Comments for Stir Center

Comment on the bonniedale farm project by anne west

anne west — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:46:07 +0000

This is an impressive initiative. By taking the students on a field trip, it breaks the comfort zone of the studio as well as offers a clear source from which to work. Being in the presence of living creatures will ignite sensory memory and help to define subjective elements of a lived relationship to the world. Clearly the students will have a rich palette of raw material from which to draw and build upon in their designs.

Comment on the bonniedale farm project by Jesse Taggert

Jesse Taggert — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:13:19 +0000

What a great venue for sensory exploration. Experiencing a farm and also getting a sense of what the farm experience might be like from a pig, chicken, or goat point of view sounds intriguing. Curious to learn what the results of the study are.

I worked at a farm similar to this years ago (for two weeks) and the experience has stayed with me. For an urbanite, I felt like I was on a different planet.

Comment on the bonniedale farm project by karen stein

karen stein — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:36:42 +0000

What an opportunity here to see what design can do at a local level! Beyond being a learning experience for the students (which it is), it is a way of truly seeing how design can transform. Where might this project might lead? Could it become something more than just a 3-week project? Could RISD rally behind this small group of students looking to make a change? Could it be an opportunity to raise money or perhaps more media attention for the farm? I am interested to hear more of Dan MacKenzie’s story. Please keep us up-to-date on any developments! Thank you!

Comment on bruno munari’s tactile workshops by Jesse Taggert

Jesse Taggert — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:10:52 +0000

In “The Brain that Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge, MD, there is discussion and evidence that areas of the brain besides the visual cortex are wired to “see space”. The path of least resistance uses eyes to see space, but when people are blind folded in experiments, within two days their brains rewire so that the same parts of the brain that light up for sighted people light up for blinded ones using other input sensory.

A long-winded way of me saying that neuroscience is discovering that the five senses on the outside are not so distinctly separated on the inside.

Comment on experiential storytelling by claudia

claudia — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:28:36 +0000

I love the depth of this–storytelling is vital to continuing our histories. The slowing down is key!

Comment on fukasawa’s ‘juice skin’ by Jesse

Jesse — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 06:04:52 +0000

This image brings up interesting questions about the nature of skin and packaging. Where/when does something that wraps, merge with the essence of the contents itself? An broad example: food skins and animal skins have very different associations with how they related to “what is inside.”