Concept Introduction
I want to explore the network of students at The New School.
We all come from different backgrounds and deal with our days in different ways.
We identify in our own unique ways too. When we introduce ourselves, some of us may start with “I’m” followed by our ethnicity, while others may start with “I’m” followed by our first names. There are so many iterations of that but essentially it shows that each of us identify ourselves with a certain aspect of our personas.
My project revolves around asking people at The New School to interact within the community and reveal (anonymously) what they identify themselves as. I intend to put posters up around campus with the prompt “I’m” followed by a blank. The poster would also have brief instructions asking the reader to fill in the blank however they please. People who see it or pass by, will be invited to interact with it by filling in the blank with whatever comes to their head first.
Ex. “I’m Pakistani”, “I’m tired”, “I’m homesick” etc
I will laser cut, or 3D model a lot of puzzle pieces. Then I will engrave the “I’m ____” statements onto individual puzzle pieces. I would also color code them. Ex. all the feelings would be shades of blue
- Have people interact with a huge mound of puzzle pieces by going through them, seeing ones they like, trying to join them, taking them, touching them, relating to them etc
- Creating my own bigger pieces from strategically crafted puzzle pieces. So I would have a bigger composition made from smaller puzzle pieces with people’s words on them. I could display them in clever ways in stairwells, in corners on the ground etc.
What part of yourself do you first identify with?
Can people relate with phrases a random person wrote?
When people interact with the pieces, will they be tempted to join together two or more pieces because they identify with them?
Inspiration : Kara Walker pieces in Arnold Hall
Since last class, I’ve decided to make my puzzle pieces into icons. By grouping together certain answers, I can create an icon for them. Ex. All sad phrases will be grouped together and the pieces come together as a teary eye