about instant
INSTANT An infinitesimal or very short space of time; a moment: Occurring, done, or prepared with a minimal amount of time and effort; produced rapidly and with little preparation: Designed to act or produce results quickly or immediately:
FAST SIMPLIFICATION EASY DISPOSABLE VANISH SHORT TIME TEMPORARY MIDDLINGNESS SUPERFICIAL
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F / T
HURRY, HURRY, HURRY
Seoul, subway moving walk
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superficial F
being at, on, or near the surface: shallow; not profound or thorough:
A 15 floor hotel built in only 6 days, China
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HURRY, HURRY, HURRY
F / E / T
HURRY, HURRY, HURRY
coin dryer machine Starbucks, Eindhoven station structure of table
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Instant gratification
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E / F
convenient store 24 hours, 365 days open
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INSTANT GRATIFICATION
E / F
A bomb drink
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INSTANT GRATIFICATION
F / E
INSTANT GRATIFICATION
Ringer's solution propofol fast recovery, fast fall asleep
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E / F
street full of pleasure
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INSTANT GRATIFICATION
F / E / SI
INSTANT GRATIFICATION
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E / T / O
EASY COME, EASY GO
flash mob city yoga stranger’s gathering in the city
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SI / E / F
AutoWed Wedding machine by Concept Shed instant wedding
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EASY COME, EASY GO
F / E EASY COME, EASY GO
Point of view installation by aram bartholl dropbox, instant sharing
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SU / E / F
Instant knowledge
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EASY COME, EASY GO
F / E / SU
EASY COME, EASY GO
usb stick, instant storage of information real time searching ranking
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Disposable Vanish Short time use
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D / E / F
Dole banana vending machine
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DISPOSABLE
D / E / F
DISPOSABLE
disposable cup one time use
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F / E / D
Canned food Commodified disposable water
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DISPOSABLE
D / E / F
DISPOSABLE
DRM Chair by les Sugus 8 times use only
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F / E / D
disappearing instantly
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DISPOSABLE
T/D/ E / F
DISPOSABLE
pop up store, H&M Casa umbrella by Kuma Kenko
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F / E / D/T
Disposable building material, water in the plastic
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DISPOSABLE
F / E / T
DISPOSABLE
Floating teahouse by Kuma Kekgo
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F / E / D/T
Portable toilet Eindhoven
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DISPOSABLE
D / E / F
DISPOSABLE
IKEA camera
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V
Rebirth after reading, Friends of nature Ink will disappear after 72 hours
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DISPOSABLE
Superficial relationship
F / E / SU
anonymous relationship
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SUPERFICIAL
SU / E
SUPERFICIAL
Avatar school in Japan
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F / E / SU
Red light district intant sex
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SUPERFICIAL
D / E / F
SUPERFICIAL
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F / SI / E / SU
◀ Gay flash collection by Frank Schallmaier ▲ communication with images
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SUPERFICIAL
SU / M / T
lost in translation, 2003 fluid society
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F / E / SU
onlie dating
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F / E SIMILARITY
M / D / E / F
trend, fast fashion world wide
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F / E / M
copy and paste sturcture of mall design
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SIMILARITY
V
SIMILARITY
Cosmetic surgery
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F / SI / D / SU
superficial education study for the score
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SIMILARITY
Unrepeatable, irreplaceable experience in the Instant culture Research about speed and disposability
Convenient store and banana There is a kind of supermarket so called convenient store in Korea. It is a small space where only a small amount of people can get in and it offers almost everything, including daily necessities and various services. We can taste unimaginable diverse food in many different way, but more instant way. The services they offer increased from normal commodities like stocking and magazines to photo print and laundry management. When I first came to Europe, I was surprised by the fact that every store close at 6 so I need to buy in advance before they close. Now I adopted to this life so I don’t feel any inconvenience anymore, but in Seoul Korea, where I used to live, I could see the convenient store in every 10 minutes. Whenever I worked late and needed to stay up all night, the light of the stores was always turned on and I never worried about my hunger. It is a place where they open 24 hours, 365 days and we can go whenever we want and get whatever we want. A convenient store is a symbol of modern society which follow our basic desire, convenience.
INSTANT SOCIETY
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In this convenient store, ‘banana’ is one of the bestselling fruit. In fact, the banana was firstly imported in the 1960s and only a minority of rich people could eat it. However, nowadays the banana is highly consumed and gain popularity for the taste and nutrition. The interesting fact is that even though all amounts of banana is imported from other countries, it holds first place among the fruit consumption in Korea. We can easily pill out without tools and there is no seeds or liquid which interrupts from eating. Furthermore, banana is hard so that it is easy to carry. For this reason, it is packed one by one and sold not only in the cafes like Starbucks, but also from the vending machine. This tropical fruit from foreign countries which is easily consumed and thrown away become a giant instant fruit in half century.
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INSTANT SOCIERY
A convenient store and banana I explained earlier represent ‘instant society’, which includes the meaning of fast, simple and standardized convenient culture. More than Europe, East Asia has been developed by economic growth in just half century and it make people think that we need to produce the best output within the shortest amount of time. This rapid transformation has been created a culture of “instant” where our desires, global-local exchanges, technologies and our instant gratification dominate our society and behavior. Instant society move really fast to follow the speed of people’s desire. The word of ‘instant’ includes the concept of the moment and fast, but when it combines with social context, it also includes unnatural and abnormal social features. Alessandro Baricco described the modern society in his book ‘The Barbarians’ that “Simplification, superficiality, speed, middlingness. As instinct for secularization that pulverizes the sacred into myriad lighter, more prosaic intensities.” This is well described explanation of instant society.
“Simplification, superficiality, speed, middlingness. As instinct for secularization that pulverizes the sacred into myriad lighter, more prosaic intensities.”
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AutoWed Wedding machine by Concept Shed This is a coin-operated wedding machine which dispenses a pair of plastic wedding rings and a personalized receipt to newlyweds.
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INSTANT SOCIERY
Another me, indirect communication Everything moves fast in an instant society. Communication is not an exception. A way of communication has been changed with the evolution of technology, and the transformation has been more dramatic in a half century. We have a chat with a person who are living in the opposite part of the earth through Skype and we share various opinions through social networks. A new way of communication utterly changed our method and range of making a relationship. We link with people easily by the internet and it brings huge possibilities. But we also disconnect our link easily at the same time. We can make one day date mate through the instant meeting and we chat with instant message. These fragmented and light relationship bring us a question about the quality and persistency of relationship.
Gay flash collection by Frank Schallmaier Frank Schallmaier started collecting and categorizing pictures from various gay social media. Technology and it’s online platforms are encouraging communication through images; faces of online profiles are deleted by flash or defaced by technology.
Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman created a concept ‘liquid modernity’ which explains solid and sophisticated system, including strong ties among the human have been melting like liquid. Moreover, internet accelerates the speed of melting. In the internet, we are all connected under the anonymity, but everything happens based on utter privacy. So we create another me, which might be real me in the virtual reality. In fact, the media was created to solve our limit of direct communication and it brings tremendous opportunities in a way of connection. However, recently it is concerned as one of the elements which collapse the real communication. In Asian culture, there is a group of people so called Hikikomori who refuse to hang out with people and only stay at home. They can do whatever they want at home, and they can satisfy their needs in different way. Furthermore, in Japan many young students are suffering from attending school so avatar school will be opened in a few months. These phenomena are somehow dramatic, but we can imagine easily from the new generation who are growing up with electronic machines so it is concerned as a serious social issue. 56
INSTANT SOCIERY
Hikikomori group / Avatar school in Japan Young generation starts to communicate only through the online and avoid having serious relationship. The fact is that it’s possible to live without any contact with people because they can do everything through the internet
Someday, I read an article saying that a new generation who are growing up with smart technology will be getting in trouble when they talk face to face because they don’t know how they can properly react on a person, not a machine. The third trimester project is an experiment about alternative ways of communication in those societies. In the virtual reality, we can create ‘another me’. In this context, a mirror is a physical object which creates a reflective ‘another me’. It has a similar characteristic with a screen of electronics that what we see from a mirror or computer screen is just a 2d image. We can say the features on the screen or mirror are really them, but actually they’re not them because they can disappear if we break it. Reflections campaign by Tom Hussey Tome based his photo series around the idea of growing old and reflecting back on our previous selves in the mirror. Mirror shows the images of how we look like, but it can be a metaphor of image of self
Usually people who have a difficulty in showing themselves and communication hide their face with mask to encourage themselves. Not only the mask, another me made by mirror can be an alternative tool for them like physically existing virtual reality. It is a project started from the question “Can a mirror as a physical tool bring me freedom by creating another me when I have face to face communication?”
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Subway, fast and de-linked Subway is the most popular transportation in Korea. Like a bike for Dutch, subway connects Seoul closely and exist as a foot for people. In fact, Korea subway is quite interesting that it is a space which shows multiple instant cultures. Most common phenomenon in the instant society is speed. Whenever I went back to Korea from other countries, my walking tempo was changed into almost running as soon as I arrived at the airport. Even considering high density and lower part of public space, it’s still too much. What is worse is that in the subway station, which is full of people, people run on the moving walk like a machine. Actually transportation station is a place where people temporary stay, and it’s a medium area where people just go through to reach their destination. Even though, people fed up under the speed competition and desire for place to breathe.
INSTANT SOCIETY
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Seoul, Subway Fast, link to the other people or space
Same as speed, it’s commonly shown that most of people are diving into the small screen of smart phone in the subway. People link to the internet in work, house and even when they move in the subway. People stay in the same place, but the link with the others. On the internet, people also experience instant knowledge and information. One of the famous futurist Nicholas karr said internet surfing make our knowledge and culture more instant, subjective and short-term so that it create superficial knowledge. It makes people decentralized and lower the joy of immersion. At last, people mentally feel anxiety by those all factors like speed, continuous link and distractions from fragmented knowledge.
Need of sensible experience Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman explained that modern society lost their ability to beat solitude. It means time to be alone. This time doesn’t just mean staying alone physically, but more like look into myself by disconnecting from virtual society.
Still, Haiko Meijer Deaf people designed this silent wardrobe, which can be used in the library or business area for the people who needs solitude.
People are far away from production and excluded from the labor which can be somehow positive ‘ inconvenient’ by having sensual experience. Recently in Korea, there has been a big trend called ‘temple stay’, which is a temporary Buddhism experience in the temple in the middle of the city. It seems that people want to escape from the fatigue of the reality and release their mental emptiness. What I notice here is that this behavior is not only concerned as religious behavior, but much more like the experience design which is short, but effective and also realistic solution by using solitude and silence. Another example of experiencing solitude and temporary isolation is an exhibition program named ‘ dialogue in the dark’.
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INSTANT SOCIERY
“ Modern society lost their ability to beat solitude. ”
Temple stay, Dialogue in the dark People stay in the dark space in 100 minutes and follow their way by their sense of hand and foot, smell, change of air and instructor’s voice who is blind. They can think about slow in the dark, and fell intimate temperature of closest people.
INSTANT SOCIETY
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Whispering Chair, Denise van der sar “The people who have loud voice can get an attention, but we experience the most fascinated conversation when someone whisper in lower voice.� This chair shows that the real way of communication in the noisy environment is just honest truly voice.
Paving stones to inspire us to dance in the streets, Pomme Van Hoof A serious of concrete paving stones will encourage people to dance. The constructed environment will adjust the human body and bring a movement. This gives a sensible experience in the normal pavement.
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Need of irreplaceability The word “instant” also implies the number of times. A big characteristic of instant culture is that we can easily get, and easily throw it away. When we see the disposable products, they’re manufactured to be used only once, so they are made by light materials like plastic or paper. They can be reproduced infinitely so everyone can use it, but it brings a huge environmental problem and the fact that it can be replaced easily by other products can fade the value and only remains function. In this sense, but in the opposite perspective, we find something valuable when we are limited by the time of use. What I found interesting is that the meaning of ‘the disposable’, which is only one time use, is becoming more important when it cannot be reproduced or replaced by others. This is a different view about instant society which give us a message that what we feel valuable is also disappearing easily so people get a meaning from a one-time elements. Alessandro Baricco said “The decline in quality has coincided with an increase in quantity.” Probably limited time of use can be the needs for the people who are floating and try to find a meaning in the instant society.
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INSTANT SOCIERY
DRM Chair, les Sugus This chair has only a limited number, 8 of use before it self-destructs. This project is more about the statement of digital rights which limits the number of times, but it bring us impact about limited consumption of the general object.
Floating tea house, Kengo Kuma A floating tea room comprised of a helium balloon veiled with an ultra-light fabric. It invites spectators to join a real tea ceremony in a seemingly paradoxical space of virtual reality. The structure itself is temporary, almost erasable but activity inside has a meaningful value.
Rebirth after reading, Friends of nature In this project, company created an ink which will disappear in 72 hours. 60% of printed papers are thrown away only after one time used so they created to recycle the paper. Somehow it feels like we need to memorize important information before disappearing.
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I would like to research about the speed and disposability which represents instant culture. First part is about sensible experience in the city space, which can be based on the silence. It means enhance of sensible experience by remove other part of senses. So I will research about the value of silence, or darkness. When we see the religious architecture, there is a strong effect using comparison of silence and sound, light and darkness. Also the smell of the scents can effect to the people who are searching for the comforts and solitude. The second part is disposable, which limit the time of use. But it’s not like time of use as a function, but much more about behavior or activity like tea drinking in the case study of floating tea house. Because disposable products are literally thrown away after one time use without any meaning. There is a pop up store, which means temporary store for marketing purpose can somehow connected with the concept of disposability, which can bring short time activity. After all, it can be a disappearing space which brings impact in short time. Also, I would do the material research which can create space, but disappear easily. It can be air, scent or eco-friendly material which disappear in a natural way.
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INSTANT SOCIERY
Summer plan I would like to study some social phenomena about fast and change which are the starting point of my thesis project and make it into a documentary. Collecting visual and sound data about convenient store and subway can be a case study about fast, and instant gratification. Also there is the opposite phenomena which has a calm and concentrated space like temple stay or the exhibition of “dialogue in the dark”. I would like to experience both spaces and share with the people about their needs of silence and other needs of instant society. Also there is a Korean furniture which called “pyeong sang”. It was always a meeting point for the people who used to live in the village or community. These days, many of people live in the apartment so they don’t have a chance to speak with neighbors. I have a plan to make a temporal (or pop up) pyeongsang to open a discussion about fast social changes and communication in in the city.
Pyeongsang, furniture which is a meeting point for neighbors
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Literature list The Barbarians , Alessandro Baricco Junichiro Tanizaki, In praise of shadows Zygmunt Bauman, Letters from the liquid modern world About temporary architecture Kengo Kuma, Anti-object: The dissolution and disintegration of architecture , Material Immaterial: The New work of Kengo Kuma ,Breathing Architecture , 三低主義