Outline
Main argument: Using digital media is not always effective when trying to communicate important issues to younger generations. We need to utilize different techniques of communication if we are trying to effectively make the public change their lifestyle to help the ocean and inhabitants of it.
Supporting evidence: Through my research of the effects of human activity on the ocean as well as my research in different ways of communicating I will be able to accurately propose what the best solution is. I am not giving a solution to fix water pollution, I leave that to the experts, but rather ways those experts can communicate the issues to their audiences. There are already many environmental organizations who are resorting to video production and the creation of aps, my job is to analyze how effective this is. I look to prove that digital media loses the effects that physical art has on humans. The emotion you feel when you see something in reality is incomparable to the numbness you get from digital media. (annotated bibliography at the bottom)
Assumptions: SO what? Who cares about this? People are already doing this and Its not feasible to ask people to change their everyday lives.
Questions:
Is it impossible to influence people’s decisions through art?
What is the biggest reason to ignore information on sustainability and animals?
Am I criticizing or utilizing digital media as a resource?
How do we need to change our tactics when trying to communicate to the youth?
Research methods:
Definitions and trajectories of activism and eco art media
Digital activism and youth, digital environmentalism
Observation of protest artists past work
Research on facts of human pollution and effects on sea life
MUST narrow down focus
Tactic star
Tactic: To present the public with an art installation that is eye catching and informative. To create a piece of art that makes you think and makes you want to change your lifestyle for the better.
Resources: by creating an art installation I am forcing the viewer to see it they really don’t have a choice. While I am putting a large amount of effort into even just the logistics of this project it will be worth it if it is executed correctly. Using my resources of the NYC streets gives me an advantage of having a large audience. Using an eye-catching technique of mixing cute stuffed animals with gory organs and blood gives me the advantage of making people want to look.
Target: my message is clearly that human activity harms sea animals and I am giving my viewers the option to dismiss it and keep walking, but I am hoping the image of blood and plastic around a sea turtles neck will become instilled in their mind and make them think again before not disposing of their plastic correctly.
Strategy: my goal is to affect the viewer in a way that is inspirational and effective. By using an art installation instead of media I am already eliminating the possibility of them ignoring it. They may not even open an ad about environmentalism on their email and therefore have no choice to react or not to it, but by forcing them to see my installation I am giving them a choice to act or not.
Message: the persuasive story is that of the dying sea turtle and my objective through communicating it is by pulling on their heart strings. From afar they may see a cute sea animal stuffy and point it out to their kid, but upon closer review they will see it hanging by the neck in plastic and oozing with bottles and blood. The message is that we as humans have to take responsibilities for our actions and there are simple ways to reduce the death of sea animals by simply being less careless.
Tone: I want to attract, repel, and interest my viewer. It’s so gross they want to look away but at the same time they can’t stop looking. It makes them do a double take and they aren’t exactly sure what they are seeing but the objective is clear.
Timing: my timing is perfect especially with trumps recent disregard for environmental issues and the publics clear dislike for his opinions on our earth. The timing couldn’t be better and I think it will only enhance the message I am getting across and hopefully gain me some support on the issue.
Audience: my audience are the everyday NYC livers. I want my installation to inspire them. Whether it is using reusable shopping bags, or donating to an oceanic cleaning organization, I hope when they see my art they will be inspired to make changes in their own lives to help the bigger issues we are responsible for.
Allies: I am hoping my tactic will strengthen the allies by inspiring them to do more. I don’t think people will be too disturbed by my installation and I am hoping for a positive response from the public but is hard to say how people will react on a daily basis to street art.
Research Final: Integrative seminar 2
In this piece, you’ll talk about your Seminar research and how your explorations and reflections in this half of Integrative 2 have provided you with new understandings about a topic of your interest and/or informed your studio final project. Here, you’ll have to put your different sources in conversation (among them and with your own ideas) in order to communicate what you learned and attempted to do with those learnings.
Although the report needs to cover the sections specified below, you’re free to play with the format. Ideally, this text will feed in some way into your Studio project (i.e: if you’re working on a video, you can use this as an opportunity to develop your script; if you’re creating an art piece, it can be a chance to write your wall text; if you’re creating a board game, this can become your instruction manual; etc.).
Report Sections
(you can tweak the section names as you see fit as long as it covers the content specified here)
Let me tell you a story (introduction and context)
describe, situate, illustrate
Ideas, anybody? (research question)
main + secondary questions
Unpacking the issue (research insights)
key ideas (theories)
context-specific data (interviews + mapping + surveys)
bridging key ideas + context specific data
Let’s do this! (creative approach + process + outputs)
studio project rationale
sketches + prototypes + final
Lessons learned (final reflections)
about your studio proposal
about the issue
Bibliography
Amaral, Kimberly. “Plastic in Our Oceans.” Accessed April 20th , 2017.
Ocean pollution is defined by harmful substances such as oil, plastic and agricultural waste in our oceans. Mining for copper and gold can also pollute our waters. The main causes of water pollution is sewage, industrial chemicals, and land run off. Its important to understand that plastic travels, even if you drop something on a street it can be carried by wind and rain to the water. It is estimates that 14 billion pounds of plastic is dumped in the ocean each year and it is likely that plastic will encounter a sea animals. Many seals become entangled in fishing line and sea turtles accidentally eat plastic bags. While animals safety is a large concern, we should also be aware that plastic emits chemicals into our water that are dangerous for humans and can cause cancer.
Artnet. “Banksy.” Accessed April 5th, 2017.
http://www.artnet.com/artists/banksy/.
For my research it is important that I make visual observations on how protest artists communicate their messages, there is no better way to do this then to look at the work of Banksy. Many of Banksy’s pieces revolve around war and the use of bombs, he expresses this in a colorful cute way by showing a little girl dressed in pink hugging a bomb or by painting a man throwing a bomb full of flowers. Another technique Banksy uses is large site-specific installations, this be sneaking into a zoo and changing the signs in the elephant cages, or creating a plastic structure around a golden dolphin in Vancouver. Studying Banksy as an artist will give me insight into which visual communication methods are most effective when dealing with topics related to politics, government, and the environment.
Cave, Julie. 2016. “Digital Marketing Vs. Traditional Marketing: Which One Is Better?” Digital Doughnut. July 14th.
There are many positives sides to using digital media for marketing. The biggest pro is that you can reach a local and international audience and possibly send your marketing viral. Your audience is able to interact through digital media by rating it or giving feedback and it is easy to track the progress. The biggest downside to digital marketing is you lose the hard copy material. Neuro exams prove that direct mail is easier to understand and has better brand recall results. Looking at hard copies is 21% less cognitive effort than looking at digital media, however, direct mail is more expensive and more difficult to measure. Brain studies show that physical material is more “real” to our brain and it gets tucked away into our special memory network which is why you are more likely to make connections with it and remember it long term. It actually takes more emotional processing when you get a physical thing in front of you and this is the reason many people become hoarders when it comes to post cards and flyers.
Cowperthwaite, Gabriela. Blackfish. DVD. Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. New York City: Magnolia Pictures, 2013.
The very popular Netflix documentary “Blackfish” is an excellent example of how a serious issue is being communicated through the media of film. This film was capable of starting somewhat of a revolution and turned many people and companies against SeaWorld. The film is responsible to changing some of the laws on how trainers at SeaWorld are allowed to interact with the Orcas. Using this documentary as a source will allow me to look at the effects of documentary’s as a form of communication and the outcomes that happened after its creation.
Miller, Michael E. 2015. “PETA Calls for Walter Palmer to be ‘hanged’ for Killing Cecil the Lion.” The Washington Post, July 30th.
PETA is the largest animal rights activist organization in the world. They have to rely mostly on free advertising and “Thus, we try to make our actions colorful and controversial, thereby grabbing headlines around the world and spreading the message of kindness to animals to thousands — sometimes millions — of people,” PETA said. Peta has used many interesting mediums such as street performance and having models serve vegetarian food. I think it’s important for my research because they are right on track in their experimentation when communicating to the public. It will be interesting for me to do a case study on them where I can analyze different approaches they have taken in their projects.
Shin, Ryan. 2016. Convergence of contemporary art, visual culture, and global civic engagement. Arizona: IGI Global.
“The Effects of Human Impacts on the Marine Environment.” Ministry for the Environment. February 8th, 2016.
Main harms: Harvesting sea foods, land activities, marine pests.
390 million tons of run-off each year in chemicals, pesticides, herbicides.
40% of ocean is heavily effected by human life.
Ocean resources are being depleted and it is unable to support many species.
Research mapping progress
By creating a research mapping booklet, it allows me to have a 360 view of my research topic and gives me the space to add and edit as I progress through my research. I am very excited to look deeper into my sources and find a comparison between different ways of communicating visually. My research topic began focused only on sea animals and the effects we have on them but has now progressed into taking into account how we communicate information to the public and what works. I have always been interested in marketing techniques and I see that as a potential career path for myself. Mixing my passion for animals and the environment with my interest in entering the marketing world will make an excellent research topic to keep me engaged while finishing out my semester. This project gives me a chance to do something for me and make a piece of art for the sake of making art, not for a letter grade or for a teacher’s approval. I need to focus on my main interests if I want to explore what I can see myself doing long term in my career.
