Submit my proposal to Iraqimemorial.org

I submitted my proposal to iraqimemorial.org today, the sixth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war.

User Study

I had a pleasure talking to Mr. Ben Chase, a MFADT graduate and US Army veteran, about my project. His insights and comments were very helpful.

Stop Listening

to others; instead, listen to your instinct, make hard decisions, and stick to them. — JC

Yoga for Veterans

Yoga for Veterans is a 4 week yoga class for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan War organized by Matthew Lombardo and Michael Hewett with support a local chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Louisa kindly told me about this event.

It’s starting March 1 and I will be joining the event — it will be interesting!

EFA: But Does it Work?

I had a pleasure joining “A Conversation between Joseph DeLappe, Stephen Duncombe, and Steve Lambert” at Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts on February 24th.

From description: Artists/activists Joseph DeLappe and Steve Lambert join writer/activist/media scholar Stephen Duncombe to discuss what happens when artists interfere with existing structures of media in order to manipulate and use them as vehicles for political and social commentary. How do these forms of intervention compare to straight-forward art activism, and what are these artists hoping to achieve? How does one even measure success when utopia is the goal? The talk will focus on the artists’ works “dead-in-iraq”, “iraqimemorial.org” and the recent faux New York Times “Special Edition” announcing the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://efa1.org/2009/02/09/but-does-it-work/

database

For US soldier casualties, I am using data from:

http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

For civilian deaths:

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/

According to the sources, as of today U.S. confirmed deaths is 4,246 and civilians death is 90,735 – 99,077 .

The information about listed individuals are slightly different. On iCasualties website, the U.S. military service members have Name, Age, Title, Date of Death, and Home Town. On Iraq Body Count, civilians have Name or Personal Identifier, Age (not specific), Gender, Occupation, Nationality, and Date.

I would like to use Name, Age, and Date of Death to compare the two groups.

challenge

Two major production challenges with this project are: maintenance and documentation.

In the installation my intention is to use ink drop as metaphor of loss of life. The problem with this method is, however, that water will become too saturated and will not endure long-term installation. One solution is to use filter to keep the water clean. But what does it conceptually mean to “clean” the water? Does it imply individuals’ lives being wiped off? The other solution is to use material that does not dissolve in water, such as oil, or substance that solidifies, such as acrylic or plastic. Or let it be too saturated and let it illustrate the tragedy. I need to experiment to determine which solution is best suited to my project.

In thesis fabrication studio Chris kindly rent me lquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish. This material will harden and become transparent after several hours, while confining ink drops within. This medium may be a good solution for document the process and accumulation. I’ll experiment with this medium to see what kind of visuals and effects I can create…

proposal

My peer Erik Burke kindly suggested me to submit a proposal to Iraqimemorial.org (http://www.iraqimemorial.org/). The deadline is March 19.

return

Comments on presentation on February 18:

1) Personal stories are more interesting (ex. why individuals join army, background and profile of service members, etc. )
Showing complexity (comparison between death among U.S. Army service members and Iraqi civilians) is more provocative and controversy

The subject for the installation has been active duty –  because the piece is meant to commemorate or acknowledge individuals who are away from their young family and home. My intention is NOT create a patriotic monument; rather, it is to emphasize the impact of each single fatality and sorrow of personal loss. However after the presentation I realized that the subject matter is often perceived as honoring U.S. military. It was a surprise because I’m not pro-war by any means.

I wonder: am I not explaining the goal of the project well enough?

Anyhow based on comments and conversations I had during the studio I thought of going back to one of the initial ideas — compare the number of casualties in two different groups. My concern is, however, that this will pull me away from focus on individuals.

wisdom

“A true revelation, it seems to me, will only emerge from stubborn concentration on a solitary problem. I am not in league with inventors or adventurers, nor with travellers to exotic destinations. The surest — also the quickest — way to awake the sense of wonder in ourselves is to look intently, undeterred, at a single object. Suddenly, miraculously, it will reveal itself as something we have never seen before. ” — Cesare Pavese, Dialoghi con Leucò, 1947 (cited in The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst, 1992)