Research on street

Background

My project started by wandering around the city I live, alone, and aimlessly. It is always fun to go around on your own because the “time and space” can be exclusively owned. I went out at night because the city in daytime is busy and tiring. I can feel and connect to the city easier in silence.

        During a few times of casual walking, I found some interesting observation on the street.

Observation#1

Observation#2

Observation#3

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Observation #1

The chairs can be divided into two types: flexible and fixed.

The flexible type is actually single chairs, and the fixed type is always a combination of tables and chairs.

Chair is a kind of tools that can be counted as communication. Questions about the way chairs designed, how they placed by people, and whom use what kind of chairs and so on, are actually talking affecting conversation and thus communication.

I think the fixed types are not really comfortable and fit the users, and that implies that, the way people behave and people’s social activities are actually shaped by the third party, that is the recreational bureau of government.

Observation #2

The second observation is a corner watching day and night by cctv.

Actually I am rather interested on the issue of public spacing. Conflicts of public space between citizens, merchants and government are always existed. It is related to the rights of ownership, and obviously it is about money as well. Capitalism is one of the typical characters of Hong Kong.

I think the cctv looking at the corner covered with a red carpet strongly reflect the capitalism in Hong Kong. The owner even does not mind to waste extra resources to supervise that tiny corner under their ownership.

Observation #3

There are always Do’s and Don’ts signs, thousands of narrows and directing signals everywhere in Hong Kong. I think it is a single way of communication that only exists between master and servant. The reason behind is clear that, it would be much easier to manage a place when people doing nothing. In this case, our right to use the space of the city is deprived, which makes our city life without fun.

Research

Situationist International are a group of French who discovered and discontent with the unfairness and boredom in their city. They later developed into a group social movement mainly criticize on urban construction. 「1950年代, 法國圑體「情境主義國際」(Situationist International, 1957-1972) 提出「景觀社會」的概念, 認為我們置身在一個由符號構成的價值系統, 大眾處於癡迷、受控制、默從而全神貫注的觀看狀態,因而遮蔽了現實世界的壓迫與不平等關係. 情境主義國際將抵抗的戰場從生產轉移到消費, 從勞動轉移到休閒, 從工廠轉移到城市與日常生活, 用文化革命取代階級鬥爭. 他們企圖打破藝術與政治的藩籬, 將生活藝術化, 以奪回我們的日常生活. 他們也鼓勵群眾擁抱街頭、惡搞海報, 挑戰所有權的觀念,相信在日常生活中採取行動必能造成改變. 塗鴉在他們手中被改造成一種政治武器, 用以挑戰正為景觀社會所控制的城市。」(陳琦, 2010) It is actually highly related to social and class struggles, culture, capitalism, materialism, and so on.

James Rosenquist(1964) ‘s view towards the society at that time is also perfectly suitable to describe the way most people live in Hong Kong “The media constantly reminds us that we lived in a material utopia. We had electric can openers, dishwashers, two-tone cars, television sets- there was all this stuff. The idea being promoted was that everybody should be peppy and happy and could have everything they wanted: two and a half cars, three and a half children and instant everything. People clung to the idea of their own personal utopia, which had been fused in the American imagination onto commercial products. Every ad in every magazine and TV commercial was telling you that you could buy happiness on the installment plan.”

One of their famous movement/activity is Detournement, frankly speaking, is to do something without plans inside an already planned city. It is a resistance to control.

I have tried something similar in daytime. This time is Mongkok. I started my journal without any expectation. Afterwards, I think such activity can be fun without anxious. Since you are wandering without any expectation, you won’t feel nervous or eager to look for something. Instead, you can really enjoy and discover fun things as you throw away expectations and plans in your mind.

Also, people and the environment are connected to each together. When you walk along streets, you can experience the streets and paths, and interacting with other people. Roads are not served as the path between home and workplace anymore. Rather, we can entertain with streets and buildings, that is, any space in Hong Kong

What am I going to do: to (1) make fun with the environment in Hong Kong. I want to make use of the environment rather than concentrate on particular or a few types of material and media. (2) Not self-entertaining or self-fulfillment. I want to make something interactive with other people, not a single way of transmitting my message to the audience. (3) Flexible and able to move around, so that people can enjoy the fun together and anywhere.

Research:

I am really fond of the arts in 1960s. They are lively, strong and intense in visual.

It is very energetic with bold lines and with lots of colours.

Bibliography

A user’s guide, the Situationist international, Simon ford, 2005, p. 25，33

Psychedelic Consciousness transformed modern art, Ken Johnson, 2011, 44

塗鴉鬼飛踢, 畢恆達, 2011 遠流出版事業股份有限公司

畫在牆上的聲音:塗鴉文化史 陳琦 2010 山東美術出版社

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Reflection from supervisor:

除硬性禁止, 也有軟性管制，如在硬件上做手腳令到FUNCTION有限制。

可以相反方向想，簡單來說，走{喇}，找尋例子用家如何拆招

功課: 找5至6個例子
也要自己想想如何令成件事好玩WITHOUT TOO MUCH 條件