We were given the task of bringing in five objects that were "meaningful" but didn't "have meaning." In other words, things that we found meaning in, but didn't care about. In other words, things that, if broken or destroyed, we wouldn't be upset.
We traded some objects, were given random things, and then told we had to make something with a "purpose" in less than two hours. I spent roughly one hour slamming my head against a wall trying to figure out what the hell I was going to make.
What I ended up creating was supposed to play on this myth I've speculated in playing cards--how the king of hearts was committing suicide. I always found it peculiar how it happened to be the king of hearts plunging his sword into his skull, and not the others. So, with that in mind, I tried to tell a story. I drilled holes in the cards (aiming for their hearts,) tried desperately to create what ultimately did not look like a stage, and left it for people to analyze. IT WAS A FAILURE. I am not a crafty person! But, I tried.
What I found interesting about this, however, is how the process and the product were informed by cultural codes that I've been following most of my life. I interpret the world according to narratives. In fact, I identify as a storyteller (more specifically, a writer). So, under contextual time limits, limited resources, and an intense desire to impress people with my supposed "creativity," I created a piece that is structured to tell a story. No one caught on--partly why it was a failure that I'm absolutely willing to live with.
When we create texts, they are always born from the our "self" and the social and physical contexts around us. We are always remediating our social and cultural codes, even when we don't know we are.
We traded some objects, were given random things, and then told we had to make something with a "purpose" in less than two hours. I spent roughly one hour slamming my head against a wall trying to figure out what the hell I was going to make.
What I ended up creating was supposed to play on this myth I've speculated in playing cards--how the king of hearts was committing suicide. I always found it peculiar how it happened to be the king of hearts plunging his sword into his skull, and not the others. So, with that in mind, I tried to tell a story. I drilled holes in the cards (aiming for their hearts,) tried desperately to create what ultimately did not look like a stage, and left it for people to analyze. IT WAS A FAILURE. I am not a crafty person! But, I tried.
What I found interesting about this, however, is how the process and the product were informed by cultural codes that I've been following most of my life. I interpret the world according to narratives. In fact, I identify as a storyteller (more specifically, a writer). So, under contextual time limits, limited resources, and an intense desire to impress people with my supposed "creativity," I created a piece that is structured to tell a story. No one caught on--partly why it was a failure that I'm absolutely willing to live with.
When we create texts, they are always born from the our "self" and the social and physical contexts around us. We are always remediating our social and cultural codes, even when we don't know we are.