DIMENSIONS STUDIO (FALL 2024)

13. Viral Intervention: Final Artifact

Statement of Intent: The artifact is our collective wanted posters plastered against the wall. We added a podium to give our creation some interest and body. During the development of our website, one of the most important aspects of brining our project to life was the creation of these wanted flyers. Each flyer has different messaging that is in relation to what we are protesting. This ranged from warnings like "...suspected of causing spontaneous critical thinking..." or crime descriptions like "...leading a silent rebellion against the abortion ban, leaving behind symbolic flowers that reportedly triggered feelings of empowerment...". Overall, this piece was to get people inspecting it and discussing some of the different themes we chose.

Social media account with our documentation

For our final artifacts, at the end of the project, we had all of the index cards left and our ballet box. After we went to the beach, we burned all of the index cards except the erase one (which we lost,) so in the end, we were only left with the ballet box. Our ballet box is made from a target box covered in colored construction paper which we then decorated with pictures we drew with sharpies. We also made sure to write the purpose of our social experiment on the box so people knew what to do with the paper.

So for our final proposal, we decided to combine our two previous ideas of having a table we sit at and talk to others with the idea of having a box that people can anonymously write down their worries and stresses for us to read. We also decided that we would be using a filming camera to record the content and we decided to make our "ballot" box out of cardboard and different colored construction paper pieces. At first, we wanted to include the substances one, but we also figured not a lot of people would go ahead and do it and two boxes would be overwhelming.

For this project, our final artifacts happen to be our “desk” and the phone stands we used to hold our lights to the board. While doing the project, we discarded the chair because it was difficult to travel with and in the end, we didn’t really end up using it at all for our project. In the end, you can see the legs attached to the desk and wire sticking out of all pieces. The end result ended up to be our “desk” looking like a protest sign, which worked out well because it allowed us to project our sentence better on the wall.

For our project, we covered a tree in ribbons and wrote the sentence on the front. It was challenging- we had to climb the tree and hang the ribbons, go out and buy the ribbons which was pricier than expected, and we also had to finish everything before sunset. We managed to complete it though, and working on it was a lot of fun. We wanted to spread the message but also to avoid making it too dark or apocalyptic- instead it's a message of uplifting each other and working together in every situation.

For this video, we wanted to discuss the election- the students in the video are speaking about the results and how things could go down- and then the message/sentence is written on a leaf. Often many concerns and critiques will be brought up towards leadership and government, but especially in the times we are in, these concerns can go unnoticed, like a leaf in the wind. We wanted to shed light on this as well as focusing on the civilian response to all these big events happening, all the time.

My group decided to write our statement in charcoal outside of the FIU College of Law building: "What the politician banned is diminishing our control." We thought this was fitting considering the political content of our statement and how it concerns laws that have been passed recently restricting US citizens. As we wiped the message away, I felt that our retraction was unintentionally representative of our message, and showed the silencing of voices (both self-inflicted and otherwise) that choose to speak up about the injustices being carried out in our government.

We decided to build on our first two ideas, and combine them into something that broadens our message and is less artwork-forward. Our new plan was to find objects representative of our core topics (immigration, LGBT rights, and abortion), lock them inside a cage, and present the cage outside a relevant location, like a courthouse or faminly planning center. We also thought to include links to resources related to our topics, accessible through scanning a QR code.

The artifact we had left over consisted of the cage, its interior items, and a flyer we printed for people to scan, attached to the top of the cage. The piece itself is representative of recent bans and restrictions on the rights of women, immigrants, and the LGBT community; the paper uterus, the passport, and the flag are indicative of each issue, respectively.

Our final proposal is unique from our previous ones. We combined elements from the first proposal with our current one without introducing any new animals or plants. To keep it simple yet effective, we incorporated Braille wording using nails, placed both within the design and around the frame. Additionally, we added various textures to the wooden piece to create a tactile experience. The materials for this artwork include wood for the base, thick paper on top, nails for the Braille, and pencil for detailing and design accents. The tactile nature of the piece invites both visual and sensory engagement, enhancing its accessibility.

Our sentence, "We restored a lost blind species," represents our intent to explore alternative forms of communication beyond sight, focusing on touch and hearing. Braille, used by blind individuals, and Morse code, often utilized in military emergencies, are two examples of these overlooked or forgotten methods of interaction. Our artwork aims to highlight these diverse ways of communicating. We displayed the piece in a public park in Coconut Grove, located next to a restaurant. Visitors of all ages, from young children to adults, engaged with our work, creating a meaningful and inclusive experience. Surprisingly, some people knew morse code which made them more interested in the artwork.