Brief 1,
Year 2 Studio Practice.
This first project of the year is names "cybernetic self", and is a short 4 week project exploring yourself and others in a digital context. Focus is highlighted on the 'self portraiture' we have nowadays, and how this is influenced and moulded by technology, rather than the paint and canvas output typical portraits use.
KeyIdeas;
Autopoeisis- comes from the words "self" (auto) and "creative production' (poiesis). It refers to a system capable of reproducing and maintaining itself.
The autopoeisis keywords to consider are;
- emotions
- thinking
- intertwined
- rationality
- human vs computer
- "self making"
- "self poetry"
Sociomaterial- is the way technology and sociology interact. How people's work/ activities are shaped by the technology surrounding them.
The sociomaterial keywords to consider are;
- people
- materials
- equipment
- components
- extensions
- yourself and more
Network Self- is the "self" you possess when using social networking sites or engaging online. This can be observed as different to someone "normal self".
The network self keywords to consider are;
- self presentation
- behavioural norms
- patterns and routines
- class/ gender/ race divides
- privacy
- activism
- political impact
- online tastes
- social impact
These should be key themes to use in the research process, going on to development, the delivery of the idea and then the final outputs.
The example given as an introduction was Amalia Ulman's Excellence and Perfections art study.
These outputs were an elaborate project in which her social accounts slowly evolved in to only displaying the lifestyle of 'LA rich girl accounts'. She acted out each image as though it was a performance to appear like these girls, including wearing different clothes, dying her hair, posing unnaturally (for her normally) and pretending to go through cosmetic surgeries as if these are the only accepted images and lifestyle choices on social media.
The above article describes her full transformation and how each of the 175 images led to the story development of being 'becoming' the 'IT girl'. Its questionable however if this was actually all faked, (as intended) or if Amalia could've actually become her label and lifestyle in a self fulfilling prophecy. For example dying her hair for her imagery would also leave her with that hair colour in "real life", so phsyically there is no differentiation... could that indicate that there could also not be a mental detachment from the 'part'.
