a stick that had been put down and followed the line back to me in my square, he'd read the note on the stick and complimented me with 'it's really harmless, creative and fun' he said he had a son that would be interested in the project and asked for my website, but all i had was a telephone number. he took it. he wanted to partake so i ave him a stick and off he went. also a drunk uy came over and was asking how much it was to buy one, and i explained to him that it was fee if you partake in the activity. i had to explain quite a few times for him to understand. in the end i gave him a stick and he draw a womanly looking figure on the ground, then stumbled and broke the chalk and dropped the stick! i really didn't mind this.. it was funny and a good in site into his life.
noah i met later on, he asked me if i was the girl doing the activity and i said yes, we had a chat and he told me where his stick was.
the participants:
family of 3, little boy used stick
family of 4, little boy used the stick
mum and daughter, daughter used stick
woman with green eyes in denim
woman with broken arm
guy with a limp
old hippy guy who complimented it
noah. (they guy i bumped into later) he left his stick at the corn exchange
the guy in a hurry
two guys on the way to the car park
drunk guy
(2 more also)
so then i decided to follow the trails! things i noticed:
people started to interact with the enviroment, for example
likes:
i really like that the fact that the sticks are still out there.. the project still has the potential to carry on going without any of my direct input. it's in the hands of the public now and they can do what they like with it. how i didn't make the sticks 'pretty' this might make people want to steal them and take them out of the area.
dislikes:
lack of confidence to go there, sometimes awkard to parsuade someone with the project.
what to do next time?
at first i thought i would spend a good few hours in the square but was surprised that the sticks and chalk were given out within about half an hour. i tried to ask a wide range of people, young, old, people from different races, people that were trying to ignore me! i tried to avoid people who were running from the train, people on the phone and people that had i pods in.
i asked the people... 'hi there, could you help me with my project please it wont take long. i have a stick here and i'd like you to draw a line behind you to wherever you're going. when you've had enough of drawing please make a mark on the ground that is individual to you, e.g. a drawing, your name or initials and prop it up against the wall for the next person to find. there is a note on there for them to read that explains what they have to do if they want to partake'. i then documented this by photographing the participant whilst they were walking away with the stick. i also documented to sticks i found at the end of their trails and the markings people had made.
i got denied by 6/7 people straight away. one girl i explained it to and then she was like, erm i don't really want to is that ok?! so i let her go :) the other people were hesitant, others were really enthusiastic and were asking more questions about it.
one old guy came over and was asking about my project so i had a long conversation about it with him, but he didn't want to take part. another had found a stick that had been put down and followed the line back to me in my square, he'd read the note on the stick and complimented me with 'it's really harmless, creative and fun' he said he had a son that would be interested in the project and asked for my website, but all i had was a telephone number. he took it. he wanted to partake so i ave him a stick and off he went. also a drunk uy came over and was asking how much it was to buy one, and i explained to him that it was fee if you partake in the activity. i had to explain quite a few times for him to understand. in the end i gave him a stick and he draw a womanly looking figure on the ground, then stumbled and broke the chalk and dropped the stick! i really didn't mind this.. it was funny and a good in site into his life.
noah i met later on, he asked me if i was the girl doing the activity and i said yes, we had a chat and he told me where his stick was.
the participants:
family of 3, little boy used stick
family of 4, little boy used the stick
mum and daughter, daughter used stick
woman with green eyes in denim
woman with broken arm
guy with a limp
old hippy guy who complimented it
noah. (they guy i bumped into later) he left his stick at the corn exchange
the guy in a hurry
two guys on the way to the car park
drunk guy
(2 more also)
so then i decided to follow the trails! things i noticed:
people started to interact with the enviroment, for example
- walked around lamp posts a few times
- walked in and out of bollards
- drew the line on walls over windows
- went down alley ways and then did a u turn?!
- some of the trails would stop when they crossed a road and then started at the other side
- people did actually read the note and carry on, i found 2 sticks with this...
- when i spoke to people they were concerned about what the council would think and scared for me that they might be able to track me down through the note.
- i started to notice that people make different lines.
- i found a few lines that were in two's as in two lines nearly parallel to each other as if they were following the previously laid down line.
- also one line had done a wobbly line over the other making a giant heart beat looking thing along the pavement.
- one guy went so far that i didn't know where i was and he only stopped because the chalk ran out.
- when i had been out following other lines, i got back to the square about an hour later to find that the road i was on had been covered in lines and i could differentiate between some lines because of the over crowdedness. it was like one of the sticks had gone viral!
- the lines that were done by children were very broken up and hard to follow.
- many people were asking if they could buy one.
- 7 out of 14 sticks were at the end of their trails.
oh there was also another guy who shouted to me you can read and cycle?! and then i saw him later at the train station, he was asking about my work, we had a conversation. he thought i was crazy.
likes:
i really like that the fact that the sticks are still out there.. the project still has the potential to carry on going without any of my direct input. it's in the hands of the public now and they can do what they like with it. how i didn't make the sticks 'pretty' this might make people want to steal them and take them out of the area.
dislikes:
lack of confidence to go there, sometimes awkard to parsuade someone with the project.
what to do next time?
- make stick with a spare chalk and tape
- have a website and card handy to give out.
- make a sign to invite people over, instead of me nagging them.
- try at different types of the day
- try in different places
- try giving them to people on the bus.
- do a illustartor drawing of routes and destinations and times.
- TRY WITH VIDEO
Sunday, 20 May 2012
critical analysis sam jones
critical analysis
what i aim for:
what i aim for:
to explore routes of mine and other peoples
explore space
explore line drawings
explore walking and movement
explore physical and mental boundaries
mainly to not push a view point onto someone, but to spark thoughts about their daily routine and juxtaposed thoughts about spontaneousness.
what i did:
'please draw a line behind you on your route' -very similar to my previous project i explored the same themes but with a different technique. previously i used a series of of objects to spark conversation. this time i set up a series of participation/performance activities. exploring space, routes and movement. i set up a meter square and stood in it for a a long period of time. whilst standing there i was approached by people intreged with what i was doing, and therefore a conversation was sparked. i then asked the participant if they would use a chalk on a stick to trace where ever they were heading, when they wanted to leave the activity i asked if they could wright their initials on the pavement and drop the stick. (in the last project i would walk alongside the participant and document the path) this time they are documenting their path themselves making them ever so more much involved in the process simply by making marks on the pavement. by giving them an aim to play with their environment from A to B i hope to give them a step outside of what is normal for that particular route. by using chalk i have involved the mundane and hopefully provoked nostalgic feelings from childhood. 'please draw a line behind you on your route'
strengths:
i definitely feel like my confidence in involving myself in the public has grown. i also enjoy the human contact and feel like i give people a spontaneous conversation that people often lack on their daily routes. personally using activity pushes me into the public, it's totally different to releasing a questionnaire to find out things.
weaknesses:
lack of attendance. i feel i had repeated the process more i would have been able to explore different processes.
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
SO I WAS THINKING FOR THIS PROJECT, ABOUT SATAYING INSIDES THE BOUNDERIES OF A SPACE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
make a square out of police tape/ masking tape/ duct tape on the floor and stay in it for as long as possible... film it.
where?:
make a square out of police tape/ masking tape/ duct tape on the floor and stay in it for as long as possible... film it.
where?:
- living room
- bedroom
- hallway
- on the pathway
- in a park
if i did it on a path way i could make sticks with chalk attached and give them to people who come and speak to me and ask them 'hey could you draw your route for me? it doesn't matter where you are going...'
what do i need?
- chalk
- dawl
- tape
- camera and battery
- one person to film me
Helen Keller quote
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” Helen Keller
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
psycogeography
hyperspace
desire line
phagic space
non space
everyday
public spaces
supermarket layout
escalators
surveillance
situation
pynoptasism
manipulation of walking
modernism
psychoanalysis
inhabitance
space and boundaries
identity
exerstentialism
routine and lifestyle
object
consumerism
locomotion
transport
measurement
relational aesthetics
architecture and space
materials used for constraint
the wanderer
void
audio-space
spacialisation
sacred space
hyperspace
desire line
phagic space
non space
everyday
public spaces
supermarket layout
escalators
surveillance
situation
pynoptasism
manipulation of walking
modernism
psychoanalysis
inhabitance
space and boundaries
identity
exerstentialism
routine and lifestyle
object
consumerism
locomotion
transport
measurement
relational aesthetics
architecture and space
materials used for constraint
the wanderer
void
audio-space
spacialisation
sacred space
hop scotch
walking on curbs
trespassing
coffins
no mans land
bryan besser
marc auge
clair bishop
john paul satre
will self
matthew barney
lucy gunning
george simmon
ian bouden
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