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Week 7

Reading:

Wiggle Room by Sara Ahmed

Questions: 1.Who is Sara Ahmed?

Sarah Ahmed is a British Australian scholar whose area of study includes the intersection of feminist theory, lesbian feminism, queer theory, critical race theory and postcolonialism. She studied at Goldsmiths College, University of London.

2. How does Ahmed begin the text? If you noted down the ‘sections’ of this piece of writing, what would those sections cover or talk through?

Ahmed begins with a story and a story where everyone can understand. She introduces the idea of wiggling or wiggle room through an experience all humans will have. This idea of restriction and less freedom to be in.  

3. How would you define ‘wiggle room’?

Wiggle room isn’t having enough space around you in order that you are able to move freely without any or less constraints.

4. She connects ‘wiggling’ with the will, or wilfulness. How does she say that connection came about for her?

In her project ‘Wilful subjects’ she connects the idea of wiggling to one’s wilfulness. She says it came to her as she began to feel a commitment to will.

5. Ahmed uses specific definitions of words and their historic uses as a way ‘in’ to an idea. Can you find an example of this?

Not sure of this question.

6. What does she say is the difference between wiggling and wriggling?

Ahmed explains is as wiggling in you trying to fit in a space too small for one’s self but wriggling is action of making more space for oneself

7. How would you describe Ahmed’s writing? Formal, personal, casual, etc?

The way she writes comes off as formal due to the structure and referencing throughout.  However Ahmed writing is quite personal as she writes in a way that speaks to the individual that are reading her ideas.

8. What effect does this have on the reader (on you!)?

The personal style of writing allows for the reader to establish a connection.  The formal style of writing in the text shows that she is a creditable writing and thoughts

9. A too-small room is a key metaphor that Ahmed uses to talk about ‘wiggling’ - why might it be interesting to think of as spatial designers?

It is interesting to think of as spatial designers, as we as designer will need to think about designing inclusively and thinking about how people will feel in the space we are designing. With Sarah Ahmed

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Week 7

Places I think are Heritage!

Above are the two places in the walk i had this afternoon that i could are heritage e.

#1 Hawthorn Dene

I think this place is historical as is on the sign outside the cafe, upon research this is a colonial cottage that was built in the 1850′s

#2 The Grandfather

This statue looks like it has been her for a while with probably a big significance 

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Research :

Saturday Night Live about Papyrus:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ

Reading on the 1970′s : https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/t-magazine/1970s-interior-design.html

Modernism: Modernism is both a philosophical movement and an art movement that, along with cultural trends and changes, arose from wide-scale and far-reaching transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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Week 6

Reading

1:Radical Interiority: Playboy Architecture 1953-1979 by Beatriz Colomina

Questions:

1. How does Colomina say Playboy Magazine affected reader’s tastes or desires for interior space? The magazine made people aware that space could reflect their desires and made it okay for men to be interested in interior design/settings . Playboy in this period made it okay for men to become interested in modern architecture and design.  It changed the way men thought about interior design.

2. Who were some prominent Modernist designers? What do their designs have in common?

Charles Eames, Eero Saarinen, Roberto Matta are some designers. As a design principle Modernism promoted sleek, clean lines and eliminated decorative additions that were purely for the sake of embellishment. Out were the frilly fripperies of pre-war styles. This new world would take its cue from technology, factories, practicality and usefulness. It ranged from 1890s - 1970s

3. What is the social context of the beginnings of Playboy Magazine in 1953? What else was happening (or had happened) in the world at the time?

In 1939-1945 world war two happened. It was a time where everyone was celebrating the end of the world war. Also in the 1960’s there was a sexual revolution amongst western cultures. Sexual liberation occurred, the attitude towards sex was changed which was a complete contrast to the 1950s was considered the more conservative decade when it came to sex issues. Also upon further research the bill control bill also was passed in 1960 aswell.

4. How did that change between 1953-1979?

There was a lot of movement that took part in that time such as the civil rights movement. A sense of diversity was being fought for and was slowly flourishing.

5. Why do you think Playboy Magazine is described by Colomina as making “it acceptable for men to be interested in modern architecture and design”? Why do you think that it might have been seen prior to this as “unacceptable” in the public consciousness?

It was not okay because of the war possibly, men were seen to go and fight and woman would stay at home and do the household things. Interior design is stereotyped for only woman can do it as it is the pretty aspect of making a room look nice. Even though architecture was seen as something males would do, modern interior design was seen as something woman ‘should’ do as they were to stay home, look after the children and make the home ‘pretty’

6. How does the desirable contemporary interior differ from the “Playboy Interior”, or from the Modernist interior?

The contemporary interior mostly shows all natural light and neutral tones. While the complete contrast in the playboy interior is mostly always feature dark lighting and colours. The modernist interior always features quite earthy tone and is often neutral in the furniture.  

7. What does Colomina say makes the Playboy Interior feel ‘futuristic’, or ‘seductive’?

Playboys interior and furniture’s are almost all curved, which echo’s the curves the human body has. Creating a seductive environment.

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Annotations

1

The Orbits of Earthly Bodies

Solnit, R. (2007). Storming the Gates of Paradise; Landscape for Politics. (pp. 33–36). California, United States: University of California Press.

Keywords: connections, relationship, urban, natural, habitat, environment, admiration

Rebecca Solnit, reading of “The Orbits of Earthly Bodies” converses about how humans establish connections to the environments around them. Relationships that are formed within spaces alter person to person, whether being from urban, suburban or rural setting. She speaks to her familiarity of how she felt so detached and ‘unnatural’ when in the countryside, a space where you’d except to be immersed with nature.  

This relationship that humans create within their home setting, makes me wonder if it’s reflected in employment and learning spaces as well. I share Solnit’s same feeling of having found everything in city environments. Not having the need to go countryside as the city is where I feel at home. This reading is experienced based, which makes me contemplate whether ones, defined by how you observe and engage your time with the spaces where you live.  

Reflecting on how this may help my design, I am curious if individuals give value to spaces based on whether the space is natural or unnatural to them and their relationship to the environment. How can I use this view and incorporate it in my design and what will be the result of this? In studio, we are currently working on redesigning a forgotten foyer space at the St James Theatre. This is a space that is quite historical, which is a space that I want people to respect as well as connect with it. This connection may be instantly established as people enter my space or as they interreact with it. People don’t tend to give respect to things that are “theirs” and we are more careful with things that aren’t ours. Taking this into my design, I will consider materials and shapes that make people feel comfortable as I am designing a study space but not too comfortable to create this connection.

2

How to Design Happiness

Wilson, M. (2017, May 02). How to Design Happiness. Fast Company. Retrieved from https://www.fastcodesign.com/3058237/how-to-design-happiness

Keywords. happy, event, anticipation, memory, experience, surprise, nature, joy, transition, portal

The article “How to Design Happiness” by Mark Wilson discuss how designers and can impact a space in order to create maximum happiness. The author talks to the “Happiness Halo”, a theory categorised into a 3-part structure. Consisting of anticipation, experience and memory, all crucial to create a happy experience. He also talks, how tactics like the power of surprise, nature, the “portal” and “the goodnight kiss” can almost instantly evoke happiness in others.

Wilson offers the readers a neutral opinion along with a variety of knowledge he has acquired from global brands like Disney and Soul Cycle. These brands carefully craft the experiences they provide, in order to deliver maximum happiness among its consumers. The writer also, details his own experiment that puts all these methods to a test. The techniques were established valid by the advice from the professionals and the results of the successful experiment.

This reading given me a lot knowledge and decisions to think about when I am designing in the future. It has made me consider the many different ways I may be able to provoke happiness and delight in others when entering a space, I have created. Having an insight into how these thriving brands operate makes me reflect about creating a space that is enjoyable and when one exits, leaving them with wanting to come back again. This text makes me consider all the “lasting effect” moments I have had in spaces and how I can reflect this in my own work. When designing this foyer, I want to incorporate possibility, the element of surprise, a “goodnight kiss technique” or give an everlasting memory to those who visit this foyer space. Creating this experience in a study space could be quite important to sharing a connection and relationship with the people and the surrounding areas. 

3

The Sharing Economy and Design.

Smith, J. D., Morgan, D., & Howell, B. (2015, September). The Sharing Economy and Design. Paper presented at the 17th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, Loughborough, United Kingdom. Retrieved from https://www.designsociety.org/publication/38507/the+sharing+economy+and+design

Keywords: sharing, design, economy, collaborate, consumption

“The Sharing Economy and Design” paper outlines how the sharing economy alters people’s approach in how they interact with spaces or products. The ‘Sharing Economy’ is a movement where people share or “rent” their private resources to others so that collaborative consumption can occur.  It addresses the many resources are underutilised or wasted as a result of the “Commercial Economy”.  It converses how the sharing economy is beneficial for our natural, cultural and social economy.

The writers discuss the how designers should be aware of the many qualities and challenges that this economy may have on future of design. With creators renovating the spaces we work or live in; they must have the idea to how this space may be shared. They also point out that this shift can have positive affects to the sustainability of the planet as it contributes to alleviate the high demand of natural resources in the world.

This reading has made me critically deliberate how I might in the future, encourage sustainability in my own studio practice. Specifically, in my current project in studio, I can start by using in my proposal I push more environmentally friendly materials having a positive, enriching effect on our planet’s ecosystem. An interesting idea is how I may be able to intentionally alters someone’s interaction with a space and change how they interact with this area. Having an insight to this economy movement, makes me realise about the massive consumption and waste that humans create in a daily. I am curious to look up and see the many designers that have designed for shared spaces and was routes they have taken when designing. Taking this back to my current practice, I am designing a study space for all students to collaborate with one another. Which is crucial to design for a space to be shared. 

4

Support Structures: An Interview with Mark Cousins.

Keywords: Support, Structure, Supplement, Exterior

Condorelli, C. (2010). Support Structures: An Interview with Mark Cousins. Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context and Enquiry, (pp. 118 –122). https://doi.org/10.1086/655935

The conversation between Celine Condorelli and Mark Cousins “Support Structures” speaks to the idea of the many supports structure that are in our life both physical and theoretical. A support structures is something that bears, sustains, props or holds up an object. Condorelli brings emphasises to the intangible support structures that occur in our lives that we humans don’t notice often. The notion of ‘support structures’ brings light to what is already present within objects.

Mark Cousins creates this idea of imagining an object in space and how we can interrupt what’s there but should be. It discusses the idea of support as something on the exterior. For example, when looking at scaffolding its support is physical and that we tend to look at it as ugly. Also, Cousins states that for support to occur that there must first be an object and the support always remains on the exterior.

Condorelli’s works are metaphorical in the way she makes her artwork. She provokes thought in her artwork and writing. This made me critically think about how Condorelli thought of ‘supporting’ only exists on being in the periphery, on a permeable edge with works within from without. Reflecting on this, theory class is a support structure for studio as we are learning who we are as a designer and what matters to use. This conversation has sparked an interest in how I should use the support structures around me in order to get the most out of current studio practice. For example, using the 150+ spatial list, reading about things that interest me and what issue that will influence be when I am designing. The knowledge I gain from reading theory. This reading made me deliberate how I might use the support around me in my life to benefit my own studio practice.

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Week Five

Reading:

1: Politics of Installation by Boris Groys

Questions:

1. How does Groys describe the relationship between the ‘field of art’ and the ‘art market’?

He proposes that art is paralleled within the art market, meaning that art is acknowledged as a service.

2. What is the main two concepts that he seeks to differentiate through an ‘analysis of difference’ at the bottom of page one?

The main 2 concepts that he seeks to create difference is the standard exhibition and the artistic installation

3. How is an art exhibition and an art installation different in Groys’ view? How does he describe the viewer/audience in relationship to each?

An exhibition designed by the curator, is a gathering of art objects that is placed next to each other so that the objects are viewed in a sequence in which the viewer remains distance/ from the art. There is a disconnect that is created. However, an installation that is designed by single artist “according to their independent will” the viewer is encouraged to understand the space/area as the “holistic, totalizing space of an artwork.”

4. How would you describe an ‘exhibition’?

A public display of works of art or items of interest, held in an art gallery or museum.

5. How does Groys describe the ‘exhibition space’?

Groys describe an exhibition space as a accumulation of art objects.

6. What is the role of a ‘curator’, both in the past and in the present time?

The role of a curator is to create a place/space in the public community for the art works to be viewed. By doing this the public can easily access them allowing some advertisement of the artwork to occur

7. What do you think a “defunctionalized design fragment” is?

I believe a defunctionalized design fragment is a design that is poor of its utility 

8. When, in Groys’ view, did artists begin to seek autonomy/freedom/sovereignty for their work?

Artists began to when the Modern era commenced.  

9. How would you describe an ‘installation’?

An art installation is a three-dimensional visual artwork, often created for a specific place (in situ) and designed to change the perception of space.

10. How does Groys describe the ‘installation’ as a space?

To Groys an installation changes the dull and empty public space into an individual’s artwork, and it invites the guest to experience this space as the universal, summing the space of an artwork.”

11. What does an installation do to a space, that an exhibition does not?

.An installation eliminates the alteration amongst the art object and simple object. So, anything within the space is dignified as part of the work as it “transforms the empty, neutral, public space into an individual artwork”

12. In relation to last week’s lecture (Landscape Part II), do you see any relationship between ‘installation’ and colonisation or land ownership?

The artist is basically known to have territory over the area that they are creating in. They are independent and don’t have to contemplate accountability to the community.

13. What different kinds of ‘freedom’ does Groys write that artists and curators embody?

The different kinds of freedom that Groys writes that artists embody are sovereign, unconditional, publicly irresponsible freedom. The different kinds of freedom that Groys writes that curators symbolize are sovereign, unconditional, publicly irresponsible freedom.

14. Is it always the same or has it changed over time/ in different situations?

I believe that is has changed over time and lately in the new decades it has seen curators been permitted to act in an able, independent way that the artists are looking to be collaborative, be self-ruled and dispersed in their practice.

15. What does Groys write is the relationship between democracy or democratic access to installation art?

Installation permits the artist to adjust their art making it narrate/ charm/ be obtainable to broad lot of people. Once locked installation places ‘open up’ to community debate, etc.

16. How does Groys see installation art as reflecting contemporary society? Can we see spatial design and architecture in a similar light? Why/Why not?

Groys see art installation as something that shapes a community of observes and because od this all rounded view of the installation space it creates character. Likewise, in contemporary society districts are formed amongst the people who regularly attend pop concerts and film screenings. In both occasions, these communities are fleeting and their structure unintentional, lacking a shared history/ individuality

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Week Four

Readings:

1: John Dixon Hunt, Reading and Writing the Site

2: Rebecca Solnit, The Orbits of Earthly Bodies 

Questions for Reading 1:

1. What is second nature? 

Cultural landscapes ie, infrastructure, bridges, fields, man's attempt to control nature and make it habitable. You could call second nature - infrastructure/cultural landscapeFirst nature is the untamed wilderness

2. What is third nature? 

Bringing back first nature as we as humans try to recreate the wilderness in out backyards such as gardens. Third natures are reflective of gardens, which extend beyond the cultural landscape. An environment where nature and art collaborate. 

3. What does John Dixon Hunt say is the main point he is trying to make when he brings up the terms, first, second and third nature, What do these terms tell us about the human relation to nature? 

We are always trying to change it and tame it. Process nature for our own This tells us that humans' relation to nature only has some control over it, humans will provoke this collaboration between the environment and controlled art, turning this into  an artform of its own. Benefiting from this as they see the relationship that as humans encountering the first nature, they have always tried to tame and control it. 

4. What is the picturesque?

An example of how humans have listened to the needs of perhaps an unappealing space. Picturesque definitions are typically pleasing to the eye. An aesthetic idealistic garden style established in New england. An idealistic style projecting grand views. The attempts to make landscapes appear as if they had arrived from a 17th century painting. 

5. What is Sublime?

The awe-inspiring, whereas picturesque romtes asymmetry , crumbling ruins and gardens spring from within, sublime gardens harnessed symmetry and order. There was a clash between these ideals. 

6. How does Dixon define the garden ?

Dixon defines gardens as third nature. Gardens are always coming to terms with the first and second natures. A product of our relationship to the world. They are a part of our social relationships to space. 

Questions for Reading 2:

7. What is the irony at the heart of the peace? 

The irony is that although holding to the rural environments, she found that everything she needed she had to get into a car to get to some infrastructure.  

8. What are some of the common illusions that we have about living or holidaying in the countryside?

Some of the common illusions is that we can go the countryside to escape the hustle of the big city

9. What are ranchettes?

Ranchettes are smaller properties that are self-contained in rural environments. They reflect a distancing from working together in communities, instead isolating themselves.

10. What is the “new urbanism” ?

A step towards more environmentally friendly urban environments. Walkable communities that support a wide range of job types. Human scale urban design. 

11. According to Solnit, how have we tended to define nature? What’s wrong with this way of defining nature?

Soleint states that “we think we’re natural when we’re looking at nature” so we tend to define nature as something to look at, a landscape that is natural, pure, and green. This idea of this type of environment like the idea of landscape, which needs parting and surveillance, this essential way of nature is quite challenging in that it  doesn’t take into consideration our forms as fragment of it. 
  
  

12. Why do you think Solnit compares city activities (shopping, people-watching) to hunting and gathering in the wilderness? Why do you think she says that New York City might be the most natural space in all of America? What is she trying to do to the way we think of cities?

Solint states that , “If you think of yourself as a species, the question arises of what your natural habitat is: it should be a place where you can forage, where your body is at home, where your scale is adequate, where your rites and sustenance are situated.” She compares city activities to hunting and gathering in the wilderness as he is wanting us to assess the way we look at and comprehend urban settings as that which is manmade and ‘unnatural’ as possibly the utmost natural human atmosphere one can experience as in suburbs to just get into you car but in a city like new york you are forced to share space while complete strangers creating the connection .  

13. What’s the problem with the term “pedestrian-scale”?

The problem with this term is that is doesn’t reflect vehicular transportation, therefore it may not be the greatest suitable way to reflect the balance. Solnit implies that human-scale is seeing as “humans are pedestrians when not fitted with vehicular prosthetics.”  
  

14. Why do you think Solnit included a found quote from a Pottery Barn catalogue as her epigraph? What does the epigraph tell us about the point she is trying to make in the essay?

Solnit might of included this quote to highlight her empathy for the landscape, though at the similarly the support of her home and usual environment as the urban.

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Week Two

Readings

1: Support Structures: An Interview with Mark Cousins by Celine Condorelli

2: Too Close to See: Notes on Friendship, A Conversation with Johan Frederik Hartle by Celine Condorelli

Questions:

1. How would you define a ‘support structure’?

A support structure is describe as something that bears, sustains, props and holds up. It’s a structure that is thought to be more physical structures that provides strength and  stability to what is internally. However it can also be political in our social system and not always physical.

2. What are some examples of ‘support structures’? Physical, political, conceptual, etc

Some examples of support structure that are physical are seeing  scaffolding for buildings, moulds for concrete and skates and wires in the garden to keep plants from falling. It is also seen in museums and retails in the like of book sleeves, book holder, mannequins and frames for art.    

3. What are some conditions or requirements for a structure to be considered a support?

That it needs to be able to hold something else up other than itself as it can’t support its self for example scaffolding on an old building that needs repair. The term ‘supplement’ was used by our lecturer, this supplement is there to help those with the lack they are experiencing. Support structure is most always temporary in our environment. It is used when a building or a construction is not steady enough to stand up. Once the building stands on its own, able to function independently support structure can be removed.

4. What is the relationship between the supporter and the supported?

The relationship between the two is quite obvious and clear. The supporter remains in the exterior, being on the periphery. The supported is what is internal. So because support is exterior it soon becomes locked in an altering embrace that affects both supported and supporter at their core.

5. How might we connected the format of the texts (as conversations) to her notions of support?

The two readings were both conversations and interviews conducted by Celine Condorelli. The questions she asks in the interviews she was able to get a clear and stronger idea while being present having a conversation with them, this being a support structure.

6. What is Condorelli’s creative practice?

Celine Condorelli is an artist that works in exhibitions, writing and architecture however  she is globally known for her many publications.

7. Can you identify the threads of connection between her writing and her making? What are they?

The threads of connection that are apparent in her writing and making are that her practices are being processed in two ways  one being thinking and the other being making. What she makes is based on the ideas that are present in her writing. The art supports what she is trying to portray and the other way round her writing supports what she is trying to show in her art work.

8. She identifies ‘friendship’ as having a political dimension. What does she mean by this? How does she discuss this in the text?

The author identifies that friendship having a political aspect within it. She means this “as like support, is considered here, friendship is essentially a political relationship of allegiance and responsibility. ” As in friendships there are shared set of conditions that structure how they act toward one another

9. How would you define ‘friendship’?

The definition of friendship is “the emotions or conduct of friends; the state of being friends” however I believe it’s more than that, it’s being able to support other and let other support you in times of need or happiness.

10. What about ‘solidarity’?

Solidarity plays into friendship as it is any time you express support of a group or the people in it, you're showing solidarity with them.

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Week One

Readings:

1: How to Encounter a Puddle by Anny Li 

2: Index of Agency by Sophie Chien

Questions:

1. What is Li’s overall idea about puddles? How does she connect the practical (photos, experiences) with the theoretical (ideas in the text)?

The idea of a puddle is thought as more than just a collection of water, the author wanted to create a new way of thinking that the reader might pick up on. A different way of observing the things around us.

2. How might you sum of Chien’s ideas about agency? How does she connect the practical (diagrams of spaces, experiences) with the theoretical (ideas in the text)?

The author’s ideas of agency are shown through her diagrams and the intended layout of them. The way the story is set out tells a story that links everything together. Her theories about the world’s relationship are represented through them. She connects to the practical by diagrams and text that supports each other in a nice marriage.

3. Each writer poses questions within the text. What do you think the purpose of these questions are in Li’s piece? in Chien’s? How might we answer them?

Both poses these questions to create thought to the reader. Posing a open-ended question by  both writers makes the readers wonder why? Leaving the reader with something to think about when the reading is finished.

4. How are they engaging with the different/similar ideas of movement within cities and spaces?

Li looks at the idea of one might tackle to be able to control the environment that they are in while in contrast Chien looks at how we let the environment control us. Everything in life might not seems that thought out however everything is laid out in a specific space and that determines how we as humans move through the space whether that’s right or wrong.

5. What is the purpose of, or impression you get from the images within each text? How important are they in your understanding of their ideas?

What I get from the images within the text, is that the images are the evidence we can see that support the authors ideas.  This observation of these weird puddles is what sparked the ideas in this text. The images are quite important as the writing describes the ideas and the images make these ideas solid for the reader to understand.

6. There are some key theoretical texts or ideas mentioned in each piece of writing. Research them (briefly) and come up with a one or two sentence definition

Ekistics : A science dealing with human settlements and drawing on the research and experience of professionals in various fields

Agency + Spatial Agency : Spatial Agency is a project that presents a new way of looking at how buildings and space can be produced.

Personal as Political : It’s a slogan expressing a common belief among feminists that the personal experiences of women are rooted in their political situation and gender inequality.

Low Theory :  Low theory is a term that Halberstam borrows from cultural theorist Stuart Hall, using it to undermine heteronormative definitions of success and to argue that failure to live up to societal standards can open up more creative ways of thinking and being in the world.

Decentralised Network : A decentralised network is a “trustless environment,” where there is no single point of failure. The nodes connected in the network are not dependent on a single server point and each node holds the entire copy of the network configurations.