Depth over Distance
Depth Distance over
Art proposal by Katherine Joelle Walker
Depth over Distance
Art proposal developed for the Fundación Botín (Botín Foundation) of Madrid and Santander 2019, published on Issuu, Almería, 2019.
Depth over Distance
Depth over Distance is a social investigation that analyses current hotspots of conflict around the world, the results of which will be represented via artistic language. The investigation’s hypothesis is that there is an inverse relationship between tolerance and social conflict. An experiment consisting in a temporary exchange between subjects from different cultures will be carried out to study how the journeys affect their mindsets. These psychological nuances will by shown by means of before and after portraits with a hope to capture nuances which conventional measuring tools cannot. The results of the investigation will be disseminated by means of exhibits in the countries involved.
Depth over Distance
INVESTIGATION BREAKDOWN
PROJECT MEMORANDUM
Introduction
1.
Problem Statement
The growing tension between collectives of different ideologies has triggered famine, war, social inequality and, ultimately, violent conflict within the eight hotspots that have been chosen as object of study for the development of this investigation: Africa; China; India and Pakistan; Japan and Korea; the Middle East; Russia; South America; and the USA.
The aggression caused by intolerance between different races, cultures and ideologies has been damaging humanity for generations and is making it more difficult for us to work together as a species to repair the harm done to the planet. Mentions are made of current examples of conflict like those happening in Korea, Russia, USA, Africa and all land affected by fights between opposing convictions. Despite the geographical distance between these stand-offs, a common denominator can be extracted: intolerance towards otherness which, in extreme cases, triggers military confrontation. Furthermore, recent events in Europe and the Middle East have sown panic in the general public, giving way to mistrust and contributing to an increase in intransigence.
2.
Exposition of the Hypothesis
Regardless of the differences between beliefs, cultures and ways of seeing reality, all human beings share the same needs, namely physiological requirements, security, membership, recognition and self-realisation (Maslow, 1943). Therefore the hypothesis is: there is an inverse relationship between tolerance and social conflict, so to say, more tolerance equals less social conflict.
Objective
To corroborate this theory an experiment is proposed which would be entrusted to a specialist with a view to conducting a precise study of the relationship between variables.
The key objective of Depth over Distance is to foster tolerance between ideologies through a quasiexperimental investigation method, meaning that the individuals will be selected purposefully instead of randomly. The results of this experiment will be transmitted by way of art with the aim of extending social awareness and understanding.
3.
Definition of Variables
X = tolerance Y = social conflict Two clearly differentiated cultures (A and B) will be taken to measure the relationship between the variables X and Y. These cultures will be determined by prior analysis of the main areas of conflict and subjects from opposing places will be chosen to participate in a temporary exchange programme.
Some conflict between social groups is caused by intolerance and a lack of empathy towards individuals with antagonistic cultures, values and beliefs. If the hypothesis described in the next section can be corroborated it could be the first step towards achieving greater social cohesion on an international scale.
The variables herein exhibited are but a draft of what they should actually be, therefore the parameters of this experiment will be transferred to an expert in the matter so the statistics can be developed with the greatest possible accuracy and credibility.
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Depth over Distance
4.
Control of Variables
Development Phases 24 July 2019 - 25 September 2019 1st Select volunteers for the experiment and retrieve the required initial data: first
Selection of Participants: the sample population will be chosen with the previous analysis in mind. Behaviour towards the Subjects: the investigator endeavours to treat all volunteers in a neutral manner to reduce sway on the results. Transfer of Volunteers: each participant’s trip will have the same duration. Experience Credibility: the individuals who take part in the experiment will do so by staying in the place of residence of the volunteer with which they are temporarily trading places. Reflection Time: each subject will have the same period of time to reflect upon the experiences they have had in the opposing country before being interviewed and photographed for a second time.
5.
nd
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6.
7.
Choosing a Quasi-experimental Format
8.
9.
15 January2020 - 15 February 2020
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Compare retrieved data to confirm or reject hypothesis.
5th
Develop a series of portraits that show the subjects before and after their journeys.
th
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Procedure and Data Retrieval
Statistical Processing of Data
15 February 2020 - 15 June 2020
starting on 15 June 2020
Publish and freely disseminate the created images and project conclusions, portraying the project as both artwork and sociological study with political ends.
Dates
The project will start on Monday 8 July 2019 with a more in-depth study of the diverse cultures to be investigated by means of this artistic and societal proposal. To get volunteers from around the world a trip has been planned: starting on Monday 24 July 2019 with a flight from Almeria, Spain to New York and finishing on Wednesday 25 September 2019 upon arriving back in Almería from Saint Petersburg. The consequent exchange programme will take place between 15 October 2019 and 15 December 2019, said trips will be 1-2 weeks long but a period of two months has been established to facilitate this part of the experiment. The second interviews and photo sessions of the volunteers will be held between 15 December 2019 and 15 January 2020. From then until 15 February the retrieved data will be studied and compared and culminate in the development of associated artwork between 15 February 2020 and 10 June 2020.
Generalisation
The language of art, focused on before and after portraits, will be used to spread the results to a broader audience. The created images will firstly be exhibited in the space pertaining to the Botín Foundation, followed by art centres in the implicated countries and then published on online platforms and social networks with a link providing more information to the largest possible number of people.
15 December2019 - 15 January 2020
Retrieve proof of any psychological change that has occurred in each subject by means of a second interview and photo session.
th
After the experiment, the participants will be interviewed and photographed for a second time (the first time having taken place before the respective journeys) to capture any psychological change which may occurred. The data will be statistically analysed with the greatest possible degree of objectivity before being disseminated to the public.
Temporarily exchange participants’ places.
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All subjects will be treated impartially, the project will be explained in a similar manner and they will be welcomed to participate in the experiment. A record of stimuli and response will be taken in all cases, either by filming or taking note of their answers, according to the disposition of each volunteer.
15 October 2019 - 15 December 2019
rd
Seeing as the topic of study covers both tangible and intangible elements, the method used must be adapted; in this case the scientific investigation procedure will be combined with art. This experiment will use a pair format, chosen from within the eight main conflict hotspots: the USA, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan and India, Korea and Japan, China, and Russia.
interview and photo session.
Depth over Distance will technically conclude with the delivery of the Project Memorandum to the Botín Foundation on Wednesday 10 December 2020. However, the final phase, which will start on 15 June 2020, will be to exhibit the work in the space provided by the organisation and in other countries that have participated in the experiment as well as providing free access to the information by publishing it online.
Prediction
The subjects will become more tolerant upon experiencing an opposing culture and their perspective of the world will broaden, leading to their behaviour becoming more open-minded. 5
Depth over Distance
1st USA
4th The Middle East
The most attractive part of this destination from the experiment’s point of view is the short term effects of the recent change in immigration policies. The USA had an open border for many decades, giving way to the free circulation of people and leading to a “pull” effect which added to the country’s prosperity. In spite of this and the country’s migratory history, the recent changes in policy made by the presidential cabinet make for an interesting point of study between conflicting ideologies.
The Middle East is a high conflict area due to its geographic location and the concentration of great civilisations here over the course of history. Intolerance between the many collectives of differing faiths is the greatest contributor to military confrontation. Hotspots of particular interest are mentioned below. The War in Yemen
Cities of interest: Los Ángeles, Chicago, Nueva York, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver and Miami as they are known for
2nd
The continued conflict in Syria
having the most cultural diversity in the country
The Gulf Crisis (Iraq/Kuwait) The stand-off between Iran and the States The conflict between Israel and Palestine which includes but is not limited
DESTINATIONS 1-4
to the control of Jerusalem, the holiest land of three of the most popular religions in human civilisation: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Most interesting conflict hotspots for this experimental investigation
South America Conflict hotspots in South America: Brasil: many examples of intolerance (towards women, the LGBT community and dark-skinned Brazilians) coexist under
3rd Africa
right-wing leadership. Venezuela: the economic recession continues to worsen and the increasingly limited access to food is
Current areas of conflict:
causing social tension. Mexico: in December 2019 the President of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened to
“completely close” the border between Mexico and USA if Congress didn’t approve the
Somalia: the civil war has lead to a death toll of 500 000 since its beginning in 1991.
funding for the wall project.
Nigeria: the conflict between Islam and Christianity has intensified the instability of the
Nicaragua: the director of the charitable organisation Amnesty
country and, in
International of the Americas said “Nicaragua is going through
2009, the Jihadist group Boko Haram took advantage of this situation to start an insurgence which has since expanded to
one of the worst human rights crises in its recent
Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
history.”
Ethiopia: violence, famine and disease sweep through the country and neighbouring
Each and every one of these places
nations due to discrepancies in terms
in different phases of western
of religion.
globalisation would give way to a
Mali: an ethnic cleansing took place on
broader perspective of the
25 March 2019.
citizens of South America and their respective
ideologies.
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Depth over Distance
5th Pakistan and India
8th Russia
The border between India and Pakistan is around 2000 miles long and the mistrust between the two countries is just as extensive. Said mistrust is further exacerbated by the presence of nuclear weapons in both nations. Despite being antagonistic countries, perhaps the most engaging aspect for the experiment will be the many independent tribes which have prospered around the great rivers and in close contact with the millions of Muslims that migrated to the area after the withdrawal of the British. Some of the most fascinating examples of these tribes are the Sikhs, Hindus and the various civilisations which founded their cities on the banks of the rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra who have lived together in relative peace despite their ideological discrepancies.
The etymological origin of “Russia” is that which is vast; of great area or immense extension and that is precisely what it is: the largest country in the world, twice as big as the USA or China. Though it appears democratic its leadership shows an authoritarian nature and the increase of hate-crimes is of special interest to the project. They are usually directed towards human rights activists, the LGBT community, supporters of equality and members or supporters of Amnesty International, often in front of members of the police force who do not attempt to intervene.
Cities of interest: Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Moscow, Kazan,
Yekaterinburg, Volgograd (previously Stalingrad) and Novosbirsk
DESTINATIONS 5-8
Most interesting conflict hotspots for this experimental investigation
Cities of interest: Gilgit-Baltisan, Multan, Tharparkar and the Kalash Valleys in
7th Japan and Korea
Pakistan; and Jaipur, Varanasi, Udaipur, Delhi, Chennai, Agra, Kolkata and Mumbai
The tension between Japan and Korea traces back to the many attempts of invasion made by Japan which were successful in 1910 and lead to Korean language, history and religion being banned.
in India. 1
7th 6th China
Japan and Korea
China “has the longest continued history of any country in the world” (American Historial Association. 2019) which is being destabilised by the Han Chinese occupation of Tibet. There is also conflict in the semi-autonomous region of Xinjiang and its native mainly Muslim population of Uyghurs. On another note, it would be of great benefit to study the differences between Eastern and Western thought, as where the west focuses on the rights of the individual, Chinese ideology prioritises the collective over the person and considers that what we call “human rights” to be “threatening theories that 1 Tim Marshall, the author of Prisoners of Geogracould endanger the majority.”1 phy, had an interview with a Chinese ambassador who asked him “Why do you think your values would work in a culture that you don’t know?” (MARSHALL, 2016:49). This question is linked to the main intentions of the project at hand, suggesting that a higher level of understanding between divergent cultures could improve international relations.
Japan, on the other hand, has never been fully invaded which is perhaps why its culture and ideology have held strong for hundreds of generations. Yet the impact of the events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki has lead to changes in the civilisation’s mentality towards foreign nations. Popular history dates the origin of Korea back to the year 2333 AC when it was created by divine design, yet the initial intentions are clouded by its current reality. Nowadays Korea is the least democratic state in the world, lead by a dynasty and one political party. Satellite images also show at least 150 000 political prisoners in work and re-education camps, yet the isolation of North Korea makes it hard to draw any concrete conclusions as to what may be happening there. Cities of interest: Kyoto, Tokyo, Takayama, Kanagaiua, Nikko and Hiroshima (Japan) and Seoul, Gyeongsu, Boseong (South Korea) - in spite of how interesting it would be to visit North Korea, visitation rights can only be authorised by the government under special circumstances and all footage recorded, or suspected to have been recorded in the nation must be processed and censored if considered pertinent. Any breach in these
Cities of interest: Xi’an, Hong Kong, Yangshuo, Chengdu, Shaxi, Xiahe, Beijing and Shanghai
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rules is considered a serious crime and entails different degrees of punishment, starting with incarceration.
Depth over Distance
Total Estimated for National Transport: £2213
ITINERARY AND BUDGET International Transport (flights) Total: £4223
According to previous experience it is impossible to foresee exact costs before they take place so an estimation has been provided based on public transport fees.
Almeria (LEI) - New York (JFK) / Monday 24 June / £408 British Airways and Norwegian with a stopover in Gatwick (LGW)
Total Estimated for Accommodation: £1919
San Francisco (SFO) - Cartagena de Indias (CTG) / Saturday 6 July / £303 Copa Airlines with a stopover in Panama City (PTY) Río de Jainero (GIG) - Cape Town (CPT) / Thursday 18 July / £250 Taag with a stopover in Luanda (LAD)
Hostels will be the source of accommodation in the hope meeting as many people as possible to contribute to wider dissemination of the project. To calculate the cost of the stay between 24 June and 16 September (82 nights) we must take into account the fact that the price of a night’s stay will vary between 15-40 euros per night according to the destination country, given this information the average estimate is £23 per person per night.
Cape Town (CPT) - Lalibela (LLI) / Sunday 21 July / £412 Ethiopian Airlines with two stopovers in Adís Abeba (ADD) and Bahir Dar (BJR) Lalibela (LLI) - Cairo (CAI) / Wednesday 24 July / £272 Ethiopian Airlines with a stopover in Adís Abeba (ADD) Cairo (CAI) - Tel Aviv (TLV) / Monday 29 July / £171 Royal Jordanian with a stopover in Amman (AMM)
Estimated Total Cost for Food: £1047
Tel Aviv (TLV) - Amman (AMM) / Thursday 1 August / £231 Royal Jordanian direct flight
During the trip food will be purchased from budget shops and supermarkets. To come up with a plausible budget we must bear in mind that the price of food varies between countries, the daily cost will be £4-21 with an average of £13.
Amman (AMM) - Beirut (BEY) / Saturday 3 August / £140 MEA direct flight Beirut (BEY) - Baghdad (BGW) / Monday 5 August / £117 MEA direct flight
Estimated total for the project’s first phase: £9402
Baghdad (BGW) - Teheran (IKA) / Thursday 8 August / £266 Qatar Airways with a stopover in Hamad (DOH) Teheran (IKA) - Lahore (LHE) / Monday 12 August / £317 Qatar Airways with a stopover in Hamad (DOH)
The rest of the project’s funds will be used to transfer volunteers and compile information.
Lahore (LHE) - Madras (MAA) / Sunday 18 August / £459 Qatar Airways with a stopover in Mascate (MCT) Madrás (MAA) - Kunmig (KMG) / Friday 23 August / £195 Thai Airways with a stopover in Bangkok (DMK)
To transfer the participants, flights and transport to the set residence will be required, though a budget for living costs won’t be necessary due to the programme’s exchange format. A second interview and photo session will be the main method of gathering information regarding the psychological change undergone by each subject.
Handan (HDG) - Seúl (ICN) / Wednesday 4 September / £209 China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines with a stopover in Shanghai (PVG) Seoul (ICN) - Hiroshima (HIJ) / Monday 9 September / £216 Asiana Airlines and ANA with a stopover and airport change in Tokyo (TYO) Tokyo (NRT) - Vladivostok (VVO) / Monday 16 September / £175 Aeroflot direct flight Saint Petersburg (LED) - Almeria (LEI) / Wednesday 25 September / £150 Czech Airlines, operated by Smart Wings, with a stopover in Prague (PRG)
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Depth over Distance
Grounds for the Investigation Project Advisability: If the hypothesis were confirmed it would entail a step towards fostering social cohesion by means of developing interpersonal tolerance. All previously analysed problems in the various conflict hotspots could have the same solution: extending intercultural tolerance.
Generation of Profits: The main benefit of this project would be to achieve the well-being of the species by means of social cohesion between differing cultures, beliefs and ideologies.
Practical Value: The results of the investigation will be represented via artwork such as portraits of the subjects who take part in the experiment, it will be of notable interest to compare before and after portraits of the subjects to show possible changes undergone in their psyches. The exhibit of these works will be both physical (such as an exhibit in the space provided by the BotĂn Foundation) and then virtual, as it will be freely accesible via different online platforms with the objective of attaining wider social awareness.
Theoretical Value: The theoretical value of Depth over Distance lies in the re-education and reintegration of people in a progressively global world where numerous collectives live side by side with their respective differences and discrepancies, which, over the course of time, should no longer be a conflict trigger.
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Depth over Distance
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBLIOGRAPHY
APPELBAUM, Steven H., SHAPIRO, Barbara and ELBAZ, David, 1998. The management of multicultural group conflict. Yorkshire: Team Performance Management: An International Journal.
(2019, April 28). List of ongoing armed conflicts. Wikipedia. Taken from: https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_armed_conflicts (2019, April 26). Esri Story Maps y PeaceTech Lab. Terrorist Attacks. California: Esri Terrorist Attacks. Taken from: https://storymaps.esri.com/stories/terrorist-attacks/
AVRUCH, Kevin, 2014. Cross-cultural conflict. Arlington: Institute for Conflict Analysis & Resolution, George Mason University. AVRUCH, Kevin, 1998. Culture & Conflict Resolution. Washington: US Institute of Peace Press.
LETH, Asger. [TV 2 Danmark]. (2017, January 27). All That We Share [Video file]. Taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD8tjhVO1Tc
BLOOM, Sandra and FARRAGHER, Brian, 2011. Destroying Sanctuary: The Crisis in Human Service Delivery Systems. Online: Oxford Scholarship Online.
ROTH, Kenneth. Ukraine: Events of 2018. Human Rights Watch (HRW). Taken from: https://www. hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/ukraine
DEUTSCH, Morton, COLEMAN, Peter and MARCUS, Eric C., 2006. The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practise. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
PIERCE, Sarah, BOLTER, Jessica and SELEE, Andrew. (2018). U.S. Immigration Policy under Trump: Deep Changes and Lasting Impacts. Taken from: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/ research/us-immigration-policy-trump-deep-changes-impacts
FISHER, Ron, 2000. Sources of Conflict and Methods of Conflict Resolution. Washington: The American University.
Visual Dataset Filter. African Defense Review. Taken from: https://maps.africandefence. net/?year From=2015 &yearTo=2019&actor=&country=&type=&fatalities=10
MARSHALL, Tim, 2016. Prisoners of Geography. London: Eilliott and Thompson Ltd.
American Historial Association. (2019). The Oldest Living Civilization. Taken from: https:// www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/gi-roundtable-series/ pamphlets/em-42-our-chinese-ally-(1944)/the-oldest-living-civilization
MASLOW, A. H. 1943. A theory of human motivation. Washington D.C.: Psychological Review APA. MONAGHAN, Leila, GOODMAN, Jane E. and ROBINSON, Jennifer M., 2012. A Cultural Approach to Interpersonal Communication: Essential Readings. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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reference photograph taken in Copenhagen
Gozo
2019 oil on cotton 21.3 x 28.7 ’’ reference photograf taken on the island of Gozo
Antes (before) 2019 graphite on paper 16.5 X 23,4’’
this drawing was sketched after a live model photo session