Thursday, December 13, 2012

Improbable Monument




Introduction: Whether or not the bigwigs in Hollywood like it or not, the internet provides pop culture. 4chan is a notorious image board that is constantly turning out pop culture since its inception. While society mostly holds 4chan as the dregs of the internet and society but for those who understand what 4chan has really come to stand for, the website is a haven for the “freethinkers”.

Background: Juxtaposition of text and images will always prevail as means of communication. In the the early years of the internet image boards provided a space for such things usually based on a subject. 4Chan was originally inspired by a Japanese image board. 4Chan has now gathered a long history of insanity. A consistent source of memes, 4chan manages to draw public attention. Being a sub -pop culture memes often don't find their way into the public spear. Despite this the internet sub culture still has a huge effect on society at large.

Project Description: This monument would celebrate the randomness of 4chan in true style. A large screen (at least twice the height of an average viewer) would be mounted in a concave fashion. This create a completely enveloping experience for the viewer by completely surrounding the perceptual vision. Individual posts (text and images) would be pulled at random and displayed in a collage like fashion. The screen would be constantly changing, not quite enough time for a viewer to read the text on a post. Ideally this would be a uncensored presentation of text and images from the site. While 4chan itself has no physical location, a infamous events that started on 4chan does. Anonymous (a hive like group associated with 4chan) actions against the Church of Scientology (called Project Chronology) which exploded in the media and became world wide protests. These protests were characterized by 4chan and other internet memes. Such as the use of Guy Fawkes mask used to represent the Anon. Thus I chose the Church of Scientology (particularly the Los Angles location). The screen would be stretched from the left and right wings of the building below the Hollywood style Scientology sign. This monument would very improbable starting with the location being a private building owned by an organization that is vitally at war with the Anon and 4chan. There is also the possibility of public indecency or the equivalent for inappropriate images and language that commonplace on 4chan.

Benefits: Would provide the public a glimpse of what 4chan really is. The importance of 4chan's deep interest and research into important matters that the public should know and take an interest in. But also the application of memes and the internet on popular culture.
Estimated Costs: A number of materials might be available for this project. One such might be flexable LED screens often used in stage performance works. The building is approximately 8 stories tall and at ten feet per story that's 80 feet. The flex LED comes in 19 by 19 inch squares, that's 49 squares per 80 feet tall. To make things simple a square of screens could be done, for a total of 2400 LED squares. At USD 2500 a screen times 2400 screens that's USD 6,000,000 without shipping, tax or assembly. Another possibility is a projector add on designed for domes, the Newtonian 2 runs 3, 685 plus 190 for domestic shipping and a case would be an additional 3,000 plus 190 shipping. This doesn't include the projector would start at a few thousand. A 60 by 40 foot screen cost about 800 USD, so a screen of 80 feet would start at 1000 USD at least. One last technology would a fish eye lens for a projector. A Hemistar lens could run from 6,500 to 13,000 depending on focal length.

Timeline of Tasks: Program would be designed and tested to put random images from 4chan, in real time. Screen and projector tested on approximate conditions to replicate the building. Application of Projection screen or LED screen to Scientology building. Then setting up of projector or hooking up of a computer that would run the 4chan “Randomology” Program.  

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Sketches

Superheros are valid in todays society, there's gotta be a good reason why a graffiti artist would paint a pro-communist memorial with recognizable superheros. http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2011/06/graffiti-artist-turns-bulgarian-war-memorial-into-superhero-monument/

Monolithic, simplistic, striking public art. Food for thought. 
http://continentcontinent.cc/index.php/continent/article/viewArticle/69


Ursula Schulz-Dornburg


http://pietmondriaan.com/2012/06/




Second Outing

Second Outing-But didn't go anywhere...

Susan Aldworth was really fun to met and listen to. One always wonders where gallery or museum type artwork comes from. How does the artist get there? A plaque can tell you what the artwork is supposedly about but that's no substitution to hearing the events and relations that really lead to the creation of an artwork. Her story about falling in "love" with her doctor and the path that lead her to working with various patients to create truly fascinating artwork was wonderful. I personally particularly liked the artwork from or based on schizophrenia, it reminded me of a strong manifestation of OCD. Artwork people without a disorder would find dreadfully tedious and boring to create.

Brainstorm Improbable Monument

-monument to the Greatness of Twilight: would include a 12 foot tall David style Edward, glitter would be  embedded into the surface for that sparkle
-Superhero monument: Sculptures of  superhero would soar over the viewers head, giving tribute to the everyday real life superheros
-RickRoll: an animatronic statue that would play that song 24-hours over a loud speaker
-Monument to the classic car-the freedom that a car represent to a young teen of the era
-monument to Hollywood's whitewashing: take representations of (famous) non-white actors and put a vintage doll mask with blue eyes red checks to cover the actor's faces
-monument to 4chan/(anom?)-A huge nearly surrounding screen, like a cove like feeling, displaying random images/text posts from 4chan like a collage, celebrating the contributions the site has made to the internet/world

Friday, November 23, 2012

Intervention Monument



Intervention Documentation

Pulgas Water Temple, Woodside, CA
List
Tall, foresty, animals, wildlife, trees, bushes, plants, cyan, granite, columns,  frieze,  reliefs, steps, grass, trimmed, pool, water, pipes, cone, motos, phrases, frogs, croaks, ribbit, bricks, stones, peaceful, road, bicyclists , sky, gravel, paths 
Points
-I choose this monument because I had been there once but I didn't know what it was suppose to be and it wasn't located in the city. 
-It has classic Greek architecture with classic Californian landscaping. Large tall trees, as well as the tall sculptured trees that line the reflecting pool. Some kind of pipe or aquaduc runs seemingly underneath the temple and in line the reflecting pool, but is only visible behind a fence behind the temple. The sides and bottom of the reflecting pool are painted an ungodly cyan color. 
-Located at the back of the property, one needs to walk though the trees on a dirt path to the perfectly manicured lawns. 
-Commemorate the building of the Hutch Hutchy and bringing a stable supply of drinking water the bay. Very accessible within reason. 
-Very relaxing atmosphere. Very quiet, the road is not very busy. The temple kind of freaked me out but I think that's just a personal thing. The center of the temple had a grate in it and I could hear water flowing but I couldn't see it. 



Sunday, November 11, 2012

Levine Response Reading

Commemoration requires closing a section of history off as finished, done forever. This cuts the item being commemorated off and leaves it stranded in the past.
Monuments are important thought because we can remember entire concepts/stories by looking at the associated object.
The question is how to create an everlasting monument. So we do not have to continuously re-commemorate important events.
The point of commemoration is to place a physical trigger to that memory, but how to make a monument we do not become numb to after repeated exposure?