For this critique, I continued to attempt to find the best way to display my products. I spent a week working on the plans to construct a walk-in box as a display. Unfortunately, I came to find that the product itself is an impossibility with the technology available. So, I focused my efforts on the lifejacket shoes from my last critique:
372,000_Oct 2016_Shoes, Balloons
I wanted to (1) experiment with different materials with which to create the product itself, and (2) convey my message more strongly through instillation.
She Swims with the Fishes _Nov 2016 _Shoes, Wire
I chose to create the shoes out of wire. This product does not exist on the market. The wire helped give the shoes an etherial quality as the shoes exist only in the mental arena.
The product is placed with in the environment of other hanging shoes for several reasons. One person commented that it reminded them of hanging shoes in a store. In this work, one of the ideas that I am questioning is the role of a designer especially in regards to the commercial market place. What are the responsibilities of a product designer and where are they needed most? However, shoes in a store seemed to be as far as this idea was carried through this piece.
She Swims with the Fishes _Nov 2016 _Shoes, Wire
It was generally agreed that the piece was not as powerful as it could be. Some of my peers believed that the title was too romantic if this piece is referencing drowning. They said that it made them want to join “her.” I saw this as a positive comment as it was what I was going for. I wanted to juxtapose the emotions of fun or absurd with serious and troubling. When something is serious, I often see myself and others take an attitude of irony or humor. This is a way of escaping troubling truths and not feeling the full weight of their seriousness. In my work, I’m questioning this response by giving both whimsy or humor and somberness. “She Swims with the Fishes” is a romantic title. But the concept behind the work is serious and disturbing. A point of agreement was that I should try to experiment with making my work strongly humorous or absurd. I like the idea of having a sense of humor or whimsy in my work. However, I’m not as interested in making the work too comical. I would rather attract viewers with whimsy and keep them interested with the seriousness of the subject.
From here, I am going to continue to create new products and experiment with mood. I need to narrow down the specifics of the emotions I am trying to convey.
