project website...http://freecology.com
project e-mail...freecologymail (at) gmail (dot) com
My thesis project is entitled “FREeCOLOGY”. It’s main intention is to 1) Explore the notion of free (is it simply not paying for something?), 2) Sustainability as in methods and means that lead to a sustained ability for humanity to survive (what do we need to survive?), 3) Analyze the natural and man-made ecologies within which we exist and that end up defining our actions, interactions and interconnections, and 4) Amplify my individual voice through branding and marketing. Currently, environmentalism exists as either a political interest represented by lobbyists, hippie scientists trying to sell expensive “energy-saving” lightbulbs whilst spreading speculation of the nightmare which awaits us in the future, or a trendy, hipster-laden bandwagon that people jump on if they’re cool enough. This is a problem. I think in order to continue living on this planet, there needs to be a fundamental re-appropriation of sustainability and its implications. We need to know that eco-conscious actions are not all that different from actions that we already undertake. We need to see ourselves as part and parcel of the same world as what is now separately known as the “environment.” We need to see ourselves as interconnected. Maybe we can’t be perfect, but we can be less bad and that’s at least a good place to start.
Ideologies
1. I am not an artist in the traditional sense of the word. I find myself subscribing more to the “un-artist” notion of Allan Kaprow, whereby I am less concerned about what art is or can be and more interested in what life is.
2. I say, that we, as an entire human race, are at the crossroads between self-destruction and self-enrichment. To avoid our demise, we should do away with such concepts that are “holy” or at the very least, re-evaluate our systems that determine these concepts’ importance.
3. We must reach the conclusion that our survival is no longer hinged upon the notion of individual autonomy but rather that we are being, and will continue to be, tested whether or not we believe that we are alone and responsible to anybody except ourselves.
4. There is a layer of veneer to a large majority of my work that can be mistaken for shallowness. To me, this is like reading a metaphor and accepting what it says at face value. It is my hope that viewers and participants find the crunchy nougat center once past the sweet, chocolate coating.
5. My thesis is an investigation for solutions. I propose to search for methods of higher awareness and/or perception not specifically connected to artistic endeavors, including but not limited to hyperspace, religion/spirituality, ecology, and lifestyle-promoting design.
6. I don’t expect to complete this undertaking in a year, however, I will be making steps in the direction of work I wish to continue beyond my time at Otis.
7. I had a much longer-winded version of this overview, but it didn’t mean anything past these 6 statements.
References (in no specific order)
Allan Kaprow, Essays on the Blurring of Art and Life
Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Mask
Ken Wilber,Integral Spirituality, The Theory of Everything
Frijtof Capra, The Web of Life, The Hidden Connections
Michio Kaku, Hyperspace
Randall Packer and Ken Jordan (ed.), Multi-Media: From Wagner to Virtual Reality
John Cage, Silence
Malcom Gladwell, The Tipping Point, Blink
Lynda Sexton, Ordinarily Sacred
The I-Ching
Jaquelyn Bass and Mary Jane Jacob (ed.), Buddha Mind in Contemporary Art
Nicolas Bourriaud, Relational Aestetics
Jaques Ranciere, The Emancipated Spectator
Sol Lewitt, Paragraphs on Conceptual Art
Edward Said, Orientalism
Albert Einstein, Theory of Relativity, Quantum Mechanics
Foucault, “Knowledge/Power”, “Panopticism”, “Bio-Power”
Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Modern design history (Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Bauhaus, Aalvar Alto to Andrea Zittel and Paolo Soleria- Arcology= Architecture + Ecology)
Kate Nesbitt, Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture (Phenomenology, Deconstruction, Semiotics)
Suzanne Lacy, Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art
Grant Kester, Conversation Pieces
Alex Steffen (ed.), Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century
William McDonough and Michael Braumgart, Cradle to Cradle
Victor Papnek, Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change
Kelly Coyne and Eric Knutzen, The Urban Homestead
Scott Kellogg and Stacy Pettigrew, Toolbox for Sustainable City Living
Joseph Schumpeter, Capitilism, Socialism, and Democracy
Douglas Rushkoff, Media Virus: Hidden Agendas in Popular Culture
Mary Ann Caws, Manifesto
Claire Bishop (ed.), Participation
Andrei Codrescu, The Posthuman Dada Guide: Tzara and Lenin Play Chess
