Proposal 1.0
Below is a rough summary of my initial project proposal for the MA programme; this was written in January and has since gone through much digestion and mental deconstruction, reconstruction and reimagining; of which I will share more later…
Working title:
Exploring the physical and allegorical values of amorphous objects
Rough idea:
To investigate irrational thoughts, reactions and associations we have when presented with unfamiliar and abstract objects.
The basis of this proposal centres around concepts of justifying and valuing objects and things based against societal norms of function and material worth. Moreover, it aims to open discussion as to what happens when the rational mind (socially programmed mind) is unable to process the emotional or subconscious response we may have to objects which do not fit into the category of functional or familiar object.
There are two main threads to this concept. Firstly, the response of the holder, who has no prior expectations of what these objects may be. Secondly, the response of the maker, during and after the production process of said amorphous objects - decisions of design are made throughout the stages of creation, and therefore may not be as subconscious or abstract as initially thought.
Recently I have been reading about some contexts which I think are quite interesting to apply to this project; 2 notions of psychological habits. Apothenia and Pareidolia are occurrences where the mind tries to ‘force’ sense and pattern out of random information, such as seeing a face in the craters on the surface of the moon, or seeing Jesus on a piece of burnt toast. These conditions can also be extended to the Rorschach ink-blot test. An understanding of these pending further investigation will help me to understand why the mind makes these erroneous judgements, and may help me to control or trigger this through my practical work.
Some of my previous practical work has already begun to explore these themes, although findings have yet to be formalised.
