Carrier Pigeons

Today I was thinking about the way Pigeons travel and migrate, and the idea came to me about how we used carrier pigeons to transport messages as well as blood donations in the past. This idea relates directly to what i am doing, spreading information with my origami pigeons, but instead sending it via the internet, this is another element of meaning that i could tie into my work giving it more significance.

Miho Aishima

It is said in Japan whoever folds one thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish.
This is the idea Aishima had when creating her art project that was exhibited at the Hayward Gallery. Her wish was that Japan would have a swift recovery following the tsunami that took place. Her goal was to raise awareness and money for the disaster, £1 for every crane created.

Tutorial

I found this origami bird tutorial on Youtube which I have been following to create my model.

A funny and beautifully illustrated image that I discovered on Tumblr!

http://officialpigeonmigration.blogspot.com/

When people download my origami bird or discover my Passenger Pigeon information pack they will be asked to visit the a new blog i created called 'Official Pigeon Migration' blog and email me a photograph of their origami bird so i can record how far my origami birds have 'migrated'.
http://officialpigeonmigration.blogspot.com/
take a look.

I put a video recorder on the floor and left bread around it to attract pigeons, I thought this was an interesting way of capturing the birds and their behaviour using a contemporary technology. I also thought it was interesting to see them interacting with the object and attempting to move it out their way, an object very man made and alien to them, however as soon as food entered into the equation they had no regard for the video cam. I can also use this footage as a good source of observation when thinking about movement

Passenger Pigeon

The Passenger Pigeon is now extinct but was once a very common bird living in North America. I have chosen to look more closely at this species of bird as it has a greater relevance to migration. When the species was abundant it had one of the largest migratory flocks, one account was reported of a flock being 1 mile wide 300 miles long, taking 14 hours to pass a single point with an estimate of 3.5 billion birds in flight. This is an interesting idea when thinking about my porposal of migration, as i wish to try and get as many of my 'origami species' to travel via the internet and i think the Passenger Pigeon is an interesting reference point.
By the early 20th Century the species was extinct due to habitat loss when Europeans began settling further inland, as well as pigeon meat becoming hugely popular as a cheap food for slaves.

Origami

I learnt how to make an origami bird , i thought this could be an efficient way of allowing people to create a similar species, that they could then perhaps decorate with their own ideas. I could design some instructions to follow and include a printable piece of paper that is marked out (see the ones i have made below) to make it easier.

marked out origami paper.

the finished origami piece (without colour)

Migration

At this time of year some species of birds begin to migrate to warmer climates, i want to digitally imitate this migration through social media sites. My plan is to create a design where a viewer from another location can download/make a bird, therefore the birds will be spreading to other destinations further away. I can then record this and see how my species has travelled via the web.

Flock, The Big Draw

I went to a 'Big Draw' event called Flock, which entailed making bird postcards using a painting machine and bird stencils that we had to cut out and design ourselves. The idea was to get many people involved with making bird postcards, then write a few thoughts about travel and migration on the back of it. Post cards were first sent from the equator in Uganda, and then flew north via Camberwell. Then the post cards we created were added on to this 'flock' to be sent by mail to  Ullapool (Scottish highlands) and eventually arriving in Stornoway (Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides). This imitation of migration carried out by us is an interesting idea, and i wish to fashion it to my project by making birds migrate via the internet in a different way.

me with two bird stencils and postcards that i made,

Using a painting machine that used to pumps that  youdirected at your stencil.

Carina's having a go!

Biomodd video game

Biomodd is a new video game that incorporates ecology into its process. The game uses heat from 'aforementioned overclocked processors' to grow plants within the case. This is an interesting way of using waste heat energy emitted from our computers and utilising it to create new life. It is also an interesting example of how we can use contemporary technologies to some how improve our ecosystem, or just bring something very natural to something extremely man made and synthetic.

V&A Exhibition Postmodernism: Style & Subversion

I chose to talk about Robert Rauschenberg’s 1963 image ‘Estate’ that I saw in the V&A today, it demonstrates an early and influential example of #postmodernism. The idea of ‘bricolage’ combines the cut and paste technique of collage as well as assembling different materials in architecture and sculpture, a method considered very contemporary at this time. This idea grew in the #postmodernism era and unique and modern artworks were created. This original method  for  making work put Rauschenberg as a pioneer of post modernism collage as this #‘technology’ allowed artists to create more layer and depth to their work as well as merging the boundaries between painting and sculpture. ‘Estate’ includes random imagery and bold paint work that appears to have no order, but is composed of his own logic. The images work together and create a narrative due to the themes of the subject and colours used. Rauschenberg often stressed how he wanted to work “in the gap between art and life” I think this means how he wanted his images to come across as relevant, perhaps documentation of his life or everyday goings on.

initial notes

1. social networking sites.

is this responsible information / written by public
peadophiles exchanginig information / terrorists exchanging
peadophiles gaining access to children via web / grooming.

1. visualisation of texts

letters / journals / newspapers becoming visualised on computers, with images.

1. blogging about social events

chinese whispers effect.
information you post is saved for a long time.
regret posting things.
mass spread of messages.

Project

Social networks like Facebook are changing how we communicate with each other, and the amount of data we can present to each other. Networks like this allowed events in Libya to be organised and information spread through the people by use of these sites, as did rioters in London who used social networking sites and setups like 'blackberry messaging' to exchange informaiton.

HOW CAN VISUAL COMMUNICATORS CRITICALLY APPROACH THESE ENVIROMENTS?

• question the social media
• possibly contribute data
• what will the implications be?
• question the social media

Tools seperate humans from all other creatures?

session 1

The way Jay is using this £10 note to wipe her nose, connotes that money has little value to her. It is a relevant image due to the current financial climate, as well as student fee's rocketing and tutors being cut.

In this photograph we are illustrating an idea that the apple mac computer is a disposable item that can be used as a beer mat, this contradicts opinions about macs as they are an expensive piece of equipment.

In this photograph the mac is coming out of a vending machine, perhaps this illustrates how readily available equipment is to us nowadays which could lessen an items value. Instead of grabbing a bottle of Coke on your way, you can quickly grab a mac and dispose of it when your finish, perhaps this mirrors peoples attitude to their equipment?

Contemporary Technologies Blog

This is where my Contemporary Technologies blog begins.