Sydney!

Just kidding, this posting isn't about Sydney at all, I just speculate that she checks the blog on a semi-regular basis, so it would be nice to give a little shout out to her and her blog here.

Also, here is a great article about a new book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which, perhaps oddly, seems relevant given our (your) recent writings in response to Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine.

Also, if you've made it this far in reading this post, then by all means, please scroll down and complete the library survey four posts back. Thanks.

Final project

Due next week, April 20:
A summative, reflective piece (5-6 pages or more, as needed*) that describes and explains how you researched, conceived, designed, implemented, and responded to the project you present(ed) to the class. Again, consider all of the writings we've done this semester as feeding into this piece. How have the different parts helped you arrive at a certain point in your work? What works have you cited? How was this a *research* project for you? Was it successful, and what's next? How did the other class members respond to your work? Does this project and approach correspond to the ways that you approach your other classes and disciplines? How is writing a mirror to your practice?

Also due April 20
Bibliography:
Including everything, everything, everything you've researched this semester, whether directly cited in your pieces or not. All of it. The bibliography is a road map to/through your work.

*The document length here is a guideline only. As we've discussed, depending on the format you choose (perhaps this is a play, a score, some sort of hybrid writing--) this may be substantially longer. It should include a cohesive argument, description, and explanation of your project and how the work developed.

Project Schedule

Here's the presentation schedule for this week:

Wednesday, April 15, meeting in the Faculty/Staff Lounge, MCC

Sasha

Camryn

Sydney

Travis

Lisa

Kelton (we're looking at Kelton's project on site, so depending we may look at his work first or last)

Friday, April 17, meeting at Faculty/Staff Lounge MCC, then shuttle to Kerry

Abbie

Angel

Keenan

Stella

Ian

Ross

Sam

To be scheduled:

Carla

Jessie

Brendon

Brian

Zoe

If you have not scheduled a time to present your project, please email me with your preference no later than tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14. I will update this list as soon as possible. 

All writings due Monday, April 20. 

Survey Says

Hello everyone, 

Here is a link to a quick (but important) survey that the Cornish Library designed to help them better design their orientation for next year's Integrated Studies. 

At your earliest convenience, would you please fill out the survey (it's all online) and confirm with me when you've completed it? 

Thanks.

Death and Life

Hi, just checking in. Tomorrow we'll be focusing on the reading from Jane Jacobs and looking at proposals for your site-based projects, talking about a timeline for production (and required elements), and delving further into what you should be compiling for a list of works cited. See you all tomorrow. Weather journal? It's like 60 today!

Wednesday, March 25

We're meeting tomorrow at Kerry Hall for a walk down to The Egan House. Information on the location (and image) courtesy Historic Seattle here.

Week of March 23rd

Mon, 3/23:

DUE: Writing on your tour. Over the weekend you were encouraged to take someone on a tour of your chosen site. The intention here is two-fold: first, to think of this writing as a revision based on experiential research in the field, where you are designing your writing in conversation with other people (collaborators?). Second, to see the tour as an opening version into a project about/on the site. Like the Reverse Charrette project that came before it, and the charrette project that preceded that, the last few weeks of this course will be in development of a project that you make, built around your experiences with your location. It doesn't have to be a historical account of the site, but hopefully it will unfold the place and it's forgotten or overlooked aspects. 

In-class: Discussion on Dark Days and Peter Marin's Helping and Hating the Homeless.

Wed, 3/25: Tour Egan House with Stella, TBA

Fri, 3/27: Seattle Central Library, Database training and history, TBA

Tomten album released

We're listening to the new Tomten album right now, and it's amazing. We're trying to place their sound and think it lies somewhere in the nether region between Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music, Peter Sarstedt, Waylon Jennings, Yoko Ono, Cornelius, and Beck (the Mutations era).  Here is a link to their myspace page, and if you haven't seen the images of their performance in Room 303 last December, check them out here. 

Post-Spring Break

Hi,

Special thanks to everyone in Theatre who read for us today, you are all so awesome. Here's what I've got planned for this week:

Mon, 3/16: Welcome back! Discussion on the Weather Journal in progress.

We'll read Mallery Avidon's play in class, together. BRING YOUR COPY WITH YOU.

Wed, 3/18: Bibliography (for your Proposed Land Use Action site/research project) DRAFT due, with three examples of your Weather Journal as well. We'll be working with the weather journal entries deeply in class, exploring them, rewriting them, adding, subtracting, changing. Depending on time, I may also begin screening Dark Days. Reading assignment: William Whyte, Undesirables, Peter Marin, Helping and Hating the Homeless.

Fri, 3/20: Film: Dark Days, dir. Mark Singer, 2000. Following this (or maybe half of this, depending on time), you'll be breaking into groups of two or three and going to tour one of the Proposed Land Use Action sites you've identified. The tour (depending on your role, obviously) will be the subject of a short writing piece, due Monday. If you are leading the tour, you can revise your preliminary draft, adding to the experience, locating any difficulties with the experience, completely retooling as necessary. If you are being toured, you'll be recording the experience, trying to describe and explain what you saw and how you saw it.

Tacoma Underground

In the wake of our recent Seattle Underground Tour, it seems prescient to note that The Weekly Volcano just wrote their cover story on the possible routes through/under Tacoma. Shanghai? Speakeasy? Drugs? Heating? Students? You name it, it's probably somewhere under The City of Destiny. 

The article is here

Rainier Square

images courtesy Lead Pencil Studio and Lawrimore Project

RETAIL/COMMERCIAL

LEAD PENCIL STUDIO 

February 6th through March 14th, 2009 

Rainier Square Shopping Center 

411 Union Street (Between 4th and 5th) 

Seattle, Washington 

Hours: Fridays/Saturdays 1-6pm 

Project Summary: Retail/Commercial is a site specific installation that responds directly to a 4,300 SF former Italian men’s clothing retailer. The site was selected for its proximity to the thriving and continually regenerating retail core of the city and for its adjacency to the exclusive shopping boutiques surrounding the store. Within this retail environment, there is nothing for sale. Instead, the artists present only the armatures used for the sale of goods and the interior surfaces that contain them. 

The project deploys the sectioned spatial configurations of three retail environments overlapping within the shell of an existing musty fourth. With the exception of some new material for the shell re-configuration, the primary material for the exhibition was sourced from neighborhood dumpsters and “going out of business” liquidation sales that occurred during January 2009, most within a two blocks of the site. 

The artists are principally interested in the architectural section as a full scale method for analysis and as a means to quarantine individual spatial environments. Other interests in evidence include a pursuance of color across space, architectural phase changes, incongruous formal collisions, observations on the disquiet of architectural influence and emptiness or the lack thereof. 

This project was made possible by the generous support of UNICO Properties, The Mayor’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, King County 4 Culture, Creative Capital and Artist Trust. 

Here is a link to Jen Graves' article on the Slog, describing the project and the really strange opening night.

Also, here is a link to a podcast interview that the artists did with The Stranger in 2006, after being award their Genius Award. 

Where Is My Proposed Land Use Action Site?

Please post your answers as comments to this post.

Image courtesy vintageseattle.org

Discussing The Mezzanine

Here's the questions we generated during yesterday's class, to give us some starting points when discussing The Mezzanine. As you're reading, let me know if there are additions (or subtractions) to this group? Do some chapters suggest only one approach for us in our discussions? 

How is time explored in the book? Is the narrator recognizing a generation gap; is he aware of a "timelessness" to the objects and experiences, and how does he experience their disappearance? Are these anachronisms? 

How is regionalism addressed? Is the book written in a dialect or with a certain inflection? Are there scenarios that only happen in certain areas of the country?

How difficult is the reading, and does the (your) level of engagement change throughout your reading of the text? 

How transparent are the author's intentions? Where is he going with this?

How is The Mezzanine informing your own research and writing practices?

How are the experiences derived from childhood? Does he suggest that the past is better?

What were his major advances (into adulthood), and what are your major advances? Are they mirroring one another or separating?

When does the writing occur? Is this memoir or fiction? How is trust built with a narrator?

Here is an interview with Baker that addresses some of the topics we described. 

Art, Theatre, Design, Rusty Trombone?

I LEGO N.Y.

So this project, like everything else we do, can (and hopefully will) have a vital interdisciplinary part to it. Here is an example of work from Christoph Niemann.

Semester project

As we’ve been discussing, and as Heather Sheppard outlined during her research presentation (using Ballard Denny’s as a model), all of the writings for the rest of the semester will be considered as ONE PIECE. While some weeks will be prompted, others will be self-directed. Formats and responses will be different—some weeks you’ll write poetry, essays, short stories, scripts, blocking notes, proposals, forms, drafts, and notes. All of these writings (along with your notes from class and observations from the field) will be submitted periodically throughout the semester (see below), along with a bibliography. The bibliography is a cognitive map of your investigations during this course. It will record the places you go, the books and articles you read, the images you see, interviews you conduct, tours you take, films you watch, music you hear, conversations you hold. The semester will see this writing project grow organically.

While the first three weeks have been focused on The Reverse Charrette Project, the next several weeks will be focusing on four discrete but potentially interconnected things:  Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine, the homeless population that shares our city with us, the waste stream moving through Seattle, and your work identifying locations you’ve passed, been curious about, fear, love, hate, or know already. We’ll begin by casting a wide net, looking at several sites, getting a feel for what kind of writings will work, and then slowly focus, narrow down a group of sites that may have commonalities, significant differences, or nothing in common at all. 

To begin, we’ll look at your writings weekly (2-3 pages recommended per person, every week), in a series of peer-review sessions; sharing approaches, reading works for content and form. We’ll integrate textual analysis, research methodologies, and conceptual approaches to a potentially wide range of places around town.

Reverse Charrette Project

Thanks to Google Maps for this image. This posting will be the repository for all the writing components and schedule for the Reverse Charrette Project. It repeats (and describes further) the Course Calendar, posted below. 

STAKEOUT. Research the location for the Reverse Charrette Project and write a piece that includes factual information on the site that is acquired from a source that is not the internet. This information may come from the library, an interview with a resident or worker in the neighborhood, a walk with a friend, time spent at the location, or perhaps something entirely different. These writings will be the basis for our seminar next Wednesday, so they may be notes, poems, or an essay, but they should be in a format that can be shared with the group. As always, you are welcome to include any other materials you find pertinent (photos, video, webcam, audio samples), but the primary work will emerge and build off of your writings. DUE Wednesday, January 21.

BORDERLINE OR, WRITING AROUND THE BLOCK. Working with only found text appropriated from the one block radius (same side of the street) as the site at 2105 6th Avenue, create a written piece that gives a sense of the location, the neighborhood, and the experience of walking around with the group. DUE Monday, January 26.

REVERSE CHARETTE RESPONSE. Most of this description is co-opted from the previous charrette project, but this is done honestly, as I'd like to create a link to that process here. This piece is to be an essay responding to your experiences and the development of your REVERSE charrette project. This piece is designed to reflect on the last three weeks of the course, and describe/explain particular elements that have been significant in your work (in IS) during this time. As we've discussed in class, the curriculum has (obviously) been very layered with readings, videos, audio works, your writings, field work, seminars, and group/collective project work all sharing the same place. We've ventured out into the surrounding neighborhoods, empty lots, donut shops, stone 

You've worked in groups together, exploring the layers of your own discipline and a new, perhaps foreign, way of responding to the environment. What drives you, and how is that drive perhaps encapsulated or exhibited in the project you've made? Are there things that you learned through the process that you feel are vital to share with an audience, or things that may just need to be written to clarify them? How have you seen these disparate sources link together in your writing? In your project? Are there things that really worked in the group project? Was your voice heard? How did the project develop with you or around you? What role did you find yourself taking in the process, and is this a role you've previously had in other projects? Part of the ensemble? Composer? Author? In building a document of this nature, I would encourage you to look back at the readings we've done and the writings you've done (your notes, your descriptions, your research), looking for patterns and (MLA-style) possible citations or quotes. Did certain authors articulate thoughts on a particular aspect of this program for you?

In considering the length of this document, I'm not going to offer a *word count* as a guide, but my suggestion is that it is a length (maybe 4 pages or more, or more) that allows you some space to substantially discuss everything that went into this project for you. DUE Monday, February 2.

WEATHER JOURNAL. Everyday. Due Monday, February 2. 

Reverse Charrette Calendar Dates to Remember:

PRESENTATIONS IN-CLASS ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 30!

Snack Day Friday Returns

Here's the tentative schedule. And remember, like last semester, it's not a meal, it's a snack.

1/16: Me

1/23: Paramount Tour 2pm

1/30: Travis

2/6: Abbie, Jessica

2/13: Keenan

2/20:

2/27: 

3/6: Camryn

3/13: Spring Break

3/20: Sydney

3/27: Sasha, Angel

4/3:

4/10: Blake, Lisa

4/17: Zoe, Stella

4/24: Ross

5/1: Last class!

Proposed Land Use Action Calendar

Week 1

Mon, 1/12: Introduction, syllabus overview

Wed, 1/14: SEMINAR--Course reader re-cap: Steve Featherstone, Alain de Botton, Alfred Kazin, JB Jackson, Nicholson Baker, Susan Mitchell. Reading assignment: Andy Warhol, "Atmosphere".

REVERSE CHARRETTE: Taking our cues from Sydney and the charrette project we did last semester, we will again be working in team-based situations. However, like a really good reality tv show, there is a new twist: You will be again be working with a group in your discipline, BUT you will be using the tools and methods of ANOTHER discipline to execute your project. For instance, if we take a group of dancers, lead them to a site and ask them to do a visual art project with the material, what will the results be?

Fri, 1/16: SEMINAR-- Andy Warhol, "Atmosphere".

Reverse charrette, group work. Return portfolios from Fall semester.

Writing project DUE Wednesday, 1/21: STAKEOUT. Research the location for the Reverse Charrette Project and write a piece that includes factual information on the site that is acquired from a source that is not the internet. This information may come from the library, an interview with a resident or worker in the neighborhood, a walk with a friend, time spent at the location, or perhaps something entirely different. These writings will be the basis for our seminar next Wednesday, so they may be notes, poems, or an essay, but they should be in a format that can be shared with the group. As always, you are welcome to include any other materials you find pertinent (photos, video, webcam, audio samples), but the primary work will emerge and build off of your writings.

Week 2

Mon, 1/19: NO CLASS, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY

Wed, 1/21: Writing project DUE with Reverse Charrette casebook on Monday, 2/2: Borderline or, Writing Around the Block. Working with only found text, appropriated from a one block radius (same side of the street) as the site at 2105 6th Avenue, create a written piece that gives a sense of the location, the neighborhood, and the experience of walking around with the group. Reverse charrette group work and writing, discussion on site. Reading assignment: Handout.

Fri, 1/23 Tour Paramount Theatre, 2 pm.

Week 3

Mon, 1/26: Reverse charrette team-based work.

Wed, 1/28: Visiting lecturer Heather Shepherd, Cornish Librarian.

Reading assignment: Rem Koolhaas/OMA Process Book. See link at right.

Fri, 1/30: Reverse Charrette Presentations in class.

Week 4

Mon, 2/2: Film: The Cruise. Reverse Charette casebook DUE.

Writing assignment: Choose two locations in the city--PROPOSED LAND USE ACTIONS--and write brief descriptions of each site, describing and explaining how and when you located them. Due Friday, February 6. Reading assignment: Nicholson Baker, The Mezzanine, ch. 1-3.

Wed, 2/4: SEMINAR on The Cruise, "Mystery on Pearl Street", The Mezzanine. What are the connections between the three pieces, and how are they different/distinct? Reading assignment: The Mezzanine, ch. 4-5.

Fri, 2/6: Seattle Central Library TBA. Library card required, see link at right.

Week 5

Mon, 2/9: SEMINAR on The Mezzanine. Writing in response to the text, in response to one of the sites you've located, linking the two together.

Wed, 2/11: SEMINAR on The Mezzanine, continued

Fri, 2/13: Film: Streetwise. In-class writing:

Week 6

Mon, 2/16: NO CLASS, PRESIDENT'S DAY

Wed, 2/18: SEMINAR on The Mezzanine, ch. 6-8, finish reading text for Monday

Writing due: Descirbe your chosen Proposed Land Use Action site in the style of Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine.

Fri, 2/20: Tour Moore Theatre 2pm, Lead Pencil Studio at 5th & Union TBA

Week 7

Mon, 2/23: Reading assignment: Real Change

Wed, 2/25: SEMINAR on Real Change

Films: The Hidden Life of Garbage, Fresh Kill

Fri, 2/27: Pioneer Square, writing in-class

Week 8

Mon, 3/2, Individual meetings, see list

Wed, 3/4, Individual meetings, see list

Fri, 3/6, Seattle Underground Tour, 2 pm

Pick-up Course Reader for 3/16

Week 9

NO CLASS, SPRING BREAK

Week 10

Mon, 3/16: BRING COURSE READER TO CLASS.

Wed, 3/18:

Fri, 3/20: Film: Dark Days. MOHAI TBA This is a placeholder

Week 11

Mon, 3/23: Writing due

Wed, 3/25:

Fri, 3/27: Seattle Central Library TBA This is a placeholder

Week 12

Mon, 3/30: Writing due

Wed, 4/1:

Fri, 4/3: Meeting at Seattle Central Library TBA

Week 13

Mon, 4/6: Class discussion

Wed, 4/8: Class discussion on Jane Jacobs

Fri, 4/10: Films: Christo in Paris, Islands

Week 14

Mon, 4/13: sick day, no class

Wed, 4/15: Project presentation TBA

Fri, 4/17: Project presentation TBA

Week 15

Mon, 4/20: Film TBA. Portfolios DUE.

Wed, 4/22: Presentations in class

Fri, 4/24: Field work TBA

Week 16

Mon, 4/27: Focus group meeting, see list

Wed, 4/29: Focus group meeting, see list

Fri, 5/1: Cluster meeting at Cascade People's Center TBA. See list

Weather

For every day of the Spring Semester, write a description of the weather in Seattle.