Auditory Environment Filter - Phase II

Auditory Environment Filter

The act of hearing is only psychologically filterable, the body lacks physically any means to do so. The spaces we traverse every day are dense with sound - the dull hum of an HVAC system, car traffic, pedestrian conversation - and the sources of these sounds are often beyond our control. The solution to attenuating the sound that enters the ear is most commonly by the use of headphones. The personal media player grants anyone instant circumvention of their sound environment with their music (or radio show, audio book, etc) of choice piped directly from device, through headphones, directly into the ear canal. There’s a handy volume control in case things get too loud and buttons to select the next program. Who needs the noise of the morning commute when you can listen to Ira Glass? This is not, however, an attenuation of soundspace but a replacement of that which is unattenuable and beyond control. Further, it is an act of isolation. Headphones have a single user, the attached player device tethered to a single operator, controlling their auditory input based on their personal tastes at the moment, without any interjection or the fear of complaint from anyone else. While I don’t think it’s possible to control your soundspace at all times, I believe it’s possible to attenuate it without full isolation. What if the personal media player was replaced with a means to control the tone and the volume of the environment as it were so that individual contributions remained but were adjustable by the listener?

The Auditory Environment Filter (AEF) is a device that, instead of replacing, amplifies and attenuates a soundspace, granting the listener control over the tone and volume of their environment without fully replacing as would be done with a personal media player. The device can be thought of as and operated like an equalizer. It is, more specifically, a resonant filter which allows a listener to attenuate the frequency range of the soundspace they occupy so that only a selected range of sound actually makes it to the ear canal. There are two modes of operation: high pass and low pass filter. The high pass filter filters upward from low frequencies so that at its maximum setting only the higher frequency elements pass through. Low pass mode operates in the opposite way and reduces the frequency range downward to that at its maximum setting only lower frequencies are passed. Both modes have a resonance control, which acts to accentuate the frequency dialed in on the device, and there is an overall volume control as well.

The device itself is portable, however just slightly too large to be kept in a pants pocket. There is a microphone element on one end and a headphone jack on the other, as well as control knobs on the top of it. It is designed to be actively used, not hidden in a pocket as other passive isolationism devices are. By pointing the AEF in any direction, the sound from that part of a soundspace can be manipulated to taste. Alternatively it may also lead to unexpected surprises: background sounds often become highlighted when frequencies that would overpower it naturally become masked, city traffic can become rhythmic music when the frequency of car tires over a pothole is discovered and the resonance of that frequency is increased. And what sounds are discovered when those same settings are kept when the device is pointed in a new direction? The act of isolation-by-headphones, as with a personal media player, now becomes an act of accute attention to sound environment as acted upon by all players of life, presented in a new way to explore instead of an old way ignore.

The AEF is designed for anyone with a sense of sonic curiosity and a slight technical know-how. The kit does require some basic soldering: the main, and most sensitive, components used to create the circuit are connected with a solderless breadboard, leaving the soldering for the connection of mechanical (and less sensitive) components such as potentiometers and switches. There is also some simple drilling of the case involved, though hole placement is not critical. The breadboard mounts inside the case with double-sided styrofoam tape, as is the clip which holds the 9v battery the entire circuit operates on. Instructions for the circuit can be followed by placing a template of the parts on the breadboard and simply pushing the components through the template into place.

STATUS

The design has gone through a bit of reversion. The initial prototype was built on a breadboard with the end goal of the finished product being made on a breadboard. Though at first it seemed fragile, after trying to transplant the circuit onto different types of protoboards, it has become clear that the initial idea of the breadboard is in fact the best option. Point to point breadboards will limit the audience to those with the diligence to actually undertake point to point soldering, which is in most cases quite bothersome. Even using a breadboard-like protoboard alters the layout of the circuit in ways that make it fairly cumbersome to put together. By keeping the circuit on a breadboard, the layout of the circuit is fairly symmetrical, and because the components are not being soldered it allows for a template to be used as a punch-through guide. Unfortunately this layout has not been fully reconfigured and the template remains unfinished. There are problems with the microphone preamp circuit and the filter circuit interacting due to the use of a virtual ground, but the problem is thought to be understood and the circuit is being worked out. Because of this I have not been able to bring on a “tester” to assemble the kit, as the instructions have not been finalized.

Another consideration has been that of the case. It was suggested that a nice wooden case could be laser cut, but that would do two things to the kit: raise the cost of materials and place focus of the project on the device as an object. My choice is to have a device that is slightly too big to hide or place in a pocket but not necessarily something to draw attention. The project is based on the idea of listening, and making the case ‘nicer’ would, I feel, lead the device to be more of an object than a tool.

Kit Contents:

Point-to-point. I love DIY circuits but absolutely hate point to point. I gave up on this angle of attack and knew immediately it would be a deterrent to many prospective users.

Breadboard layout in base of kit:

Original prototyping layouts

Landmarkings: Phase II - Documentation and Implementation

When we visit a landmark what is our intent, how do we navigate the space, and what do we take from the experience? Usually we come as visitors to partake in an experience that has been arranged for us. That experience has been mediated, in almost always, in a public sphere. Ever since the meme of tourist photography evolved (or travel photography) we tend to photo-document that experience to share with others or to serve as a reminder to ourselves that we had that experience. My objective with my kit/project, “Landmarkings,” was to consider the overall spaces in which “Landmarks” are situated. Furthermore, what if the camera was turned around from the object of the gaze to the reverse gaze of the space. Could the transient visitor’s own artifacts (litter left behind) comment on the landmark and the space it occupies?

I set out with the intent to provide others with a set of instructions to embark on a derive of consideration of that site and an option of cataloging the findings they came across. The “traveler” would be armed with a set of 7 pieces of chalk (available on Etsy), a camera, a pad and pen, and eventually internet access combined with a set of instructions:

Here are those instructions:
- Go to a local/national “Landmark” and set about seeking out litter by the people who visit.
- Mark the object with a surrounding shape of either a Circle, Square, or Triangle. Each shape should correlate to a category the litter falls into within a whole*
- Note a short description of the object.
- Photograph from above (visit the Landmarkings flickr.com site for an idea how to shoot the item)
-Mentally, notationally, or cartographically (I print out a GoogleMaps of the area beforehand) identify where the object is located specifically.
-Collect and dispose of the item (a pair of gloves and a grocery bag work great)
-Upload the images to the Landmarkings flickr.com site and follow the instructions to tag the item with the descriptive and locational information you collected earlier.
* What are 3 categories that can cover all that we consider litter? This takes time to develop so I suggest exploring and just looking. What general groups could these be divided into: Physical-plastic, paper, metal...conceptual-purchased, dropped...indexical-has text, traceable, hue/color.


Essentially:
-Mark
-Describe
-Locate
-Photo
-Upload

WHY DOES THIS ALL MATTER?

There are two components to this activity: the marking/investigation and the spatial/informational data sets it creates.

After you leave the space a mark is left representing what was left there. This is a gift that is not often offered to the space that is encumbered with the conditioning of how we should behave in a “tourist” location (which all to often is used for only one purpose…which then can neglect the tertiary environment). You will hopefully embark on a trajectory that considers the space and how others might use it, in a personal search for items left behind. Once you encounter an object you are faced with the challenge of your three defined systems of categorization (the shapes), but also how to identify, with a limited amount of context, exactly what the object might be. There is a translation that happens with the participant/archaeologist defining the objects in a space that is actively constructed to turn the focus towards the beacon of the landmark rather than the visitors that leave the litter.

The sharing of information and dispersal of individual experience of this project unto a community allows for further investigation of how the spaces are used and relate to each other. Does the litter surrounding the space Robert Indiana’s Love Statue in John F. Kennedy Plaza in Philadelphia differ than that surrounding David Adicke's immense Sam Houston Statue in Huntsville, Texas? What factors might contribute to the prevalence of Chicago transit maps being a regular occurrence in Millennium Park? These are correlations and connectives (even disparities) that can come from the proliferation of investigating sites that are often overshadowed by landmarks when our cameras are guided up and to the center.

Armed with her investigative tools!

Burger King receipt

Triangle - Objects used by people/the body

Circle - Systems of Information

Square - Whole/parts of Beverage containers

Identifying, what could it be?!




"Derive"

Takin' out the traaaash!

Phase II Update: Retropticon (formerly PseudoCam)

Assembled Retropticon 0.2 prototype

Position Statement

The Retropticon functions as a commentary on the pervasiveness not only of external surveillance, but also of self-surveillance. The title of the kit references not only Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon--a hypothetical architecture that allows occupants to be controlled through perpetual, perfect observation--but also Michel Foucault’s envisioned application of the Panopticon as a structure for broad social control through self-imposed surveillance in the service of disciplinary compliance.

In Foucault’s text, Discipline and Punish, he describes the panoptic social structure as being not merely imposed on individuals by external forces, but actually self-enforced; the strictures of disciplinary control are internalized by the individual out of a fear of being observed violating the social standards of behavior (and the punishment that may result). Thus, although social control is initialized by the imposition of a system upon the individual, it is ultimately constructed by and sustained within the individual.

The exercise of constructing a Retropticon refers to the significance of self-surveillance in both practice and material form. The general form--a camera--is an unambiguous reference to the technology of observation. Although it is a socially distributed design, a Retropticon is hand-made; the effort of the individual is required for construction, much as the effort of the individual ties them to disciplinary norms. The mirror contained in the Retropticon reflects only that which is visible in the aperture of the “lens”; in examining the Reropticon, the viewer reveals themselves to be the subject.

Because the Retropticon is visually identifiable as a camera-type object by its shape and surface charactaristics, once noticed, it is aggressive without being physically dangerous. By being inexpensive, small, and light, the Retropticon can be deployed easily and unobtrusively in locations that allow the element of surprise when discovered by others. It is through the mechanism of surprise that the Retropticon is able to function effectively; the process of noticing, recognizing, and investigating an installed Retropticon allows an uninitiated subject to confront the phenomena of pervasive, distributed surveillance, but also the self-imposition of that surveillance by the members of society.

User Test Notes

• Industrial designers make very good assembly testers; they have natural experience with a variety of construction methods and materials. Angie and Moto were generous enough to contribute their time and effort for construction and time lapse photography (respectively).
• The assembly of the Retropticon is, for the most part, "evil", but the product can be considered "cute".
• Circles are much easier to cut with scissors than a hobby knife.
• It may be feasible to have the components cut out with a laser cutter, which would be faster and neater than the manual method.
• Standard white glue is not optimal because glued pieces must be held together for a long time (in some cases minutes) in order for the glue to set.
• The tiny tabs on the button are a bit too tiny; it makes assembly difficult. In fact, most small details should probably be avoided because they do not offer enough pay-off for the amount of work required to add them.
• The flash assembly needs to be simplified.
• The lens assembly should probably be simplified; the lens ring components are difficult to combine neatly.
• Apparently, when I am recorded via time-lapse photography, I look like a bobblehead.

Assembly Instructions

Retropticon Assembly Instructions

Video Documentation

time-lapse video of kit user test on 2011-11-10

Photo Documentation

cutting out components

almost done

finishing touches

finished Retropticon prototype

note the reflection visible in the Retropticon

top-right view

In the wild

Response: State of the Union + Watch Where You Are Putting That Pencil + This Is Our Real Job / Use a Bicycle - The Apprentice In the Sun + How to Reclaim the Common?

State of the Union + Watch Where You Are Putting That Pencil + This Is Our Real Job

The issue of financial support for creative producers including--but not limited to--artists and art writers is painted with a dire brush in the trio of selections from Art Work. I am inclined to think that This Is Our Real Job's call for unionization would be more useful than their suggestion that artists and educators "walk out", so I am slightly surprised that the article does not mention the Freelancer's Union, a non-profit organization specifically designed to help provide a safety net (albeit a minimal one) for not only creative producers but many other types of workers. Unfortunately, the Freelancer's Union is not able to provide collective bargaining rights that might allow members to collect higher wages, but this is an obstacle with the US's legal landscape that may be more surmountable if there was broader support.

The revival of New Deal arts programs like the WPA and FAP might be effective, but because they would depend either on a proactive, if undemocratic (there is not much public clamor for government art), act of government or massive changes in the social structure and outlook of our citizenry, they seem to be only distant possibilities. Which, frankly, is a relief to me; I am intensely uncomfortable with the concept of the government--any government--being placed in a position to exert control over what work is made, and who it is made for.

Use a Bicycle - The Apprentice In the Sun + How to Reclaim the Common?

It is interesting to note how the selections from Destroying Public Harmony also feature political and lifestyle prescriptions for artists, albeit not quite as stridently as the articles from Art Work. Rainier Ganahl's text Use a Bicycle - The Apprentice In the Sun seems to be a meandering promotion of a style of "lifestyle art" that is basically a form of mindful awareness. The text could have merely served as an interesting discussion of the sources and symbols of Ganahl's work, but unfortunately he tacked on an unconvincing appeal to a re-adoption of the bicycle as an inspirational muse for a more progressive society. It is annoying not because it is wrong, but because it is probably true--however the fact that the rest of the text is comprised of historical non-sequiturs and descriptions of how he has an erotic fetish for bicycles does not really support his conclusion.

Doina Petrescu's How to Reclaim the Common? chillingly but concisely describes the deleterious effect of catastrophic privatization on Romanian society. However, Petrescu's call for "collective subjectivity" manages to sound more oppressive than liberating; instead of counteracting the corrosive effects of private ownership of public spaces, the adamant prescription of collective action merely evokes a different form of social control that has already been demonstrated to be corruptible.

Benjamin Keddy Reading Responses

Art Work: Response

This is Our Real Job by the Temporary Services Group +

State of the Union by Gregory Sholette

Although several of the contributors are listed, it is unclear to me who from the group"Temporary Services" is responsible for writing the introductory section This is Our Real Job. As is the case with many of the texts I have read this semester, the article hammers home the perspective that the artist should assume the role of social activist. In this particular text the proposal is framed by the failing social infrastructure that has taken root as a result of our present deteriorating national and global economies. The author accurately emphasizes the particular difficulty that this economy presents to artists, while suggesting that artists should be highlighting cuts to federal funding of arts programs, the lower standard of living for artists who continue their work in face of the economic hardship, and the negative effect of the even more pervasive infiltration of capitalism into the world of professional art, the author urges the artist to assume the role of activist / change agent. As Gregory Sholette discusses in greater detail, the author touches on theWPA’s Federal Arts Project of the FDR Administration and the lack of or such Economic support for today’s artists as both a symptom and contributing element to the current economic dystopia. The article goes on to note the disproportionate wealth distribution between the “top earners” the rest of the population, mentioning that 20% of the population in actually living in debt (or “negative wealth” is it is stated). The text encourages the academic instructor to push further in the role of the dissenting voice while both advocating and taking direct action toward revolutionary change, asserting that there is no better time for such action. Lastly, the article succinctly urges “…us all to consider how to use this moment to do several things: to work for better compensation, to get opportunities to make art in diverse and challenging settings, and to guide art attitudes and institutions, on all levels, in more resilient directions” as well as provide feedback to artandwork.us to improve the quality of the group’s organization and output.

As an extension of this, Gregory Sholette discusses the history of economic support programs for artists in relationship to the lack funding that today’s artists face. He reintroduces the significance of the FDR era Federal Arts Project and discusses the development of significant artist support organizations such as the Art Worker’s Coalition, The Artists’ Equity Association, and their vital (albeit fleeting) existence as models for the types ingenuity that must be restructured to support the work of today’s disenfranchised artists. Sholette also emphasizes the capitalist takeover that has necessitated the self-invented artist-entrepreneur. Acknowledging today’s socially funded arts support programs as woefully insufficient in the face of corporate deregulation, he notes the shift of artists seeking support through the private funding of such resources as the Artist Pension Trust.

Relative to This is Our Real Job, as a citizen I agree with the basic principles put forth by the author as passionate and well reasoned rhetoric. It seems clear that this introductory article is putting forth a call to action for artist/educators to capitalize on the moment and multi-laterally work to restructure society to empower the artistic community for individual benefit, the benefit of the artistic community, and the benefit of the society at large. It is obvious that intervention is needed. Is the artist hard wired to be an interventionist? Phrases like “we would rather explore ideas for reworking the economy to benefit everyone” featured towards the end of second paragraph seems to suggest that “we” are. (If it is not the artist, then who is the "we" that the author is referring to?) Although I have stated a similar opinion in the past, I feel that the repositioning of my point is relevant to the discussion. As a citizen, I completely agree with the author. I am solidly part of the same ideological constituency and, like the author, clearly recognize that the artist must somehow find a way to weather to economic turbulence of today and the future and prosper. That said, I do not see the role of the artist and activist as essentially synonymous or that it is the artist’s inherent role to change the society at large through socio-political intervention or similarly themed artistic output. Just as there are artists who are, and may want to be, great activists trumpeting the call for social intervention while exploiting the cracks in our dysfunctional capitalist system, there are great artists who position themselves firmly in opposition to such activist policies. Although these individuals may not fit into the social class that bears the most significant hardship of our broken economies, they are still the “we” that the author presumes should be sympathetic to the perspective presented. What immediately comes to mind is Ezra Pound’s “fascist activism” of the 1930s. Pound clearly doesn’t possess the character traits of the “we” the author had in mind. As a citizen, I am in Sholette’s camp as he promotes the concept the artist entrepreneur who is also resourceful enough to find a way to “exploit the exploiter” while embracing the reality that the historical mechanisms that created the social and government arts funding of the past have been trounced by the negative residual effects of the rise in global capitalism. This resonates more with me than the positions presented in This Is Our Real Job. Sholette describes what is needed rather than mandating how I as an artist should specifically address the issue.

Watch Where you are Putting that Pencil by Anthony Elms

Writers are just as vulnerable in this economy as the practioners of other creative disciplines and in some ways have it worse. Elm describes the work of today’s writer as under funded at best that often amounts to volunteer work. Noting the pay structure and employment policies of such publications as Time Out – Chicago, he provides a perspective to just how bad it can be— apparently so bad that working noting that working for free can be more beneficial in the sense that at least “I don’t collect the check and realize how little my input it valued”. After mentioning how he finds writing about artists whose work he likes and those who he has a mutually beneficial relationship with, he continues to discuss the concept of “quality control” as it relates to the problem of this lack of appreciation extending to the role of the editor in writing.. As Elms rightfully points out, the underpaid, undereducated editor creates an issue for the factual integrity of the work published. If an editor does not have the experience or an investment in the subject at hand, the factual accuracy of a written work can suffer. Sometimes a small error can cause a statement to mean the exact opposite of what was intended, He exemplifies how editorial errors can have very serious consequences for an artist written about as well as well as the author and publisher responsible for what is written. Elms speculates that this is, and the highly specialized aspect of art writing, to be the reason that the artist has difficulty entrusting the writer to accurately convey his or her words.

Having friends who are professional editors, I certainly understand the job of editors to be essential to any published work. When Elms mentions that “you get exactly what you pay for” it seems that the stakes of getting it wrong and then sending it to print are simply to high to underpay those responsible for guarding the final integrity of the written work.

Destroying Public Harmony

How to Reclaim the Common by Doina Petrescu

In brief reference to the previous article, either Petrescu badly needs an editor or the publisher in under funding the editorial process. Some of the meaning in this article becomes lost in insufficient translation.

Petrescu discusses the loss of public property and space that has occurred in Eastern Europe over the past decade. Focusing on the theft of the commons that has occurred in Romania beginning in the communist era, Petrescu comments on how such a pervasive societal issue of theft of common goods, services, and institutional values has resulted in deep social apathy and a broad devaluing of the larger community structure. With the development of a transitional government, the socialist oligarchs supported privatization of the public property largely because they were well positioned to purchase it upon its reclassification. With the elements of a recognizable community disappearing around them, Romanian citizens entrusted only the immediate community of the family.

The issue proliferated through the cities resulting the transition of public rivers, parks, and buildings to private property. Bucharest experienced the destruction of Historical common spaces, with the “systematic planning” of the dictatorial Ceausescu regime, which this non-dissenting communist society passively accepted. With the disappearance of the “public”, ownership of private property became the normal goal for the average citizen.

Sadly, this eerily seems like a desperate grasp at same ideal that embodied the now mythic “American Dream” . The social development and satisfaction that results from a connection to fair and functional social system has given way to an embrace of comodification as the norm.

So what can or should we do about it? While also quoting Jacques Rancièr, Petrescu presents her view, that although the politician will fail to implement true reform, the artist is uniquely positioned to help with the process of reclaiming the commons:

“The political creativity is not politicien’s field, they are at the best concerned with creative politics. Political creativity consists in ways of enlarging the scope of political possibility, to use Jacques Rancière’s term. According to him, this political possibility is situated in the realm of aesthetics. Political artworks ‘suspend the ordinary coordinates of sensory experience and reframe the network of relationships between spaces and times, subjects and objects, the common and the singular” in order to transform “the landscape of the possible.”

With her eloquently put statement that “artists should be the keepers of the sensible memory of the past and the holders of the radical imagination of the future”, Petrescu presents a logical premise for why artists of these effected regions should be at the forefront of initiating such social redevelopment.

It should be obvious at this point that I dislike the rhetoric of the ethical position that seems to call for a reassignment of the artist’s role to something “better” or “more” -- a perspective that seems to also suggest that being an artist simply produces work (work that may have no socio-activist premise) is insufficient or outdated, or is simply a recipe for failure considering our present socio-economic reality, Despite my taking exception with this notion, I completely agree with Petrescu that creatively minded individuals such as an artists likely possess the historical sensitivity and creative vision to restore the public commons in a manner that, through its development, would exemplify what is possible. The products of this process could provide an apathetic society with something worth fighting for.

Use a Bicycle – Apprentice in the Sun by Rainer Ganahl

Ganahl describes how his introduction to the bicycle changed his view on freedom of mobility, romance, sex, politics and art. He discusses the effect of DuChamp’s Apprentice in the Sun on his work, describing his reproduction of the original work into the form of a neon sign. Ganahl also discusses the use of the bicycle bomb as a weapon in warfare, the creation of the “Don’t steal my Mercedes-Benz” Bicycle, complete with both Kryptonite and bronze locks, and the bike as the vehicle of a sustainable culture.

Ganahl is clearly obsessed with biking. There’s nothing at all wrong with that, I like biking too. In fact, I like it a lot, albeit not to the point of obsession. His obsession seems to have lead him down the path of creating bad art while publicly professing his love affair with the vehicle. Having watched his video Bicycling Flann O’Brien, On Housing http://www.ganahl.info/videos/onhousing_OK.mov I understand the reference to The third Policeman’s DeSelby and find his presentation to be quite uninteresting.

I do however find this observation on bike theft to be interesting:

“Apart from the fact that most bicycles are today produced in China, reports about the theft of European infrastructures – stolen by the tons - for their raw material value ending up in China add yet another twist to the fear of loss inherent to the material world, but also to love, live and death”

In thinking about his observation I recall being in Amsterdam and being struck by it as a city dominated by bikes— bikes that looked very homogeneic in their generic style. I assume this was to prevent the individual bike being targeted for theft.

Reading Responses

The following are general summaries of the texts. Below I will, hopefully, make some meaningful connections between them.

How to Reclaim the Common

Doina Petrescu discusses the loss of things public in socialist Romania and proposes lines of thought in how artists can approach the facilitation of community space and memory. Petrescu describes how the abuses of the state government lead to the deterioration of public/community spaces/property such that the people and the public became psychologically detached. This leads to the destruction of the community itself, and when there is no sense of community there is no sense of respect for the shared public spaces, buildings, and services. To heighten this detachment, the Romanian government began to privatize parks, rivers, and streets in the post-Communist transition. “[Romanians] internalised the fact that the city has no value and no memory to preserve.” He proposes that artists should, instead of setting a trajectory for success on the ‘art market’, become political agents as the medium through which communities can reconnect with each other and the past, and in the process beating a path for the future community. “Artists should be the keepers of the sensible memory of the past and the holders of the radical imagination of the future.”

Use a Bicycle - The Apprentice in the Sun

Skimming over his personal history with the bicycle, Rainer Ganahl takes us through the role of the bike in the development of the auto-based society and the influence of the bicycle on his navigation and interpretation of this world. “I realized very early on that I pedaled back and forth between different social worlds and different classes I wasn’t meant to juxtapose, to synchronize, to visit together.” Ganahl saw the bicycle as a way to bypass the social and physical pathways that were the result of the auto-based world. It taught him about the ideas of relativity (literally with speed but more loosely as adapted in his Bicycling Flann O’Brien works), and imparted on him the idea of “‘back’-revolutionizing mobility, rethinking urban design, and for down-machanizing ourselves”. His exposure to Duchamp’s ‘The Apprentice in the Sun’ seems to have helped guide his work as well. With the neon ‘use a bicycle’, he plays on the incongruence of the works demand and the implications of the conditions in which the sign would be legible (not necessarily safe for a cyclist). ‘Don’t steal my Mercedes-Benz bicycle’ plays with the idea of Kryptonite locks and their implication of their other-worldly strength (and value) vs. the value of bicycles and the symbolic value of a secondary (and generally ineffective) brass chain, with the hopeful result that the installed bikes are stolen, and the locks left, as a commentary on the obsession of security and the value we place on it. Overall his obsession with the bike seems to be his viewport of the world, and he relates the mechanization of the world to the downward health of the world both physically and mentally, and focuses on ‘de-mechanization’ as a tool for reinvigoration.

This Is Our Real Job

The introductory article to Art Work reads as a call to arms for artists to reclaim a position in a capitalist society that is viewed as an equal contributor to any other market-driven profession or service and for artists to band tegether to essentially pull each other up by the boot straps. Temporary Services calls for artists in tenured academic positions to use that position to steer resources to those outside the academic environment and for those in adjunct positions to essentially milk the resources for all their worth by borrowing equipment for public sessions, scanning and copying books that are only available to those in academic reach of them.

Watch Where You Are Putting That Pencil

(very brief summary...)

Anthony Elms expounds the hardships of supporting oneself as an art writer, from getting paid pennies-per-word, to nothing at all, as well as the implications of the lack of pay on the entity being written for in terms of funding, staffing, and editing - mostly the lack thereof. These faulty systems lead to undesired alterations of text, which in turn can lead to the embarassment of both publisher and author.

State of the Union

Gregory Sholette digs in to the history of Federal programs for artists and their short lives. Federal programs during the Depression created employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of artists, however these programs did not allow much room for production by minorities, women, or any sort of questioning/controvercial work. Because of this many independently organized groups were then formed to use as leverage in implementing more fair practice and hiring in the Federal programs. The article goes on to talk about artistic pruduction, which seems to be a crossraods at which artists and funding meet. “Marx believed that artistic production is the inevitable outcome of an artistic nature, but the introduction of collage, montage, productivism, appropriation, conceptual art, and, most of all, te readymade has generally upset this tidy assessment. The de-skilling of art has its corollary in the rise of digital technologies that allow even laptop-toting preteens to turn out sophisticated-looking aesthetic products.” (emphasis my own). What I take this to imply is that funding is more likely to happen for artistic ‘products’ which do not challange or question the world at large, whereas anything with a conceptual or questioning intent is more or less forbidden.

What does all this mean?

It’s beyond obvious that artists generally struggle to survive. It’s hard to imagine any state government funding anything that would question it, its allies, its practices, its intentions. It’s also hard to imagine any artist in their own right not to question those very things at some point or another. For me, art is the ability to imply that which science can not empircally state, and that can be dangerous for those entities that wish to remain opaque. Unfortunately those entities are often the structures of power which operate the framework of our lives. If the power is not with the people, it is generally with the state, and the state doesn’t like its holes being shone through. When Petrescu speaks of artists recreating a community memory and experience it seems entirely possible, for me, because the reaction is in response to a state that was largely considereded ‘bad’. But what happens when a new state reforms and sets foot, becoming powerful, maybe democatic - will their state fund artists which question it? Not that every artist will, but is the idea that those few with strong voices and unwanted ideas strong enough to push that funding to the side? Are the state unions discussed by Sholette possible to resurrect in our current economic environment and at a time when the “99%” occupations are nipping at the capitalist fabric? I think what these articles are getting at underneath it all is that we need to figure out how to independently organize our own support systems. Maybe that’s exactly what the articles were getting at but it didn’t seem to be the italicized point to me when I read them. So how do we really do it? Is it possible? Can artists really band together to help each other or will it just try to operate within the state framework they exist in? Sholette hit on this point: “As critic Craig Owens commented at the time, East Village artists of the ‘80s surrendered themselves ‘to the means-end rationality of the marketplace.’ while mimicking the subaltern culture they were helpinh to displace. Nevertheless, some artists continued to self-organize for the greater equity at a time of rapid defunding of the public sphere though targeted cuts in nonmilitary state expenditures.” My ideas on the whole thing are starting to get cyclical - it is a difficult debate, but one which I don’t think is okay to shrug off. Going back to the “99%” occupations, the general feeling is that overall specifics are very broad but the message is ultimately of discontent. If self-organization for artists is to gain solid traction I think a benchmark of anticipated standards needs to be addressed in order to form a framework around it. Not that I have any good ideas on the matter, but it is something I do not see in any of these articles.

Destroying Pub Harmony/Art Work Response-Jon

HOW TO RECLAIM THE COMMON?

I think that artists could play a role in re-visualizing post communist Romanian urban space, but it seems like this article relies on that idea too much. The people need to get together and protest the capitalization of their remaining public space. I don’t really think that, as the article states, the Ranciere idea that “…political possibility is situated in the realm of aesthetics.”  is all that is needed as it seems a bit naïve to think this. Although, this beatification and reclamation needs to start somewhere, and there’s no better way to start feeling good about ones community than having an arts scene. In this particular instance, the art scene should be politicized and critical, but the article doesn’t seem to suggest this too overtly. This situation reminds me of the efforts in Detroit, especially turning vacant housing into art spaces and the development of urban gardens. These new realizations of public spaces are very beneficial to the community, but you have to politically mobilize to compete with corporate interests.

USE A BICYCLE – THE APPRENTICE IN THE SUN

Being a biker, I can relate more to the beginning of the article when he talks about distractions, efficiency getting around in a city, and I do agree that more people should “use a bicycle”. But this solution to transpiration needs is very city centric. Biking does help with pollution, especially in congested cities, but there are so many other politics involved with the issue of pollution, that to give so much faith in the bicycle is sort of delusional. 

Also, with his work, what’s up with the sexulization of the bicycle? “Something slipped gently into my right hand. It was the grip of a handlebar – her handlebar…I led the bicycle to the center, started upon her gently, threw my leg across and settled gently into her saddle… My feet pressed down with ecstasy on the willing female pedals…”(pg 22). Then he sort of creates a myth about the bicycle by casting parts in bronze and plaster? It is a mode of transportation that is very personal and utilitarian, but this fetishization of the object is kind of ridiculous when it is purely aesthetic and not functional. Perhaps he should convert the bike into an energy producer from the act of peddling it? The metaphors were kind of weak too; yes, police and the military use bicycles, but the military also uses cars, shoes, hats, sunglasses, etc.

Art Work

It is true. The state of art funding is probably at its lowest point in this country, but what can we do now? The Temporary Services article stated that, “Universities continue to crank out masters of fine arts who have next to no possibility of getting gainful employment and little to no role in creating future employment outside the already tiny pool of highly coveted tenure track positions.” It also made a rallying cry to revolt against the institution for being exploitative by walking out and unionizing, but then you would get fired and not have a job and get replaced by one of the thousands of MFA grads who would gratefully take your job. A few years ago, Dave Hickey wrote an article in Art Forum and mentioned what the potential positive ramifications the market crash could have on the gallery system. Basically, in good ‘ol Hickey style, he said that it will filter out “shit” and maybe then the art world will be more critical about what they are calling or valuing as art. This is harsh, but the art world/system isn’t blameless in this oversaturation and inflation.

            It does seem like a new business model needs to be forged. In the State of the Union article,  Scholette states, “Widespread de-regulation has certainly increased prosperity for a few, but it provides no substantial “trickle-down” advantage for the many… not within the contemporary art world, a notoriously unregulated market.” So we have an art economic system that is the same corporate system that leaves people poor. I kind of don’t think wealthier artists would buy into his plan to invest in a community if it’s the same type of corporate system. I don’t see too many corporations doing this.  I can’t even imagine working in the publishing industry as in the Elms article, especially because it is hemorrhaging jobs left and right and there is the competition of internet sources that are often very hyperbolic, even though they might be erroneous.  

I like the idea of different modes of public funding, such as Sunday Soup. It seems like more than ever, though, fine artists need to learn new skills perhaps not traditionally associated with them, such as web design, computer coding, and technological literacy. I’m not saying there aren’t a lot of these artists, especially with MFA new media programs everywhere now, but most artists outside of these programs don’t have these new skills that are sought after in the job market, especially with the title “Creative Technologist” popping up everywhere.

Reading responses - Art Work // Destroying Public Harmony

Temporary Services - "This is Our Real Job"

"Where are the large-scale ideas that depend upon American ingenuity rather than competition? When did funding the arts and the people that make them become optional? Why is visual art, which can be understood as a basic foundation for human communication, not funded as an integral part of our lives as Americans? Why don’t we think being an artist is a “real job”?" (3).

Perhaps one of the larger parts of the problem - justifying the existence of art/artists - stems from a fundamental disagreement of how the arts function, and who they serve.  Temporary Services identifies its role as primarily communicative - and though it is difficult to argue with that, I can't help but feel that this is far too general to serve as any real primary definition; there are tons of capitalist sectors that currently also serve that need, perhaps even more efficiently and easily - and with the spirit of capitalist competition in mind.  Art is not an "easy" read, and demands much more of its audience.  The reality show "Art Star" provides an easy-to-swallow missive, beamed directly into the home:

"Want to be an artist? Join a reality show and viciously compete for the title of “Art Star” while having your every move be documented for six weeks in the hopes that your witty bon mots and camera-friendly pretty face will result in a one-time cash bonus" (3).

I can't help but wonder if, ultimately, much of the solution remains obscured because of a crisis in imagination - there seems to be an impossibility of imagining any type of system not based upon competition, or a system where the competition is not fouled up by corruption, blind ignorance, prejudice, or inequity.  Temporary Services blame the entire capitalist system, but a dismantling of the status quo may prove a much greater challenge as even just regulating or adjusting the current system has proven nearly impossible.  So much of the art that is chosen for international viewing are based on a "wow" factor that demands an obscene amount of money to create (take, for example, "Gloria," by Allora & Calzadilla, officially sponsored by Hugo Boss)- and more than that, the process of choosing these artists is largely opaque.  Contribution for the pavilion "goes directly to support the U.S. gymnasts and runners performing in Venice" (official word from the website).  The entire pavilion is built upon a celebration of an opaque, elitist competition system supporting yet another (arguably completely corrupt) competition system, devoid of any real "awareness raising" or missive from actual U.S. citizens.  And while this is, perhaps, not the goal, it doesn't seem unreasonable that the representative art in an international art venue should somehow service those that it represents, not actively obscure them.

_________________________

Doina Petrescu - "How to Reclaim the Common?"

The thesis throughout this essay concerns the Eastern European (and particularly Romanian) crisis in the devalued and disappearing "common," that is, the public space provided for citizens.  Privatization of public lands, after communism, became the norm.  Petrescu argues that this act is also a destruction of the concept of the common and community.  The idea of community shrunk to the scale of family and close friends, the only real "safe" zone.  The struggle now becomes one of influencing psychology; questions revolve around the changing of cultural and psychological habits in order to influence the creation of community support and activism that has disappeared since during, and since Ceausescu's totalitarian regime.

While this article concerns Romania, this is a well-worn crisis explored in the post-modern Western world as well, particularly in urban environments.  One needs to look no further than Chicago's Loop in order to explore how public is constantly in battle with the privatized, capitalist space; however, the existence of these spaces is much sneakier than in Eastern Europe, because of corporate funding, advertising, etc.  While the park system is largely thought to be "public," every corner of Millennium Park is branded with corporate funding - there are restrictions in all parks concerning what you can and cannot bring in with you and the times you can use it.  Even more important, however, is the tenuous control the public has over these lands.  When Chicago was in the running for the Olympics, the proposal included the building of facilities some of Chicago's parks, essentially converting public lands into private ones (it's assumed that these corporate-funded facilities would then be converted into privatized condos, fitness facilities, etc.).  Occupy protestors have been arrested because their permit for public assembly expired.

Because we know and expect these restrictions on public land usage, it signals how we continue to bend and constrict our conceptions of what public and community mean in the urban environment - our "public" spaces have all become first and foremost commercial spaces.  If you are not a consumer, you are loitering, and subject to removal.  When community is nothing more than a roving hoard of distracted shoppers, how can we even begin to conceptualize real common space?

Parts of a whole; human detritus

Parts of a whole; human detritus

The Flickr site:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1831188@N22/
The Etsy kit:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/84343992/chalk-set-and-gloves-for-social-art

We consider garbage to be part of our environment. It is not unusual to see a piece of garbage in a seemingly remote place. If we are in that place, who’s to say someone else wasn't (or nearby) and this is an artifact of their existence, somewhere.

The materials we leave behind have a history:

-Where it was produced

-How it was procured or translocated

-How (much of) it was consumed

-How much friction and degradation it endured

-What climatic elements it endured

We can even anthropomorphize these object through their histories.

http://youtu.be/6oqXVx3sBOk

Most modern Garbology (the study of trash and waste management) lies in life cycles of garbage and their decomposition data. Oceanographic waste cycles is an emerging area of study (total size is roughly twice the size of Texas. Paired with ocean and river systems researchers can more easily observe the course and patterns of waste.

I wish to introduce a sense of sociology and anthropology into the observation of waste and refuse, specifically in the urban environment on a local scale. People are the direct impetus of the existence of trash. I purpose why not have them participate in the observance as well as the removal of this waste.

Through the simple act of marking waste objects in a defined locale, documenting them, and assembling data sets we can learn from that which we wish to expunge. we can possibly have something to learn about how we perceive and coexist with the waste that permeates our landscape as artifacts of ourselves.

I aim to provide individuals and groups with a set of tools and a strategy to do just this. The basic procedure is this:

-Find a area to investigate with a definable area (a park, street, landmark, etc)

-Circle (small) or outline (larger, organic) with blue chalk, then with the object still in the perimeter, photograph the work from above with some detail.

-Attempt to describe (Planter's cashews wrapper, Wendy's soft drink cup (half full)) and locate the item. This will be used when uploading the images onto a Wiki later.

-Collect the item for disposal

-Upload items onto the Group Contributors wiki.

-Use as much text and "tags" to define the object (more the merrier).

-Use the geotag interface to locate as best as possible, where the object was found.

-*Optional: investigate and assemble the objects into datasets or collections

The kit can be assembled on each participants own, just be mindful of the toxicology and ecology of the products you use. Try to use non-toxic, washable chalk, dishgloves are advisable due to reuse, and reusing bags from stores is strongly recommended. I will seek out an optimum prepackaged kit and provide it to participants through Etsy.com at low-cost to jumpstart things.

All participants are encouraged to be as diligent as they like. The more information the collective has on their space and it's waste, the more we can infer. We seek to derive connectivity between the objects, space and it's inhabitants. That being said participants take on the role of artist-anthropologists subjectivity is welcome, as long as it's aim is to further the connection of these intersections. Many variables are involved to allow all users to participate without the feeling that they cannot introduce contributions outside of scientific investigation.

In the works is a mass observation/marking/collection session of many member in the same place at the same time. These "Digs" will hope to invigorate said spaces with the replacement of markings in lieu of waste, while also collecting higher than normal volumes of data.

Phase I - Construction sketches/mockups/ideas

Initial concept:

Revised concept:

No pushbutton, just headphone output and slots for SD card & USB flash memory. The memory slots are not in the mockup as the measurements are not in the datasheets nor do I have a board on hand to measure. Depending on the board, I may have to get a larger case. The 9v battery is mounted to the lid of the enclosure with clips and it sits above the MP3 player board. If there is not enough clearance for components, a new box will be chosen.

Side view of revised box:

Possible variation:

I am feeling a bit off about having to be tied to headphones for the project - it's a way to further shelter/buffer the user from their environment. An alternative would be just a small box with an LCD display and a vibrating motor so that you essentially receive instructions like a text message or with a pager. The 16x2 character LCDs also offer a nice limitation for text instructions. In this way the user could put the device in their pocket while walking and only have to pay attention to it when it vibrates, indicating that there is a new instruction awaiting.

SmokeBreak Acoustical Partition

The following are the steps required to produce the first row the the diffuser. These same steps will be repeated for the "odd" (3,5, 7, etc.) rows. Even rows will follow a construction pattern that is the similar. The difference is that the even rows are designed so that the assembly will require building in an opposite fashion - left to right. I am also looking for a material that can be applied to the inside of the chambers to provide dampening and serve to make it more secure. I am thinking about a form of texture that can be applied as a liquid that will harden.

PseudoCam, wearable behavior modification system

It is fairly uncontroversial to assert that many people will modify their behavior when they are aware of being observed or recorded. As a mechanism of modifying behavior, the implication of observation‐and the implicit threat of punishment or retribution based on the evidence thus obtained‐is both time-honored and effective. The principle, exmplified in social phenomena such as Santa Claus, is one of the reasons that investigative reporters and law enforcement professionals frequently make use of hidden cameras specifically to prevent people around them from altering their behavior so the "true" speech and actions of the subject can be recorded.

But what if inducing others to modify their behavior is actually the primary goal of using a recording device instead of a mere side-effect of the act of openly capturing images and/or audio? The introduction of an obvious means of recording a social interaction alters the event in potentially desirable ways; rude or uncooperative customer service agents, unruly teenagers, and insensitive comments or jokes can be discouraged by the tactical deployment of a camera.

The continuing miniaturization and commodification of optic sensors and audio recording devices already give individuals the capability to capture their interactions with others through a wide variety of ubiquitous consumer devices such as cell phones and tablets in addition to point-and-shoot cameras or handheld video recorders. However, many of these products demand constant manual engagement to hold and operate, which can negatively impact the wearer's mobility. Also, because the devices require power and internal capacity to actively record images, video, or audio, the user is required to devote mental resources to managing the batteries and storage media of the devices. The technical aspects of operating a modern recording device, while suited to the purposes of recording, actually impede a user that is primarily interested in modifying the tone of their social interactions.

Additionally, in some jurisdictions, the state of law has not fully digested recent technological advancement as it relates to photo- and videography within the public sphere. As a result, the use of recording devices in certain public and semi-public contexts, such as at shopping malls, performance venues, or around police officers, can result in a range of legal consequences ranging from denial of entry to actual prosecution for wiretapping or eavesdropping, as illustrated by the state of Illinois' ongoing case against Michael Allison. Although the legal right to record people in public is theoretically held to be valid by the courts (see Glik v. Cunniffe), the widespread confusion apparent in recent court actions encourages a degree of risk avoidance when implementing a camera-based behavioral modification system, if for no other reason then to reduce or obviate the need for an expensive legal defense.

The purpose of the PseudoCam is to provide a low-cost, DIY, camera-like behavioral modification solution for situations where the actual recording of images or audio is superfluous to requirements. By being a small, light object, the PseudoCam can be affixed to apparel or accessories through the use of Velcro or simple clips. The prominent lens assembly and visible recording indicator light makes the PseudoCam readily identifiable as a active camera to a subject being engaged by the wearer‐such as a store cashier or fellow CTA traveller‐but the overall package is small enough to be worn comfortably and discreet enough that the wearer does not stand out in a crowd. Because the recording indicator light is the only active component in the PseudoCam, the power requirements are trivially low and do not require particular concentration from the user. In addition, in order to avoid the legal hazards of recording in public while still achieving the effect of inducing people to behave as if you were recording them, the PseudoCam does not contain any mechanism for recording images or audio of any kind. And, because it is easily constructed with inexpensive materials, the replacement cost for a lost or destroyed PseudoCam is quite low. Thus, the PseudoCam is a valid solution for anyone interested in observing the effects of camera-based behavioral modification without the potentially significant expense involved in using an actual camera.

Sketch #1 Possible Construction Guide

Sketch #2 Overview

Project Sketches (added 2011-09-29)

Kit sketches (5)

The Arduino code is based on both a simple "knock sensor" with a piezo element (here we use laminated piezo film) and the generation of a tone, outputting to the speaker (in this case, the sound exciters).

In this prototype, the Arduino generates a 100KH tone whenever a pulse is detected.

Design Sketches - Chaz

To explain the fabrication workflow here: I'm working with folding seemless paper rectangles into down-scaled maquettes as the plan for folding large paper. The largest brown paper I can find has 48" as its shortest edge, so the proportions developed here have that in mind. The folding scheme here should produce a bag with plenty of space between two participants, but comes down to below the waist. If I can find paper with a longer short dimension it could come down further.

I first deconstructed a bag to understand the general form for folding a paper rectangle into a 3D bag. Then I started sketching/folding in 3D and make maquettes. Using the same folding proportions and techniques should work when working with the up-scaled paper.

2D Layout: basic folding form and proportions for folding a single paper rectangle into a bag with only two points of adhesive.

Mark 1: Single 8 1/2 x 11 paper folded into bag maquette

Mark 2: Single 8.5 x 11 folded into half of a double-wide bag maquette.

Mark 3: Two 8.5 x 11 pages folded into a double wide bag maquette. (4 points of adhesive)

Mark 3: Two large brown paper bags formed into a double-wide bag maquette.

Three maquettes in repose:

Finally, to share a revised concept for having comfortable head clearence: Instead of having shoulder mounts, my new idea is to get costume top hats and chop the brim off to make supportive head mounts.