AitA: Class 8

 

 

From syllabus:

The Library of Congress is a definitively colonial institution. Throughout its history, voices of indigenous people have been in turn ignored, erased, and neglected. In this class we’ll examine this problematic history and look at some ways that indigeneity is being re-addressed. In particular, we’ll investigate the story of how 31 cylinders containing Passamaquoddy songs have revently been restored and re-born.

Guest Speaker: Jane Anderson

Readings, etc:

Anxieties of Authorship in Colonial Archives – Jane Anderson et al : https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55cfbe2de4b02774e51fac68/t/55d0ed0fe4b02b29043a1cec/1439755535710/Anxieties+of+Authorship.pdf

Understanding Indigenous Data Sovereignty – Tahu Kakatai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWX8qS0mTAg

Ancestral Voices Roundtable – http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=8530&loclr=eanw

Artist in the Archive Episode 8: https://artistinthearchive.podbean.com/e/episode-8-thirty-one-cylinders/

 

LOC Archive Dive: Maryam Mirzakhani

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When diving into the LOC archives I came across a collection of archived blogs that celebrated math and science. One that I enjoyed was “grandmama’s in stem” where it went out to prove against the saying “my grandma could do that” implying a lack of knowledge and know how. To counter the saying the author posted submissions about various women in stem – although I disagree with her being a grandma [was only a mother at the time of her passing, and also passed at a young 40 due to breast cancer] I was inspired to dig deeper and learn more about Riemann Surfaces.

 

Office Hrs w/ Danny

 

 

Today I scheduled a couple office hours, one with Danny & one with Jingwen later tonite for Intro to Wearables. I wanted to talk about the possibilities of using a servo motor on a garment to help reveal elements in an automated way. We talked about lots of possibilities from complex to more simplified, with the simplest option being a drawstring pull that would reveal an element on the back like a curtain pull.

 

Initially talked about / thought through a couple concepts / questions:

  • Gravity is our friend: 
    • how to take advantage of gravity when designing for automation?
      • ex: instead of it being a horizontal reveal? Make it vertical instead for a smooth motion
        • this will also help with not creating a feeling of a new appendage due to the metal dowel sweeping out

 

  • Storytelling:
    • What is this interaction trying to articulate?
      • Are there symbolisms or analogies its conveying?
      • What is it about eye mimicry that I’m hoping to incorporate?
        • thinking about its actual protective or attracting functionality in nature
    • Using Natural mechanical processes to guide the design decisions?
      • How aspects of our body already perform similar motor functions / how to mirror it like an eyelid shutting & opening?

 

  • How to make it soft vs hard:
    • how to hide the mechanical parts to make it feel more incorporated & soft?
      • ex: hiding the servo in a michael jackson style shoulder pad, epaulettes or a puffy collar
      • Thinking about how to have a external layer that could protect the hardware / hide the servo + metal dowel? Maybe elevated shoulder pads that slightly project backward

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