Week 1

Coming into the class I was instantly interested in the subject matter that was being discussed. Honestly didn’t expect to get told that Facebook was the Devil, not that I disagree but for different reasons, I hate Facebook and other forms of social media due to the massive mobs of online “justice” to singular person. But learning that if it’s free on the internet, I’m being sold in various ways, makes me feel as if their invading my privacy. I never heard of Richard Florida before this class and I find the whole idea of a creative class to be absurd. Creativity is a gift that everyone has and will act on it throughout their lives in large and small ways.

Whenever we were asked to think about the most creative thing that we had ever done in our lives, I was torn between two things. The old Dungeons and Dragons games I used to play with my friends where I acted as Games Master. I would have to create this world for my friends to interact in, to change and to explore; I had to continually think of new and interesting scenarios on the fly or else the game would become slow and boring for the players. The other was my last act project in tech from last year. I always think that my last art project is my best work and if it wasn't then it would
be a failure in my eyes.

I love the concept of Places and Non-Places, it made think about what made spaces such as my living room a place. The ironing board that’s left out so we don’t have to put it away, the various grooves in the sofa from the lazy asses that wanted to watch TV, the half dead flowers in the vase ontop of the fireplace and numerous sketch books I have left lying around. All the things that make a space a place tells a story, something that people can be familiar with. The past student Rachael who recorded the sounds of Northern Ireland was able to take the concept and do something with it. I guess it shows how much people love to relate or familiarise ourselves to places.

The segment on the murals painted during the troubles and how it was about people making sense about their identity made me think about how the murals affected me. I usual feel slightly uneasy when in area that has a mural because I don’t want violence to be forced upon me and get the feeling that the people in the area have very strong views on their politics. And I only feel like that due to the history our culture has had and maybe there is a bit of fear that my father put in me when I was younger and he warned me to be careful when going into certain areas. Even this makes a space a place, it doesn’t have to positive toward you for it to be place.

These ideas of what makes places “places” feels like a new concept but that has been staring me the face the entire time it’s just that I have never thought about it before. It is something that I will have to think about a lot more or at least be aware of it. It’s something that could definitely aid me in my future and current work.