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Manifesto response on public account vs private account

MANIFESTO

Week 13: Thoughts on manifesto

Starting off, I had no idea what to do with manifesto. After all, I had never done this sort of thing before. But after some interaction and feedback I knew exactly what I had to do. I made my manifesto on today’s reality and issue I thought needed to be addressed in the todays world in regarding to human nature and environment. I decided to reach out on social media, Instagram to people regarding the issues and morals I thought we need to adapt today. First I posted on a public account which got 13 likes. Since I don’t have many followers, I thought it was an achievement. Next I proceeded to post the same collage of manifesto on my private account which did not get any likes (yeah, not really a popular gal on social media!). But I did get one comment worth mentioning. A girl said that she had also noticed the same thing and these should be followed by everyone in today’s society since we have lost the essence and value of the natural environment.

Week 12: Thoughts on video

My initial plan for the speculative video was to story tell different cultural views of crows. Westerns generally view crows in a negative image because of the reasons I previously mentioned. But in my culture (Indian), crows are seen as ancestors of the deceased. During the death anniversary, food is offered to the crows as a peace offering for safe keeping the newly deceased. Also crows are seen as the messenger of guests. Whenever a crow comes to a particular house and say something, it is said a guest is to arrive soon (and surprisingly is true). But I realised this video was not speculative so instead I created another draft.

In this video, a crow is disappointed in how humans perceive them and sets out on a journey to change the view by negotiating with the human creator (god). I liked this video since it was fictional and had elements of humour. Also it worked very well with the relationship I wanted to portray with my no-space in the future.

#week12

Manifesto layout

Speculative film final draft

Speculative video draft 1

Week 11

Cultural connotation associated with crows

Western: Crows have been associated with witches. One of the popular belief was that the crows were the evil sidekicks of the witches and followed them everywhere. They helped them to carry potions and carry any evil tasks designated to them by the witches. Another belief was that witches themselves used to transform into crows to flee the scene or to carry any stealth mode task. After all, who would suspect a crow, right? In the history, crows have also known to circle the death scene or battlefield, thus they were seen as bad omen.

But could be also their colour? Black is a colour associated with mourning. The colour also has dark and negative connotation to it. Crows are jet black, with contrasting green eyes that stand out. Their appearance subconsciously makes us aware of them because of the already ingrained connotations. Thus, some of us are repulsed by them.

Week 11 Principle: Boyd, Fowler, Fowler-Smith and Gerva

“…interested in art that challenges anthropocentric ideals and to find ways of bringing non-human agencies into the work… But we started to challenge that focus with influences from current theory, looking at the posthuman condition and advancements in multispecies thinking. Beyond animals we also have microbes and slime moulds and insects, so we are generally trying to challenge dualistic categories in thinking around humans and our perceived position of controlling everything, and to embrace the realism of the rest of the inhabitants in this world.”

Principle 2: Boyd, Fowler, Fowler-Smith and Gerva. Pg 29

“Artist should continuously challenge themselves when working with non-humans by working outside their comfort zone and trying to incorporate variety of non-humans.”

#week11 #principles

Week 11 Principle: Zurr and Catts

“Our Semi-Living sculptures must be kept in sterile incubators and immersed in nutrient media...We see them as evocative objects which require care for survival. When presenting our sculptures alive in galleries, we have to construct a tissue culture laboratory in which we can feed the Semi-Livings on a daily basis…The touching/killing rituals are our way of coercing people to face the problematic existence of Semi-Living entities. These evocative entities expose the gaps between our new knowledge, our ability to manipulate living systems, and our belief and value systems. These systems are not equipped to deal with the epistemological, ethical, and psychological implications raised by the emergence of the Semi-Living.”

Principle 1: Ionat Zurr and Oron Catts. Pg 67

“When dealing with non-humans (or semi-living), artist should be responsible when manipulating lives and care for them unconditionally since they are dependent on the artist for their survival.”

#week11 #principles

Week 10 Principle: Young

“The process of breeding and raising animals feels like a collaborative artwork with nature. The process of culling requires shifting attention away from the individuals and objectifying the group so that tough decisions can be made that will advance the project.”

Principle 2: Amy Young, Pg 72

“Artist, working with non-humans should embrace their imperfections rather than trying to create perfection. Nature’s perfect artwork is perfect because of the imperfections and us as artist should not interfere.”

#week10 #principle

Week 10 Principle: Bunt

“As Webster confirms we should as concerned scientists commit to support the “five freedoms” - freedom from thirst hunger and malnutrition, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury and disease, freedom from limits on expression of normal behaviour and freedom from fear and distress. It is also why some philosophers argue that animals do not have any moral rights, they are do not have the ability to enter into a moral contract, because they are not rational, so they cannot be provided any special protection under the human moral code”

Principle 1: Stuart Bunt. Pg 13

“When engaging with non-human in a project, ethics must be practiced. Where non-humans have the same rights as a human would have had. Any practice done should be done with fairness and integrity.”

#week10 #principle

AiEmovie- Bruce the Crow

#Vimeo

This manifesto is very similar to the last manifesto I looked at. It is handwritten with inconsistent writing and random doodles which although use up the space very efficiently. The obvious difference s the use of colour.

The colour used are not too bright and neither too dull. The writing tends to dominate the space although colouring of the words make it interesting to read.

However, because of the contrast and combinations of the colours used, I find it hard to engage with it and read it.

This manifesto has a very childish, bubbly feel to it.

#week10 #manifesto

Week 10

Last week I wrote that being hospitable depends mainly on values, limitations and the host they have to be hospitable to.

There can be multiple types of limitations a host might face.

Firstly, they can have favouritism limitation where the host prefers to be more hospitable to a certain type of non-human. This limitation could mean that the degree of hospitability the non-humans receive from the host could vary. For example, if the host prefers dogs over cats, dogs are likely to get hosted better than cats would.

Secondly, the personal limitations such as where a person would be interested to host any non-humans but due to any reason they might not be able to host non-humans and be hospitable to them. For example, I read in a magazine that a lady liked hosting cats in her house and be hospitable to the same degree as she would have been to a human. But her husband did not like hosting of the cat to this extent as he thought it was extreme. Thus the lady had to face personal limitations to the degree to which she could host cats and be hospitable to them.

#week10 #hospitability #nonhumans

The handwritten layout of this manifesto makes it visually effective. The monochrome colours and using the full paper without any awkward white spaces make it stand out. This manifesto is also symmetrical while appearing non-symmetrical at the same time. The inconsistency in writing the words grab the reader attention to the main details of the manifesto. Irregular and the strange looking doodles gives a mix of ‘text and images’.

Visually looking at the manifesto, it makes the reader want to read it because it feel as if the writer of this manifesto is an ordinary person. In contrast to a professional set out work which makes the reader think that the artist is someone of high profile and who most certainly will only be able to engage a fixed type of audience.

#manifesto #art #week9

Week 9

Hospitality towards non-humans? Should it be any different to how we would be hospitable to humans? According to my view this mainly depends on one’s values, limitations and the host we have to be hospitable to.

Firstly, someone’s upbringing could have included the values of treating non-humans like one of us. For example, Steve Irwin’s daughter Bindi, is clearly an animal lover. She treats non-humans no different to how she would treat humans (presuming from the tv shows I have watched). This is because of the values she was brought up with.

Whereas, I also know someone who would not hesitate to kill a poor spider who enters their house. Their attitude remains the same for all non-humans. Their attitude is unhospitable towards non-human because they like to see all non-humans as un-hostable and thus refrain from inviting them into their house. Or if some guests (non-humans) like to come invited, they gladly sow them the way out.

Thus I think being hospitable to non-human depends mainly on the values and attitude they are brought up with.

#week9 #hospitable #nonhuman #unhostable

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