assignment 3- private to public

performance of a private act done in public

For my private-gone-public act, I talked to myself for 15 minutes in the hallway.  I mostly stood facing the wall across from the other end of my hallway, although I did walk back and forth a bit.

At first, the performance was pretty uncomfortable for me, especially because I don't talk to myself when I'm alone in the first place.  However, after a few minutes I felt more relaxed and rambled on about the weather, my classes, all the homework I have, my plans for the weekend, etc.

Only a few people walked by, but I had never met any of them before so they just gave me a weird look and kept moving.  One girl thought I was on the phone and then asked if I was ok.  When I was done I went into my friends room nearby, and her roommate asked me who I was talking to.  The walls aren't that soundproof so I'm sure a few others eavesdropped as well. 

learning projects
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Net-Gun/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Marshmallow-gun/

assignment 2- PARK(ing) day

This past Friday, September 17th, our class finally put all of our planning into action to celebrate PARK(ing) Day!  Three classes of planning went into brainstorming and preparing our parking space.  Everything from ground covering, to boundaries, to theme, and even activities were considered in making our space count.  After some debate, we decided that chalk ground covering, balloon walls, and a relaxation theme would be best.  Our class agreed to play twister and do henna for PARK(ing) Day activities, as well as leave the chalk out for fun.  The last class before the big day, we broke into smaller groups to create signs for the event, and execute the final specific plans. 

I arrived at our space in front of 135 Marshall Street at 1 o'clock, eager to see the final product of our efforts.  The parking space we had was huge!  There was a lot going on; balloons everywhere, a cardboard sculpture with signatures all over, a table for henna, several chairs, and activities like twister in the corner.  Although I was an advocate for the balloon boundaries, the balloons were actually quite annoying when I sat in the space.  The wind blew them all over so that they became tangled with each other and everything around them.  Despite how annoying they were, they did attract attention.

Most people who walked by approached me and Bridget asking what exactly is was that we were doing.  We explained PARK(ing) Day as a day to reclaim public space outside and transform the area into a miniature park.  For the most part, they still looked confused and didn't understand after the explanation as to why we were there.  A few times, cars on the street looking for a parking space would stop, and one guy flipped me off after I explained I wasn't moving.  No one was interested in the henna or twister (besides me!), but several people signed the sculpture.  My shift went fairly quickly, and overall I considered it a very successful day!

assignment 1- altered states

Altered States [Simultaneity]


To alter my senses in two simultaneous ways, I chose to watch TV while sitting upside-down and wearing sunglasses.   The sunglasses solely changed my vision by darkening what I saw.  I couldn't read faint words on the program I was watching, and the whole room was a deep shade of tan, a hue that was quite flattering on my friends in the room.

However, sitting upside-down not only flipped my vision,  but also changed my sense of smell, touch and taste due to all the blood rushing to my head.  I discovered these changes by eating a cookie while watching the show on TV.  Had I been sitting normally for the 10 minutes prior, I would have been able to smell the sweetness of the cookie, but in my state I was unable to smell anything.  Also, although I could taste a difference between the chocolate chips and the rest of the cookie, the taste was not distinctly chocolate.  Even putting the cookie up to my mouth felt different because my lips felt almost tingly, signifying a change in touch.

I was surprised by how much of a difference such minor transformations could make when doing something as common as enjoying a snack while watching TV.  The position I was sitting in definitely had a greater impact than the tint of my sunglasses, but still both changes had an effect on my experience.  I tried to use the television show as a distracting to my discomfort, but was unsuccessful.  After about 15 minutes, I was so uncomfortable (most notably my head) that I needed to take a quick break by sitting normally for a minute.  Enduring the remaining time after that was pretty rough, but experiencing everyday occurrences from such a unique perspective was worth the displeasure because the experiment really made me think about how I take advantage of my ability to use my senses the way I normally do.