The purpose of this task was to remove preconceptions about how a project should work, by focusing more on the ideas behind the work rather than the practicalities. I explored the relationships between given materials and processes and how I can manipulate them to portray a deeper concept. instead of for traditional aesthetic values.
The concept I research was altruism, which is the selfless concern for the welfare of others. People who are altruistic would put the needs of others' before their own and act in a way that benefits others at a cost to themselves. This made me think about communities, and the socialist ideals about acting in the interests of the whole society rather than for selfish reasons. However, this is more difficult in our modern, capitalist world, which champions individualism and interest in your own success. I also researched the concept of psychological egoism, which is the idea that humans are inherently motivated by self-interest. This raises the question of whether anything can ever be fully altruistic, because we always benefit in some way from the work we do to help others. I am interested in how our surroundings affect our thoughts and actions, so I would like to explore whether altruism in a modern world in just naïve and idealistic.
I then explored the material of air, which I first associated with oxygen and its role in giving life to humans, creatures and plants. I also thought about how air is light and free-moving and was interested in the way it moves to fill up a space. These are positive interpretations, but I could focus on the destructive nature of wind and high-pressure air that can be dangerous. Ultimately, I was most interested in the idea of being 'full of air', which is when somebody talks a lot but doesn't say anything of value. I could link this to the way altruists preach selflessness, yet these ideas are often meaningless in a society that makes community difficult.
Finally, I considered the process of suspension and the idea of hanging an object mid-air. Something that is suspended can seem surreal and the process can turn an everyday object into something people are drawn to look at. I could also use suspension to make something hard to reach, like the ideals of altruism can be difficult to achieve. To portray this idea I could suspend a symbol of community, like a church, which also represents strong morals and ideas of charity. I could make the church out of air to show that the ideas are essentially meaningless, perhaps by using an inflated balloon-like structure. The inflation would also show how people try and expand and spread the messages of altruism.
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