Installation Research: mostly situated in libraries

 1)  Open Land Art & Fact Team: Interactive Installation at DePaul | 2017

(https://environmentalcritique.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/open-land-art-fact-team-interactive-installation-at-depaul/)

This is meant to be an interactive experience where participants are invited to read, inspect, and comment on the items in the shelves. The table has instructions with stickers and comment cards that participants can affix to the back of photographs in the bin and leave with the objects. Artifacts in [sealed] bags are assorted natural objects such as leaves or twigs and assorted refuse such as plastic packaging, [that] have been found in forest or prairie preserves. There are also white sheet printed documents with demographic and ecological information on the locations.

By interacting with this installation/social experiment, faculty and students will contribute to “meaningful public conversation about the relationship between humans and the spaces we occupy”.

 

2) Interactive Art Installation Encourages Writing In Library Books | 2012

 

                                     

 

German artist Christian Moeller creates a giant cloud made of 12,000 blank notebooks waiting to be filled. Clouds is a 22 ft. high x 28 ft. wide silver bookshelf that houses 11,840 notebooks, all of which are blank. Students and faculty at the college can borrow the books for their personal use, just like any regular library book. However, unlike a regular library book, the user is encouraged to fill them with whatever they want. Users can draw, write, scrapbook, or in some other way contribute to the content of the book while they have it checked-out. They can then return the book to be restocked, allowing others to take it home and continue adding to it. In this way, Clouds can create an archive of the community over generations.

 

3) Interactive installation at Central Library | 2014

(http://soisdetraca.com/interactive/interactive-installation-at-central-library/)

People came to express their own thoughts, responding to the question “What do you want to say?” and will be reflected on the screen above. This is much similar to the futuristic SG exhibition we had in Singapore some years ago.

 

 

4) Bookbed by Ruth Beale | 2014

(http://ruthbeale.net/exhibition/book-bed/)

An installation of three giant books, Bookbed proposes the book and library as symbols the collective imagination. Complete with mattress and duvet cover pages, the bed features an index of story titles written by young people at Peckham Library.

A book-shelf holds an Autodidact Library, and a writing table hosts the tools for simple book-making as well as space to write responses to a weekly writing challenge.

The whole exhibition was free to book for reading and writing groups, classes and workshops. Programmed events explored learning, imagination and the book-as-symbol alongside current thinking in culture, education and public space.

Set design & build: Lorna Ritchie & David Fryer

 

 

5) Untitled (Selections from Truisms, Inflammatory Essays, The Living Series, The Survival Series, Under a Rock, Laments and Child Text) by Jenny Holzer | 1989

(https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/22064)

In Holzer’s 1989 retrospective installation at the Guggenheim Museum, blinking messages from her various series, programmed to an insistent but silent beat, raced the length of an L.E.D. display board installed along the winding inner wall of Frank Lloyd Wright’s spiral ramp. The museum’s rotunda was transformed into a dazzling electronic arcade. In bringing her art from the street to the museum, Holzer focused on an audience that differed markedly from the unsuspecting passerby. The Guggenheim visitors who stood beneath the revolving ribbons of red, green, and yellow texts were more likely to be aware that this installation brought up such issues as the viability of public art, the commodification and consumption of art, and the conflation of the personal and the political—in short, some of the pressing issues of American art in the 1980s.

 

Personally, I feel that the cloud installation appeals more to me as there is a physical exchange of art and ideas involved. Perhaps I will look more into this aspect for my library installation project.

 

Group: Ling Ern,  Rochelle

Research Process:

  • Architectural Layout: 

 

  • What (furniture/fixture) exist in the space:

sofas / counters / student tables / book shelves / bean bags / computer tables / printers

 

  • What surrounds the place:

books / smell of books / quietness / library goers / occasional tourists / pretty view

 

  • Who goes there:

Mostly ADM students or NTU students (during exam period) – spotted quite a few SPMS/NMS/MARITIME students / Researchers / Lecturers / People working in the library

 

  • How do they behave:

According to areas:

@ Computer/ PC clusters: Listening to recorded lectures / doing their notes / research

@ Study Benches: Discussions of group projects / self study / listening to music

@ Printing Kiosk: Sending docs to print /  queueing up

@ Book Shelves: Looking for books / sitting amongst the rows with a pile of books beside.

@ Sofa: Sitting with laptops on their laps and doing their own stuff

@ Bean bags behind the cluster of book shelves: Lie there and nap / use their mobiles

 

  • What is the level of interaction between the people and place:

LOW: Doing their own stuff / not moving much / using facilities with minimum interaction and  sleep (misuse facilities)

MED: Printing / looking for books

HIGH: Borrowing books / sitting between shelves to read

 

  • What is the level of interaction between the people and people:

LOW: Self study / alone / sleep

MED: Contact with library stuff / have a friend beside them to study (silent companion)

HIGH: Engage in project discussion

 

  • What are people’s perception of the library as a place (interview):

I came up with a few simple questions to interview library go-ers.

  1. What is your general perception of the library?
  2. What do you think the library lacks?
  3. What can be added to make it better?

 

PERSON #1 (ADM-er):

  • Favorite Place in ADM to study and sleep
  • Not lacking in anything
  • ADM library considered one of the nicer libraries, so nothing much to add

 

PERSON #2 (NBS):

  • Nice place to sleep and study
  • I want water cooler in the library with hot water!
  • No chope-ing of seats except going to the toilet

 

PERSON #3 (ADM-er):

  • The library is a scary place (unknown reasons)
  • Arrangement of books are confusing, labels are way too similar
  • Can play some light music

 

PERSON #4 (ADM-er):

  • It is well stocked with art books in a wide range of topics, rather impressive
  • Any other genre of books – I would like to know if I can get other topics or I have to visit another library in order to get them (a little inconvenient)
  • In my previous school, sometimes classes or activities are conducted in the library. Perhaps, we can do the same here?

 

PERSON #5 (EEE):

  • The library is way too quiet
  • Wish that there is a corner where there is soothing music
  • A rest area with soundproof wall with snacks for group discussions/ conversations over coffee
  • Library **especially ADM library** should display different kind of artworks >> more visually appealing
  • Suggest library to have a network system that connects other libraries in school (not sure what is the real reason)
  • Automatic device that brings the book(s) student needs instead of searching themselves
  • Please open 24 hours!

 

PERSON #6 (CSE):

  • Great ambience allows students to focus
  • Aircon a tad too cold
  • Need waterpoint in the library

 

Possible Proposals:

 Proposed Proposal: #1 (My Idea)  

Proposed Location: Study Tables After Shelves Area 

Title of Installation: I Chope Like That!

Project Synopsis: We realised that a lot of people often leave their stuff on the table to reserve the seat at the study table. By observation, there are times where the person has not come back/ reappear for more than 45 minutes to an hour, causing others to be deprived of the seat to study. To maximise the usage of the study area, “I Chope Like That!” helps one another to be more aware and mindful of their behaviour.  

Description of installation: A deck of cards will be produced and placed at each study table, enclosed with a stopwatch at the front. The user has to press and activate the stopwatch before being able to open the box to retrieve the cards.  Each card contain words like “ I am off to the toilet! Will be back in 5 minutes!” / “Please wait, I will be back in 10 minutes” / “I am printing my stuff, be back in 5 minutes” / “20 minutes break time!” etc. The maximum chope-ing time for a person will be capped at 20 minutes. Once the 20 minutes is up, the stopwatch will beep and the librarian on duty has the rights to remove any belongings on the table. When the person A returns to the seat and realised that their stuff is gone, he or she will have to go to the counter to retrieve their stuff.

 

Proposed Proposal: #2 “Lost Age” (Rochelle’s Idea)

Project Synopsis: Technology has greatly improved people’s reading experience these days, and it is proven that there has been a diminishing use of the library. Libraries these days are considered merely a “warehouse” for the prints with unused content. There wasn’t any people browsing the books whenever we drop by the library. The books are arranged almost too neatly as if they are never pull off the shelves. One possible reason may be when there are too many books and people don’t know where to begin with. “The Paradox of Choice”, where excessive choice can produce choice paralysis. When there is a large display, people are less likely to make a choice as they feel overwhelmed. Hence, a small number of books on display allows viewers to do a quick browsing and thus enhance the perceived value of the books. Also, there is a sense of discovery when people come across books they never knew they wanted to read.

Description of Installation: Set up shelves on the wall/ can be on table and place a number of unborrowed books (prolly 300??); may wrap up the books OR arrange them according to colors/alphabetize them

Other possible ideas:

  • Using projector
  • “Silent Disco” – sharing headsets
  • Paste stickers on the floor > recommend people to specific sections e.g. When in doubt check out ….
  • People’s Library > Allow people to bring in their books for sharing

 

Proposed Proposal: #3  (My idea after consultation) 

Project Synopsis: Goes back to the problem of hogging. I think that I may want to minimise the number of people hogging the beanbags due to them napping/ sleeping on them.

Description of Installation:   Misters will be attached near the beanbags. If there is inactivity detected (no movements) for more than half an hour, it will be activated and  mist will be sprayed onto the person’s face.

My original idea was to attach small electrical impulse onto the bean bags. However, it felt like a cruel experiment instead and would seem like discouraging library goers, hence changing it to mist.

 

Proposed Proposal: #4 (Both)

 Project Synopsis:  The labels in the library which are followed by digits and minimal lettering does not seem to be user friendly. It may seem confusing to those who are looking to browse through a particular section such as western art history and will have a hard time finding it since labels does not state where is the “western art history” located at.

Description of Installation: Labels will be printed out and pasted on the respective relevant shelves to ease navigation.

After consultation, we have decided to proceed with #1. However, there may be potential technical problems and we are in the midst of refining it.

Examples: Lever system > vending machine (must it be box?? Or just deck of cards) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNk4k44tyZ0

 

 

SPACES we noticed when we surveyed the library:

  1. Projector Idea

2) Possible installation area: (empty space)

3) Study desk area:

4) Possible installation space / empty area:

5) Area near the bean bags at the back:

6) Cushioned area near the study desk:

 

 

  1. Japanese sound artist, Mamoru Okuno, transforms everyday objects and practice into musical instruments. 

    Okuno’s artistic practice crosses over sound/music and visual art. He looks into the simple gestures and the complex social condition of the everyday life at the same time, and brings out the “beauty” of the sound that derives from there. It results as the live performances, where artist becomes the host to invite and guide the guests introducing the subtle sound that they might have heard but never intentionally listened to. It is a type of relational art in a sense that he interacts with audience to create and share the experience in time and the environment on spot. The video works crystallize the ritual aspects of the performance and stresses more of his visual and conceptual ideas. It is also realized as the installation works consisted of the ordinal furniture and everyday objects with the visual/written instructions for the audience/visitor to explore the sound by themselves. In his latest project entitled “etude for everyday life”, he started to highlight and incorporate the everyday objects and practices as the main material to create intimate listening experience. The objects such as plastic straws, food wrap, ice, steel hanger, instant noodle, electric kettle, and microwave are employed to make the sound. He also integrate everyday practices such as purchasing products, eating food, drinking into his work as means to create his art work. He extracts the essence or forms and rearrange them in a different way in order to create the unexpected sound experience. His affirmation goes towards the things that our highly rationalized society would ignore or regard as worthless. He looks at them from a different perspective, also listen to them, and present the opportunity for the audience to rediscover and live their lives creatively.

    One example will be this:

 

Reference:

Mamoru Okumo’s sound art in Hong Kong: Everyday objects become musical instruments

http://montalvoarts.org/participants/mamoru_okuno/

 

Small Experiment I did during class time:

I tried to change the way I pressed the tap in the toilet:

Tap 1:

Tap 2:

 

2) Interesting Finding: Bruno Zamborlin

Bruno Zamborlin is a technologist, researcher, musician and designer. He’s been working on a joint PhD in computational technologies between Paris and London, exploring new methods for gestural interaction and its applications in performing arts and the creation of new musical instruments. Bruno is interested in the topic of Interactive Machine Learning and the possibility of allowing the artist to interact with the entire supervised learning process and the creation and design of his own gesture vocabulary. The early results of this research is Mogees, which uses contact microphones to turn any touchable surface into a musical instrument.

3) SOUND SEMIOTICS OF THE KITCHEN:  MARTHA ROSLER

Semiotics of the Kitchen is a feminist parody video and performance piece released in 1975 by Martha Rosler. The video, which runs six minutes, is considered a critique of the commodified versions of traditional women’s roles in modern society.

 

Followed by this is something done by  Robin James with Rosler as the reference.

https://www.its-her-factory.com/2012/10/sound-semiotics-of-the-kitchen/  

SOUND CLIPS: 

https://storify.com/doctaj/sound-semiotics-of-the-kitchen#publicize

Adapted from the website: (What is this about?) 

Ideas
This project is a sound- and social-media-based reperformance of Martha Rosler’s 1975 video “The Semiotics of the Kitchen.” Rosler’s work is one of the foundational texts in what was then the brand new genre of video art. It was also an early-ish participant in the tide of feminist art that would sweep the artworld in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the video, Rosler dissects the gestural semiotics of common kitchen and culinary tools, one for each letter of the alphabet (except u-z). Her gestures are exaggerated and often violent (e.g., the stabbing with the fork or the ice pick); this suggests the patriarchal “violence” that relegates women to kitchens, to “second shift” domestic work, and so on.
There are sounds in the video, but, because it’s a video, its focus is on the gestures and motions Rosler’s body makes while using the kitchen implements. I wanted to focus on the sounds themselves. And not the sounds of kitchen labor, but the sounds that kitchen implements can make when used in non-standard, non-utility-driven ways. In 2012 we generally recognize that the kitchen is the studio in which culinary artsare made (Modernist Cuisine, sugar art/sculpture, cake art, etc.). But what about the sound art potential of everyday kitchen gadgets, furnishings, and pantry items? I basically used the kitchen as one big concret gamelan, so to speak. Can the home kitchen be something other than a site of sheer drudgery and “second-shift” labor?
I guess because I come from a more third-wave feminist perspective, I don’t see the kitchen or domestic labor that’s traditionally gendered feminine as inherently or necessarily oppressive. Patriarchy makes it that way; even so, women have always found ways to exercise agency, to make something interesting out of their drudgery. (I disagree here with Beauvoir—and with Elaine Miller’s reading of SdB on this—I do think repetitive, domestic labor can, when twerked/reworked/remixed, be the site of transcendence rather than just immanence.) I wanted to consider the implements as something more than just tools or labor-saving devices. I wanted to play around with their purely sonic properties—so, I generated sounds by doing things with them that weren’t generally part of their intended functioning. So, for example, I blew through the teensy holes in the zester; I often played things like percussion instruments (the Pyrex dishes, the measuring implements, the dish rack, the knife). I did not generally use the objects as intended: I treated them as sound-producing objects, manipulating them to maximize sound output.
Because Rosler focused on objects, I focused mainly on objects. I am considering doing a second alphabetic series dedicated mainly to the sounds of actions (specific cooking techniques, etc.).
The 27th tweet in the series is really important: if you watch Rosler’s video, you see that at the very end she shrugs her shoulders. It’s like she breaks character for a minute, inserting some humor and levity into an otherwise very serious, even dour, performance (or, a performance she knows will be interpreted as dour, because of sexist expectations that women are always uber-cheerful). So, I ended with a sting/rimshot/ba-dum ching.
Tools
I stuck as closely as I could to Rosler’s original list of implements. I changed a few (E, H) because I didn’t already own the devices she used; I added letters u-z. I followed her format of using the tool, then saying its name. It
My departures from Rosler’s list, as well as the differences between, say, my measuring implements and her measuring implements, reflect the vast changes in American kitchens, diets, and culinary culture (foodie culture) in the 35-ish years since Rosler’s video was filmed. For example, it was really easy for me to find something for the letter W: most middle-class white people have woks in their kitchen, and they’re sold at Wal-Mart and Target. Similarly, my fancy measuring cups from Crate & Barrel clearly function as both design objects and utilitarian ones (that’s why one buys something like this from C&B, rather than just some perfectly functional ones from Wal-Mart or the kitchen supply store). This reflects the aestheticization of food into foodie culture.
Rosler
James
Apron
Apron
Bowl
Bowl
Chopper
Chopping
Dish
Dish Rack
Egg Beater
Egg
Fork
Fork
Grater
Grater
Hamburger Press
Heating Element (on an electric stove)
Icepick
Ice Cube Tray
Juicer
Juicer
Knife
Knife
Ladle
Ladle
Measuring Implements
Measuring Implements
Nutcracker
Nutcracker
Opener
Opener
Pan
Pizza Cutter
Quart Bottle
Quiche Dish
Rolling Pin
Rolling Pin
Spoon
Slotted Spoon
Tenderizer
Torch
Utensils
Utensils (in a drawer)
V
Vermouth
W
Wok
X
PyreX Dishes
Y
Yogurt
Z
Zester
Method
1.    Audioboo—It was easy, intuitive, and free.
a.     I recorded one or two sounds every day (or so) for about three weeks. I published each individual “letter” as I recorded it, so the initial publication of the project unfolded over a few weeks.
2.    Twitter—This initially grew out of SoundingOut’s #tweetasound project. (Here‘s their round-up.) I used twitter because, well, when I started tweeting kitchen sounds—initially, the sound of the first three speeds on my mixer, or the crust of a loaf of bread I just baked—I didn’t have this specific project in mind. But, I think there are good reasons for using twitter (see #4 below).
3.    Storify—collects and organizes items across social media platforms. This was an easy way for me to collect each individual tweet and publish them together with this blog post. Basically, Storify is like my editing suite.
4.    Why these social media tools?
a.     Well, I wanted the technology to be as easy, intuitive, and widely available to the average user as, say, a fork and a knife, or a set of measuring cups are. Women are socialized to “just know” how to use basic kitchen tools; they’re not usually socialized to “just know” how to use more than the most basic consumer-grade audio technology. I wanted to use technology that was already in the kitchen—smartphones, social media, etc.
b.    This also goes back to Rosler’s original: video is a consumer technology that is used in people’s domestic environment. This is why we have, for example, Bill Wegman’s dog videos, or Sadie Benning’s early video work. It’s not an expert technology. It’s something people use to record, document, and facilitate their daily routines.
c.     Of course what social media does is complicate public/private distinctions: I’m broadcasting from my kitchen in my pajamas (seriously! I made most of these recordings right after breakfast, before I even showered.) Jasbir Puar talks about the ways neoliberalism reworks public/private distinctions (using a reading of Lawrence v Texas). Similarly, neoliberalism has found ways to extract surplus value from care and service work, from social relations, from all those things that used to be women’s work, domestic/private, etc. By using social media like twitter, Instagram, Audioboo, etc., I do the same thing, turn what was once private and domestic into something that’s neither “public” nor “private” in the traditional sense.
i.     Relatedly: if the private/domestic was gendered feminine under classical liberalism, how is femininity different under neoliberalism? There’s both femininity as a logic or structure, and femininity as qualities, properties, etc. I suspect they both change. But how?
 Next Steps
1.    I may re-record some “letters” to get better sonic results. Maybe.
2.    I am strongly considering doing the “verb” or activity version (this would be the “object” version).
3.    I need to consider if—and if so, how—I want to “show” this work in a more official artworld-y way.

REFLECTIONS:

I feel that it is very interesting to use daily objects, something we often take granted for or have overlooked to create sounds and even make sound art from them.
As for the first artist mentioned, Mamoru Okuno, I didn’t know that such sounds can be created from blowing into a noodle. The most I could have thought of was 1) crushing the noodle 2) breaking the noodle into halves and shaking them in 1 bag  3) hitting the dry noodles together.

 

As for the second artist, Bruno Zamborlin, he leverages on technology as well as physical objects to create sounds from it. Although that will require some investment and skills (such as the touch-microchip detector technology placed on the bicycle), I find it a very cool invention worth sharing. Even though it may be a little high on budget for first year students, it may still be applicable for us as we advance further in ADM and perhaps we can explore a similar type of technology. (This is more so for those with interactive media specialisations, like me 🙂 )

 

As for the third artist, Martha Rosler, she is directional and is clear on the subject matter of her performance piece. Despite the focus on feminism, I would like to bring the attention to the kitchen tools she is using. These are also daily objects that we come across and when pieced together, can form interesting sounds. This may also be a direction I want to work for project 2.