PROJECT 1 - investigation-Collingwood In Collingwood we found that the dominant informal urban practices were graffiti and public art. The demographics of Collingwood allowed this to happen, young trendy people eating at cafes and drinking at bars who appreciate the graffiti and public art as art and not vandalism. I was also somewhat dissapointed to see the amount of graffiti that was commissioned by shops as their advertising, which seemed like a ploy by the retailers to try and fit in further to the culture of the area. One other part of Collingwood are the commission housing and high mix of ethnicity. From aboriginal, to Sudanese and Somalian, to the Vietnamese community. When we spoke to the community worker on Smith St, she described how in the past the cultures had clashed, but due to community projects such as hip hop classes, kick boxing and boxing that the tension had relieved somewhat and the community was functioning a lot better, due to the work of bringing them off the street and into community places shared by the public
PROJECT 4- Market trading- Degraves underpass, Fed Square, Hosier Lane, Workshop This project was a very interesting one. At first i felt that we were not going to achieve a result that would help me communicate, but after each place we moved to, I was able to speak more freely and gathered a much better understanding of the interests of the other students undertaking the course. I enjoyed the public reaction, especially the guy who asked what we were handing around, then when asked if he wanted a card, he would not take one and just kept mumbling. The end of the class lead some of us to the workshop where it felt like the walls of the classroom had been shed and the talking about the projects opened up into a much more free situation.
PROJECTOR BIKE The projector bike was a fun experience, it seemed to capture the attention of the non involved public view well. It was something everyone could be involved in, whether you walked in half way through or right from the start, the viewers took great interest into the videos. Especially on Franklin St. This activity inspired me to see that you can easily involve the public, and i feel the environment created by the projector bike was one that did this well.
PROJECT 3-Intervention-Collingwood For this assignment we intended to have small facts about the Melbourne and Collingwood area, which we passed on inturn receiving a conversation. This attempt was unsuccessful and we turned to occupying a space, and starting a conversation with a passer by or someone stationary in a public place. We attempted this on a Sunday afternoon when most people are relaxing and also on a Monday night where people are rushing home from work. We found on the Sunday people were more willing to stop than on the Monday because they were there to relax, not to stop off at the supermarket and get dinner supplies before rushing off home as was the case on the Monday. In Collingwood we found that people did not completely understand the formal and informal of public space, and were mostly intrigued by the graffiti around the area. We saw many buskers and there were plenty of street stalls which add to the culture of the area that no one seemed to take any interest to.
PROJECT 2-Intervention-State Library-�FREE TWISTER� For this project we thought we would take the fun approach, providing a free game for the public to play. We tried this on a sunny Sunday afternoon on the lawn at the State library. It was a success, the board was only vacant for about 15-20 minutes of the two and a half hours it was available. The people who played were teenagers, one group playing for almost an hour. We found there was a tentitiveness to play, this could be due to many things, for example the informalness of the board and our sign was something that is not often seen in the public domain. The passers by could have thought it was private property and did not want to interfere with someone elses stuff. Being Melbourne the sunny weather did not hold and we were eventually forced to remove the board because it was flying away.
FINAL PROJECT- PUBLIC CONFESSION BOOTH When i selected this studio i had a much different view to what i currently have of informal urban practices. I, like the people I observed in Collingwood had a tendency to think about graffiti as a common informal urban practice. But i now consider other things much more interesting, like the parking day performance and projector bike. The things i have found have lead me to this notion of the public confession booth. The test of what will people be willing to divulge? Will it be used? Will it be vandalised? What feelings will this booth give the user? The creation of a private place, in the urban landscape will hopefully create a new view of the urban landscape to the user. By being inclosed in the private space of the booth, alone, the noises they hear, the smells they smell, and the things they have seen will come together and due to this seperation from the monotony of the cities foot traffic, they will be able to relax and reflect.
ELLIOT HENKEL #3236909