urbanstategies-blog

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False Perceptions of Reality: Social Media and the Urban Environment

For this project, we will be exploring the close and often conflicting relationship between the urban environment and its interaction towards modern society, principally the effect upon Millennials. In order to achieve this, our primary point of focus will be on James’ research and understanding within the Design Research III paper, which ultimately aims to create a final piece of work for the Art + Design Exhibition 2017. We will also be taking inspiration from previous papers that we have undertaken within this course. For this paper, James is analysing how social media allows its users to create a believable façade, which allows them to depict their seemingly ‘ideal‘ lifestyles towards an outside audience. It isn’t merely Snapchat, Facebook or Instagram which is guilty of this virtual-reality crime, but also caught in this deceitful web is Advertising. There are a multitude of examples to choose from, with one being how toothpaste commercials will display to you actors with flaunting their perfect, porcelain teeth and their overly-forced expressions. In reality though, brushing your teeth is anything but glamorous, due to the paste running out of your mouth and the strange noises we usually tend to make. (fig. 1, 2) This is because in reality, it would be extremely messy and not appealing to any viewer. Therefore you have to ask the question, ‘Would consumers still want to buy the product after knowing this truth?’

Linking this all back to Semester Two last year, Katie looked at the differences between the cyber-world and the real-world. Whilst reality has become more difficult to define with new approaches and advances in technology and online games that have become more readily available, social media have the ability to disconnect us from reality. Millennials have the habit of being engrossed in their technological devices,, such as their smart phone. This disconnects them from acknowledging or being consciously present in the urban environment that surrounds them. In the reading, ‘The City of Collective Memory’ by Christine Boyer (ref. 1), she states that “Both the theatre and urban spaces are places of representation and assemblage." Also noted is how there is an exchange between both spectators and actors. When they acted out their live performance, they were intertwining the public as the spectators and them as the actors. This became a collective event within the public urban space. The public did not participate actively with the theatre, yet were all intrigued by what was happening in front of them. During this performance, some members of the public seemed to put down their technology devices to watch the performance progress. They looked as if they were questioning the meaning behind the act. Our ambition is to achieve the same result.

We also took inspiration from one of the past assignments during our research for Urban Ecologies during Semester One, 2016. Katie focused upon improving a public green space and turning it into an oasis, in order to make it more involving of the public and bring together different cultural groups in our society. Whereas James focused on people's interactions amongst each other and the role of nature in an urban environment, such as high-rises. We both took various elements from our separate projects in an effort to draw attention towards the true nature of social media and the false perceptions of reality that are depicted towards an audience. Often what is advertised is materialised and made to be more desirable to the viewer than it might actually be. We plan to highlight this issue for our final visual aspect of this project. We will do this by creating a campaign of posters that will show realistic advertisements which make people think about the message in a truthful light when they look at them. We want people to realise once they have seen these posters, that they are constantly being told a false idea of the reality they live in. Looking at Plato's ‘Allegory of The Cave’(ref. 2), the prisoners have no idea that the world they inhabit is counterfeit, that they are in fact imprisoned and they only know the reality that incarcerates them.

We will create a campaign of advertisements that draws elements from both of our pathways within our respective areas of study, Photography/Illustration and Advertising. These advertisements will focus on how the public is deceived in terms of products they believe they need to buy. For example, Kylie Jenner publicly denied for a long period of time that she had lip injections and insisted it was all thanks to her lip-liner and liquid lipsticks that she sells. Later on, she openly revealed that she had in fact, used lip fillers since she explained that a constant insecurity about her appearance was that of her lips. Shortly afterwards, she grabbed the attention of many young people by revealing her new Kylie Jenner Lip Kit product on Snapchat and other platforms of social media, making teenage girls everywhere desire to emulate Kylie Jenner’s appearance. She was able to use the power of social media to advertise her product and constantly entice girls around the world to look more like her. Looking at ‘The Emancipated Spectator’ reading, it is said that “Viewing is the opposite of knowing. The spectator is held before an appearance in a state of ignorance about the process of production of this appearance, about the reality it conceals.” (Rancière, 2009) (ref. 3)

Technical aspects that we will encounter include printing costs, paper stock and quality, camera equipment, studio space and product placement. We will start by going into the photography studio once we have finalised the people and objects we want to photograph for our posters. There have been a multitude of ideas considered for our campaign and what has the best ability to accurately convey our message. A possibility could be creating a satirical view of common toothpaste advertisements and showing what it is really like to clean your teeth. Again, this raises the question, ‘Would you buy the product if it was depicted in this manner?’

Katie will be using her camera to film the two of us putting up posters at night as it is typically not allowed. We were considering the fact that the posters may attract unwanted attention from security, police or members of the general public. To create these posters, we will be utilising Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator in order to design/edit the final product. To edit the video, we will  be using Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. This will create a more professional and streamlined end product to relay our message. We will need to film the end result and show how the public reacts to the campaign content and us putting these up in the city. This method will be used to create a spectacle that draws the attention of the viewer closer, possibly making them think about the future. “The spectacle is not merely a matter of images, nor even of images plus sounds. It is whatever escapes people's activity, whatever eludes their practical reconsideration and correction.” (Debord, 2005) (ref. 4)  The imagery that people are exposed to can alter their personal opinions. It can regenerate their thoughts, reducing what people think they know into a universe of speculation.

The idea of incorporating illustration into the posters is being strongly considered as we could make our message more inventive and attract attention from a wider audience of viewers. It is this concept of playing with a simple, yet effective strategy which will be able to entice the viewer towards the poster. For example, the work of Keith Haring is very effective in directing a message to its target audience due to his use of simple lines with the bold use of colour which creates an impact. (fig. 3) For our posters, we will use 180GSM paper to provide the necessary strength to withstand the stress of being placed in the urban landscape. We plan to have these printed at Warehouse Stationery, since it is more cost-effective for university students and we want to make the most of their student discount system. This will be helpful as we intend to print 6 copies of each final image and there are three final posters in total for our campaign. This will bring the total number of prints created to 18. 

The advertising campaign will be displayed by placing the posters onto Adshels, store fronts and also on the ground, so that members of the public are given the opportunity to acknowledge them. People may walk around them or walk over them as they tend to feel uncomfortable when being made to participate. The public's reactions to the advertisements will be filmed and the footage will be used to create a video which will present our findings. The posters will be comedic with the approach we wish to take. This could make people question whether or not it is a real advertisement, as it is not often you see an advertisement representing the product in its true form and function. We feel this will also be another method to provoke different reactions from members of the public. A video called ‘How Girls Use Instagram vs. Reality’, is a good example of the issues presented in today's society when it comes to social media and advertising. In this video, the girls falsely depict their daily activities and only show their friends on social media what they want them to see. We plan to use this video as inspiration as it relays the message we are trying to convey clearly and effectively. (ref. 5, fig. 4)

The overall ambition we have in terms of ethics and values are that we want to present the public with a realistic depiction of what they are typically brainwashed into believing and what is expected of them as individuals within the realm of social media/advertising. It has the unique ability to effortlessly glamourise many aspects of our daily lives that are seemingly ordinary. This way, consumers feel more enticed and confident in buying the products from retailers. However, do you believe that it is morally wrong if we are being deceived into accepting a known false reality? Realistically, people are well aware of the truth behind the product, yet are more than willing to accept living in blissful ignorance and believe the false expectations that the advertisement promises to them.

The current rate at which social media has evolved in the timeframe of only a few short years is quite startling, especially when you consider the fact of  how one trend is able to be replaced overnight by something else. You could almost call this constant need to be connected with the latest and greatest piece of technology an obsession. The problem however, is that we can all too often be distracted from reality by what is being projected towards us, which is the audience. As opposed to questioning the message or imagery that is being aimed towards us, many people are able to  simply accept this hollow, echoing promise as the whole truth. It comes down to the point that it is much easier to agree with what you are told, rather than to question it. The overall focus of our project aims to narrow in on this ever-evolving aspect of modern culture and how we are able to be deceived into believing this manufactured system of false promises. By exposing members of the general public to our campaign, we are inviting those who are willing, to begin to feel more confident in questioning their perception of the world around them.

Reference list: 

Fig 1 & 2:  Sansone, C., Strusiewicz, C. J., Cheese, J., Doran, B., & Voets, C. (n.d.). 4 Things That TV Commercials Will Never Show You. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-things-that-tv-commercials-will-never-show-you/

Fig 3: Untitled, 1983. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2017, from http://www.haring.com/!/art-work/741#.WO7eN7SAq0g

Fig 4: Oh My Gags. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2017, from https://www.facebook.com/comedy.central.buzz/videos/742476935856046/

Ref 1: Ferguson, P. P., & Boyer, M. C. (1996). The City of Collective Memory: Its Historical Imagery and Architectural Entertainments. Contemporary Sociology, 25(6), 778. doi:10.2307/2077287

Ref 2: Badiou, A. (2015). Plato's Republic. John Wiley & Sons.

Ref 3:  The Emancipated Spectator and Modernism. (n.d.). Understanding Rancière, Understanding Modernism. doi:10.5040/9781501311406.ch-005

Ref 4: Debord, G. (2005). Société du spectacle. Classiques des sciences sociales.doi:10.1522/cla.deg.soc

Ref 5: Oh My Gags. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2017, from https://www.facebook.com/comedy.central.buzz/videos/742476935856046/

[urbanstategies-blog]

Week SIX.

7. 4. 17.

Project Presentations:

Christine - Cafe Car Interior   -  Guest = Host

i.e. How they interact with each other

Kirstie Toms - Intervention to Britomart Train Station Staircase & Escalators

- Making a game out of choosing either option by rewarding points, use of music, etc.

Ben - Rewiring Our Perception of Urban Area & Pre-conceived Ideas

- 3D printed houses (configure to individual specifications)

- Recycling  i.e.  Antoni Gaudi

- Lego house (modular homes)

Mikayla & Harrison - Junk Free Event

- Trade trash to repurpose

- Stall, trade fair, exhibition

James & Katie - False Perceptions within Social Media/Advertising

- Peoples beliefs and interactions with social media

- Glamourising what is actually ordinary  i.e. brushing teeth in toothpaste commercials

- Posters around city to address this matter to audience

Ashley & Ellen - Rules Around Public & Private Space

- Trade based on what people value  i.e. perfume for an Apple

- Community space

Kerry - Psychogeography & Experiencing the Urban Landscape

- Going for a walk, making words with tracking on Google Maps

- Creating a new typeface

Emily - Hosting/Guesting Within Events & Urban Areas

- Imagined/actual reality

- Commercialism & consumerism 

- Rio de Janeiro Stadium + Favela

Kevin, Katy & Ruby - Tea Party Hosting

- Kawakawa plants in footpath cracks

- Tea party to bridge gap from guest to host

Paxton & Jenny - Trans-Cultural Relations

- Europeans wearing traditional Samoan clothing (appropriate?)

- peoples reactions

Alex & Jen - Host/Guest in Maori Culture

- Koha boxes

- Make food appealing by painting container

- Make people feel comfortable enough to accept gifts that are being offered

[urbanstategies-blog]

An example of landscape architecture at The Palace of Versailles, France.

via http://thearmchairs.com/landscape-architecture

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Hooton Reserve Lucas Creek Cycleway.

- Periphery (suburbs)

- Why build public spaces in the suburbs?

- Te Ara Alexander Creek Cycleway

- Wetlands

- Paths, Tracks and Trails (book)

- Landscape architecture

- Master of Landscape Architecture at UNITEC

[urbanstategies-blog]

Week FIVE.

31. 3. 17.

Reading: The Right to the City by Lefebvre, h. (1968)

- change the city first by changing ourselves

- what is a city?

- is it still a city without people?

- social/urban infrastructure that can be improved upon = public transport

What was happening in France in 1968?

- strikes (11 million people)

- imagine a protest with 11 million people involved

- workers rights/demands

Presentation next week about project

- can use powerpoint

- show background research

K’ Road (no vandalism/bus stops/walls)

Will police get involved?

Take down campaigns after photographs/video to avoid trouble

write about what to expect in the outline

Planning document is an investigation

Site visit (does it fit with our idea)

[urbanstategies-blog]

Project Draft.

Project Title:  ?

Create a campaign of posters/advertisements that focus on the impact of social media towards our perception reality/fantasy. These will be placed over advertisements currently in place (such as adshels).

We will film these posters being placed in their locations at night. Later, we will return during the morning and film peoples responses/reactions towards this. Some may take an interest, others might not care or notice at all.

Questions:

1. Consider the projects relationship with previous MINOR papers and readings (i.e. Hosting by Westmoreland/Urban Ecologies report)

2. Identify what research needs to be done and undertaken (divide tasks between ourselves)

3. HOW - will this project be enacted? Think about modes of visibility

Research further:

1. adbusters

2. yesmen

3. myths sold to society / false hope

4. East Germany (no advertising) WHY?

5. Who owns the billboards/adshels scattered around Central Auckland?

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I really like this idea of placing something on top of an existing advertisement and creating something new out of it. I’m always interested if people notice this slight change or if they couldn’t care less.

via http://www.paper-plane.fr/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/guerilla-marketing-paris-ray-ban-never-hide-street-art-lunettes-glasses-alternatif-6-600x400.jpg

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via http://payload112.cargocollective.com/1/9/310950/4549292/tumblr_m6yqskqGES1rxe0xfo1_1280.jpg

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Week FOUR.

24 . 03 . 17

- Michel de Certeau / The Practice of Everyday Life

i.e. North African in Paris. Subject to constraints imposed by society such as language

- How do you relieve stress in your everyday life?

- Work/leisure (working longer hours/what to do in leisure time)

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Week THREE.

Te Uru Gallery/Titirangi.

17 . 03. 17

Looked at a number of works so that we could gain an understanding of how our projects can be visualised. I found the use of split-screen an interesting idea, whereby you can show two opposing situations unfolding at the same location/time, yet the context is different. This might be something me and Katie use within our work.

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Project Outline.

Both myself and Katie want to incorporate various elements of our chosen pathways within our major of Communication Design (two of only three in the class). I specialise in Advertising, whilst Katie works on Photography/Illustration. We’re going to bring elements from our respect areas of practice into this project and show them in an urban setting.

To start with, we’re looking at elements of the paper taken in Semester 1 Year 2 of this course. Mine was called, ‘Being Strident: Proposition or Manifesto’, which analysed the connections/interactions between people/nature and the urban environment. The part that we will concentrate on relates to people/groups.

However, our main area of focus will be directed towards the research I’m undertaking within my major, which is:

‘The Difference Between Reality and Social Media’

This will focus on role that social media has on people and how it creates a warped sense of reality/what is expected.

- Aspects of social media and its relationship with the urban landscape

- Unrealistic image through social media  e.g. Instagram/Snapchat/Facebook

- Shown through campaign/poster/photography

- Form vs. Function

How will this be shown within the urban environment?

- Create a campaign of advertisements/posters that show the effects social media has on creating unrealistic standards to consumers

Readings:

- The Spectator and The Audience

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via https://www.buffalorising.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Conflict-Kitchen-Buffalo-NY.jpg

http://conflictkitchen.org

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10 . 03 . 17

Hosting presentation.

- Hanare/Social Kitchen

- Gift worker (offering services)

- Conflict Kitchen  -  Pittsburg

          serves food from nations which the USA is at war with.

          reflects current geopolitical situation.

- David Harvey : The Right of the City

          run a place down and displace residents.

          re-invest and build up (apartments) and displace people yet again.

- Ken Bailey  -  Boston

          public kitchen.

          shows peoples feelings towards ‘public’, such as poor, broken down,      inefficiently-run and ‘less-than’ private.

          productive fiction (experimenting with a new, with a work in perpetual progress to create a more vibrant infrastructure.

[urbanstategies-blog]

Week TWO.

/ -

Reading:

For the Group ONE reading, we wanted to show the difference between ‘Absolute Hospitality’ and what you typically expect as a guest. To do this, we told people where to sit, made them answer questions as a group and submit those questions. Essentially, we were hostile and telling them what to do in our space. 

Afterwards, we told everyone to leave the class and wait outside. When they came back in, we were friendly and had food/drinks for them. We then asked the same questions as before, but as a discussion amongst the class so that everyone could talk if they wanted.

Our reasoning behind this was to show the difference in being made to feel as though you are either a foreigner or a citizen, depending on your treatment and perception of your host.

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State & Heritage Housing

https://mattelliottnz.com/2017/02/11/parekowhais-the-lighthouse-and-the-reality-of-auckland-state-and-heritage-housing/

I stumbled across this article which explores some areas of Auckland’s heritage buildings and the health of our state housing.

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Questions

My questions towards the class for next weeks reading.

- Do you feel foreign or uncomfortable in your own home when a guest is over? How do you deal with that?

- What do you expect from the host? Food, entertainment, etc.

- Do you feel as though you need to offer anything as a guest or host? Why is that?

- Is there a culture of hospitality in NZ?

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Week ONE.

/ -

For this weeks class, we were put into numbered groups for the readings that each group would take turns presenting each week. Afterwards, we made our way to ‘The Lightouse’ by Michael Parekowhai at Queens Wharf to study and discuss the impact this work has towards the people of Auckland, both locals and tourists alike.

Reading  -  

Westmoreland, M. (2008). Interruptions: Derrida and hospitality

Notes:

- Hospitality (interruptions)

- Law is able to be constructed and deconstructed

- No culture without hospitality

- Absolute hospitality (no debt or exchange)

- Foreign vs. Citizen

- Master, host, guest, foreigner

- Stranger in your own home