on GAFFTA

I went to the Urban Prototyping festival which exposed new ways of urban planning in San Francisco.  Some highlights of the show that I was quite fond of were the hanging gardens that were suspended from a regular aluminum fence. It reminded me of the hanging gardens of Babylon. Bringing green space into cities has always been an issue with all Large heavily congested and populated cities. 

http://www.gaffta.org

Smart bus stop enables users to text a question to the bus stop, it then replies to question using social media or historical data. 

Hanging with Jasmin, while checking out the hanging gardens.

QRC succulent scanner.  (part of the creation of green spaces created from reclaimed water in the city of SF in/near the areas with fire hydrants. )

Looking all kinds of Sexy... I was my bday! :)

on System Recognition.

look around your bedroom, neighborhood, city. Look for what might be a system by looking at elements and trying to discern relationships between them: 

• washing hands

• showering

• cooking

• weight lifting

• soap type

• temperature

• skin problems

• days activities

• type of product being washed from hands (oil, paint, grease, dirt)

• when the last time washed

• water pressure

• time spent washing

Showering:

• soap type

• shampoo

• face cleanser

• company waiting?

• thorough scrubbing

• luffa, sponge, towel, hands

• sore from working out

• sickness

• body temp

• temperature

• skin problems

• days activities

• type of product being washed from hands (oil, paint, grease, dirt)

• when the last time showered?

• water pressure

• time spent in shower

Cooking

• seasoning

• temp

• time 

• pan type

• portion cooking

• prep

• cleaning (how clean was the pot)

• fat used to cook?

• allergies?

• seasonality of food

• price of food

• diet

Weight lifting

• strength

• weight amount

• pre workout energy 

• day activities encountered

• injuries

• gloves

• blistering

• post workout diet

• reps

• time intervals

• consistency 

• stretching

• cardio beforehand?

don’t worry too much about figuring out how the system works in any great detail. Don”t worry about what the individual parts are doing, look at the system as a whole and think of ways you can use the output and/or ways inputs can affect it. Think of it as a black box





washing hands

Lewitt speaks about how


Craft fetishism is a term described by the other artist speaks of a system oriented culture. its less about the object and more about the relationship to the object or people to people to institutions and so forth. What things do and how do they do it as opposed to what they are.

On Augmentation

Upon learning about different Artists and their studies in body augmentation. I wanted to be a different person but still encompass something organic. With that said, I wanted to augment a part of my body that would not be easily hidden. A horn, much like that of a rhinoceros is what I came up with. My need for further exploration of what a horn could do probably encompasses fulfillment of some sexual desires.  Oral anal sex with the addition of a horn would probably be interesting and allow me to achieve a new form of intimacy with my sexual partners.   In doing so, there are a couple of questions that come to mind:

• Is this for them or for me? for both. There is a certain aspect of making someone else feel awesome that makes me feel awesome.

• Does this constitute beastiality? Somewhat. I dont know how receptive someone would be into having a horn near their nickel slot.

• Practical uses for the horn? defense? would it make me less approachable?

•Why not a snout?

on body augmentation and modification

Orlan has become a media sensation in Europe. I like her work and understand her thoughts behind her actions. She has no shame, and she is honest from the beginning.  Although her shows are in your face, they are thought provoking. Using her body as the main text/subject/vehicle in her work, has made it more interesting to me. He hybridization of sculpture and body via digital format is something I might look into for my project in class. 

Some thoughts that came to mind while researching this topic were of self image and identity. People always make a decision about how they look or like to present themselves to other people.  Taking into consideration that inaction is an action itself.  Everyone has their own way of portraying themselves on a regular basis. It seems that these people/artists all want to transcend their original body blueprint to be different then the rest for social awareness, whether it be political or psychosocial. Stelarc with his suspensions, implants and Virtual Reality processes has lent him to learn more about his personal relationship to the physical world. 

•interesting conversation I had with a classmate was how someone that has a specific hairstyle, gets caste to a specific group sometimes. Stereotyped if you may, and inadvertently thought of as a certain kind of person. A person fights stigma both negative and positive traits that really have nothing to do with the person sometimes based on just a hairstyle.  A person maybe once thought the hair would make them different, but in doing so, made them part of another group. Or at least a part of a group, of people trying to be different, which logically just makes them part of another group.