Nicole Hughes: Collective Perception Reflection 

Great job everyone! It was really fun collaborating with all of you to create this interesting concept. Before the semester started I would have never expected to create a gallery exhibit so quickly. It was very exciting collaborating with many creative minds to develop “Collective Perception.” Simon Hogsberg’s photography was a great inspiration that gave us the idea to generate a piece that was parallel to his work.

I think it was very helpful when the class was separated into three different groups in order to generate our own ideas within these groups. Hearing different ideas as well as concepts made it easier to come together as a team and choose what the collaborated idea would be. In my opinion the artist talk went very well. It was great having an artists talk via video chat, that is one thing that I would have never expected to experience.

I enjoyed hearing Simon's responses to the questions that we asked him. The class had great questions that they had asked and did a great job on introducing our concept to Simon.

I found it comforting that he goes out of his comfort zone to capture interesting photographs without knowing how people will respond. I can relate to this because I was a little nervous at first confronting strangers and asking them if they would like to answer a couple questions for a project.

It was difficult not knowing how people would respond to the situation. The group that I was in only had one person come back to us and tell us that she/he was not comfortable being a part of our project. Respecting her request to not be a part of our project we deleted her information. I thought it would be difficult to be ready in time for the opening day because there was a lot to do in such little time. In this type of situation working as a team and splitting up each task to certain groups made it a possibility.

As far as our exhibit, the only thing that comes to mind that would make the piece stronger is if we had more images to display. Maybe enlarge the photos, or even go out of town and ask people the same questions. It could be very interesting to find out and compare the response to the ones that we recorded from the people in town.

Collective Perception Reflection- Elizabeth Welsh 

When we were first presented with this collaborative installation project and given two weeks to make our ideas happen I knew that it would take a lot of teamwork and communication within our group. I think we really came together and combined a lot of different thoughts to create Collective Perception. Overall I think we did an amazing job pulling together our work and installing it in the gallery, especially in only the short amount of time we had. It was a great experience getting to work collaboratively with everyone and also getting to work with Simon (our inspiration)! 

If we were given more time to work on this project I would have liked to collect more pictures, maybe even enough to fill the entire wall with several rows of images. Adding pictures to our installation would not only give us a bigger variety of people and personalities, but it would also fill the entire gallery space. I felt that we did not have enough pictures, which made the extra space on the wall really stand out. I also think that it would be cool for the whole space to be filled with little speakers so the audio is everywhere instead of just on the text screen. I really loved where everything was set up in the gallery and I wouldn't change a thing, except the horrible blue wall. 

I think its cool how our installation connects with Simon's and brings up the concept of philosophy. I never even thought about the philosophy concept of the two installations, until it was brought up in the artist talks. To me our work can have so many meanings, but for me the project was more about growing as a person and an artist. I'm a quiet person, but for this project I had to go out of my comfort zone to recruit people to participate in the interviewing. 

I would like to thank Martine for giving us the opportunity to work with Simon and dedicating her time to help us with making Collective Perception happen. Thank you Jaroslava and Erika for allowing us to use the gallery space and for making the Skype talk with Simon happen. I would also like to thank Simon for being such an inspiration for Collective Perception, staying up in the middle of the night to talk to us about your work, and for answering all of the questions we had for you. 

Reflection Paper - Kristen K

Coming into Interactive Media that first Tuesday night, I knew that we were going to be working parallel with a professional photographer, but I had no idea it would have been so soon. After talking about the syllabus, we were given the task of creating a gallery show, and that honestly was a lot to take in on the first night of class. But with the time frame we had, I believe Collective Perception was the best it could have been for that short amount of time we had. It was the definitely the definition of ‘hit the ground running.’ I believe it’s better to start the semester tough as it builds character and pushes everyone to his or her limits. I know I had a to push past my limits sometimes, especially with pushing out of my comfort zone.

The worst part for me during this experience was pushing out of my comfort zone to talk to strangers when we were gathering our photos and audio. I had the job of writing down the time of each audio, and asking for the participants name just in case we wanted to use names. I don’t have that great of hearing, especially if I’m nervous, so I felt a touch embarrassed if I asked if they could say their name again. But as time went on I felt more confident.

Splitting up into groups we each had to think up an elaborate idea and create a gallery show about connecting people. It was a bit intimidating to say the least, because I don’t have any experience with Dream Weaver, editing audio, or making an app. But luckily, my group was in the same boat and we were able to grow and idea out of our four brains.

The next class we were presenting our ideas, since we did only have about four weeks from the start of school to complete a whole show! I believe the best thing we could have done and did was combine everyone’s ideas. Collaborating as a team was what I felt made this all happen. It was a bit rocky at first, with not everyone using the blog, but I feel we all stepped up and got done what had to be done.  The artist talk was fantastic, and it was really cool to have Simon there through Skype speaking to us. It’s really inspiring to hear from a professional like Simon.

Overall, the weeks went by pretty fast, and it’ll be sad to have to take everything down. But it’s what you learn and the memories you have that count.

Collective Perception Refelction- Lauren Jakiel

Overall I think the project turned out wonderful.  It was such an amazing experience to work with everyone in the class and collaborate with Simon.  Coming into this class I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but after jumping right into creating a work I look forward to what I will learn from our upcoming projects.

             It was a nice change to work as part of a group and get everyone’s different ideas and perspectives bouncing around to create one unified work, Collective Perception, which represented all of us as artists.  I’m very used to working on independent projects and I was  pleased to see how well we came together as one group and got everything done in such a short amount of time.  I really enjoyed hearing what everyone we interviewed had to say and was amazed at how many people were excited and willing to be a part of the project.  I definitely thought one of the most difficult things we would have to overcome would be finding enough people in the amount of time we had to participate.  Although I think that if we could have gotten more people from other places in Cortland that would have really helped to diversify and expand the project more.  Also I think it would have been nice to have larger pictures to make them stand out more against the wall and make them easier to see without having to be right up close to them.  I think the concept of our idea was great and with a longer amount of time and larger budget the possibilities of how we could have expanded the project are endless, but with the resources we had  Collective Perception came together beautifully and I think expresses what we were trying to say.

This project has really helped me to grow and open my mind to working in ways that are not necessarily comfortable for me at first.  I’d like to thank Martine and the whole class for working hard to make this project happen in the amount of time we had, Erika and Jaroslava for allowing us to use the Beard Gallery to display our work, and Simon for helping to inspire our concept and for talking with us about both our work and his.  This was such a fun experience and I look forward to working with the class again and starting new projects.

Rachel Ernisse's Collective Perception Reflection Paper

          Our installation, Collective Perception, was not only a learning experience, but also an enjoyable, cooperative experience. I enjoyed working alongside with my fellow classmates, collaborating and sharing our ideas, interviewing our subjects, and ultimately getting the chance to speak with Simon himself, the inspiration for our piece. The installation itself took up some time, but I believe it was all worth it. I didn’t expect this when signing up for Interactive Media and I’m very glad that I was able to be a part of something larger than myself.

            In the beginning we separated into groups and started brainstorming immediately. Here is when I first got to know some of the members of the class and discovered soon how creative and relatable we all were. Once we had our concept down, we easily came together to present the idea to the whole class, and ultimately through collaboration we were able to come together as a class to decide what the installation was going to be. I very much enjoyed this process because not only was I able to express my ideas, but my peers were also free to share theirs as well. Not one person tried taking control, yet we were able to accept some ideas and turn down others as a group. Once we had our plan we took to the streets to interview strangers, and to my surprise they reciprocated pretty well. Instead of being closed off and short, many people were eager to share their thoughts.  We had a couple of turndowns, but for the most part the public was willing and happy to participate. Our final installation turned out very simple yet insightful. I’m very happy with our outcome, and if I could change one thing that would be to make it on a larger scale, such as more participants and larger prints, however these are only minor things in comparison to the concept, which I think communicates the message perfectly with the viewer.

            I am very glad to have been apart of this project and to have shared the experience with the whole class. I wasn’t sure if we would all come together to be on the same page considering we all have our own perceptions, however not only were we able to come together to make this a reality but it was also an enjoyable process. I want to thank Simon for taking the time to speak with us and providing us with our inspiration, also Erika and Jaroslava for allowing us to use the space in the gallery and providing us with support. I also want to thank Martine and all of my peers for this enjoyable experience. I’m excited to tackle our next project!

Kelsey Souza: Collective Perception Reflection

Kelsey's Collective Perception Reflection:

         Walking into this class about a month ago, I never expected our first project to end up as successful as Collective Perception did.  First of all, I have never started a class with such a fast moving project, let alone been a part of a gallery event so directly.  When we were told as a class that we had about two weeks to create a meaningful and decided instillation that would actually be shown in a gallery, I slightly panicked!  When most artists discuss their own work, the amount of time that it takes to create and install an instillation really made the amount of time we were given look only like an instant.  So, we knew that we had to work together to actually accomplish this project. 

         After each group had presented their own ideas, I think that we were able to compromise with the best of each group’s ideas.  By using the format and layout of group one’s, while adjusting our group’s concept we were able to create something truly successful with such parameters. 

With more time, and an endless budget, I would have liked to do a few more things to involve more of the gallery space as well as have more interactivity.  The vinyl that was used to put up the title, I thought would have been incredible to put together a wall-sized collage of the people, or even a part of them, collaged on the wall.  We could have also interviewed many more people to create a printed piece that was twice or three times as long and wrapped around the entire gallery.  It would also be interesting to have each viewer use an iPad or tablet to show our script of each person’s voice, to scroll through as they looked at the faces around the room.

         I would have also found it helpful to discuss with Simon his work more thoroughly before we came up with a concept.  I found it helpful to hear from him at the artists talk as he discussed his work.  It is important that we as young artists hear from our own inspirations to continue our own creativity, and receive inspiration!

        

         I found the philosophy behind ours as well as Simon’s concepts so intriguing and open ended that it is something that we could ponder all day!  We were able to as some very serious questions and make our subjects and viewers really think, which is something that should be every artist’s goal.

         In conclusion I would like to thank Martine for the opportunity to grow as artists, Jaroslava and Erika for making this possible, as well as Simon, for not only inspiring us, but also helping us along this journey!!

Hello Everyone,

I completely agree!  I am so pleased with the outcome of this project.  I know that this experience will lend itself to future projects and your future work as artists.

Simon - thank you for graciously giving your time and voice to this project.  It was a pleasure to meet you.

Erika & Jaroslava - thank you for all of your hard work and bringing this show together to benefit our students and community.  Your impact is so positive!

I look forward to future projects that continue this kind of  dialogue.

Nicole H, Nicole T, Rachel, Nolan, Lesile, Matt, Jake, Lauren, Kelsey, Kristen and Elizabeth - Nice job all around.  Thank you for your hard work, thoughtfulness and open minds!   I feel lucky to have such a dedicated class.

In case you didn't see this:  http://www2.cortland.edu/bulletin/news-detail.dot?id=1e017152-50e9-461e-bde4-1ffaf364306d&backUrl=/bulletin/issues/bulletin-13-14/bulletin-3-sept-24-2013.dot


Best,
Martine

Hello everyone,

I'm very delighted to be given the opportunity by the Dowd Gallery - by Erika (who did a great, a really great job setting up the exhibition) - I'm very happy to get this opportunity to contribute to an investigation into what it means to be human in this seemingly very complex world that we navigate in, or try to, on a day to day basis. 

It's very apparent by looking at the work you did and the way you communicate in relation to it that it has been an interesting experience for you to participate in this project as well. I kind of see it more as a collaboration between a photographer from Denmark and a number of artists from the east coast, and that's so cool. 

Steve Jobs gave a TED talk that I saw recently in which he points out one of the very valuable and necessary things that he learned during his career which is:  Whatever he does for a living it has to be fun, and play must be part of the job description. 

One of the things I learned about having a child is that they play not with a specific purpose, they are not ambitious in their play, they simply play, and after having built a sand castle or whatever they destroy it, leaving it behind, it means nothing, its the moment that counts, the play in itself that counts, that's what's important. And throwing yourself at an artistic project with such unpretentious delight is fantastic to see and that is something that I want to do from now on. I'm not doing what I do in order to become a well known, established photographer at some point, I don't care about that, what I care for is to let whatever resources, potentials, pure motives step in the forefront and my ego in the…

It seems to me that a very pure interest in your fellow human beings was what moved you to… or rather what was so interesting about doing the project that you did, and I'm so happy about that. Thank you. 

I hope you will continue playing until you die :-)

Warm regards and best wishes,

Simon

Collective Perception Reflection

Great job everyone! It was really fun collaborating with all of you to create this interesting concept. I think the artist talk went very well. I enjoyed hearing Simon's responses to the questions that we asked him. I found it comforting that he goes out of his comfort zone to capture interesting photographs. I can relate to this because I was a little nervous at first confronting strangers and asking them if they would like to answer a couple questions for a project. It was difficult not knowing how they would respond to the situation. As far as our exhibit the only thing that comes to mind that would make the piece stronger is if we had more images to display. Maybe enlarge the photos, or even go out of town and ask people the same questions. It could be very interesting to find out and compare the response to the ones that we recorded from the people in town. I would also like to thank Martine for organizing and helping us pull this idea together as well as setting it up in the gallery in such short amount of time! It was a lot of fun. Good Job Everyone! 

I would like to thank Simon Høgsberg for answering the questions that we had for him about his exhibit "Connectivexistence." I enjoyed listening to Simon's interactions with the people in his photographs as well as his discussion about his pieces. Thank you for inspiring our class to go out of our comfort zone and ask complete strangers questions. It has truly opened my mind to realize that there is more to a person that meets the eye.

Nicole Hughes 

Thank you, Simon!

The talk today was really cool, and it was awesome to be able to not only talk with you one on one but also to hear in your own voice about your work. Thank you so much for staying up late for us! Hope you slept well :)

-Kristen

CONTINUED Group 1 - Introduction & Questions for Simon

Our questions for Simon:

1)   How do you choose the areas that you photograph for each piece?

2)   What was the most unexpected experience you have had while photographing?

3)   What kind of a camera do you use?

4)    What is your favorite piece that you have created thusfar? 

5)   Do you feel your past work has pushed you outside of your comfort zone?

Introduction & Discuss Simon's work and how it is relevant to this installation

This installation is a group collaboration created by the Interactive Media students at SUNY Cortland. Originally consisting as three separate concepts, we have come together, through both teamwork and cooperation, to deliver a singular piece, Collective Perception. 

To perceive something is to become aware of through the senses, to understand the meaning of an idea, object, person, or even oneself. Our show, Collective Perception delves into the idea of perceiving the community and the individual, while connecting the senses and the mind. With voices and images displayed through the gallery the viewer is exposed to the thoughts of the community around them.

Simon Høgsberg’s work can be paralleled with our exhibition in the fact that he deals with human behavior and interaction. Our piece focuses on human thought, perception, judgment, and the senses, such as Simon’s pieces, The Thought Project and Faces of New York. Simon’s work is our inspiration for Collective Perception, yet we created our piece to be focused on the community, rather than choosing a location at random. By staying within the town of Cortland we are collectively unified as a whole, and as a community.

Group One: Introduction & Discussion of how Simon's work is relevant to this installation

Collective Perception is the collective work of our Interactive Media class.  We decided to use a collection of photographs taken on site at the Beard Building during the opening reception for the works of Simon Hogsberg and Lin Price.  The reception provided a fertile environment for our project.

Simon's work is interactive on the level of artist and subject.  There is such an interesting and dynamic relationship between Simon and his subjects displayed in his work.  That interaction is the foundation of Collective Perception.  We worked very closely with our subjects.  We were able to communicate openly with each person we photographed for this project.  We also asked each person to look inside themselves for answers to deeply thoughtful questions.  Simon is able to emotionally capture his subjects in a delightfully revealing manner whether he questions them or not, whether he reveals himself to them or not, and whether he is close to them or at a greater distance from them with his camera.  Our hope is that  we have captured our subjects in Collective Perception as wonderfully as Simon has captured his subjects in his works that have inspired us. 

Group 2

How we got the materials we’ve collected:

            We took the recordings using the app called Voice Memo on an Iphone, and then put the files onto the computer. The photos of the people were taken on an Ipad, and then also transferred to the computer.

Experience on the street:

            It was interesting to say the least. Numerous factors came into play when collecting the data, for example the issue of stepping out of our comfort zones to ask someone to participate. We met a lot of interesting people, and some had truly surprising answers. Noises from the traffic and passerby’s talking added a nice effect to the recordings, but also made it hard to understand and copy the answers from the audio into text.

Why choose what we chose:

            We used all the participants in order to emphasize and show the variety of answers and people. It would have been wrong to pick and choose which people to use in the show.

Why write out as well as audio playing?

            We chose to have both audio and text for that if someone couldn’t catch an entire answer on the audio, they could go over to the text and read it themselves instead of waiting for the audio to loop around. It also makes the installation more interactive as the audience scrolls through the text themselves.

Questions for Simon.

-Did any artists inspire him?

-What makes you choose a location?

-Are there any similarities of people here in the U.S and overseas?

-What was the craziest situation you’ve ever ended up in?

-Which project/location had the biggest emotional impact on you as a person? 

Group 3 Post - Conception + Questions for Simon

Questions for Simon:

1)   Why do you focus on people as the subject for your work? What made you decide to work in such a way?

2)   What is the worst, or most emotional, experience you have had when pursuing your work?

3)   How do you choose a location for your work? Is the location the deciding factor or is it the people who make up an area?

4)   Do you take your photos manually or do you have your camera take them automatically?

5)   Do you take your photographs or ask people to talk about themselves first? Do you get permission or not?

What we are going to talk about (In bulleted form):

1)   What is the concept behind the piece and how did you come to it?

a.     A large basis of our concept was inspired by Simon’s work

b.     Viewing his work posed the question: Who are these people?

c.      By seeing these people, we are able to form stories based upon their appearance. This judgmental quality is a basis behind our work as well.

d.     We wanted to learn more about our subjects on a personal level so we asked the question: How do you perceive yourself? How do you think others perceive you?

e.     We chose to keep people anonymous in an effort to make the subjects more comfortable in answering the questions as well as holding true to the theme of judgment. We wanted people to have to correlate the sound of their voices with the images on the wall and forcing viewers to judge others based on the answers to their questions and the appearance of their person.

2)   Why did you choose these questions?

a.     We wanted people to be able to think about themselves and see how they are related to the community.

b.     These questions are designed to do two things:

                                               i.     Have people reflect upon themselves while simultaneously thinking about…

                                              ii.     How you are judged by others

3)   What did you do with the material once it was collected?

a.     We stitched together all the audio clips into a singular sound file and collected all the photographs into a single print on the wall. It was a collective group of stored perceptions, hence our title, Collective Perception.

b.     We kept the photography and sound editing to a minimum to keep it in its raw state. We feel this symbolizes the raw, unedited nature of the responses from our subjects.

c.      Without knowing who provided which response, keeping the subjects anonymous, it allows people to come to any conclusions they may choose.