Category: Uncategorized

The Past’s dreams




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A2wa9yeAKk

People sound the same from the slums when the tower blocks are being built to today with the tower blocks and privatised buildings now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A2wa9yeAKk

 

Animations I like #2




Funny and simple.




Simplicity and digestibility. A montage of the violent mediacy of America with sex, money and drugs – and winning!

Short Documentary Animations I like #1




I like the idea of in-depth storytelling. Clearly the director understood a lot about the topic, it seems simplistic yet profound. Its refreshing because it has a fictitious feeling to it. Addressing the Clitoris as a being or a metaphor for sexual release for women.




Tough seems a good way of portraying very personal messages which I really liked. I like some aspects of the animation itself. The lacking is the pace never really changes. It’s from slow to mid-paced to slow. Sometimes the animation itself seemed to be a little contradictory to the message or the feelings being portrayed.




Great style, appropriate, light hearted for a serious event. It makes us think, did this really happen? Its like those stories men like to boast about to make themselves mythical. The editing shots was amazing and to be honest I would like to keep up with that kind of idea.

I, Destini by Destini Riley

A great short, about the distractions a family makes to avoid the reality of loosing their son in the criminal court justice. The boy is compared to a lion or a predator in African Serengeti but in fact, he is a giraffe.




A story of how a losing horse was a metaphor for not giving up for the nation of Japan, its economic stagnation Haru Urara was a symbol of hope.




It took a turn I didn’t expect, plus I think the idea of using absurd elements like growing fingers as a way to show the feelings of otherness and body change, perhaps even medical conditions like dermatology. I loved it, it offered a new resolution that didn’t really provide positivity or negativity but utility.

Anthropological Place: Summary of Essence

As part of my research I will be discussing Marc Augé’s Non-Place and Anthropological Place differentiation. In this post I will be discussing primarily Anthropological Place and what it entails and why it matters for contemporary society. First a preliminary we must first discuss Michel de Certeau’s space and place from his book the Practice of Everyday Life (1984). Space is a frequented place or rather a “practice place”. It is a spontaneous configuration of geometric points in a given location. Place according to de Certeau is static and systematic, its built on rules and regulations. Which leads us to Anthropological Place, Augé’s definition of a common place with relative identity driven history. Although there is little contradiction between the works of de Certeau and Augé, Augé has elements of Certeau Space in his Anthropological Place such as not mentioning that Anthropological Place is not dependent on individuals co-existing and moving within its boundaries.

 

What is an Anthropological Place according to Augé? An anthropological place is a historically driven place in the combination of relations and identity, of the geometry of lines, intersections of lines and the points of intersection, its time bound, it does not merely record history through places of memories – it participates and reforms it as a gesture of tradition itself, history is not just a spectacle, its integrated and practised not just for the purpose of remembering but acknowledging the group’s identity, using “alternating sacrality” rituals and rites. Its the combination of the repeated semi-fantasy of the founded, the ethnologist’s illusion and indigenous fantasy combined, a world of particular identity, a shared identity, and a individual identity – of a territory founded long ago and re-founded repeatedly to adjust its identity from the external and internal conflicts. It has routes and itineraries to its monumental centre and connects with other frequented places – spaces and centres creating a network of commerce and relations. The monumental centre is the heart, its kept under deep supervision and protected by its autonomous institutional limbs.

 

Soon in recent times, this place is defusing itself, or pouring over its need for meaning and history over to the itineraries that guide itself to its spaces.

 

 

Continue reading Anthropological Place: Summary of Essence

Update: The Peripheral People project: Bhutanese Refugees

Meeting with Michael H.

Michael and I talked about a lot of things regarding the Bhutanese Refugees.

  • It’s over dramatised subject, there are issues of misuse of terms.
  • Be careful of misunderstanding.
  • Nepal actually did help with refugees.
  • Workshop with Carla McK.

Workshop with Rosa R.

  • Using the interview to convey a coherent plot.

Workshop with Paula C.

  • A story about me as well as a subject

Workshop with Jonathan A.

  • Agencies of mental health in culture and society- foucauldian view of mental health
  • The history of psychiatry in western view point.
  • Island-thinking
  • A Topical Paradise by Hernan Diaz
  • The detachment of place that remains isolated. The British Isles or Manhattan can be argued not as islands due to their expansion beyond their shores.
  • Isles of Safety by Tom Vanderbilt
  • J.G. Ballard’s modern day construct
  • Ballard’s term for a traffic island
  • Talking more about the activist,
    Bleak objects



Tutorial with Joe K.

  • “Belongingness” what is that?
    Clarity
    What does it have to do with the Wellcome Collection?
  • Is it a story of belonging?
  • Is it one story?
  • Is it about refugees?
  • Stop using labels and terms and show it.
  • Start making things now.
  • Does it have to be fictionalised and dramatised, why?
  • Simplisticity
  • He is california, is that part of the story?
  • Play around with the order of things?
    Pin down on an aspect.
  • Sylvie and Dan’s opinions
  • Refugee #2’s opinion

Trevor Howard’s Field Officer’s Guide to Anxiety in Soldiers

  • Anticipation
  • Morbid thinking
  • Psychiatric problems
  • Doubtfulness
  • Somatic reactions
  • – Stutter
  • – Distress
  • – Loss of willingness

Questions to Ask: The Non-Static Barriers of Nation: Hypermodernity

  • What can animation (or moving image) bring to an object, idea or collection that other media cannot bring?

Moving image differs from still imagery and literature in a literal sense; kinaesthetic empathesis. We feel and understand the movements and non-verbal communications from the moving images of animation. Most notably, animation reflects our lives in an encapsulating temporary way. It covers the narrative description albeit not as thorough as literature of empathesis to the exact, due to the direct linear nature of animation and moving image, the viewer is more so an observer than a participant, whereas literature readings are static the reader is able to stand still in a paragraph to interpret the details of the narrative. What animation and moving image can do for this project is encapsulating the wholeness and deliver an general feeling of anxiety and superiority/relieve. Visual and auditory elements provide the sensational experience I’m looking for the mass movement of refugees and non-nationals. The idea of ‘silent suggestions’ Kuleshov effect from the association of images played juxtaposed together show the level of subconsciousness and hyper-detailed nature of moving images and film. This to me is something that can be difficult for literature and narrative writing to achieve, controlling and guiding the audience/viewer/reader to feel or reflect on the topic discussed or the overall message given.

  • What new ideas can an archive provoke?

The concept I am putting forward is reflection on our society of the HERE and NOW in the observation of the ELSEWHERE, and perhaps the past. The provocation would be consideration of what we consider freedom of movement and mobility to be. I want the viewers to consider and perhaps even feel the anxiety and relieve of non-static boarders.

  • What connections will you make between your subject of interest (which may be outside the Collection), and other ideas, cultural artefacts etc. that are present in the Collection?

Ultimately my subject is based on the national hypermodernity of non-static boarders or barriers. I want to link to that idea, I want it to perhaps ring towards the consideration of modernism if possible. The collection itself seems to have several pieces of ethnographic field resources from other cultures but many are based on medicine and academics. Personally I had an agenda to search of anecdotal stories.

  • How can you use moving image to clarify and deepen your relationship with your subject of interest?

I do believe that moving image is a narrative platform to show the linear. As in moving image is temporary-considered. Time is a factor for moving image and there are elements of moving image that cannot be translated well in literature or still images as well. With moving images this can broadly be even just two images placed together in a gallery in my mind. That means that it can be very loose but I want to make it clear that the emotions are key to this storytelling of nationalism and mobility.




  • WHAT is your subject? 

My subject is on the Bhutanese Nepali ethnic displaced people and their story that reflects the artificiality of modern nationalism compared to the freedom of mobility in feudal times.

  • WHY is it important to you? Why are you making it?

This is based on my ethnic group and as a first generation immigrant it is close to my heart to question the very nature of identity in country and geography. Ultimately the mobility of people is important to me. One of the few films on the topic of the displaced group is actually unfitting for a western audience. It’s an overly dramatisation of the Bhutanese government with elements of Kollywood (Kathmandu Nepali Cinema).




  • What is the intellectual and theoretical context of your subject:

The current project idea is based on my dissertation paper and theory on non-static barriers of national boarders. That is to say it is based on the electronic internet base and systematic design of nationalism and the artificialness of hypermodernity to distort and change the message and meaning of geography and reality to social reality and at times not simulate but distort to no end where the original cannot be stated as a simulacra hyperreality.

  • In what ways has this subject been examined in the past? By whom? For what purpose?

This subject is connected to geopolitics, anthropology, ethnology, sociology, iconology, philosophy, ontology, meta-physics, social-commentary, criticism and literature. So it’s fair to say that work is based on the a larger role of intellectual works, however the arts specifically the visual arts is very much new to this nationalism commentary. It’s propagandic in some manner but not against it’s leaning stance on politics – right and left wing.

  • What is the current world of ideas surrounding your subject? Consider the myths surrounding your subject, far and close.

I’m not to sure if I have the right to debunk myths here as they are either known as myths or are still accepted by most as reality. Then again that would be a point to bring light to the issue, I believe the myths on geopolitics and nationalism is probably that nationality and patriotism is the same thing or the fact that patriotism is part of a whole era of group thinking in a massive scale. I’m not too sure what types of misconceptions people have on the topic – be it layman or expert.

  • There are always many ‘ways of speaking’ about your subject’ (social, scientific, political, artistic responses, mass media etc.). Gather interesting quotes, visual materials, audio etc. relating to these points of view.

/see most posts on this topic.

  • HOW will you explore your subject? There are many research approaches and methods available to you. You should imagine what may be most appropriate, challenging and interesting for you to do.

Field research: I’ll be contacting bhutanese refugees in person as well as historic response in the UK. Meaning to travel to historic sites if needed. Most of my research is historic based and anthropological, but a potion of my work comes from documentary research.

  • Think about your options in detail: – Your research will likely involve reading/listening, using the Collection’s catalogue creatively, thinking laterally and making connections between different subjects, narrowing down your focus to a single question or a puzzle that you will explore with this project. You may make mind maps, or Venn diagrams etc. to represent your ‘world of ideas’ about the subject, your ‘world of connections’.
  • – Your research will also involve other methods for exploring your relationship with your subject: writing (poetry, fiction, essay), drawing (observational or from imagination), compiling images/ text/sounds/films, taking photographs, interviewing (experts or subjects), field recording, doing a survey (online, offline), designing a sound track, designing a poster, a propaganda leaflet, organizing an event, a performance etc.
  • SHOW as much relevant materials as possible in your Proposal. This can be materials from 4 the Collection, but also from other sources that you find inspiring.