MANIFESTO : final project april 28

MANIFESTO (train station)

In order to find out about people in the world who are respectful of their space and place, we must observe, understand, discuss, and form opinions. When forming such opinions it is expected that we personalize areas and make sure they have a connection with ourself either spirital, emotional, or physcial. When venturing to the train station, we all are affected with the area because we all live within the vicinity of this campus. Some of us even choose to take the train. The train station is a network, although we have not always lived with trains they now are prominent to many in society today(C++). On the train everyday there are a variety of people from workers to homeless people, businessmen to immigrants, and students to senior citizens. Each person in the place of the train station is taking up their space in their own way (Yi Fu Taun). Whether a commuter is travelling to work, school, or even smuggling drugs, or trafficking people, we all are somewhat in communication with them.

Without any knowledge of each person’s travels in particular, there are signs posted on the train and in the ticket sales station that read “If you see something, say something”. This is a score that directs a person to follow a simple step in fixing the safety or danger of others around. Scores are found in many spaces. Proposing that a person should act out the score proves that the space we think we dwell in is movable (Of Other Spaces). We have also created scores on the posters we have placed which give a suspicious person the directions and number to call if they see the missing person we have profiled.

Within the perimeters of the train station we have learned the station itself is a heterotopia that we must be familiar with when travelling from one area to another. “At present cyberspace does not consist of one homogeneous space; it is myriad of rapidly expanding cyberspaces, each providing a different form of digital interaction with communication"(Introducing Cyberspace). In life today such forms of cyberspace, virtual, and common space are affecting our means of communication, in trains specifically.

By following the trains routes it is inevitable that we follow people. We concentrate on people’s reactions in relation to the pictures. What did they do when they read the sign and saw the person in front of them? This act of following is out of our boundaries and attempts to follow and create extensive spaces and places to live by (A Different City for a Different Life).

Within this following, we also are mapping. People take the train and we mapped out pictures along the way on the roads that Sunny/Cassandra were walking. Maps can be used visually through or tecnologically through the phone calls made, opening up a field of possibilities (Counter Cartographies).

In the process of mapping and following it is important to make note of the emotions everywhere. What are peoples reactions when looking at the posters and seeing Sunny and Cassandra walk by them. The people were scared, hesitant, and concerned, while few of them did not bother. People directed their attention toward Sunny and Cassandras actions while sitting in the station, reacting with confusion and worry.

The final and most important concept to work in is that of profiling. You mus concentrate on who is observant. What category of person, age group, sex, ethnicity is most likely to combine the pictures with the person? Who is most likely to call- a homeless man or a CEO on his way to work? Are people more likely to call because it is a males picture or for a female? Is a woman more likely to call or is a man? These are the certain concepts that must be looked closely into.

When looking into a person and understanding works into the first introduction to the class of what I carry with me. What you bring with you, the precense you create for yourself, and the way you react to situations is also how people who interpret and judge you.This investigation is an eye opener. You and I must learn that people are nicer than we may think. The homeless man was genuinely concerned about “our missing friend” when was the last time we saw her and where she may have gone. An older woman spotted Cassandra’s picture then her riding the escalator and could not help but look. An african american woman saw Sunny sitting and held his picture in her hand asking him if it was true. A college student spotted him and called the number after convincing himself it was definitely him. The surprising responses of people all the same were helpful in understanding that the train station is not as scary as it may seem. Although intimidated by the appearance and vast variety of people who walk the steps every day, mostly everyone who saw our posters stopped to look and felt for the picture, really concerned about this strangers well-being. I guess when people see something, they really do say something.

CLASS APRIL 15

Although we spent two weeks and several hours on creating and presenting our following projects i think they all were necessary in grasping the objective of this project. To see how each student followed a person, animal, place, and even those who did not participate because they felt it was too far out of the boundary was interesting to see. All of us students who come from different backgrounds, have different beliefs and morals are placed in this classroom and conducted to do the same projects. Week after week it is overwhelming to see the different ideas and approaches we all have to the same issues. Day in and day out we each develop our own conscious answers to the questions, and no matter how alike and how different, they all answer the same thing. The final projects i feel will be the most interesting. Using the knowledge each of us as individuals possess will be sure to result in creative and inventive projects. Although time is short and scheduling conflicts are constantly occuring, the challenge does not only lie in finding a creative way to approach the topic, but ways to connect with one another and the class as a whole. These next two weeks, when everything is coming together is crucial and perfect in descriping NEIGHBORHOOD NARRATIVES.

FOLLOWING PROJECT

Over the past two days i have been working on my project and thinking of a creative way to make this girl interesting to myself and to my class. I based my project around the one thing she does more than other..smoke. While collecting information, pictures, and facts i started to think about all the smoke and ciggarettes she is ruining our enviornment. I couldn't help but remember last week when someones project was the chalk written quote on the ground "I am grateful for the air i breathe". After all the people who smoke, factories, and chemicals that pollute the air are we really grateful? Can we be thankful that the air we have is supporting us and keeping us alive, or do you think it is slowly killing us?

CLASS APRIL 1

APRIL FOOLS!
When we first were handed each others projects my expectations were that we would all look like fools. But once everyone started to get comfortable it made the process so much easier. It was good to see people coming out of their shells, myself included, and interpret other people's scores in the way they saw it. Although some of them were obvious others proved that not all people see the same things in the same way. It also was fulfilling to watch how people used their different sentences to interpret the project. It was interesting how this project was enjoyable and relateable, while at the same time amusing and i was able to learn from it. Each day we have this class it seems as though everything seems to make more sense. If i don't understand a reading at first once discussed in class or created through projects, things seem to look brighter. This week our venture is to follow a person and document our findings, this should be interesting as we learn more about each other and everyone's own creative side.

CLASS MARCH 25

Today class was very different then usual and set a different mood and different pace for the remainder of the semester. The surprise we were introduced to in class today was something we all had been waiting for since hana promised us in the beginning of the semester, and what we learned not only fulfilled expectations but gave me a different view on the motions of dance. As a dancer in my previous years, i never learned or expected to learn about dance by pictures or visual explanations of dance movements.
He along with hana, helped make this weeks project easier to interpret. The discussions held in class today made it okay not to understand every aspect of every project, i learned it is okay if i interpret something differently from someone else, it is acceptable if my project is created in a different way. It is good to know that each different person of the class brings a different background, brings different ideas, and ways of interpretation.
I am anxious to attend next weeks class and see how everyone mapped out their scores, including myself :) good luck!

my google map tour

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=44.402392,-74.003906&spn=12.369058,38.759766&z=5&msid=116255844424720248832.0004649fa0548e4169c1d

QUESTIONS: INTRODUCING CYBERSPACE

1. "At present cyberspace does not consist of one homogeneous space; it is myriad of rapidly expanding cyberspaces, each providing a different form of digital interaction with communication". In life today what are cyberspaces expanding too and how are they affecting our means of communication?

2. Based on the two forms of virtual reality which is more important in creating inclusive and interactive spaces.

3. Since we already established space and place as a class, what is modern societies ways of connecting with cyberspace in relation to production and consumption.

4. Is the seperation of places (public and private) evident every day to all people, age groups, and societies?

5. The reality that cyberspace has created for its self is virtually unreal. It is possible that in generations to come it will be hard for them to decifer what is real and what is virtual?