Public display project

I've fallen a bit behind on my blog posts, and hope to write several this week which target the last of the book readings as well as observations about project work.

Speaking of project work, I have pretty much settled on an idea for my public display, and I spent today scouting out the location I want to do it in. I've decided to do it in the middle of the walkway in the Leslie Groves Park.

My public display will involve me and one of my friends playing a game of Axis & Allies on a gaming table on the park trail. We will make an attempt to dress the part of commanders/soldiers fighting in World War Two.

The idea behind this is that while we are sitting in a peaceful and serene environment, with the river behind us and the park all around us, internally we will be confronting the chaos and confusion that is present in warfare.

My plan is to have one camera recording us from a short distance away, which will make note of people's reaction to us, as well as showing the peaceful setting we are in. Another camera will show more of an overhead shot of the board game as it is happening, probably with sound effects to reflect the sounds running through our minds at the time. I figure I will switch between the two camera views a few times to show the contrast between the two as well as noting the responses of those around us.

Triptych geocache drop

Dropped off my triptych geocache without issue today in the hills behind Badge Canyon. Works with my overall theme for the project.

GPS location is at: 46°9'23.46" North, 119°17'31.96" West

I had made a bit of a write up about the project, as early on I had thought we would need to submit one with the final images. I went ahead and threw it on here. Read on at your own peril.

For my triptych, I decided to pick something I can relate to personally. Over the years I have accumulated several boxes worth of random parts and components from building computers and doing computer repairs. In my case, these computer parts sit in a closet where they gather dust, as the parts are anywhere from four to ten years old. Since improvements in computing technology occur in leaps and bounds, these parts quickly fall into obsolescence within just a few years. In the past, I had simply thrown out parts as I deemed them unnecessary, a practice that many typical Americans follow.

                The problem with this (aside from the cost, both monetarily and in environmental damage of being thrown into a landfill) is that there is a better solution which can have a tremendous impact on the lives of the less fortunate on the other side of the world. There are several organizations around the globe that run services dedicated to recycling aging computers and electronic devices by sending them to poor developing countries for use in education. By doing this, they keep perfectly functioning electronics in the hands of people that can use them, instead of being dumped into a landfill or worse. Children in these countries are then able to learn about these technologies and interact with them in a way they hadn’t been able to before, which will be incredible tools to further their education and perhaps provide a way for them to improve their standing in their life.

                For my images, I took a photo I found of a landfill in the United States with several thrown computer monitors, desktop computers, and other e waste. I then took a statistic I had found on the subject and put that on top of the image of the landfill with a translucent American flag in the background of the text. The second image consisted of a photo of a group of kids studying in Bangladesh. This photo shows the children sitting on the ground reading from their textbooks. Whether or not it is intentional, the children all seem to not have shoes, which could be an indicator of the poverty in which they live. Underneath the image, I placed a couple of e waste logos with a background of light green behind them.

                For my found item, I ended up going with the idea you suggested of breaking up some of the components, and sticking them in a container. This gives it an artistic element to the object, as I am both taking an object and then changing it into something that looks aesthetically appealing in a way.

                I left my geocache under some sagebrush a little distance away from a road behind Badge Canyon. This location ties in nicely with the overall theme that I am going for. By breaking up the computer components and leaving them out in the desert, I am making a comparison to what would end up happening if the parts were thrown into the garbage instead. If thrown away, the parts would have been broken up and left in a landfill.

Finished Geocache (before dropping off)

POL reading 389-401

When looking into the flow of visual culture, so much has happened in the last fifty years that has continued to erode borders between people of different geographic locations and cultures in our world, through the prevalence technologies that allow for mass distribution of images and other mesia, such as television, radio, personal computer, and the internet, etc.
After doing the reading, I was surprised by the fact that it took a bit of activism on the part of the public (by people such as Stewart Brand) before NASA released a photograph of the whole earth in 1970. I had always believed that images of the earth in it's entirety had been taken and released to the public years before that during the space race. It was interesting to see the effect that this photo which NASA called "the blue marble" would have on many people across many countries. This image as well as other striking images that came after (The Last Whole Earth Catalog) became strong symbols for peace movements around the world, as they pushed the idea that humankind should be unified across national boundaries. The effect that images can have on bringing together support for a cause or an ideal is staggering.
Cultural imperialism being put to use as a new weapon in the cold war as a means to influence the views and perceptions around the world was a way in which people could be exposed to new cultures. While this had been intended to garner support to the ideals of either the West or the East, it still contributed to this spread of visual culture.