Lina Maria Giraldo's Blog

What is the question that my piece asks? (if you know the answer to the question itself then its the wrong question)

My piece wants to explore how a distant war can generate overwhelming feelings in individuals who are only spectators. How can a remote conflict that we only know through news and images, touch us and make us feel as if we were involved? I wish to explore what happens when we are given the option of changing the way we receive information we don’t necessarily want to know. Are we more distant and cold to the pain if we are given an option to do so?

What is the experience I want to create for my audience & how does the interaction serve the piece?

I want to invite the audience to interact with the video in order to explore it’s other dimensions. Layering the images of the war and introducing the modified video, gives the spectator an option to “opt out” of the violence and suffering that the images carry. The main story though, continues in the background, just as reality carries on, as we look the other way. Just as the conflict is very complex and involves many more layers than I could name, the video constantly overlaps images and information. It is the same information we are constantly bombarded by in the news and internet.
As the audience interacts with the piece, they might perceive the notion that their only knowledge of the conflict comes from third party accounts, images and footage. Their perception of the facts is built upon their voyeurism, so modifying what we can see, will certainly modify our perception.

Work timeline: create a list of what needs to be done & a breakdown of which tasks will be completed on which day – build in time for the inevitable kerfufle.

Thursday March 5th

Answer the questions for the instructor (Ruth Sergel)
Presenting to the class the prototype. The piece will be built in processing because it offers me the interaction that I’m looking for. Depending on the feedback and the availability of the space at school, I will solve how and where it would be installed.

What are the things you want to explore by user testing the interaction in class?

I would like to explore the curiosity that war generates on us. I like the audience to click and discover what is behind the video, like peeling an onion. I want to see if having an abstract option on the video will allow people to escape from the pain they feel as they are exposed to the suffering both on the audio part, as well as in the visual side. When spectators switch to the text mode, do they still perceive the conflict the same? Is it like reading the news of a far away conflict, that we then turn the page and continue reading about a pop star’s trivial life?

Lina & Kristen

Jungle Story

With this piece I would like to explore immigrant children’s vision of their community, their family and their future. It’s very important to hear what children’s are thinking, questioning and expecting from life. They are the future and we need to teach them how to respect each other. They need to talk and be heard regarding their dreams and expectations. Children are more open-minded to understanding the errors of the adults. They a have a fresh mind in order to think about change. Children have another way of looking at the world. They are honest, playful and sometimes full of energy like a volcano while other times they are just quite as a rock.

United States is a country build by immigrants from all over the world. It is a country that represents freedom and opportunities. Unfortunately the immigrant’s conditions have been deteriorating. Prejudice between different races, religious and cultures are more notorious. In places like New Mexico the number of gang members has been increasing. The economic crisis doesn’t help and people are constantly loosing their jobs. This is why it’s so important to listen to what children are thinking.

The footage I’m collecting reflects their playfulness. Here, they are learning how to use cameras and new technologies, making mistakes, hiding from each other and always having fun. It was their opportunity to speak out, but also a moment to play and discover. Almost all of the children that I’ve been working with are sons and daughters of immigrants or live in a Hispanic majority community. In Santa Fe, New Mexico I worked with two middle Schools with 6 and 7 graders. In New York, I’m working with 4th graders from the after School program at Henry Street Settlement.

The most interesting part of the workshops is that they have the opportunity to use the cameras and perform interviews on each other. The most important lesson that I learned is that it doesn’t matter how difficult the environment is, children are usually very playful. In Santa Fe, they were talking about serious issues, but at the same time they were dancing, playing, running and yelling into the microphone.

The experience from the audience will be somewhat subtle. The screens will be off most of the time. When the spectator crosses in front of one of them, it will trigger it to start showing the videos. The LCDs will be placed on the walls in a random manner, creating curiosity. They will remain off if there is no movement in front of them. They will be on if people are walking in front. The sound is very soft so you have to get close in order to pay attention. The other option is have captions so you the audience needs to be close to the small 10” screen to read it.

The audience will either ignore the screens or get curios and come closer. This behavior is similar to the contrast of when the children’s opinions are ignored by their parents versus when they are in their playful moments. Since the spectator has to actually stop and stand in front of the screen, it is a soft way of forcing them to pay close attention to the messages. By generating curiosity and playfulness, I want to bring the spectator closer to the children.