christoph /courses /210 /answers

Part 2 – exchange (but do not trade) proposals and provide a written critique. You should give a close reading of the proposal you take – help your fellow cluster member find what he/she is missing using some the guidelines below.

Address the clarity of the proposal by commenting on the following…

- do you understand what the project is about from reading the proposal? In your comments on the draft point out strengths, weaknesses, gaps, etc.

Jessica: Yes
Lyes: Yes
Nik: Yes

- is the narrative of the project clear?

Jessica: The idea of the physical life-size cabinet and the objects is clear. The interviews not yet.
Lyes: Not yet.
Nik: Not yet.

- Has the author given you a sense of how he/she came to this concept? Does he/she explain how it fits within the larger context/history of his/her practice as an artist?

Jessica: I believe this references her interest in memory and relevant to her interest in conducting interviews.
Lyes: His background is highly technical. I am unsure how he came to the concept he did.
Nik: His influence to work on prints is to get as far away from the computer as possible and since he is knowledgeable in programming and code, it implies he uses computers often.

- Has he/she positioned or contextualized the project in relation to other related projects

Jessica: I don't remember her recalling other projects. Her project reminds me of Joseph Cornell and his cabinets.
Lyes: Yes, a French movie.
Nik: Yes, abstract art.

- Does the project address the target audience - can you say, based on the proposal, why the project is of value to its audience or why an audience would appreciate or participate in this project

Jessica: The audience will be willing to interact with quaintness of antiquity and that is mixed with memory.
Lyes: The audience will probably be stunned and in awe in the installation, making sense of his or her movements in relevance to sound.
Nik: The audience will have a raised awareness on how abstract art may offer clear and informational meaning.

- Can you tell from the proposal how the artist plans to implement the project? What technologies will be used and/or developed? Is the timeline clear?

Jessica: Yes. Chips will be used; recording and audio editing programs.
Lyes: Yes. Programming, Max
Nik: Yes. Programming, prints.

- could you describe this project to others in a convincing manner based on reading this proposal – give this a try… in other words, try coming up with a very brief description of the project as though you were evaluating it for members of a grant review panel – assume either that you wish to convince them that this project should be one of the top five under consideration or the opposite (in which case you would articulate how it fails) – 50 – 250 words - read these aloud to the rest of the cluster and save them for me by posting them on the wiki

Jessica is creating a cabinet of memories and 16th century antiques including a globe and magnifying glass. The memory will be audible through the sound in the cabinet. The human speakers might sound elderly and there will be no evocation of time. Chips are inserted into the objects that would induce sound. The objects might include perfume and objects of incense, otherwise all of the objects will be associated with sound or oral pieces.

Lyes is working on a concept for an interactive installation of advertisements that contrast with tranquility. In his words, it may be symbolic with the thunderous sounds and dazzling lights of the city that contrast with the peaceful surroundings of the countryside. There will be commercials that reverberate when the user steps on certain colored circles and tranquil sounds that stop the commercials when the listener steps in the middle. The walls of the installation include surround sound for a feeling of immersion from the perspective of the viewer/listener.

Nik wants to create a digital portrait of the environment by programming a device that senses light, humidity and temperature of a given area, records it and then turns it into numbers. He will then take these algorithms and make a visual representation of the location. The subsequent result of data will look like abstract imagery that questions representation as the data can be reread into the computer and translated or processed from digital information that has an uninterpretable form.