ComMUSICity_Research Paper

Page 1

ComMUSICity Yu Zhang Design & Technology, Parsons 6 E. 16th St., 12th floor, New York, NY 10011 zhany420@newshcool.edu fully enjoy the music. People dance together, sing together, and communicate with each other mutually. It is amazing.

ABSTRACT

With technology’s increasing prevalence, social experience, emotional experience and even the human mind are changing tremendously. Traditionally, people used to gather in one certain location, interacting at the same time through talking and dancing- creating very specific ways of experiencing sound and image. Today, people can experience media, and communicate, at a global scale instantaneously: digital personal assistants, smartphones and tablets increasingly become the main platform for these experiences.

Dread Scott once said, “I think that all people are responsible for fighting for the direction of society. If you can see that the world doesn’t have to be the way it is you should act on this understanding. If you are an artist and have the freedom to wrangle with ideas and are communicating your worldview for a living, your work can enable people to grapple with and engage some of the big ideas before humanity” [1]. So I want to use my cognitive knowledge and do something to act as my understanding.

KEYWORDS

MY ROLE AS A DESIGNER/ARTIST

Social media; communication; participatory culture; society engagement; individual temperament; resonance; facial expressions; mobile communication; physical co-presence; sound influence; affect; background; interface; live performance; ambience; community; unity.

Traditionally, a designer’s job is passively being asked to satisfy the needs of clients by working the form of physical artworks. This form has been evolving over time to meet the needs of globalization and the widespread use of media. It is interesting to explore how individuals interact with media, and how this kind of relationship influences both individuals and media. As a designer and artist in contemporary society, I learn from other individuals and try to discover their underlying relationships with media. Through the complexity of the media transition, the ways of people interacting with each other are no longer mutually exchange symbols that are interpreted as being meaningful. So my goal is to develop social engagement through live music. The expected result should bring its audiences who share the same resonance with a certain type of music into an interactive community, stimulate the imagination of users, and allow it’s openness to interpretation.

INTRODUCTION

The idea of focusing this topic actually started from 2011 while I was completing my bachelor degree in University of Oregon. During the lectures, it is not difficult to find that almost every students in the classroom were using laptops, of course, most of them were taking notes, but a few of them were playing Facebook. At that time, technology has gradually entered everyone’s lives. When my journalism instructor raised a question, whose relationship broke only because of social media, half of the class raised their hands. Obviously, the virtual world provided by technology has already created a huge impact to people. This phenomenon also can be seen while people are waiting for the subway, whether in New York or Shanghai, almost everyone is using their cell phones, whether they are alone or have companies. At the restaurant, this phenomenon is even more obvious. Since when did people choose to use personal digital assistant to interact with each other instead of mutually communicating?

To reach that goal, my design process basically consists of four stages: Research, Analysis, Prototype and Test, and last three stages are the flexible loop (figure 1.1). Each section contains different theories and methods that prepare me to produce innovative responses to social issues.

Interestingly, human’s behaviors and minds are changing when the situation changes. In the music festival, concert or live performance, people here were more willing to put down their phones, or other personal digital assistants, and Figure 1.1: Design Process

1


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.