My interest was in sustaining ACCESS to the collective body of knowledge on this topic through trusted content curation.
The intention was, that each participant’s unique approach to ACCESS would culminate into an actionable resource created in real-time.
Through the processes of observing, collecting, documenting, ordering, and linking, the goal was to ultimately make sense of the myriad and disparate means in which each member of the group defines ACCESS. By engaging all participants in the act of meme collection and contributions the intention was to build a viable body of knowledge and experiences on the topic.
In addition to collecting units of information on their projects, participants were also asked to complete a short paragraph on the following four sections as they related to their own project: Purpose (what are you trying to do?); Method (how are you trying to do it); Reflection (how well are you doing?); and Re-evaluation (what might you do differently?) Included below are the results from that collection process:
A:1 Heidi Cies ETHNOGRAPHY OF WISDOM
Purpose: uncover hidden knowledge, experiences, processes, applications and other vital ingredients that can lead to a better understanding about our myriad paths to access.
Method: providing open access to each participant’s resource chapter and encouraging meme contributions, participant’s can collect, rearrange and organize information to uncover unique connections and patterns.
Reflection:the collection process started out slow but gained momentum throughout the week. Reminders to participate often led to an increase in meme contributions. The installation around the barn window also acted as a visual reminder to participants to contribute memes as resources were recalled.
Re-evalution:in some instances, the open-access process of contributing information led to anonymous critiques without the benefit of questions and clarification. For future collections I would encourage contributors to sign their memes to ensure opportunity for continued discussion.
A:2 Joshua Unikel AN INVISIBLE ELASTIC NET
Purpose: encourage greater access between essays and design.
Method: an open-ended visual map — hopefully several iterations.
Reflection:(completion of this section is encouraged)
Re-evalution:(completion of this section is encouraged)
A:3 Josh Singer AD HOC ATLAS VINALHAVEN
Purpose: name the landscape — be disruptive, agitational and ultimately giving another perspective of our relationship to place and space.
Method: traveling and documenting the (imaginary) unseen landscape explored on a prosthetic device (or not). Collection of documentation from all.
Reflection:it’s going well enough. Lots of fine material/content from other inquirers which will be great material/content for further work and development of the project post inquiry.
Re-evalution:more specific prompts and more specific field trips on the bikes.
A:4 Steve Bowden THEN AND NOW
Purpose: I’ve come to explore and share; to locate and inform my work; to think about reading and writing; to find co-conspirators.
Method: by bringing an open mind, objects to share and stories to tell.
Reflection:mission accomplished.
Re-evalution:I’d bring more ego, more structure and something for people to take with them.
A:5 Sarah Shoemake WHOLE EARTH CATALOG
Purpose: we’re trying to recreate a version of the W.E.C. that will also act as the product of DI Access. At its core we want it to capture the atmosphere/philosophy/mood/spirit of this week.
Method: I’m working with Gail, Steven, Josh and others to solicit everyone in the group to create a physical publication. We’re still working on framing it but we want it to be one for the next DI.
Reflection:so far so good. We’re still very early in the process but I’m so excited to work with everyone here because I have such respect for them and their opinions and ideas.
Re-evalution:it might be too soon to tell, but I wish I’d read the original catalog more closely. But in some ways it’s nice to discover as I go along.
A:6 Emily Luce &
Rachele Riley NEW DESIGNINQUIRY.NET
Purpose: create a new website that better reflects the work of DI.
Method: design in progress via drawing and code, share beta version with ACCESS DIers to play with, unpack, reveal.
Reflection:(completion of this section is encouraged)
Re-evalution:(completion of this section is encouraged)
A:7 Patrick Gosnell THE GRASSROOTS ARCHIVE
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A:8 Arzu Ozkal GÜN — A COLLABORATIVE EXPERIENCE
Purpose: I am here to test out a collaboration formula for the workshop series I will be doing next year.
Method: people start working in small groups and every day groups get bigger and in the end they collectively negotiate for the structure of the outcome.
Reflection:it’s not going as well as I hoped. But, it helped me develop other approaches.
Re-evalution:for this session, I would not do things differently. But for another project having a deadline within the same day works much better.
A:9 Peter Hall TWITTER OBSERVATIONS
Purpose: encourage reflection on technics by inviting participants to Tweet observations of the here-and-now whenever they get a signal.
Method: invited participants to Tweet in the manner of a Basho Haiku or mass observation group report to #DI_access.
Reflection:project was critiqued for setting up a false nature/culture binary which I am still uncertain was constructive. Nevertheless, the hashtag has been used for 40+ Tweets and an interesting collaboration emerged with Steve Bowden to find analog media for “slow” Tweets.
Re-evalution:do a shorter, blunter intro. Consider other framing. How could the project work on an island with complete cell phone access/coverage?
A:10 Charles Melcher PROPRIUCEPTIVE WRITING
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Reflection:(completion of this section is encouraged)
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A:11 Susan Verba &
Sarah Perrault THE PAIN PROJECT
Purpose: we are working on developing tools for pain communication, and on better understanding how to work with the tension between the openness of democratic design and the selecting and filtering work done by people with specific kinds of expertise.
Method: we will use exercises on Wednesday, after which we will discuss our process more openly. We wanted imaginative, creative people to brainstorm ideas, to be wild and varied and then to talk about issues in pain communication for ongoing conversations.
Reflection:the workshop/exercise session was very useful and generative, and talks since then have given us excellent ideas for next steps. We also had chances to talk with island medical personnel and with residents at the eldercare home.
Re-evalution:more time would have been great. Our providing written instructions might have kept groups more on task and helped them follow directions.
A:12 Nathan Davis POTLUCK — OPEN ACCESS D.I.
Purpose: open this exclusive gathering to be more inclusive — with the intention of injecting REAL access to the discussion. Hopefully this helps expand our conversation.
Method: hosting a potluck for any and all locals who would like to come.
Reflection:it is good so far but logistics may be an issue — timing — food/drink — contacts — advance invitations, etc.
Re-evalution:be more proactive and share more communication with the group so that we could plan ahead.
A:13 Andrew Twigg ACCESS TO FOOD
Purpose: to share and solicit ideas toward improving access to food for people who need it (in Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, PA)
Method: setting context for my own prompt, sharing some research, sharing my thoughts and ideas, prompting for input.
Reflection:life is good. I always find this week exhausting, usually around Thursday I start feeling like I need alone time. I’m enjoying everyone here (this is contributing, too).
Re-evalution:[_____] a bit less. Bring louder speakers. Prepare more.
A:14 Chris Fox ACCESS + INACCESSIBILITY
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A:15 Anita Cooney HOW TO EAT A LOBSTER | ENVLOPED PLAY
Purpose: explore how access abides/requires/challenges limits and how limits make access or lack there of ore apparent.
Method: engagement through embodiment — one collective and one individual. Lobster dinner the collective event of all invited, not all partake, yes of meal, maybe or maybe not of lobster. The other a mini-history of the windowed envelope and the security patterns often marking the inside surface to conceal the contents of the sent package… this is creative exploration that uses the topic as a modest prompt.
Reflection:I don’t know! I presented a footnote to a future, an embryonic project and I was met with a generous outpouring of helpful insight and commentaries.
Re-evalution:study more about the design of these camouflage patterns. Scour the creative production — FEARLESSLY — of like work to sharpen my process.
A:16 Margo Halverson DATA AS CURRENCY
Purpose: give access to access
Method: data visualization, listening, shifting gears, needed vs. wanted
Reflection:day 1: I wanna scrap what I brought and only respond secretly and quietly.
Re-evalution:(completion encouraged)
A:17 Emily Luce WARPED PERSPECITIVE
Purpose: create images which present an alternative/warped/shifted way of seeing things.
Method: by collaboration and materials-based experimentation.
Reflection:Mon: OK. Great collaboration, results TBD.
Re-evalution:merge workshop with other workshops.
A:18 Nick Liadis INVISIBILITY IN ARCHITECTURE
Purpose: open access to architecture through invisible materials: light, sound, shadow, wind, heat, etc.
Method: exploration at a place — one that spoke to you.
Reflection:OK! Excited to see how non-architects understand that work with these materials. I am leaving now — feeling positive and ready to make art — something I’ve had trouble starting.
Re-evalution:need more work time in the morning. A little out of my element sometimes.
A:19 Krishna
Balakrishnan IMAGE-MAKING INSPIRED BY THE VISHNUDHAMOTTARA
Purpose: 1) open access to this inspiring text; 2) investigating the value of expertise; 3) using the vishnudhamottara as a vehicle for making inquirers aware of their own understanding or design assumptions as they follow a written rule set to depict the described Hindu gods and goddesses.
Method: through an image-making workshop tat allows designers and artists to use their experiences, knowledge and expertise in order to follow rules and use “intelligence”.
Reflection:great reception from group. Received great submissions, inquirers are very enthusiastic.
Re-evalution:I need to think about this. Perhaps maybe further develop this project with the framework of teaching design students using the text or with the framework of social, political culture.
A:20 Sheila Pepe GAINING ACCESS REQUIRES AN ABILITY TO READ DEEPLY
Purpose: share “readings”, tools, methodologies, common in my art/sculpture practice.
Method: talking (presentation and dialogue) optional exercise. More talking, and the art show in Vinalhaven.
Reflection:it’s more confusing than I thought — too much to do. Doing this writing on the last day in the last hours.
Re-evalution:I’m not one to regret choices made. I learned some things that will take a while to “unpack” — all good people and ideas. Meme: uh-oh!
A:21 Ben Van Dyke ACCESS: DENIED
Purpose: continue a conversation about power and control with a colleague in Buffalo, NY.
Method: we will be transmitting encrypted messages with a German enigma machine. The messages will be sent via Twitter.
Reflection:very well. The encrypted messages are beautiful and have been decrypted successfully. The Tweets have even been re-Tweeted by people not connected to our project.
Re-evalution:The project is about the denial of access, but, it may be better to make the thinking of our project more accessible.
A:22 Gail Swanlund WHOLE EARTH CATALOG
Purpose: pause… and start again. Make a Whole Earth Catalog.
Method: conversations around practical activities/advise with DIers, framing suggestions.
Reflection:the initial conversation with the whole gathering of participants was EXTRAORDINARY. Can’t wait to keep talking and collecting ideas for direction.
Re-evalution:nothing. More advance prep would have altered the openness of the journey.
A:23 Mark Zurolo ACCESS
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ACCESS PROPOSAL
My interest is in sustaining ACCESS to the collective body of knowledge on this topic through trusted content curation.
This will be accomplished with the contribution of each participant’s unique approach to ACCESS that culminates into an actionable resource created in real-time.
Through the processes of observing, collecting, documenting, ordering, and linking, the goal is to ultimately make sense of the myriad and disparate means in which each member of
the group defines ACCESS. Engaging all participants in the art of ethnography will reveal hidden knowledge, experiences, processes, applications and other vital ingredients that can lead to a better understanding of “how we know what we know” and “why we do what we do” in order to transfer knowledge beyond the group and advance the starting point for others who are in pursuit of similar paths to ACCESS.
NOTE regarding the image: According to Dr. Math, “prime numbers are good for quickly transforming a situation with zillions of possible outcomes into an equivalent situation with only a handful of possible outcomes.” I chose a prime number wheel to represent my task of uncovering hidden relationships between the varied approaches to ACCESS and transforming the consequences of these unique, interesting and possibly complex relationships into a single usable and reliable tool.