PROCESS THESIS research / developement / sketches / interviews / experiments REE JAE YU
POWER OF WORDS by Ree Jae Yu Dec 10, 2008
The year 2008 is coming to an end and we as a nation has embarked in one of the most intense time periods in history. Where, America was so compelled to be part of a social movement such as the 2008 presidential elections. President Barack Obama took the victory and closed his speech that night with “Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America (Obama).” The emphasis is not on the elections but the words that were spoken from the President to the general public. It brought such a movement because he spoke the promises of change, progress and hope into his campaign. “Yes We Can!” These simple words caught the attentions of many Americans going through times of hardships to find hope in his words, responding “Yes I Can!” From Macro events such as the U.S. elections that swept the country, to a micro encounter with an individual, my senior thesis was greatly inspired by a seventh grader. A student of mine in bible study came up to me and shared her struggles and attempts of suicide. I felt heartbroken to hear the words come out of a young talented twelve-year-old. My response was to quickly speak life back into her. “You are so important, you are so beautiful, and you are so needed in this world.” Couple of days later, I received a text from her of how she is doing better and how she was happy to know she had someone to talk to. This is when I realized how potent words are and how literally it can bring life to someone. I believe words have power behind them that can either bring life or death. “They are powerful weapons for all causes, good or bad (Hall). “Words have the ability to transform the world or an individual. Love, hope, joy and practically every emotion can be inspired by the power of words. However, anger, fear and hatred can also be invoked by words also. Words are most powerful when it is used to uplift and inspire others to find the best in themselves.
“Suicide rates in America increased 8% amongst men and women between the age of 10 to 24, this is the largest single one-year rise in 15 years (Nordqvist).” “Preschoolers are the fastest-growing market for antidepressants. At least four percent of preschoolers, over a million, are clinically depressed (Murray).” Only two percent of women around the world describe themselves beautiful (Dove). 73 percent of Americans name money as the number one stress factor. All these facts are not to bring a downcast on everyone but to show the pure reality of our surroundings. My primary goal is to share words of love, faith, hope, encouragement and life to those who are hurt, overwhelmed, hopeless, burdened, depressed and apathetic. My secondary goal is to encourage everyone that they have this innate tool that can be used to empower those around them. A simple compliment can make someone’s day. Words are a form of a gift that is free of purchase but can be worth so much than expected. All is needed is a selfless genuine heart. In the other hand on my part, as a graphic designer I want to communicate my message by exploring typography and experimenting type in space. There will be more than one message in several locations, preferably in a public setting. Along with the message there will be a necessity for branding the campaign. There are many other organizations and campaigns that share common grounds such as the Free Hug Campaign, where people hold up signs offering free hugs, Love and Forgiveness campaign, uses media and community events to encourage love and forgiveness, or the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, which promotes women to feel beautiful through advertising, web site, billboard and events. These campaigns share a common interest of sharing something that is not tangible and promoting love, forgiveness and self-confidence. The campaigns can help me explore their processes of reaching to the public, from where they started and what medium and tactics were used to communicate their message. Mainly, I want words to trigger emotions and create impressions. They influence our thoughts, which determine our actions, May the words of love determine our actions to uplift others through this unique gift that everyone is capable of giving.
INTERVIEW W/ DR. FRED L. BARNES
Fred L. Barnes, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist Director, Student Counseling at Otis College of Art and Design
+ Tongue: is a vessel that holds the power of life and death + Words can start wars or end wars + RACA (greek) means idiot, foolish (referenced in Matthew 5) + Words can destroy and kill a person’s spirit as much as it can literally kill them. + A heart murder is as dangerous as a physical murder. + People shoot negative words unconsciously because of anger. + It is so easy to criticize but hard to give praise and encouragement. + To have a positive criticism is to have it go hand in hand with feedback and exhortation. + In research, starting off a conversation with DUE compliments not FORCED compliments, allow the listener to receive easy criticism. + Parent’s words make or break a child. + Parents are powerful in their children’s lives because they either plant a seed of positive or negative words which can root into their lives as a form of rebellion or submission. + Communication is the lifeblood of a relationship. + If reciprocal communication steps than all relationships die because of strangulation. + Good Communication is a hallmark of attributes to healthy families to make it safe for them to share, talk and express even divergent feelings. + A house is not a home. A Carpenter and real estate agent can make and sell your house but they cannot make you a “home.” + Frued believes that society can only climb upwards. + If the universe calls you to do something special in the world, it all conspires in your favor to make things happen. TO help you to make your dreams become a reality.
The Power of Communication: Psychology of Words and Language Revealed by Erin Richard
Whoever said that the pen is mightier than the sword definitely knew what they were talking about. To humans, words are more than a means of communication, they can shape our beliefs, behaviors, feelings and ultimately our actions. Although swords can coerce us, and threaten, nothing is more powerful than a tool which can shape our opinions. When it comes to language and communication, the rule is that it’s not what you say, but what people hear. Words are one of the most powerful tools that we as humans possess; they can ignite revolutions or defuse tension. The problem is that words are underestimated as being central to thought and behavior processing as well as decision making. Dr. Frank Luntz, author of Words That Work: It’s not what you say, It’s what people hear describes the decision making
process and communication based on feeling rather than information. “80 percent of our life is emotion, and only 20 percent is intellect, says Luntz in a PBS interview. “I am much more interested in how you feel than how you think. I can change how you think, but how you feel is something deeper and stronger, and it’s something that’s inside you. How you think is on the outside, how you feel is on the inside, so that’s what I need to understand.” This image shows the processing of language and the different organs and processes that go into analyzing, delivering and understanding language. Photo credit: National Science Foundation
Working as a pollster and a linguistics consultant, Luntz advises the Republican Party on their usage of words, their communications to the press and the world, and in a sense, changes the way that they direct their language to achieve the results that they desire from the public as a whole. Because we hear so many words and messages in our daily lives, we have developed a system to deal with certain types of messages. People can engage in two types of message processing, either central processing, which is an active and critical thinking process, or peripheral processing, which takes cues from other parts of the message, and evaluates based on other things besides the actual meaning of the message. Central processing is triggered by certain queues, such as involvement and immediacy. In short, if something is going to affect someone and soon, they are going to listen carefully to the message. If they are interested, or compelled to listen, they are much less likely to evaluate what you are saying on a central level. When it comes to messages of the mass media, most Americans process the information peripherally. This also includes political messages and information. When it comes to politics, the complexity of issues are reduced to peripheral cues like source credibility, attractiveness and emotional words like responsibility and family values. When it comes to mass media messages, Americans process most information peripherally. Issues such as complexity and disinterest in the message can lead to decision making based on surrounding cues instead of triggering central processing and an active decision. Politics is full of messages that are designed to trigger peripheral processing cues and behavior based on emotion rather than information. One word can be completely neutral in emotion while another word meaning the exact same thing can either spark love or rage in those that hear it. The emotion is the trigger, finding the words that cause the emotion is the job of linguistics experts like Luntz. His advise and consultation are partially responsible for the name change of the “Estate tax” to the “Death tax” and its subsequent elimination. “For years, political people and lawyers used the phrase “estate tax.” And for years they couldn’t eliminate it. The public wouldn’t support it because the word “estate” sounds wealthy, explains Luntz. “Someone like me comes around and realizes that it’s not an estate tax, it’s a death tax, because you’re taxed at death. And suddenly something that isn’t viable achieves the support of 75 percent of the American people. It’s the same tax, but nobody really knows what an estate is. But they certainly know what it means to be taxed when you die.” Republicans have also crafted their language to neutralize the fear of hazards due to global warming. Instead of referring to global warmer, the concept is dubbed “climate change” which lessens fears associated with global warming. Because of this change of behaviors and beliefs simply by the change of words, Luntz has been accused of manipulating language and therefore the audience absorbing the message. The manipulation is not only isolated to the political or corporate world. Science and science research have also attracted suspicious glances from the public. This is why issues such as stem cells research and other breakthrough
technologies are reacted to as vehemently as they are. The public, without proper tools to understand, and bombarded with complicated names and jargon of the science and health fields, are left to jumping on hot button issues like stem cell research. For example, I recently wrote an article about new technologies to reprogram adult tissue cells to pluripotent iPS cells. A reader commented on my article, suggesting that scientists use language to manipulate the public and hide behind words to avoid the hassle from the public. According to the reader, “ Scientist have to be more careful about the names they give to their new (life-linked) researches and all of its parts in order to avoid “Xtrem moralists”, superstitious and “Science/Tech/Research enemies” witch all the time, are searching and digging for any word slim linkable to any moralist religious or superstitious concepts just to obstruct or forbid it. If Steam Cells technologies had been called something like “XMFT-007” from its beginnings, Science wouldn’t have gotten all the troubles it has due ignorance. So next time, get abstract names for your new life-linked Research.” Hiding behind abstract language is not the answer, effective communication is the key. This is another reason why people in power should use language which demonstrates clarity and reduces emotion. The public is also responsible for processing their information and relying on intellect instead of solely relying on peripheral cues. To better understand the way we react to information, research on communication is vital to understanding our reactions, emotions and how they build our behaviors and actions. With this information, we can better prepare effective communication to the public and also guard ourselves from fallacious or leading information designed to target our emotions. Because in the end “Its not what you say, its what they hear.” http://www.scientificblogging.com/erin039s_spin/power_communication_psychology_words_and_language_revealed
we are what we think and
believe
“Words Have Power -Watch How You Wield Your Powerful Words” by Lynn Lee
Have Your Words Ever Got You Into Trouble?
demolish bridges and make it impossible to heal a rift.
Words are more powerful than you realize. They have the power to
God spoke words in the spiritual realm to make things happen in the physical world.
+ wound or heal + discourage or encourage + criticise or praise + tear down or build up Do you ever think about the words you speak and the power they carry? I challenge you to monitor your words for a day. + notice whether they’re positive or negative + notice the effect they have I don’t just mean the words you speak to other people. Take notice of the words you speak to yourself too. + what words do you habitually say to yourself? + What do you tell yourself about yourself? I think you’ll be surprised at how many negative things you say. It’s time to stop and think about the words you speak and the effect they have on you and other people. Truths that will change your life and help to transform the lives of the people around you
When God, who is Spirit, wants something to happen in the natural realm - He speaks. God spoke this physical world into existence. You are created in God’s image. Like God, you have the power to create with your words. I’m not suggesting that you have the same power as God, but there is something of Him in you. You aren’t just a physical being, you’re a spiritual being too. Your words have more power than you imagine. There’s something creative and powerful about the words you speak. That’s why you need to think before you speak. The first step, is to become aware of what you’re saying. The second, is to choose to exercise self control. Your words have the power to bring life or death to your life, your relationships and your future. It’s time to think before you speak. “Words satisfy the soul as food satisfies the stomach. The right words on a persons lips bring satisfaction.” Proverbs 18:20
Research shows that words have emotional, physical and spiritual impact. The words you speak can lift you up or send you into a downward spiral. They can cause physical changes in your body and change the spiritual atmosphere.
“A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper fire” Proverbs 15:1
Words have the power to build bridges. They have the capacity to close the gap between you and other people. They help you to connect with people and with God. They can also
http://ezinearticles.com/?Words-Have-Power-Watch-How-YouWield-Your-Powerful-Words&id=457217
Psychology of Listening Listening is the ecology of being, it opens the doorway to the heart. Listening creates trust between beings, listening creates love. by World Psychology
Nothing shows off the quality of our love better than our listening skills and in essence listening is what keeps people together. People who listen to each other end up wanting to be and stay together for nothing connects us better than our listening to each others world of feelings and experience. Listening is love and love is listening, they are qualities of being that reflect each other perfectly. Love does not exist in human relationships without deep listening and yet we delude ourselves all the time about this for profound listening is something that few people have either experience or training with. Wherever you find a poverty of communication you will find a poverty of love, and wherever you find a poverty of love you will find a poverty of deep listening. Most people have no idea how difficult it is to listen well. Deep listening, until it becomes well modeled and anchored by an open heart, is an exercise in attention and by necessity hard work. Listening to the real meaning, feelings and being of another does not come easy or naturally to a mind full of itself. Listening takes will simply because we have to work to pay attention or strain against the prevailing winds of the cluttered mind that is just too noisy to hear much, to selfish or busy with itself to care. The will and the effort necessary for real listening to take place goes into keeping the consciousness clear while listening and this is difficult. The most important way in which we exercise our love is by listening. Empathy is the capacity to listen with the pure heart,
to hear what there is to hear, to merge and feel all there is to feel; purely one and into the world of another. We do not project nor reject the essence of another. Romantic love is effortless compared to the discipline of true love and the art of listening. The quality of being most necessary for deep listening is the will focused through the art of paying ‘complete’ attention. A primary aspect of love, or the form that the ‘work of love’ takes most commonly is the application of attention. When we love something we pay attention to it. Putting together these statements leads us to the conclusion that the most common and most important way we combine love and attention is in our listening. It is certainly the most important way in which we demonstrate our good intention toward others. Attention and listening are both acts of will. And both imply a work against the inertia of the mind. Most people mistakenly believe that listening is a passive process that happens automatically thus there is no concept of it at all as something we need to either train or discipline ourselves to do. The roots of arrogance reach deeply into the psychology of listening, they clog our ears though the sound does get through. It is interesting to watch a demonstration of how the mind can block out all reception to the communications and feelings of another person without any awareness that this is happening. Most people assume that they are good listeners when in practice they are not. The pure heart is a perfect listener; it is totally open and receptive and can feel the world of another through its capacity of empathy and compassion. The mind on the other hand loves mostly to listen to itself. It is usually so obsessed
with itself it cannot get out of its own way. The heart on the other hand can listen so deeply that it actually can penetrate into the inner world of the speaker and merge temporarily with or become one with that person. The heart has an ability to listen past the word level to the being level. The heart listens to the meaning behind the words and thus avoids much of the confusion that is inherent in normal levels of semantic dialogue.
to put the ego aside temporarily so we can hear the other person in depth.
Empathy marks the deepest halls of listening for with it we listen to the actual feelings behind the words being said.
In one of the following chapters you will find a process called Mirroring and this is a communication and listening technique that was developed into a fine spiritual art form by Christopher Hills. His method of training his students was through the communication and listening arts. People find this approach to love most difficult because it confronts us directly and quickly with all of our resistance’s to something as beautiful as real love. Communication and listening training is mostly absent in society and education simply because, people in general, on the deepest and most gut level, do not want to listen or change. The general lack of listening in life reflects the general and deep lack of heart and the lack of heart reflect basic lacks in love and trust. This is all a consequence of the separative state of ego consciousness that feels threatened and fears the differences that exist between one being and another.
In fact there is no quicker way to find and enter ones own heart center than by tuning into and listening to the inner world of another. This is a great spiritual secret and was actually illustrated in the recent Robin Williams movie about Patch Adams; the interned mental patient turned illuminated doctor. His simple but rare illumination happened just on this point. He became aware of what happened when he would tune deeply into another’s inner world by listening and caring enough to do so. And he saw clearly that the trained Psychiatrist did not listen at all. What he discovered was his own heart, the same heart that just loves to give, help and love. And the secret is: When we enter and pay attention to another’s inner world we have no time for our own self obsessions. Listening is the art of paying attention and is in essence love in action. Listening actually creates love. It is love in reality. So learning how to listen is really learning how to love. Listening is the straight and narrow path into the heart center that has enough love to pay attention because it wants to pay attention and has the will to pay attention because it loves to pay attention. This is the key, the heart loves others inner worlds for it has removed its sense of separation from those worlds. Love is what we feel when our sense of ego separation melts. It is the nature of the heart to care and to love and how else can or do we see, feel and experience people’s inner worlds but by listening to them. Yet where do we go or whom do we turn to learn how to listen. We had teachers who taught us how to read but no communication or listening teachers nor is there a course about it we can find in the phone book. Thus the world is full of leaders who think they know how to listen when in fact they really do not. They also have had no training and this becomes an especially large handicap when it is your job to listen to the needs of the people. Real listening is a state of meditation and it is the wisest person who listens the deepest. Deep listening then is the process in which we actually journey inside the inner worlds of others. Listening allows us to experience what another person feels from inside him or herself. But we cannot have this “pure” type of perception without getting into a totally one-pointed state of concentration, that space where we can focus our attention and expand it out to include more of another’s being. This kind of listening can only happen if we are in a state of “meditation,” meaning where our body is calm and our emotions and mind are peaceful, not churning around like a tornado. Mediation is actually a good training that prepares us for deeper levels of listening but “mirroring” is the fastest way to learn how
To communicate everything and listen to the depth of each others being is the basic commitment of real love. It is the commitment to always put the heart over the separate powers of the mind which does not want to listen.
We need safe non-separate environments in which communication is made easy so love is made easy. Communication is made easy when there is much love and desire to understand each other. There is nothing more provoking to our emotions and feelings than having our feelings go unheard. Non-listening destroys marriages fast yet people still do not pay attention to this basic life skill. Happy and successful relationships are marked with people who show each other that they are interested in listening to the other. When we risk a feeling, and it drops off into the thin air of non-listening, it leaves us with a very unwholesome feeling in the heart. It drives us quickly away from our vulnerability and into the more mental and separate spaces of the emotional mind where emotions get more violent and intense. In good fights between husbands and wives one calms the other with listening, understanding and empathy. Listening almost always will draw us closer to the heart and its vulnerable feelings where as non-listening will almost always have the opposite effect. http://www.worldpsychology.info/World%20Psychology/VirtualPsyFiles/nova_pagina_2.htm
“One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can’t utter.” James Earl Jones
The Power of Words by Karen L. Oberst Words are powerful. This is no news flash for those of us who put words together for our livelihood. Yet sometimes it is good to take a step back and remember just how powerful our tools, our words are.
They can express a nation’s desire for freedom “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
WORDS OF HOPE “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be selfevident: that all men are created equal.” -Martin Luther King, Jr., 1964
-U.S. Declaration of Independence
WORDS OF FORGIVENESS
WORDS OF DECEIT
“With malice toward none, and charity for all...”
“How often misused words generate misleading thoughts.”
-Abraham Lincoln, 1860)
-Herbert Spencer (Principles of Ethics (1879) bk. 1, pt. 2, ch. 8, sect. 152)
‘Obama’ words have power at inauguration
Inauguration Analysis by: Marsha Mercer/Political Columnist Published: January 21, 2009
WASHINGTON — A joyous chant rose Tuesday from the sea of humanity that covered the national mall. The word repeated from tens of thousands of mouths, the syllables riding on a cold, dry wind all the way from the Lincoln Memorial to the West Front of the Capitol. There, Barack Hussein Obama had just taken the presidential oath of office and was starting to deliver his inaugural address. “O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA!” It’s unusual for a chant of the new president’s name to rise spontaneously from an inaugural crowd, but we’ve not had a president or an inauguration like this. Nearly 2 million people flocked to Washington to witness the event. Such is the power of words that “Obama!” — chanted or declared — has come to embody cultural pride and the nation’s promise for many Americans.
forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.” Obama, the son of a Kenyan Muslim and a Kansan Christian, also spoke directly to those who would use terrorism against the United States, saying, “We say to you now that, “Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot out last us, and we will defeat you.’ “For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness,” he said. His next line was striking for its inclusiveness: “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers.” In speaking to the politicians arrayed on the platform around him, Obama quoted Scripture, urging an end “petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.”
The word of the day was Obama.
And he exhorted the people to remember that the greatness of America is not a given but must be earned.
Thirty-five words — a simple oath set in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution — transform an ordinary citizen into a president.
It’s a testament of our faith in our democracy that we agree that the words matter.
Those words are the key ingredient of an inauguration. All the rest — the pomp, the haunting music, the poetry, the prayers, the parade, the balls — are gravy. Delicious, but not essential.
Leaders in other countries relinquish power only at the end of a gun. Our hallmark is the peaceful transition of power through words.
Obama’s decision to use his middle name for his swearing-in was deliberate. History is mixed on the use of the middle name.
And on Jan. 20, 2009, we again witnessed the power of words.
Some presidents do, some don’t. Obama moved from being Barry as a youth to Barack when he grew up. During the presidential campaign, some of his critics had insisted on using all three of his names to highlight his “differentness.” Triumphant, his decision to use Hussein seemed to signal not only that Obama was embracing his multicultural heritage but that he was also signaling a new direction for the United States. In his speech, he said, “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way
(http://www.starexponent.com/cse/news/local/article/obama_words_have_ power_at_inauguration/28317/)
OBAMA! OBAMA! President Obama’s Inaugural Address on January 20, 2009.
My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans. That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been
the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom. For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do. Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it
works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government. Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good. As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint. We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you. For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nour-
ish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it. As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny. This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: “Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].“ America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
TODAY’S REALITY + Suicide rates in America for males and females aged 10-24 climbed 8% - this is the largest single one-year rise in 15 years. * Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report ‘Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
+ Pre-schoolers are the fastest-growing market for antidepressants. At least four percent of preschoolers, over a million are clinically depressed * http://www.upliftprogram.com/depression_stats.html
+ Only two percent of women around the world describe themselves beautiful. * http://www.dove.us/#/CFRB/arti_cfrb.aspx[cp-documentid=7049726]/
+ 73 percent of Americans name money as the number one stress factor. * http://www.apahelpcenter.org/search/?search_string=survey
+ The current rate, the national debt is increasing by nearly 4 billion dollars every day. * http://perotcharts.com/2008/11/us-national-debt-2008/
+ 58 children enter a broken family each year for every 100 children born. * http://www.heritage.org/Research/Family/bg1283.cfm
+ Most everyone faces verbal abuse everyday. * http://www.heritage.org/Research/Family/bg1283.cfm
IDEA + DESIGN Things to consider: 1. How will I communicate my message? 2. How will I interpret the words because everyone interprets words differently. 3.How can I make it engaging? For an individual to experience something personal? Ideas: 1. Using senses. Hearing Seeing Touching Smelling 2. Mediums? can convey message more stronger.
IDEA + DESIGN visual/feel : 3D typography
IDEA + DESIGN installations
IDEA + DESIGN visual / video
IDEA + DESIGN listening
IDEA + DESIGN smell
IDEA + DESIGN guerilla
week 3
opening my eyes to my surroundings + mediums
LOS ANGELES PUBLIC STREET ART: permanent
street versus nature:
andy goldsworthy temporary art
temporary public street art: explore
explore: lights
week 4
design solution / timeline / experimentation one
design solutions My senior thesis is on the idea of the Power of Words. I believe words have power behind them that can either bring life or death. “They are powerful weapons for all causes, good or bad (Hall).” Words have the ability to transform the world or an individual. Love, hope, joy and practically every emotion can be inspired by the power of words. However, anger, fear and hatred can also be invoked by words also. Words are most powerful when it is used to uplift and inspire others to find the best in themselves. My goal is to talk to the public with words of love, faith, hope, encouragement and life to those who are hurt, overwhelmed, hopeless, burdened, depressed and apathetic. I believe words can heal, encourage and uplift in any circumstances. Even though it seems impersonal to hear it from a total stranger like me, I have to explore variety of ways to get to the public and get the message across. To accomplish this is to go out into the public and experiment with different forms of typography and installations to communicate my messages. My design solution is to focus on specific spaces in downtown Los Angeles and possibly in the city of Boyle Heights, where violence and verbal abuse is very prominent. I am exploring ways of installation where it can be a form of temporary guerilla art. From making signs out of LED lights to, using ribbons on fencing, to using the natural environment such as leaves and rocks. In addition, I want to get permission from public properties to post up signs, which will deliver the message also. Alongside, with visual signage and type installations I want to have an audible performance. For example, at school I want to stand on top of the parking lot and shout out some uplifting words to my fellow peers during midterms. “Hang in there, You’ll do great on this project!” also to having a voice recording play at the Grand metro station “You are being loved right now,” and so forth. I will be interviewing two ladies that were verbal abused while growing up and also junior high students. I will be asking them what they were called and what they would’ve liked being called growing up. With this information I will come up with the words and statements that will be used in my thesis project. The main outcome of my Senior Thesis is a documentation of all my experimentations and also a final installation in the senior show.
senior thesis timeline
WEEK 5: + get permission from Provost for week 8 (Uplift Otis Day) + interview Jenny, a verbal abused victim WEEK 5.5: NO SCHOOL + call Carmen from Homeboy Indus. for reference + list of final words/statements for each location + purchase a video camera WEEK 6: MIDTERM PRESENTATION + exploration in using nature as my medium of installation OTIS yard rocks? Downtown L.A. leaves? WEEK 7: SENIOR SHOW SUBMISSION FORM + Koreatown (Olympic) installation permission and do? WEEK 8: + Uplift Otis Day: hand out gifts and silk screen cards + Work on Motion Graphics for Otis Piece WEEK 9: + Ribbon type on fencing across Grand metro station + Recording played at the Grand metro station WEEK 10: + Downtown L.A / Hope St. LED lights installation WEEK 11: + Posters wheatpasted on Main St. + Video editing / Senior show installation prepare WEEK 12: MOCKUP PRESENTATION OF FINAL DESIGN + Senior show installation prepare / Video WEEK 13: + Senior show installation prepare / Video WEEK 14: SENIOR SHOW WEEK 15: STEPPING OUT OF OTIS.
experiment 1: dwtn L.a. washington & grand
week 5 OTIS project outline
OTIS UPLIFT DAY
Along with my research and experimentation, I wanted one of the projects to be an
audible performance where I can reach out to my most familiar audience which is the OTIS campus. As I relate with my peers, I can encourage those who are distressed with words of affirmation and encouragement during the pressuring times of midterms.
To do a performance at OTIS, it is not a fast task but a long process. Here is the email I
had to send to the Otis provost office to get an approval.
Hello Gwynne, My name is Ree Jae Yu and I stopped by your office earlier Monday, to ask permission on a performance piece I wanted to do at Otis. I will briefly introduce myself, My name is Ree Jae Yu and I am a Senior in Graphic Design. My senior Thesis is on the “Power of Words.” I believe words have power behind them that can either bring life or death. They are powerful weapons for all causes, good or bad. Words have the ability to transform the world or an individual. Love, hope, joy and practically every emotion can be inspired by the power of words. However, anger, fear and hatred can also be invoked by words also. I believe words are most powerful when it is used to uplift and inspire others to find the best in themselves. My primary goal for my thesis is to share words of love, faith, hope, encouragement and life to those who are hurt, overwhelmed, hopeless, burdened, depressed and apathetic. My performance piece that I would like to do at Otis is just a small portion of my main project. Majority of my thesis will be focused on different forms of typography and installations of words in public spaces near downtown Los Angeles. As a form of guerilla art I will use different mediums such as LED lights, signage, wood, ribbons and nature’s given elements such as leaves, rocks etc. Alongside with my visual installations, I thought my thesis will be also effective if the public “heard” these messages of encouragements and compliments rather than just seeing them. So while brainstorming with my Instructor, Chris Chapin, we thought it would be a great idea if I was to have a audible piece on campus. I would get a megaphone or an orange cone and talk to my fellow peers down below with encouragements and compliments during the pressuring time of midterms. Such as:
PERMISSION TO OTIS PROVOST
encouragements: “Hey! Midterms are here, but hang in there! You’ll Do great!”
My Otis project is only to uplift and encourage my fellow
“You guys are all so smart you’ll do fine during midterms!”
peers.
“ We are all capable of doing well. YOU CAN DO IT! I believe in
If this request is granted these would be the locations and
you! You’re not alone.”
times.
“Don’t worry! It’s not the end of the world!”
Where: On top of the parking structure. When: Week 8: midterm on March 2 (Mon), 4 (Wed), 6 (Fri) at 11:10-11:25 during lunch break.
Compliments:
While setting up from 11:00-11:10 there will be music playing however, when the speaking begins the music will be
“I love your pink shirt! It looks really good on you!”
turned off.
“Hey Buddy! You’ve been working out eh?”
There will also be a bubble machine to bring an attraction.
“You look stunning today!” “It doesn’t hurt to give a compliment to someone.”
Thank you for your consideration and time. I hope this project will only bring a positive impact to our Otis Community.
Specific majors: Best Regards, “You’re finishing up your type book eh? It’ll look great!” “How’s your shoes coming along?” “Seniors! we have __days left till school! You can do it!” “Thesis stressing you out? Me Too! But Hey! Let’s end this year well!”
Ree Jae Yu
REFerence: lacma
machine project
Machine Project exists to encourage heroic experiments of the gracefully over-ambitious. We provide educational resources to people working with technology, we collaborate with artists to produce site-specific works, and we promote conversations between scientists, poets, technicians, performers, and the community of Los Angeles as a whole. http://machineproject.com/about/
blog is here!
www.uplift-me. blogspot.com
your turn The blog was created to start promotion and public response on my work. In evey handout or installation the blog address will be there that the public may respond to the work or have their own input in life.
week 6 research + experiment with nature
JOSE DATRINO the gentleness prophet
gentileza
They have erased it all They have painted everything gray The word on the wall Is covered with paint
In 1961, a big fire destroyed an American circus in
They have erased it all
Rio de Janeiro. Lots of people died (more than 500, mostly
They have painted everything gray
children). It was considered to be one of the most tragic ac-
On the wall there is only
cidents that happened in the world of circus. A few days later,
Sadness and fresh paint
on Christmas Eve, a 44 years old man arrived in the place
Through the streets of the city
where the accident took place in one of his many trucks. He
We deserve to read the letters
claimed he heard voices in that very morning telling him to
And the words of Gentileza
abandon everything he had and to dedicate himself to a more
For this I ask
spiritual world. So he decided to base himself in that site to
You in the world
console the parents of the victims, giving them wine and other
Which is more intelligent
goods. He lived in that place for almost four years, dissemi-
The book or the knowledge?
nating kindness and love, never asking for anything in return.
The world is a school
His name was Jose Datrino, but people started to call him
Life is a circus
Jose of Kindness.
Love is the word that liberates So spoke the prophet
After leaving that place, known as Kindness Paradise after Jose Datrino, he started to walk around the streets of Rio as a
Gentileza was proud of his writings, as the pictures suggest.
prophet. He was an old man, with the appearance of a biblical
Why wouldn’t he be? From a grammatical and philosophi-
prophet, a long white beard, a long tunic, and Franciscan-style
cal or literary viewpoint, his writings may not have stood as a
sandals. He carried in his hands two tablets of written prophe-
significant contribution. But what is more intelligent: the book
cies, like those of Moses. He approached people who passed
or the knowledge?
in cars and on sidewalks, but he didn’t ask for anything, and instead offered them words of love, flowers, and compassion
The criticism to modernity is not a monopoly of the masters
during more than three decades throughout the streets of Rio
of academic thinking, like Freud with his Civilization and Its
de Janeiro.
Discontents, or Horkheimer with his Eclipse of Reason, or Habermas with his Knowledge and Human Interests or even
Jose Datrino became known as Profeta Gentileza (Prophet of
with the philosophical production of a later Heidegger. Prophet
Kindness), then, and part of his preaching consisted in writing
Gentileza, representing the popular and cordial thinking,
his message on the pillars of a big viaduct in Rio. That way,
arrived to the same conclusions of those masters. He was
in the middle of the confusion, indifference, selfishness, and
even more direct than them as he proposed an alternative:
violence of the big city, all passersby could read in that giant
kindness as the irradiation of care and essential tenderness.
urban display, sentences such as: KINDNESS GENERATES
This paradigm has more chances to humanise us than that
KINDNESS, DON’T USE PROBLEMS, DON’T USE POVERTY,
that burned with the circus in Rio: the spirit of geometry, the
USE LOVE, or even KINDNESS IS THE MEDICINE FOR ALL
knowledge as power e the power as domination over people
DISEASES.
and nature.
Since 1996, after Prophet Gentileza’s death, his murals be-
The subject of kindness offers us a way of awakening from the
came orphans, without any kind of care. The murals deterio-
attitudes of indifference that surround us. Gentileza used to
rated a lot and ended up covered with a layer of gray paint,
preach fraternal love and urged people to devote their atten-
by the Rio de Janeiro Urban Cleaning Company. The song
tions to others and create intimacy with each other.
Gentileza (Kindness), by Marisa Monte, contained in her 2000 album Memories, Chronicles and Declarations of Love is about this unfortunate episode:
http://diasadois.blogspot.com/2008/02/gentileza_06.html
Ugo Rondinone New museum. ny
HELL YES! Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone has spent the last twenty years working in a diverse range of mediums, including painting, drawing, photography, video, installation, and sculpture. Whether trance-inducing mandala paintings, large-scale drawings from nature, or moody multi-channel video environments, Rondinone’s work explores notions of emotional and psychic profundity found in the most banal elements of everyday life. Since 1997, Rondinone has included the practice of making signs in his varied oeuvre. He takes phrases from pop songs and everyday exclamations and makes them into rainbowhued, neon-lit sculptures that are joyous affirmations of love and life. For the opening of the New Museum at 235 Bowery, Rondinone will reprise his 2001 work Hell, Yes! The installation encapsulates the philosophy of openness, fearlessness, and optimism that surrounds the New Museum’s reemergence in the contemporary art community, as well as its history as the home of socially committed contemporary art. http://www.newmuseum.org/exhibitions/18
experiment 2: marina del rey
week 7
research + experiment promotional stickers and using chalk at Venice Beach
INTERVIEW W/ DR. FRED L. BARNES II
Fred L. Barnes, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist Director, Student Counseling at Otis College of Art and Design
+ When a person is gifted, it is not an accident but in purpose + “We have been endowed to walk the streets of life walking proud. We have been gifted, we have been GIVEN a position with all that we need to make thw unique contribution to the world, that we were sent to this earth to make.” + An artistic contribution, to make the world a better place than the day we found it. + OTIS students face many hardships such as depression, anxiety, sexual and physical abuse and broken homes etc.. + Art is a therapy + Whoever a person is called to be, They MUST be. + If a person refuses their calling than they will not be in peace. + Living below their calling, will only stop them from moving forward + Helping others, are a form of healing. + A person’s gift will make room for them in the world. + You canot be cloned, you are a GIFTED artist. + Celebrate uniqueness and speciality and really realize that you are uniquely gifted than doors will open wide. + The universe will conspire in your favor, to see it
WORDS OF AFFIRMATION + COURAGE + PERSEVERANCE + HOPE + FAITH + DETERMINATION + LOVE + IMAGINE + POWER + SUCCESS + HONOR + INSPIRE + ENCOURAGE + UPLIFT + LIFE + STRONG + BOLD + OPTIMISM + CONFIDENCE + GENEROSITY + BRAVERY + EXHILARATION + HELPER + TRUSTED + TALENTED + LOVING + UNIQUE + GIFTED + PEACE + BEAUTIFUL
+ JOY + PRECIOUS + BLESSING + STRENGTH + BELIEVE + ABUNDANCE + DREAM + GRATITUDE + HAPPINESS + REMEMBER + CHERISH + MOTIVATE + HEAL + INTEGRITY + COMPASSION + HONESTY + RESPECT + PASSION + TRUST + GRACE + PROSPER + TRUTH + PURPOSE + UNITY + CHERISH + DESTINY + FOREVER + LAUGH + PATIENCE
+ REJOICE + WISDOM + SMILE + HARMONY
I HEART CLOUDS I have always loved clouds. Thanking photographs, drawing them and also on a clear day looking at the different forms that the clouds make. This idea of clouds came to mind when I was enjoying a sunny day out where the clouds were extremely beautiful. Fluffed and puffed up, it was a magnificent and beautiful day in he sky. However, the day right after it was gloomy and dark day, what a transition. Where those beautiful clouds turned into dark glooms of fog. This have me a cross reference of how clouds are like words. They can be positive and negative and have such a dramatic effect on a person. Weather has such a dramatic effect on people and how their day goes. I love the atmosphere the most when a storm goes by and the clouds of beauty float their way in and clear out the sky. That is what I want everyone to experience to uplifted and to be on cloud nine, where they let the storms pass their life and bring in a new morning.
STICKERS Stickers are a great form of guerilla art because it can placed anywhere. So I decided to use the cloud concept and marry the two together of affirmation words and the icon image of a cloud. These stickers will be screen printed on window cling plastic and contact sticker where it will not damage or hurt the environment. They can easily be placed and taken off. Locations of these stickers can be on store windows to postal boxes, truck windows etc. I want to reach out to the workers that do not get acknowledged like the mailman, garbage man, fast food workers, kitchen staff etc.
hope
courage
inspire
imagine
grace
passion
peace
believe
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK
I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DO
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
imagine
R THANK YOU FO K OR W YOUR HARD
I APPRE CIATE WHAT Y OU DO
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
experiment 3: venice beach
week 8 Preparation for Uplift OTIS Day
preparation for UPLIFT otis DAY! This week was all about the preparation of the performance piece I am holding on Thursday, March 12, 2009. I will be have banners across the parking lot walls that will say “YOU’RE UNIQUELY GIFTED.” Along with special made letters that will be tied to the tree branches. I will have my friends help me pass out “free” gifts to the Otis community. Inside the packaging will be a seashell and a note written on with empowering words for them to make it through midterms. My goal is to have the Otis students feel confident in their work and comforted to know that they are being acknowledged. My Otis piece is all about uplifting and encouraging the gifted students at Otis College of Art and Design.
These are the banners that are being prepared to hang on the parking lot walls. It will read, “You’re Uniquely Gifted.”
These are all the supplies for the gifts I will be preparing to pass out to my fellow peers.
I prepared a fortune cookie like idea of placing a special message inside a sea shell. I chose the sea shell because it represented relaxation as you place the shell and hear the wave currents. Then I wrapped it beautifully in tissue paper , placing an instructional note on how they can use the gift. Using humor and nonsense, I placed the notes to bring a smile or curiosity to them.
Secondly , I was preparing the personal letters that I wanted to hand out with the sea shell gifts. These letters are uplifting encouragements for them to continue pursuing their dreams. About 150 envelopes and cards were silk screened and were prepared to be given out.
T-shirts were also made for those friends who were willing to help me out pass out the gifts and letters.
Along with all the gifts being prepared, I started to edit my documentary.
week 9 Uplift OTIS Day
uplift otis DAY has come
THANK YOU!
week 10 “You’re Loved” Grand Metro Station + There is always hope on Hope St.
L.A. DOWNTOWN GRAND METRO My second aim was downtown Los Angeles. I chose to target the people at the grand metro station that is located in the heart of L.A. on Grand Ave. and Washington. There are hundreds or thousands people passing through the metro subway station. Students, workers to the homeless. People are constantly passing through and I wanted to share with them that they are loved. So by using the fence right across the metro, with ribbons I spelled out “You’re Loved.” For those waiting for the subway or riding pass through it. Along with this uplifting message, on a metal garage door facing toward an alley where many homeless stay, I placed individual notes that I wrote, on the metal door with magnets. This message spelled out “hope.” I wanted the hard working people of downtown Los Angeles to know that they are loved and they have hope. Someone needs to tell them and I want that to be me.
L.A. DOWNTOWN hope st. Near the Grand Metro Station, there is a small street by the name of Hope St. On this street there are a lot of homeless that settle on this block. Every weekend there is a kitchen serving food for the homeless and I knew this was my next target. I wanted to give hope to the hopeless. I started to write encouragements on small sheets of paper and taped a magnet behind them. Some of the notes read, “Times are rough but don’t give up!” “You’re Forgiven” “You are someone important.” After writing about 60 personal notes they were arranged on the metal garage door spelling out “HOPE.” Some flew off and some were taken, by the end of the week all the notes were gone.
week 11 Best Things in Life are Free next to 10 east + You really are... guerilla posters
L.A. DOWNTOWN 10 east exit While exiting Grand Ave. off the 10 East freeway, I was stuck in heavy traffic waiting for the signal to change. From the ramp to the next block it took about a good ten minutes. While facing traffic I was listening to the news about how our nation is being affected by the recession. With taxes rising, majority of Americans are facing economic hardships and I knew this was an issue that needed to be addressed. I wanted to inspire the residents of Los Angeles that money isn’t the answer to everything. “That the best things in life are free, just don’t give up and keep pressing on.” In times of distress the best gifts you can receive might be a comfort of your spouse, or a call from a friend, or a pat on the back, some things that money can’t buy. To execute the message “Best things in life are free, don’t give up!” Each letter was individually printed on sheets of paper, and then clipped on a string with clothespins. These materials were used to signify that we are held together by loved ones to make us a whole person. I placed this message on a chain linked fence right off the 10 east freeway exit. I hope all the cars passing by got to see my message.
L.A. DOWNTOWN you really You really are worthy, valued, beautiful and loved. These 30 x36� posters read, “There is only one of you in this whole universe so believe it, cherish it and share it with others. Words have power behind them that can either bring life or death. They are powerful weapons that have the ability to transform the world or an individual. Everyone has this innate tool, to uplift and literally bring life to those around us. Wisely chose your words today and share the love. If you want to share your own encouragements, stories or comments e-mail at YOUreallyARE@gmail.com and you will be posted @ YOUreallyARE.wordpress.com. Attached to the bottom of the posters were perforated cards that the viewer can rip off and place it in their wallets. I have created a blog and an email address where they can post up stories, encouragements and comments. These posters were wheat pasted on an abandon building on Main St. (the same location as the first experiment) late at night. The next day I went back to photograph the posters and noticed that the some of the cards were ripped off and taken.
week 11 Finalizing Book and creating D.I.Y. pamphlets for the Senior Show giveaways
now it’s your turn. d.i.y The next couples of pages are just simple and easy ways to creatively share your uplifting message. Create or write a simple compliment to posting varies affirmation words around town. You can impact someone’s day or even change their life depending on what you say.
week 12 Editing Documentary Video and Finalizing book
DOCUMENTARY
I hope my senior thesis has inspired you to uplift those around you. You don’t need any skills or talents to get your message across but a genuine heart. The tongue holds the power of life and death and I encourage you to speak life to those around you and importantly yourself because you are someone very special.