context mfa two Semester one

Juliana Bolaños-Durman, MFA IIDecember 10th, 2012

Context MFA2- Semester 1

Produce a 2,000 word fully referenced and illustrated report in which you will critically reflect on the key elements of the planning and realisation of your event and evaluate the event’s success. Discussion should include the following aspects:• What were the main aims of your event?• What did you want to discover, demonstrate or prove?• Research methods: what visual and critical sources did you use? What arguments did your sources allow you to make and did the event help to make your arguments seem convincing?• Who was your audience and how did they respond to your event?• How has the event helped to develop and expand your research?• What, if anything, would you have differently about your event?

Submission:Submit your report as a PDF (max 2mb) to the portal page CONTEXT: MFA2 (SEM 1) Studio Documentation and Distribution Mid Semester Submission no later than midday on Monday 10 December 2012. Before doing this you must fill out the self-assessment form. Failure to upload may result in a Non Submission. References must follow the Harvard referencing system.

context mfa two Semester one

Introduction

Recently I’ve been exploring through my studio research, the meaning and value we attribute to objects. I find it very interesting that the concept of value is shifting from what it was before. The quality of objects has declined in many cases; quicker production and cheaper materials make less durable products and there is less value to pass down since everything is disposable. Culturally, we are slowly forgetting the importance of heirlooms, which remind us of something held to deserve, remind us of memories with emotional attachment that tell a story and reminisce of the past. I feel this is a clear example of how we are loosing links and connections with our history, and more importantly, with ourselves. [Reference Figure 1]

In order to further explore the importance of heirlooms, I decided to create an event. The idea of this event would be to give out disposable cameras to 8 students (between the ages of 20 – 29 years old) and asked them to photograph what was meaningful to them. The participants had several days to take the pictures and later, once I developed the film, would be interviewed to get their impressions on the project.

This is relevant to my studio research because I want to understand other people’s connections, and later compare and contrast to my own. The outcome of the event would give me a better understanding of each of the individuals and their personal and cultural values.

Following, we will explore the further details of the event.

[Reference Figure 1] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Concept Word Map from my logbook.

What do I want to discover?

The main objective of the event was to discover the value people give to objects, particularly to those that have a link to their family heritage and are considered heirlooms. To achieve this, I decided to narrow my enquiries to a very simple question: “What is meaningful to you?” This is a very broad question that can include just about anything or everything that is very important to the person. One of the aims of this activity was to discover their points of view and provoke inspirational responses in a more personal matter. In this case, the broadness of the question helps because I wanted them to feel free without any restraints and be able to interpret the question in a creative way. Also, throughout the process, I wanted to explore and compare the value of the non-monetary value in Craft and how society embraces these types of qualities.

My aim is to explore what people attribute value to and what do these objects represent (memories, loved ones, personal feelings). By making these inquires, I can relate to my own studio practice since I am exploring the meaning of something precious and what attributes are good examples. Not necessarily just because of their monetary value, but more so for what emotional attachment it represents to each individual. Also this can help me identify and understand other symbols that might be relevant to broaden my practice and it’s meaning.

Event ideas

At the beginning of the brainstorming, I thought that an interesting road for my event would be running a hands-on workshop, in which I asked the participants to draw or represent what was meaningful to them. But after some feedback from my context group, I realized that this was not going to be the most productive and enticing way since not everybody is completely comfortable drawing or making things, and this would limit their expression. [Reference Figure 2]

After reading the Cultural Probes paper, it listed several interesting examples on how these events were planned and executed from the beginning to the end. The idea of using a disposable camera called my

what do i want to discover?

[Reference Figure 2] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Scketch of desiered final display of documentation from workshop.

attention because this is a technology that is slowly being forgotten and yet it is very playful and informal in a way, so it would work as a tool for the participants to collect data in an easy way. [4] It also is very interesting because since we have digital cameras now, we can retake the picture one hundred times if we want to, and we don’t have to spend money on printing pictures that have not been properly thought of, or planned, only the ones that we really want to. So this exercise reminded the participants to be more precious about the photos and how they were going to capture the essence of the concept through the images.

This technique allowed me to capture and understand a person’s point of view without me altering their actions since they were on their own, free from external pressures and influences.

Once I bought the disposable cameras, I took off the store brand packaging. I personalized the outside sticker and wrote in front the main question “What is meaningful to you?” and auto-picture, so they wouldn’t forget. I wanted to make sure they saw that time went into making them unique, so hopefully they would give it more thought and take their time on the project. I also wrote, “Remember you only have 27 photographs, so make them count”. [Reference Figure 3]

[Reference Figure 3] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Event: Disposable Cameras ready.

Audience

The audience that I narrowed it down to was from 20 to 30 years of age. This range of ages was relevant for me because we are becoming very accustomed to buy new things every time something breaks, instead to trying to fix it. This is going to be a good indicator of how ideas and ideals are changing and what do we attribute value to nowadays.

I invited 8 people from the Glass Department to be a part of my event. These are people that I work with everyday, and thought that this would be a good opportunity to get to know them a bit better. “We weren’t trying to reach an objective view of the elders’ needs through the probes, but instead a more impressionistic account of their beliefs and desires…” [3]

Executing the plan

When the cameras were ready, I handed them out to eight people on a Friday. Explained briefly the instructions and told them they had till Monday to bring it back, giving them Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Only one of them gave me the camera on the actual day, the rest, gradually started to give them to me later on except for one, since there was a time contraint, she was left out of the project. When I had the rest of the cameras, I developed them and then came the part of the interview. This was a key part of the event because if I only saw interesting pictures, I would not understand their true meaning and what lied beneath. During the interviews, people started to tell me a bit more for the reasoning behind the images, what it was supposed to represent, who reminded them of...

At the end of the interview, I asked them “If you have to choose from all the pictures, which would be your top five, from the most important to the least?” This was key for me to truly understand what is important and what has true meaning to them.

Therefore I want to highlight some of the comments that support the main aim. Ainsley Frances, Anne Rushing, Austyn Finnegan, Karen Donnellan, Laura Reed, Sophia West , Gemma Leamy and Charlotte Broadley were the people that participated, their photographs and some of the highlights of the interviews.

Audience and plan

Throughout the whole event, it was very interesting to hear the participant’s story of the meaning behind the picture. When I interviewed Laura, her first picture was of her first teddy bear:

“That’s my teddy bear and I’ve had him since the day I was born. He’s falling to pieces but I take him wherever I go... this is my oldest possession, the one I’ve had the longest. My next-door

neighbor knitted it for me; it’s not from a shop or anything... it is handmade. I like to know that it is safe, wherever I go... “ [E]

This statement called my attention first of all, because I have a blanket that I have had since I was born and can relate. There is no replacement and the emotional value is bigger that a monetary sum could not be appointed. Also, she mentions that the teddy bear is more valuable, because of the fact that it was hand-knitted by a friend as a gift to the newborn. The time and thought that went into that gift was and still is, twenty-five years later, emotionally rich. [Reference Figure 8]

[Reference Figure 8] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Laura Reed’s Disposable Cameras- Teddy Bear

“...Fire is about cleansing and renewal... something that comes back to a Luxemburg ritual that is on the first day of spring, when

they collect the old Christmas trees and burn them. These are about recognizing the past, forgetting it and moving on...” [A]

Ainsley’s reference called my attention because in a weird sense she is underlining the importance of the process, letting it flow and that it is meaningful to let go of the past. I feel the craft process is the same in the way that the process is not the means to the end, only that the process is as important as the final product. [Reference Figure 13]

[Reference Figure 13] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Ainsley Frances’ Disposable Cameras- Fire Ritual

“ the giraffe man playing the bongos.. I just thought it was very funny, but it’s just one of those moments that I want to keep on film or camera. I like to catch these unusual moments because these are meaningful to me... I can walk to Subway to grab a sandwich

from work every time, but this one time was special because there was a giraffe playing the bongo...” [B]

Anne’s picture called my attention because I can relate to this precious moment, which is fleeting. Small surprises like this one are everywhere, but is up to each one of us to notice and appreciate them.[Reference Figure 14]

[Reference Figure 14] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Anne Rushing’s Disposable Cameras- Giraffe Man

What would I do different?

Now that the activity is done, for my next event, I have more practical knowledge because of this experience. If I would use disposable cameras I would take into consideration that not all the 27 frames came out when the film was developed. This must have been because of the lack of light or the excess of it. Also, as some of the participants told me, I would give more time, not too long as a month and not too short as a weekend. Hopefully this would give them more space to really think what is important enough to go on the film and not waste them.

I found it very interesting that most of the participants had a hard time filling the roll. Some mentioned that at the beginning they felt they didn’t want to waste the photos, but later on; they hadn’t taken enough and had to rush through parts of the film.

Either way, I feel I learned a lot form this event, especially because I wasn’t expecting to reference back to my own value system. By being able to talk and analyze their photos, made me realize that I shared many symbols of what meaningful represents. Hopefully I’ll try the project again for a longer period of time, only because this is when the most interesting and curious results start to appear. [5]

[Reference Figure 11] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Mix of All Participants Disposable Cameras.

Name: Ainsley FrancesAge: 28 years oldFrom: Toronto, Canada

[Reference Figure 4] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Ainsly Frances’ Disposable Cameras.

ainsley

Name: Anne RushingAge: 27 years oldFrom: Tennessee, USA

[Reference Figure 5 Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Anne Rushing’s Disposable Cameras.

anne

Name: Austyn FinneganAge: 20 years oldFrom: Northern Ireland

[Reference Figure 6] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Austyn Finnegan’s Disposable Cameras.

austyn

Name: Karen DonnellanAge: 26 years oldFrom: Ireland

[Reference Figure 7] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Karen Donnellan’s Disposable Cameras.

karen

Name: LauraAge: 25 years oldFrom: Cumbria, England

[Reference Figure 8] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Laura Reed’s Disposable Cameras.

laura

Name: SophiaAge: 29 years oldFrom: Nottingham, England

[Reference Figure 9] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Sophia West’s Disposable Cameras.

sophia

Name: GemmaAge: 20 years oldFrom: England

[Reference Figure 10] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Gemma Leamy’s Disposable Cameras.

Gemma

Appendix:

[A] Ainsley Frances. 2012. Title of interview: “What is meaningful to you?” Event. Interviewed by: Juliana Bolaños-Durman. Edinburgh, Nov. 27th.Link to interview: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6btk4fllpaqxatc/Interview%20Ainsley.m4a

[B] Anne Rushing. 2012. Title of interview: “What is meaningful to you?” Event. Interviewed by: Juliana Bolaños-Durman. Edinburgh, Nov. 27th.Link to interview: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yha1ivi36e35q6z/Interview%20anne.m4a

[C] Austyn Finnegan. 2012. Title of interview: “What is meaningful to you?” Event. Interviewed by: Juliana Bolaños-Durman. Edinburgh, Nov. 28th.Link to interview: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yak6k65pvzqrn8b/Interview%20austin.m4a

[D] Karen Donnellan. 2012. Title of interview: “What is meaningful to you?” Event. Interviewed by: Juliana Bolaños-Durman. Edinburgh, Nov. 27th.Link to interview: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gok9o5fk1583u0u/Interview%20Karen.m4a

[E] Laura Reed. 2012. Title of interview: “What is meaningful to you?” Event. Interviewed by: Juliana Bolaños-Durman. Edinburgh, Nov. 27th.Link to interview: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gok9o5fk1583u0u/Interview%20Karen.m4a

[F] Sophia West. 2012. Title of interview: “What is meaningful to you?” Event. Interviewed by: Juliana Bolaños-Durman. Edinburgh, Nov. 29th.Link to interview: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ex4llpylyvm1w3q/Interview%20Sophia.m4a

Bibliography:

[3] Bill Gaver, Tony Dunne and Elena Pacenti, 1999. Cultural Probes. [pdf] Available at: https://intranet.cs.aau.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/Education/BAIT3_SBI_CulturalProbes.pdf [Accessed Nov. 2012]. Pg. 25[4] Bill Gaver, Tony Dunne and Elena Pacenti, 1999. Cultural Probes. [pdf] Available at: https://intranet.cs.aau.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/Education/BAIT3_SBI_CulturalProbes.pdf [Accessed Nov. 2012]. Pg. 23[5] Bill Gaver, Tony Dunne and Elena Pacenti, 1999. Cultural Probes. [pdf] Available at: https://intranet.cs.aau.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/Education/BAIT3_SBI_CulturalProbes.pdf [Accessed Nov. 2012]. Pg. 29

[Reference Figure 1] Bolaños-Durman, J.(2012) Concept Word Map from my logbook. [Reference Figure 2] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Scketch of desiered final display of documentation from workshop.[Reference Figure 3] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Event: Disposable Cameras ready.[Reference Figure 4] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Ainsly Frances’ Disposable Cameras.[Reference Figure 5] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Anne Rushing’s Disposable Cameras.[Reference Figure 6] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Austyn Finnegan’s Disposable Cameras.[Reference Figure 7] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Karen Donnellan’s Disposable Cameras.[Reference Figure 8] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Laura Reed’s Disposable Cameras.[Reference Figure 9] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Sophia West’s Disposable Cameras.[Reference Figure 10] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Gemma Leamy’s Disposable Cameras.[Reference Figure 11] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Mix of All Participants Disposable Cameras.[Reference Figure 12] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Laura Reed’s Disposable Cameras- Teddy Bear[Reference Figure 13] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Ainsley Frances’ Disposable Cameras- Fire Ritual[Reference Figure 14] Bolaños-Durman, J. (2012) Photos Anne Rushing’s Disposable Cameras- Giraffe Man

-Louise Mazanti, 2011. “Super-Objects. Craft as an Aesthetic Position”. [pdf] Available at: http://mfaroundtable.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/0549_0011.pdf[Accessed Nov. 2012]

-Hilary Collins, 2010. “Creative Research, The Theory and Practice of Research for the Creative Industries”. [pdf] Available at: http://lib.myilibrary.com.ezproxy.webfeat.lib.ed.ac.uk/Open.aspx?id=289551 [Accessed Nov. 2012]

- Gray, Carole; Malins, Julian [2004]. “Visualizing research : a guide to the research process in art and design”. Aldershot, England; Burlington, Vt. : Ashgate