Public Sphere: Addressing Ownership of Private and Public Space in a Free Form

YOU&US: WE by Ginny Lee

In Ginny Lee’s room installation YOU&US: WE, 2010, a natural interaction is created within the space and engages the audience, as the audience becomes an essential sculptural element. The physical communication between the painted figures and members of the audience divides the room without a grid or systematic parameters, allowing the audience’s physical contact with the figures to serve as the dividers, creating ‘zones’ and ‘personal space’ in the room.

Existence of personal space is hard to define in a public space but often people consciously or unconsciously find a comfort zone within the space that they interact daily. Lee’s YOU&US: WE opens the discussion of defining such term: personal space within the public, and lets the audience’s interaction to be the guide and source to find and question the means of creating a personal and private space. The installation with the presence of the audience makes it possible to investigate personal space psychologically, physically, and virtually. Therefore virtual but real space like the Internet and its association of the private and public space can be further abstractly commented through Lee’s work. Where is the border between private and public space? Who determines the degree of privacy? Does personal space exist on the Internet? Who owns such ‘personal space’ are left as the questions seeking answers in our daily lives and reinforced through Lee’s YOU&US: WE.

Seamless web: a public sphere supporting America’s obesity

Everyone living in New York City uses or at least knows of Seamless. Formerly Seamless Web, is an online food ordering website that shows hundreds of restaurant around you. Through the website delivery and take out is available. It is convenient to order exactly what you want without speaking to a person and also it weirdly gives you more freedom to order whatever and in options and also in quantity. The website is never judging you. It also shows too many options, people are able to surf the website and find out more and better eats everyday with ratings, pictures, and comments. Taking out food never ends with Seamless. To try out everything on the menu in the many restaurants that you are interested? It will take years. Driving people away from home cooking which is much more healthier than eating out obviously.

The Seamless service is available in New York, London, San Francisco, Los Angles, Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., and more. It is a nationwide phenomenon. With technology advancing, now the mobile app for Seamless is available for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry. Now you can order food anywhere anytime even before you are actually home. The system remembers your past orders and your credit card information. So whatever you want is literally a click away. The system is made so easy for the customers creating a natural addiction out of conveniences. But are we ignoring what we are actually putting in our bodies through Seamless with fascination of its system? This is a public sphere where food becomes the center yet eating does not. As the customers are always thinking, what’s next?

How To Archive the Internet: The problem of the 21st Century

With new technologies flooding every week, month, and year, we forget that the Internet, the center of the creative technologies, is actually a recent phenomenon. The Internet acts as the most accessible public sphere of our time. ‘Information’ is gathered, created, and stored on the Internet. Emails maybe the simplest form of storage on the Internet, we believe that it is permanent but is it really? The idea of storage changed over the last twenty years. Now, to store often includes a computer, hard drive, or more recently the Internet to store and share on such websites like dropbox for any types of file and vimeo for videos. This concept of storage creates business for many by providing a personal space within the public space. It is never secure and personal. We all know that someone somewhere can access any ‘personal’ space on the Internet.

The problem is that nothing is permanent on the Internet. We are unsure of the fast pace advances of technology. While important information is shared on the Internet as well as personal information, it is hard to figure out what information is actually worth to archive. Social networking has became a way of living. Facebook, twitter, tumblr, and more are what people evolve around. While these methods of sharing information embraces the freedom of speech to its maximum and thrives to makes changes, create social movements, making it seem like they can actually make changes. However, people need to understand that everything is being controlled on the Internet by some kind of authority, which works against the spirit of the public sphere and what individuals do on the Internet. The topic of archiving has not been addressed although national and official archives attempt to store the Internet in someway. How to archive and what to archive remain as a problem of the 21^st century has not yet gained enough attention due to the public’s fixation on the ‘cool’ social networking and remain as a problem that many are unaware of.

Disconnected cities

Condoms. Odors. Untouchables…

…Perhaps the first words that come to your mind when I say “prostitutes”.

My banal pictures of sex workers took a turn when I interned with Population Services International, a leading non-profit organization that addresses health problems of vulnerable population in numerous developing countries.

My peers and I visited numerous brothels in Mumbai’s red light district to spread HIV/AIDS awareness amongst sex workers. There were women who were old and young, married and single, frustrated and accommodating - the only common thread was their profession.

Over the 1 month, I got thinking about the design of public space. Kamathipura, Asia’s largest red light district is situated in the midst of ‘downtown’ Mumbai. Yet, when you enter the area, it feels completely isolated from the rest of the city. And majority of the population tries to avoid passing the area at all costs. As if it’s the plague.

How do we interact with our surroundings? I’m sure all of us have areas here in New York that we prefer not to pass through – Harlem, the Bronx, certain areas of Brooklyn perhaps?

 Or perhaps some of us live in areas we hardly venture out of. A friend of mine lives in the theatre district. And treats it like an ‘all for one’ stop. Restaurants, nightlife spots and drug stores are all at walking distance. To top it off, she even walks to her Bryant Park school building. Conveniences win over spending time travelling to other areas, so her knowledge of New York City is more or less limited to what lies in her walking radius.

What is our relationship with our neighborhoods? And what responsibility do we hold to ensure communication between different populations. And further- do we have a moral duty, as informed and well-to-do citizens to reach out to vulnerable populations and appease their situations?

Design in a Box

“Design in a Box” is steadily becoming quite the trend among interior designers. For way too long, top-level design services were a luxury only a select few could afford, but through modern technology a new type of design service is provided, one that is much more budget and time conscious. By virtually submitting room measurements and inspiration images, many homeowners (and renters) can now afford designer services.

Ranging from celebrity designers, such as California’s Windsor Smith to the new and savvy, everyone seems to be jumping on board with the more economical approach. But, not only is it more affordable, it’s also more readily available. Most design projects takes months to complete. Color, furniture, and finishes need to be selected, floor plan needs to be devised, and of course numerous meetings occur between client and the project manager to make sure everyone is on board with the style and end result. The internet and email exchange eliminate timely meetings, and strike the cost per hour of a designer. Of course, the loss of client meetings do cause some loss in the design scope, but overall this new virtual product allows access to good design for all.

- Amelia Stein

the life of a blogger

Life style blogs follow the lives of women (and occasionally men as well) in more intricate detail than most people provide to their closest friends and family. Private thoughts, daily encounters, how to bake the best brownie, manage your finances, keep the flame alive with your husband, and even the most intimate (and disturbing) discussions are shared.To some degree, its way too much. Shouldn't some things still be held personal, not made available to wide world web of people?

The women who have successfully turned their blogs into viable businesses deserve applause, though. Grabbing the interests of busy women circling the the globe, and distracting them from their own busy lives through posts of "finding the perfect red lipstick" or "trendy nail polish trends" takes talent. By endorsing products or businesses, in return they receive the perks of free trips, books, or best, straight cash. So, should we be trusting these spokeswomen? Should we waste hours away on their site, clicking through instagram photos of "the best cookie you'll ever have!" or "where to find the best bra?"

The attitude is friendly, the writers treat their readers and fellow bloggers as if they are their closet friends. To me, this is the weirdest part, for in most cases no has actually ever met (as in real bodily interaction). Is the entire relationship virtual? Can we trust these 21st Century "friendships?"

-Amelia Stein

To the Hipsters That Are Too Cool for Social Networking: Why Social Media is GOOD

Recently, there has been a growing trend of unplugging from the social networking realm. More and more, people are logging off Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. And there are a variety of reasons, whether it being privacy issues, or just feeling overwhelmed by your web-presence.

But you realize you can control your own involvement in social media platforms, right?

As for me, when I like something, I love it. And I love social networking. But, I’ve always been told that “too much of anything is bad.” Too much TV is bad. Too much exercising is bad. Even too much vitamins is bad.

Similarly, too much social media, is bad. Sure you may feel like you are more or less present, more or less human, or even more or less naked.

Nonetheless, you can’t deny that social networking has brought some positive effects to our society. One area of progression for sure is social networking for business. It’s a great marketing tool, in which businesses can advertise and connect with fans for free or at a very low cost. It’s also a great way for trend analyzers and branding agencies to see buzzwords or what’s trending.

More importantly, it helps people stay connected with one another. Acting like a modern-day public sphere, a social networking platform can provoke thoughts, debates, inspirations ideas, etc. (like our class blog!) It can also inform news—general, professional, or personal. And it can even help you reconnect with your long lost childhood friend.

As long as you can balance how much you use it, social media can be a beautiful thing. So tweet on...

- Nina

My Timeline of Social Networking

Remember back in the days when we would write actually letters to each other through the mail?!

I don’t.

Quite frankly, I’ve been using the Internet as a means of communication and social networking for as long as I can remember (minus our phones, of course).

I actually remember my very first blog, Xanga. I was only 12. (And I think 12-year-old kids on Facebook these days are ridiculous!) But hey, everyone was doing it, and all my friends had one. We would use it literally like an online diary, writing what we did, how we feel, etc. And of course commenting each other.

And then came MySpace. I was 13. (Isn’t the minimum requirement age 14?!) Anyways, MySpace was the thing back then! It was the first site we used most similarly to Facebook. But of course, it—like most social networking fads back then—died out within a couple of years.

Ah, the good ol’ Facebook. Okay a little late, but I got my Facebook when I was a ripened 15-year-old! (Just kidding, still young.) I’m probably the biggest fan of Facebook. I admit, I’m addicted. It’s the first thing I check when I wake up, and the last thing I see before I fall asleep. Since moving to New York (from Cali), it’s the best way to keep in touch with old friends. I love posting photos of places I go, foods I eat, and statuses like “That awkward moment when…”. Additionally, since I am a PR/Marketing intern at Edun, I would most often post links or shares about Edun and my boss loves it when my friends comment on them. Facebook has definitely been the longest lasting social networking sites I have committed to, and probably will commit to.

And finally, Twitter. I’m actually a newbie to Twitter. I got it only a few months ago actually, but have been tweeting like a maniac ever since. However, I don’t use it quite use it the same way that I use Facebook. I use Facebook to connect with friends, and Twitter to connect with celebrities, companies, places, etc. It’s harder to be more personal on Twitter since, like I would always say “Twitter is like Facebook on crack.”

- Nina

^ What kind of blogger are you? (comment below :)

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The color in you

If like me, you have a sweet tooth, you know all too well about those moments when every ounce of your being is overwhelmed by the desire to taste chocolate or bite into a spongy cake. If you’re a smoker or a coffee drinker, you’re no doubt familiar with the strong cravings that take over your mind and you can’t think of anything else till you’re crying craving is pacified. Cravings often arise at the oddest times in the most peculiar places, and I can’t help wonder what sets them off.

After stumbling across a couple of articles about branding and colors, I believe our subconscious minds control almost all of our behavior.

Ever wondered why you can’t resist that extra sundae at McDonalds, even if you’re so full you’re about to burst? Blame it on the logo’s colors. 

Exposure to the color red is proven to stimulate your appetite. The yellow ‘M” makes you feel happy and warm. Surrounded by the famous ‘M’ and the fast food chain’s red thatched roofs, you can’ t help but feel passion and hunger.  

Color is probably the most powerful non-verbal form of communications designers take advantage of. They create an instantaneous method of conveying meaning and message through logo design.

While Swarovski’s grey swan represents the company’s respect and authority, IBM’s blue conjures up success and security.

                            

Are designers taking advantage of our vulnerability? It is almost scary to think about how we are unknowingly constantly affected by the colors around us that shape our actions one way or another.

The next time you are deciding what color to paint your room, take a minute to think about your decision. If you still to wake up to an energizing red, you may also want a blue vase to calm your hunger pangs!