I'm beginning some research for my thesis year, and although I havent decided exactly what my thesis is, I'd like some readings that maybe you guys could suggest to help me narrow it down.
I'm interested in the body and how we manipulate it through reduction (lipo, dieting), addition (implants), inscription (tatoo), etc. all in hopes of beautification.
In terms of beautification, I'm interested in either exploring beauty defined by historical/anthropological means (Japanese royalty painted their teeth black, today we have pearly whites. Celebrities today are embracing a fuller womanly figure, such as Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones, J-Lo,etc.) or technological means (body was manipulated using technology outside of itself, now we can incorporate technology within the body, future may be virtual reality in which body becomes obsolete)
That's basically what I've been thinking the past few days. So thanks in advance to everyone who will contribute some information
read STUD edited and contributed to by joel sanders. some good essays about bodily manipulation. body building, sexuality, gendered spaces in realtion to architecture/urbanism
seems like diller/scofidio did some work in this area a decade or so ago: prosthetics, etc.
also the book 'architecture and body', eds. scott marble, david smiley, and marwan al-sayed, may be helpful.
can't find the book right now but, at the turn of the 20thc, alois riegl's wrote about style and ornament : piercing, tattoo/face-paintingand their significance in a variety of cultures.
'thinking through the body' by jane gallop is not a design book, but an interesting consideration of creativity and the body/mind relationship.
don't know if these will help, but worth checking out anyway.
don't know about readings, but go get something pierced. Seriously. Maybe a couple of somethings, from different parlors. Let them have a little fun with you, since you can always just remove it later. Become your own little experiment.
And don't lump Renee Zellweger with the 'womanly' crowd- have you seen pics of her lately? Someone send the girl a sandwich.
I happened to research KIND OF similar issues. Have a browse of my references. Some more appropriate than others - I edited a bit - my work centered more on paranoia and CCTV. Good Luck. Make sure to browse Headmap.org
REFERENCES
[2] Frohne, Levin, Weibel. CTRL [SPACE]: Rhetorics of Surveillance from Bentham to Big Brother. MIT Press: Cambridge, 2002.
[3] Lui, Catherine. A Brief Genealogy of Privacy. Grey Room, 1 May 2004. Vol 1, no.15, pp 102-118(17). MIT Press.
[4] Lyon, David. Everyday Surveillance. Information, Communication and Society. Apr 2002. vol. 5, pp. 242-257. Routledge.
[6] CCTV: Does it work?. 13 Aug 2002. BBC. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2071496.stm>
[8] Headmap. Headmap: Location Aware Devices. London: 1999.
[13] Cauter, Leiven De. The Capsular Civilization. Nai Publishers: 2004.
[15] Lefebvre, Henri. The production of space. Paris, 1974. Trans into English by Nicholson-Smith in 1991.
[16] Coyne, Richard. Technoromanticism. MIT Press: Cambridge, 1999.
[17] Smithson, Alison and Peter. Charged Void: urbanism. Unpublished 2005.
[22] The Institute for Applied Autonomy. 5 Apr 2005. iSEE <http://www.appliedautonomy.com/isee/info2.html>
[27] Critical Art Ensemble. 2005. Statement of Intentions.
[31] Tabor, P. I am a Videocam: The Glamour of Surveillance.[Profile No. 118, Architects in Cyberspace], 65(11-12), pp. 15-19. 1995.
[32] Grosz, Elizabeth. Notes on the Thing. Perspecta 33. MIT Press: Cambridge, 2002.
[35] Wearable Environmental Media. Keio University SF. 2005. <http://www.wem.sfc.keio.ac.jp/wem/pages/systems.htm>
[36] MIThrill. MIT. 2005. <http://www.media.mit.edu/wearables/mithril/index.html>
[37] Sony aims to beam sights, sounds into brain. 7 Apr 2005. CNN. < http://tinyurl.com/5mmex>
[38] Speed. Version 1.1: Myths of Electronic Living. Benjamin Bratton. 2001.
OH! to get your creative juices flowing, rent a bunch of david cronenberg's movies and have yourself a private film festival. don't eat before your watch them.
the fly, videodrome, naked lunch, dead ringers, crash, etc.
Adolf Loos' "Ornament and Crime"...a series of very interesting essays on ornamentation in architecture...and society. He also claims that only derelicts and criminals use tattoos and other bodily 'ornamentation'. A must read!
Exploration of the Body and Manipulation
I'm beginning some research for my thesis year, and although I havent decided exactly what my thesis is, I'd like some readings that maybe you guys could suggest to help me narrow it down.
I'm interested in the body and how we manipulate it through reduction (lipo, dieting), addition (implants), inscription (tatoo), etc. all in hopes of beautification.
In terms of beautification, I'm interested in either exploring beauty defined by historical/anthropological means (Japanese royalty painted their teeth black, today we have pearly whites. Celebrities today are embracing a fuller womanly figure, such as Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones, J-Lo,etc.) or technological means (body was manipulated using technology outside of itself, now we can incorporate technology within the body, future may be virtual reality in which body becomes obsolete)
That's basically what I've been thinking the past few days. So thanks in advance to everyone who will contribute some information
read STUD edited and contributed to by joel sanders. some good essays about bodily manipulation. body building, sexuality, gendered spaces in realtion to architecture/urbanism
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1568980760/qid=1119292449/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/002-6111122-0913640
seems like diller/scofidio did some work in this area a decade or so ago: prosthetics, etc.
also the book 'architecture and body', eds. scott marble, david smiley, and marwan al-sayed, may be helpful.
can't find the book right now but, at the turn of the 20thc, alois riegl's wrote about style and ornament : piercing, tattoo/face-paintingand their significance in a variety of cultures.
'thinking through the body' by jane gallop is not a design book, but an interesting consideration of creativity and the body/mind relationship.
don't know if these will help, but worth checking out anyway.
don't know about readings, but go get something pierced. Seriously. Maybe a couple of somethings, from different parlors. Let them have a little fun with you, since you can always just remove it later. Become your own little experiment.
And don't lump Renee Zellweger with the 'womanly' crowd- have you seen pics of her lately? Someone send the girl a sandwich.
I happened to research KIND OF similar issues. Have a browse of my references. Some more appropriate than others - I edited a bit - my work centered more on paranoia and CCTV. Good Luck. Make sure to browse Headmap.org
REFERENCES
[2] Frohne, Levin, Weibel. CTRL [SPACE]: Rhetorics of Surveillance from Bentham to Big Brother. MIT Press: Cambridge, 2002.
[3] Lui, Catherine. A Brief Genealogy of Privacy. Grey Room, 1 May 2004. Vol 1, no.15, pp 102-118(17). MIT Press.
[4] Lyon, David. Everyday Surveillance. Information, Communication and Society. Apr 2002. vol. 5, pp. 242-257. Routledge.
[6] CCTV: Does it work?. 13 Aug 2002. BBC. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2071496.stm>
[8] Headmap. Headmap: Location Aware Devices. London: 1999.
[13] Cauter, Leiven De. The Capsular Civilization. Nai Publishers: 2004.
[15] Lefebvre, Henri. The production of space. Paris, 1974. Trans into English by Nicholson-Smith in 1991.
[16] Coyne, Richard. Technoromanticism. MIT Press: Cambridge, 1999.
[17] Smithson, Alison and Peter. Charged Void: urbanism. Unpublished 2005.
[22] The Institute for Applied Autonomy. 5 Apr 2005. iSEE <http://www.appliedautonomy.com/isee/info2.html>
[27] Critical Art Ensemble. 2005. Statement of Intentions.
[31] Tabor, P. I am a Videocam: The Glamour of Surveillance.[Profile No. 118, Architects in Cyberspace], 65(11-12), pp. 15-19. 1995.
[32] Grosz, Elizabeth. Notes on the Thing. Perspecta 33. MIT Press: Cambridge, 2002.
[35] Wearable Environmental Media. Keio University SF. 2005. <http://www.wem.sfc.keio.ac.jp/wem/pages/systems.htm>
[36] MIThrill. MIT. 2005. <http://www.media.mit.edu/wearables/mithril/index.html>
[37] Sony aims to beam sights, sounds into brain. 7 Apr 2005. CNN. < http://tinyurl.com/5mmex>
[38] Speed. Version 1.1: Myths of Electronic Living. Benjamin Bratton. 2001.
sorry for the link. the tiny url died. google the 'sony aims....
OH! to get your creative juices flowing, rent a bunch of david cronenberg's movies and have yourself a private film festival. don't eat before your watch them.
the fly, videodrome, naked lunch, dead ringers, crash, etc.
wow, these responses look really great. I'm sure as I learn more about the issue, my topic will become much more interesting and less vague.
Thanks a ton guys and keep em comin'
check out: Jim Roses's Circus Side Show for a different idea of beauty.
and Stelarc to see the limits of the human body:
go tho this site you should be able to find some helpful info www.bmezine.com it is rather extreme so be aware
Adolf Loos' "Ornament and Crime"...a series of very interesting essays on ornamentation in architecture...and society. He also claims that only derelicts and criminals use tattoos and other bodily 'ornamentation'. A must read!
oh ya lush, i completely forgot about that book!
i would check out some of jennifer bloomer's writings/work.
"Tabbies of Bower" is my favorite essay of hers.
"ghost in the shell" movies have interesting and logical ideas about the future and our bodies.
William Gibson has a short story called "The Belonging Kind" in the book "Burning Chrome"
He writes about a group of people who can change shape in order to fit into different social situations.
Actually, here is a better format of it.
Check out:
http://www.bodyelectric.org/
Very interesting explorations of the body going on there.
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