What We Sea In You?

(Group: Rochele and Ling Ern)

 

This is how our installation looks like from afar.

Close up view of our installation. When we checked out installation, surprisingly, there are people who used the installation as we only left 2 or 3 cards as a sample on the foam. This is a good sign! 🙂

Met people using our installation when I went to check our progress!

 

Class Presentation Time:

 

 

 

 

 

Reflections:

Initially after choosing the brown table, we wanted the users to attach the cards on the glass panel. However, this method also has the same cons as the strings and panels idea I mentioned in my progress post. Hence, we decided to go along with the foam idea.

I felt that I learnt quite a fair bit from this project and that an installation really needs good planning. There were many factors to consider, for instance: the feasibility, the accessibility, the scale, is it user friendly, how to make it more appealing, what attracts/ makes people compelled to use it, will it cause inconvenience to library goers, will they appreciate the installation or does it help them in any way, the amount of space needed, point of view from the librarians etc. This is my first installation and it was definitely a good experience for me. I do look forward to do more installations in the future. I also want thank Michael for his constructive comments and encouragement!

 

Here’s to the end of year 1! 😀

 

What We Sea In You? Installation Process

(Group: Rochele and Ling Ern)

 

After our first consultation with Michael, we realised that there were quite a few technical difficulties with our decided proposal “I Chope Like That!”

Firstly, it was difficult to ensure that the mechanism of the Chope Card box will work properly. The original idea was to place the chop cards within the box with a pop open lid mechanism using a stopwatch. When the user activates the stop watch, he or she will be able to retrieve the cards from within the box. However, it was not easy to develop the mechanism. Also, there is a maximum cap on the number of laps a stop watch can take, meaning this will be a limitation on the number of users per box. In this case, for it to work, ideally, each seat should have a box in front of them. However, this will be rather cost heavy and hence not an ideal installation. Due to time management and lack of sufficient knowledge to solve the technical difficulties, we came up with another idea.

 

Final Proposal:

“What we sea in you?” 

Inspired from the cloud installation from my research installation list for this library project, we decided to do something that promotes an exchange of art. Besides, from our survey in the library earlier on for this project, we realised that quite a number of people find that the library is too quiet for comfort and that it becomes somehow uninviting since the people around are all strangers but they do feel awkward if they make the first move to communicate. This leads to the fact that the interaction between the library goers are really quite low. Through this installation, we hope to create a livelier environment whereby library goers are about to immerse themselves in the installation which simulates nature, in this case, the sea, as well as have an indirect interaction with the people around them.  This interaction in enabled via an exchange of art movement (one to one exchange) as mentioned earlier where library goers can take a piece of someone else’s art card off the board with every piece of art card they create and place on the board.

Initially, we wanted to create a vertical hanging area on the panels (somewhat like a laundry line) at this area:

We were thinking of coiling some thicker twine around the panels and provide some mini pegs for them to hang their  cards on the strings. We also felt like attaching some fairy lights on the strings (since there is a socket nearby) to enhance the visibility of our installation.

However after much thought, we realised that putting up this way is a little cliche. People may feel an aversion towards this method as their artwork will be openly displayed in public. For those who are not confident of their artwork, they probably will not contribute or participate since it involves “baring” their work so openly. Hence we changed our location and chose the brown table instead.

Getting inspired by this

we decided to make a similar platform for the library goers to slot their cards into the silts made. This led on to the production process of our installation.

 

MAKING IN PROGRESS:

(I did more of the physical production while Rochele did more on the digital production)

1) Marking out the shape of the form we wanted. In this case, we feel that the shape M gives us a more even and spreaded area for the silts.

2) Me cutting the foam!

3) Notice the awkwardly vertical chunk of foam at the side with the grey duct tape? We were facing technical difficulties through our cutting process as the upper metal bar was not fully secured and it was slightly tilted downwards, resulting in our foam cutting into odd shapes. Hence, we used another piece of foam to push the bar upwards to make life easier for us.

4) It was not easy to maneuver around the thin wire cutter with this big block of foam and we kind of lost count how many times the wire broke and failed us. Perhaps the foam was too thick?

5) I then carried on to cut the foam stamps into interesting shapes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6) We collated a small pile of usable foam stamps I cut.

7) We tried making the slits from the foam cutter and realised that it was not very easy to do so. Perhaps, a penknife will be more suitable for the job instead.

8) I created a mock up with silts to see if it works.

 

9) With our foams cut, we then proceeded to do up the cards. We cut out the still image and pasted them on each of the coloured blank cards. (x 100 cards)

10) Subsequently, I wanted to make a foam box with a cavity in the middle to contain the markers for the installation.  I intentionally cut the waves like edges to simulate the waves at the beach. However, the cavity was not properly done and we both figured that getting a box for the stamps and markers will be neater this way.

 

 

PROCEED ON  TO LOOK AT THE FINAL INSTALLATION: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/liml0074/4dii-library-installation-final-what-we-sea-in-you/

 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:

 

 

Development of ideas:

Initial Ideas:

Potential Themes: Global Warming

We attempted to portray it using the elements of the earth:

  1. Fire and water – coal and water sizzling
  2. Fire and Air – crackling matchsticks
  3. Water and air – bubbling sound
  4. Earth and Water – blurping, squishy, sticks and mud (melting of ice caps)
  5. Earth and Fire – burning sound (deforestation/burning fossil fuels)
  6. Earth and Air – wind blowing trees, leaf sound (CO2 gas)

End with fire extinguisher-extinguishing global warming

Environment A:

Different grades of air quality and objects (surroundings like position of trees (if you are in a park)) are held constant = different outcomes

  • Natural earth sound (EARTH SINGING-microphone into the soil) and then it got ‘tortured’ by the other elements. Throughout the process, the rate increases as elements are added. This is to depict global warming happening to earth. It explains the increasing rate of global warming as the sounds are added in. Eventually the earth gets overwhelmed with all the activities and ends off with fire extinguisher.

We tried to create a synthetic nature environment portraying the effect of air pollution. With different degrees of air pollution, there will be varying amount and number of air/dust/pollutants particles in the air, making it increasingly difficult for the sound to be transmitted if the air pollution gets worse. Hence, this pushes us to think about the effects of air pollution and raised the awareness of it.

Inspiration page:

Toothbrush:

 

Airplane:

 

An alternative I thought of:

  • Create an installation with modified sleeping bags. Remove the inner lining of sleeping bags and replace them with stones, gravel, sand, soil etc to simulate “earth” with a heating tube inside. Pillows with mini speakers are placed on the top of the sleeping bag.

The viewers are supposed to lie on them and listen to the audio mentioned above. The longer they lie on the sleeping bag, the hotter the heat element will be, allowing the viewer to feel the direct impact of global warming.

However, after consulting with Michael, it turns out that we have a wrong direction in the project. Although he did not disapprove the global warming topic, what he wanted was the sound or sound story of a single object. It has to be revolving around the object.

 

New Proposed Idea/ Concept:

MICROWAVE + Food + Utensils

  1. Unhealthy eating- Processed food goes into the microwave
  2. Electricity- physics- sound from water vibration in the food (that’s how microwave works?) /consumption?
  3. Experiential sounds
  4. Popcorns?

HOW? 

Different type of food choices would lead to different a type of outcome. (Example: Unhealthy food and the very unhealthy food) The fact that we didn’t choose healthy food is because using the microwave is unhealthy in the first place and most of the convenient food are unhealthy. (e.g. Microwavable food packs/ pizzas / sandwich etc => mostly sold at convenient stores like 7-eleven, cheers etc)

WHY?

We were walking around ADM for inspiration when we realised we decided to pause and do some on site research and monitoring at the ADM lounge. This was when we realised that many people were either eating packed food or simply microwavable sandwiches / food packs/ pizzas / hamburgers from the nearby 7-eleven store at canteen 2. Realising this unhealthy trend, we decided to do a sound art to reflect this harmful and unhealthy practice, as well as to inform, alert and remind people about how unhealthy this is.

Microwave Area at ADM Lounge: 

SEQUENCE: 

Ear piercing sounds when opening the microwave door

Please choose the food of your choice(Robotic sound) aka instructions to prompt the user

Sounds – Warning/ Alarms etc

SOUND EFFECTS:

  1. UPBEAT (Best one) – New (Nuclear Evacuation Alarm) Sound Effect
  2. Second best one – (Less upbeat, more dramatic)
  3. Alarm Sound Effect – at 0.28 –
  4. Nuclear Alarm –
  5. Ball bouncing –

Attempts:

SOUND CLIP VER 1:

Final Sound Clip: 

Part 1:

Part 2:

Final Test Run Video with microwave:

Introducing the MACROWAVE: 

Microwaves are kitchen appliances that almost everyone owns in their home. They heat and cook food quickly and efficiently by exposing the food to microwave radiation and thereby altering the molecular structure of the item. We are basically consuming irradiated food items with altered molecular structures that – due to said exposure to radiation – has it’s health benefits reduced and instead is detrimental to our health especially in large doses, which is why we are advised not to use microwaves too much in our daily lives. However, despite knowing this, we continue to use these appliances frequently because of the ease and convenience of it. Coupled with our busy lifestyles, it provides us with a more convenient excuse to use it even further. Perhaps, since the effects do not manifest immediately, we don’t see the extent of which our body is being damaged. Through this experience, we want to get the people thinking about the damage that microwaves are causing to our body.

AIM: 

We want to stimulate the viewer in a way that they would react negatively. This is to push across the point that microwaves cause negative impacts onto the food they consume and this affects their health directly and indirectly, thus discouraging them to reduce microwave usage.

HOW:

Actual poster on site: 

Presentation Time!

VIDEO 1- Jason trying out!

VIDEO 2- Nadia trying out!

 

 

Healthy Alternatives:

Now that all the bad news is out of the way, let’s focus on some speedy, easy and convenient ways to heat up food without compromising your health.

Convection toaster ovens

Not quite as fast as a microwave but quicker than a normal toaster oven. Food tastes so much better when heated in a real oven. Plus, they’re more affordable, take up less space and use less energy – a perfect example of when less equals more! Line an oven sheet with foil or pop your food in an oven safe glass container or ceramic dish and heat until warm!

Stovetop

Seems obvious, but not everyone thinks to reheat meals in a pot or pan. You can place food directly on the cookware or wrap it in foil first and add a little water. Steamers also work great and produce a similar, evenly heated result. Even popcorn can be made on the stove, and it’s so much healthier when you can control the amount of salt and oil you put on it.

Double boiling

This tactic works great on liquids like sauces and is also a way to gently and evenly heat food without direct heat. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan, then place a glass container in it with the food inside. It shouldn’t take too long to get to your desired temperature.

Pressure cookers

Well-known for their ability to cook foods like rice 2-3 times faster than the stovetop method, they’re also a great way to heat up soups and vegetables in less than 10 minutes, while retaining their moisture.

If you don’t have any of the appliances above, a planet-friendly way to obtain them is via friends or second-hand shops. So many people purchase these items and hardly use them, so offer to give them a well-deserved new home! Likewise, don’t just toss your microwave. Recycle it at an e-waste facility or call a pick-up service.

 

REFLECTION: 

I find this project very interesting and it gives us room to explore about sounds. This is my first official sound project and I really enjoy doing it. The topic we touched on was food, radiation and unhealthy practices. I find that these topics are relatively relevant in our daily lives, especially when we are in such a busy and fast paced society. However, this does not give us a reason nor excuse to depend heavily on these unhealthy but convenient food such as microwavable food and hence there is a need to bring awareness about this issue that is getting more prevalent. The process of this project was rather enriching as we tried many different kind of ideas and sounds to reach the final stage. Although we got quite a few people coming up to ask us / glaring at us / giving us curious but “hmm what is this or what they are doing” kind of looks when we are testing the clips on site, it only proves that people are aware of what we are doing and that I really enjoyed the entire process. I hope that in the process of doing it and appearing at the microwave so many times, this will really impact the people who frequent the lounge and those who use the microwave every now and then. Also, I do consider microwave under kitchen appliances which then links back to one of my artist reference, Martha Rosler, who also makes use of kitchen appliances for her sound performance.

 

 

  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.

 

 

 

 

 

No Room to Enter by Kathryn Kng

Description of the Work: Large white plastics sheets were used and hung downwards from the Esplanade Concourse’s ceiling. They looked like individual panels slicing through the space.

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Preliminary Read:

Initially when I saw the work, I was quite amazed by the scale of it. It was like a huge white box hanging down from the ceiling. Upon walking closer, I noticed that they were actually plastic sheets hung down in a parallel manner. I was quite curious at the small path intentionally designed in between the sheets which then led to the top of the staircase. At first I thought that the artist wanted the viewer to walk through the path lined up but it was actually blocked. Looking around, I realised that there was another path at the extreme right of the staircase which will lead the viewer right to the top while giving them a chance to view the art work from front to back. Right then I was wondering, perhaps the artist wanted the viewers to notice a space, a common stairway, which we would normally take it for granted and would probably not spare a second thought about it.

Secondary Read:

After reading the work description, the artist’s intention was to make use of the work to allow people to think about their interaction with the inanimate spaces. Intrigued by the artist’s intentions, I stood there for a while and began to notice how people interact with the work. While quite a few did not give a second look about it, a number of them, especially the older generation look rather confused. They were finding ways to get past the piece of work and it was not until they read the description that they look like they get what the work was about. Being situated in an air conditioned place, the plastic sheets exhibit a sense of stillness even though it was rather thin and seem prone to wind movements. The sense of stillness communicates the intention for the viewer to make a detour around the work rather well.

 

The Living Lab by FELLOW

Description of the Work: There were individual questions posted at different small areas of the space used. Materials such as ping pong balls, coloured stickers, raffia strings were provided for the viewers to answer those questions.

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Preliminary Read

 

When I first saw The Living Lab, I was very amused by the layout of the investigative project. Almost every corner of the space used contained some interactive element which made it very attractive to the viewer. As opposed to just viewing and no touching of art works, this was a refreshing side of the exhibition at the NOISE-Waterloo. Initially, I feel like it is just a normal survey for the public but after reading through each question in detail, I realised that the layout and material provided for the viewer to answer those questions create variation which triggers the viewers’ desire to participate actively in it. Besides, in this totally anonymous survey, I feel that it allows people to be more honest with their answers as well.

 

Secondary Read:

After reading the project’s description, I feel that they are examining human behaviour and the environment rather closely. The investigative project serves as a timely reminder for the symbiotic relationship between the city and the dwellers. I began to appreciate the mixed-used buildings like Waterloo centre more as well.

 

I was thinking of making a small book containing interesting facts regarding my family about the Peranakan Culture. Initially I was thinking of collating photos and develop it into a photo book and send it to print using the modern book style. However, I thought about it and feel that perhaps I can create my own handmade book instead, since the Peranakans are rather focused on handmade items.

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Experimental Designs for the book concept. I researched on the different types of handmade books and have decided to develop a palm sized meander pocket book. The meander book is actually made from a single sheet of paper and if glued correctly, the pages will actually form little pockets (to slot cards with bite size information inside).

After pondering about it, I feel that I would like the book to have a “book within a book” concept.  This is to signify that our roots are deep and that it is up to us to step up and discover more about them. At every turn, we discover something new about ourselves and hence opens a “door” to another “book”.

Concept of the Book:

Outer Cover: The doors of an old Peranakan House (2 sides). (1st Book)

Inner Cover: The interior of a Peranakan House. (2nd Book)

Content: Each sleeve represents a category about the Peranakan Culture. There are images on each sleeve to represent the category.  (3rd Book (s))

Sleeve 1: Who are the Peranakans?

Sleeve 2:  Architecture

Sleeve 3: Gender Roles

Sleeve 4: Nyona Fashion

Sleeve 5: Cuisines

Sleeve 6: Taboos and Beliefs

Sleeve 7: Old Wives Remedies

In each sleeve, there is a card with information for each category. (4th Book)  The information usually starts with a general introduction about the topic and would usually end off with some short stories about my family.

Pictorial Development: Meander Book

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3      4

5       6

7             8

This is the process of folding the meander booklet.

After which, I started experimenting with the pocket tabs.

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11          15

After trying out a few designs, I have decided to go with the round one.

Since I plan to make the book cover with a puffy feel, I used cardboard for the base first before pasting sponge on top.

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However, after having trials with rough paper, I realised that it is actually quite bulky and thick which does not really suit the nyonya theme. Hence, I scrapped the sponge idea away and used just cardboard instead.

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Reflection:

After the first consultation, I wanted to find out new and more unique information that is not found in museums and books. For example, a book on the unique remedies and prescriptions my family has kept over the years. However, after the interview with my grandaunt, I realised that there were many limitations as there were quite a lot of things that she could not recall  (90 years old) and that the knowledge is not passed on to the younger generations. My aunts, for instance, were actually quite clueless about the Peranakan culture and they felt that they learn something new through the bits of information I gathered through the interview. Hence, I decide to take on a different approach and touch on the major topics in the Peranakan culture with a tinge of personal stories included.

This is my first handmade book and there were many trial and errors involved. I realised that precision is really very important and developing a book is not that easy.  From the concept to the aesthetics to the content, sometimes I am really at lost of what to include.

The overall experience was enriching and I did discover more about my identity which was the main motivation of this project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stories gathered from casual talk with grandaunt (90 years old): (In her perspective)

Interview 1 Transcript:

Both my parents are pure Peranakan from Penang.  She brought her younger brother along to marry into the family because she was an orphan already. My father was educated in an English school before and his name was Tay Ang Moh. He conversed in malay and English to us.

My parents were very strict. We cannot talk nor do any unnecessary movements during dinner or meal times. If not my father would throw the bowl of rice in your face (rice bowl broke) and then you are not allowed to eat dinner anymore for the night.

My father usually sleeps at 7.30pm. He would then place his shoe nicely at his doorway and it should remain that way for the night. If he wakes up and finds the shoes misaligned, he would then call everyone out and interrogate them. If no one dares to own up, he would use the huge gemstone in his ring to knock on everyone’s head.

All windows were closed tightly with curtains throughout the house. For the women in the family, they were not allowed to go out of the house nor even peep through the window. If they get caught, they will be punished.  Whenever my mother wants to watch a play/ film, my father would make special arrangements for the actors to set up a stage at home for the women to watch. They were strictly not allowed to be outside.

My father was working in a British company and he was usually dressed in tip top condition with his  white suit and drove a car to work. And if the children (more for women) wanted to go to school, he would make special arrangements for a chartered trishaw with completely closed lids/ curtains for us.

Mini Cheats over the years: My brothers would bring the sisters out to dance/ party when my father was not around. They would ask the servant at home to guard the door from 7pm onwards. They would then take note of the time closely and quickly make their way home at 11pm and changed out of their outfit quickly. Some pretended to sleep while I pretended to wait for my father downstairs to have supper together. He loved to eat roasted pigeons for supper. He used to set up a mini house for the pigeons to live in at their rooftop. He would then climb and catch one for supper when he felt the craving and then proceed to roast them with spices.

He passed away as he was tortured by the Japanese. (It was the Japanese Occupation that time). He was caught to stand at the door way of our house at 6am in the morning till late at night. He was not allowed to drink any water nor eat anything. He stood there in the hot sun throughout the day. We (the children) stayed in the house and peeped through the window to check on our father every now and then, only to find him on the verge of toppling over each time. One Japanese soldier walked up to him in the night and used his gun to hit his head hard. We knew that it was a dangerous situation. We couldn’t do anything to help him. Shortly after, the Japanese soldiers left out area. We rushed out to help him into the house. Unfortunately, due to the lack of water and food for days, he got too weak to move, much lest heal quickly enough.  He passed away after 3 days. He was a very strong man. That Japanese soldier killed him. (Grandaunt was very agitated at this point)

Some of my father’s habits:

We used to rent the house at Syed Alwi road. It was very cheap in the olden days, it only cost us 30 dollars. He usually walks from Syed Alwi road to Chinatown. Hierarchy of the family: I am the 5th child of the family but they usually do not count the females. No matter what, the males come before us. However, my father loves me the most amongst the females. He handed his keys to his personal belongings and valuables to me only.

My mother was known as the medicine lady ( lao sin seh ma) in the kampong and around the estate. Those living nearby often came by and consulted her regarding some illnesses and what specific herbs or concoctions they can make to self-heal. She also grew a lot of herbs in her garden and would often offer to those who came to her for help. There was once a child in the kampong got a fits attack, she rushed and took a couple of herbs along with ginger, onions and a spoon and headed over. She panicked as well and the child bit her nail into two. It was a horrific sight. Despite that, she used a spoon to pry open the child’s mouth  and stuffed the smashed herbs to stuff inside. Subsequently, she also rubbed it all over his face, neck and other body parts. I remembered she too poured soy sauce into the child’s mouth.  Eventually, the fits died down and the child was rescued.

Another example would be when people came to consult her regarding a cough, she would pluck a few leaves off her peppermint tree in the garden and advised the “patient” to make peppermint tea out of it or he or she could cook it with lean pork into a dish. However, there is a certain “rule” to it. It was believed that men should use odd number of peppermint leaves (3,6,9) while the females should use even number of peppermint leaves (2,4,6) to cook them with lean pork and drink the soup. If it’s cold cough, the phlegm would be whitish in colour, heaty cough, the phlegm would be greenish yellow.

There was once I fell very ill and kept coughing non-stop for 2 weeks. I consulted the doctor at the polyclinic who then claimed that my lungs were slightly ruptured and swollen and that I am in a critical condition. My son then took me to Gleneagles and I did a full body MRI scan, only to find that I am fine. I spent 6000 dollars away like this. After which, I did not want to take any more western medicine and relied on my mother’s old cough formula. Since it was more developed already, peppermint leaves would not be effective. Hence, I used the ginger formula. I bought a big piece of old ginger home and juiced it. (Grind it and squeeze the juice out manually) Heat the ginger juice over the stove to luke warm and add in 2 spoonfuls of quality honey. Stir to mix it well and quickly gulp it down. Do not drink water after that. It was a cheap remedy. I only drank it for 3 times and I am more or less recovered.

Interview 2 Transcript:

Nonya kebaya kerosangs can determine the status of your family. For the richer people, their kerosangs are more elaborate, with more flowery details in gold and some diamond encrusted (berlian) as well. For the poorer people, their kerosangs are just a plain strip of gold. They would then wear a belt for the kebaya made of silver. For the richer families, the belt buckle would be in gold.

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Tok Panjang’s must have dishes: buah keluak, chap chai, babi ponteh, curry ayam, salted mustard duck, soup containing:  pork balls, fish balls, cabbage, fish maw, prawns and bamboo shoots, otah and belachan chilli. Ang ku kueh, kueh bahulu and Otah originated from Peranakan.

Preparations for the buah keluak dish were extremely tedious. They are actually poisonous fruits. You have to soak them in water for about 2 weeks and change the water daily. After which, u have to hack an opening in the nut and dig out the flesh and the seed. Mix the flesh with marinated meat well and stuff it back into the nut shell. They were then cooked with pork ribs or chicken.

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The head and tail (2 ends) of the tok panjang must be occupied by the hosts / the elderly in the house. Family members usually sit on a table together. For their friends, they have another separate table for them.

The hiring of servants also determine the status of your family. For the wealthier ones, they would hire a butler while the middle class families would hire a female servant.

Some pictures I took:

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Unfortunately, my grandaunt was suffering a relapse from shingles and it was getting increasingly difficult for her to continue to interview. I took several photos of her belongings that are closely related to the Peranakan culture. Since she was not well, it was difficult for her to dig deep into her wardrobes for her other belongings. Hence, although I may not have a lot of artifacts or photographs, the knowledge gained from the 2 interviews are quite interesting for me to learn more about the Peranakan culture.