Nov 01
The simulacrum is an individually produced interactive presentation that encapsulates a reinterpretation or innovatory development of an object. The design of the interaction, soundtrack, visual presentation and physical packaging of the project should all be derived from the properties held within the object and its history.
13 Responses to “Simulacrum Blog”
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December 3rd, 2005 at 6:40 pm
From my understanding of the brief I have to find an object that has other social contexts and uses to the one it is intended to have, so to give it different meaning. I think good objects will be things that are a promenent part of everyday life such as computers/internet or mobile phones.
December 4th, 2005 at 6:42 pm
Ive done some more thinking towards the mobile phone idea and there are thousands of uses for a mobile phone and different social contexts surrounding it…i think this would be a great object to use!
December 10th, 2005 at 7:54 pm
After looking into mobile phones and social contexts i came up with some interesting theories about the uses and peoples views. The SIRC (social issues research center) raise some interesting points. there is a whole article on mobile phone social issues and gossip at The sirc website
December 11th, 2005 at 7:57 pm
“Mobile gossip is good for us
Gossip is the human equivalent of ’social grooming’ among primates, which has been shown to stimulate production of endorphins, relieving stress and boosting the immune system. Two-thirds of all human conversation is gossip, because this ‘vocal grooming’ is essential to our social, psychological and physical well-being. Mobiles facilitate gossip. Mobiles have increased and enhanced this vital therapeutic activity, by allowing us to gossip ‘anytime, anyplace, anywhere’ and to text as well as talk. Mobile gossip is an effective and important new stress-buster.”
December 15th, 2005 at 8:58 pm
“Mobile phones are the new garden fence
The space-age technology of mobile phones has allowed us to return to the more natural and humane communication patterns of pre-industrial society, when we lived in small, stable communities, and enjoyed frequent ‘grooming talk’ with a tightly integrated social network. In the fast-paced modern world, we had become severely restricted in both the quantity and quality of communication with our social network. Mobile gossip restores our sense of connection and community, and provides an antidote to the pressures and alienation of modern life. Mobiles are a ’social lifeline’ in a fragmented and isolating world.”
December 16th, 2005 at 9:20 pm
Mobile as ’symbolic bodyguard’. Women use their mobile phones as ’symbolic bodyguards’ when feeling vulnerable in public places - in the way that they used to use a newspaper of magazine as a ‘barrier signal’.
December 18th, 2005 at 9:38 pm
Mobiles let you control your relationships, location and self image.
I found a news article by the BBC on mobile fones and how they are subconciesly used as a tool to control your life.
” Researchers found that mobile phones are primarily devices of control and censorship, allowing people to decide the time and context with which they communicate with the rest of the world.”
“Young women told researchers that mobile phones allowed them to take control over events such as walking home late at night, offering them the comfort of a friendly voice in the dark.
Older women said their mobiles allowed them to keep track of their husbands, while students told researchers that texting provided the perfect solution to a boring lecture.
Children used their mobile phones to ask their friends for advice. They also tended to have strict views on the use of mobile, seeing parents using text messaging as inappropriate. “
December 20th, 2005 at 10:04 pm
After a talk with Katina (tutor for this project) i started to look into a few areas that she suggested. First of all there was the idea of personalisation of devices and the whole ring tone culture. You could go as far as to say that mobile phones look like their owner!
The other idea we came up with was the use of video mobiles to capture crimes and major events such as 9/11 and that most of the footage that exists of the event was captured by the public and a large portion of the footage was captured using mobile phones because thet are always to hand. This could be facilitated by the police as a crime solving tool with the advent of bluetooth and sharing 3g movies. Another major issue at present with video phones is the ‘Happy Slapping’ craze that is shocking the country. This i feel was the better idea to take further as it is happening around us now and it is a use of a phone that has developed since 3G mobile phones have been available and it is obviously not what was intended for this technology.
December 27th, 2005 at 10:40 pm
“Welcome to the disturbing world of the “happy slappers” - a youth craze in which groups of teenagers armed with camera phones slap or mug unsuspecting children or passersby while capturing the attacks on 3g technology.
According to police and anti-bullying organisations, the fad, which began as a craze on the UK garage music scene before catching on in school playgrounds across the capital last autumn, is now a nationwide phenomenon.
And as the craze has spread from London to the home counties to the north of England, so the attacks have become more menacing, with increasing numbers of violent assaults and adult victims.
In London, British Transport police have investigated 200 happy slapping incidents in the past six months, with eight people charged with attacks at south London stations and bus stops in January alone.
The Metropolitan police have no overall figures but recorded a number of attacks in London boroughs earlier this year.
Following a spate of random attacks last December on pupils at Godolphin and Latymer girls’ school in Hammersmith, west London, police posted extra officers in the area as a deterrent.
But as police have become more vigilant, so the gangs have become more sophisticated, seeking victims in parks or public areas where their crimes are unlikely to be spotted by the authorities or captured on CCTV.”
an exerpt from an article on happy slapping from The Guardian
December 28th, 2005 at 10:53 pm
I have started production of the 3D element to the project and I am modelling a mobile phone using 3D Studio Max. This is the first time i have used this program and have only had very minor experience with 3D modeling so I will have to see what it will turn out like! I decided to model a Sony Ericsson K700i as I have one of these phones so it will give a more accurate digital representation of the phone if i can hold the original in my hand. I also think that this is a good phone to use as it has 3G technologies and it facilitates Sony Ericsson’s QUICKSHARE function which makes video clip sharing easy…which is what has contributed to the rapid growth of this ‘craze’.
January 1st, 2006 at 11:16 pm
Now that i have got the Mobile Phone started I am going to start designing the ’simulacrum’ (the space where my object will reside) I have decided on making an advert for the sony ericsson K700i where the use of the phone for happy slapping is highlighted as a primary use of the 3G technology instead of it being something that was developed as a sick pasttime. I will be using Sony ericsson graphics and their logo to simulate a real advert for the phone.
January 5th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
I have finished the 3D model of the phone and am in the process of rendering the different views and exporting quicktime movies for the final advert. a shot of my model is shown below
January 9th, 2006 at 3:47 pm
The project is now finished and is up on my website. see http://www.danlake.com/simulacrum.htm to view the finished article.