New School Parsons ID BFA Capstone Studio C

For a subculture to be identified there must be a communication of the existence of the group to the world at large. This act of othering is often achieved through the performance of difference. The negotiation of us/them or in-group and out-group, where social codes become visible - visibly undermined, interrogated, flagrantly ignored or broken -  is through the demonstration of this boundary, this manifests as aesthetics, events, and performance all of which are subjects of design.

This semester will be devoted to understanding performance/event based design as a tool to critique rule based systems. The term will begin in a state of total NORMALCY, the class will practice the application of rule based logic and explore the meaning of aberration. In the following weeks we will work COLLECTIVELY to design an archive of ephemeral social movements, practicing the skills of event programming and curation to effectively communicate subcultural identities through non-normal documentation. The last portion of the semester will be used by the students to manifest an ALTERNATIVE REALITY, this reality in all of its temporal and dimensional fullness will require a 1:1 model, taking the form or something such as a shrine and its statuary, a stage set and props, or a storage system and the objects subject to organization etc… meant to communicate the aesthetics and rituals associated with the student’s chosen subculture. The model itself is a performed artefact of this alternative reality, it can be considered as a record / representation of events.  

Jiwon Kim

A mall for mallrats