I started thinking about the idea of power, and how it can be conveyed, possessed, shared, and connected. The most powerful connection I could think of, is that which occurs between people. So I brainstormed how I could relate poetry, power, and this connection between people. This is what I came up with:
Everyday we connect with people. Sometimes we are aware of this connection and many times we are not. Every person has a story. What if we could hear these stories play out in our heads as we passed people on the street or in the hallways of Shriver? Would it change our perception of everyone we meet? I think it would. Would it change how we look at people? Would we be more kind, or would we take advantage of the truth and use it against people? Truth = power. If we knew the truth about people, maybe we could try to see things through their eyes, or maybe we would just look the other way. Maybe we wouldn't be so quick to judge, or maybe, we would judge even more. I don't know what would happen for sure, but I am curious.
My next thought:
I want to know people's stories.
I was thinking I could either 1.) interview people 2.) put up flyers in Kofenya asking for anyone willing to share their story 3.) post something on facebook, etc. Once I start getting material from people, I would like to take their stories, their truth, and turn it into a poem. I'm not quit sure what form this poem will take on- but at least it will be the truth (assuming no one will lie about their story).
Next thought:
To take these poems and connect them to people. I want to take someone's story and give it to someone else. I will do this anonymously, unless given permission to use a name. Essentially, I would like to somehow put the language that comes from these stories on bodies. I thought painting poetry on someone else's body would directly connect them to the language and truth of someone else. What will that message or story convey to that person? What will it be like being connected to someone you don't know? You have a part of them on you. You now know their story...except you don't know who's story it is. Maybe the next time you walk down the street you will wonder- Hmm, Who's story do I know?
Just a start.
OK, so a lot of people are heading down interview road, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I think that when you interview someone about their “story,” you still won’t necessarily get the truth because maybe they won’t want to spill their guts to you. Also, you would almost have to let the person you interviewed know that their story was going to end up in something that many people would see. Maybe not so appealing if you want them to give you the “real deal.”
ReplyDeleteIf you want honest, gritty, soundtrack-to-people’s minds kind of stuff, here’s my idea…Put a box, jar, can, barrel, whatever with copious amounts of pen and paper on campus. Then have a sign on that container saying “write your story, place story inside,” or something. I think the key here is to not give too much direction. Then, see what you get! I’m seeing this as becoming sort of a PostSecret type thing and I’d be happy to assist in logistics if you’re interested in pursuing this idea…
-Allison
Hey Mandy!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome idea. I think that your topic is something we have all dealt with. None of us are "selfless", meaning that no matter how cognizant we are about others, the environment, or universe we have all felt at one point like we were in the spotlight...I'll try to elaborate.
i think your issue of power in relation to this is perfect. It is a personal power struggle that is apparent everyday in our lives. I constantly try to take bad things that happen to me; injuries, trouble, break ups, friendships troubles, etc. and compare them to the larger scale. It has always helped me to realize that I am not suffering as much as others. I'M NOT saying that I am a good person for doing this, but rather explaining something that I do to make myself feel better. What if we knew everyone's troubles...and good times? It is something that will be impossible to ever accomplish but I think exploring the possibilities will be endless. Interviewing is such a good form for this but I definitely think you shouldn't hold yourself at that. Take their interviews, like you said, and make something out of it. This is such an emotional, powerful, and deep concept that I don't think you will have a problem creating!
Well keep up the good work, I'm excited to see what comes of it.
Joey
Hey Mandy,
ReplyDeleteThis, in a way, sort of reminds me of my project, and I'm actually having the same problems as you. I want the truth from people in order to make something meaningful and not 'boring' as Cathy calls it, but I don't really know how.
I think a cool idea as well would be - say, put two people in the room together or more, and then have them start talking. But then tell one person something about the other person (untrue probably) - and then see what comes of it. See if by knowing something the other person doesn't know, they treat the other person differently and in what ways. For example, if you have a few people in the room randomly walking around and talking and then you whisper to 'bobby' that 'sue' is pregnant or something - see how he treats her. Ironically, The Office was about this tonight if you saw it. If you didn't, I advise you watch it. Michael missed out on some sort of gossip in the office and he felt like he was picked last for gym, so he made up a bunch of rumors just so he would have power. I think maybe instead of having people talk to eachother before and after hearing these secrets, they could write things down and you could see the change in their perspectives. Just an idea that might go along with what you're trying to accomplish. Anyway, I think you have a really cool start, and good luck!
Mandy,
ReplyDeleteI think your idea is very interesting. That people could be more perceptive and empathetic of others if we knew their stories is something I have thought about before. Something I often think about when I see people, which is perhaps why I personally empathize with people to an unusually heightened degree. To feel one's pain, to feel one's joy...these are things you will be able to extract from your interviews. I am concerned that if you interview people you don't know, you may not be able to get as much out of it as you would if you interviewed a friend, or someone who is comfortable opening up to you. It's not easy for people to be vulnerable, so even if you do hear about an unknown person's life, I'm worried that the emotional amplitude of their words (their emotional availability so to speak) wouldn't be as significant as would the responses be from a close friend of yours. You can of course interview a wide range of people, but I suppose what I'm suggesting is that the greater the emotional availability a person offers, the more truth you can extract.
Also, I am intrigued by your idea of connecting language and truth to the body. Painting, pasting, or other means of connection might be something to play with, however I'm wondering whether a random person's story (truth) being physically connected to the body would be as meaningful as would the language of someone you know. Not necessarily personally, but at least, you'd know the person's name. Consider the importance of name, especially in the sense that the conceptualization of a person, and his/her story, is more valuable with a name attached. Makes it seem more real, as opposed to an abstract person's story.
I think that turning the material into poems could be something interesting. It's very generative stuff. That is, your material will be dependent on the interviews. So make you get rich material. This is something I too am thinking about for my project, which will involve found text from interviews. Mandy, good luck on this project. It is pretty ambitious because its purpose will be to delve into the human interior. On a campus that seems to reflect exteriority and surface perceptions, it'll be a challenge to uncover the truths you seek. I'm excited to see where this thing goes!
Mandy,
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a very interesting idea. I think the idea that truth and power are connected is obvious but also worth exploring because there are many different angles to it. One such angle that you didn't mention is that it is basically impossible to objectively know the truth of a certain situation, and especially of a person's "story". What I think would be interesting to look at is how what is true can change depending on who is is beholding the situation. You could do interviews of somehow gather information from several people about the same thing and note the differences and how they affect what is being talked about.
I also like the idea of placing your end result on a living breathing person. That is an interesting and unique way to display your results, but also something that changes the way people would percieve those results. The only drawback is that it would be difficult to find someone willing to have something like this posted on their body.
Overall I think your theme is something worth pursuing, and I believe that there is power in people's stories. I just think that the idea needs some clarification and refinement as to what it is you are going to collect from people, and how you are going to collect it. If there is an effective way to do it, I tihnk the transformation into poetry and the display on a living body is a promising idea.
Mandy- I think the curiosity about truth is fascinating as well! Your starts and ideas are awesome. What I am wondering is how you could go deeper into the fear of lies. You say that you will assume their stories are truth unless they lie, but in some isn't the lie in itself some kind of truth about human nature in general. There must be some kind of honest reason that they would lie. Can we ever be completely sure what is truth, for if you think about it, we all fabricate every now and then. Unless you videotape your entire life, no parts of the story will be perfect. Maybe you could start this whole experiment by telling your story. Just as you know it. Don't think about it. Just write. Then maybe go back and reexamine those parts that may not be wholly true. I think you could do a cool play with truth vs. lies in this project. I'm excited to read on!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
I like the idea that there is power transferred in the connection with and between people. I don't really like the idea, however, of interviewing people to get their stories. That seems too generic or over-used to me. Maybe if you went about it in a different way or using different tools instead of interviews or something. Maybe a questionnaire that had questions whose answers could be interpreted in a certain way or something like that. I don't know, but I like the basis of the idea.
ReplyDeleteThere was an African wise man who was being interviewed by an anthropologist once. He took the camera and pointed it back at the anthropologist and said, "now ask me your questions, because your questions tell me more about you than my answers tell you about me."
This might be an idea that you can use to generate some plan of attack. :)