Today's activity was useful in exploring the creation of a concept. It was a good chance to revisit the meanings behind our instruments after having a week to disengage from it and reflect upon it refreshed. I will also take this opportunity to post my final video of my performance.
So I suppose what immediately stands out, why Coca Cola Bottles?
Several reasons, in terms of an instrument, the shape of them gives a really good sound when pressurized. In terms of concept, the Coca Cola contour bottle has become an icon, it is instantaneously recognisable and designed to be as such. You can look at my piece and even though the bottles have had their labels removed, there is no doubt what they are.
What sort of comment is this making on Coca Cola?
It is making a comment not specifically to Coca Cola but large scale companies and the marketing measures they put into place to enforce consumer branding and awareness. It is like instantaneous recognition young children make with the Golden Arches to get that branding in at a young age and imbed that loyalty into them.
In what other ways does your design reflect this?
The structure which houses the bottles is to allude to the shelf presence of Coca Cola, the monopoly if you will. You walk into any dairy or supermarket and there will be an entire shelf or fridge just top to bottom with the different sizes and ranges of Coke. You know with a supermarket that nothing is ever placed accidently, shelf space is like property, each shelf position has it's own value based on it's position relative to eye level and distance down the eye, all calculated in terms of studies of the psychology of shopping. It is all about marketing, consumerism and consumption, we are being manipulated to buy. My instrument takes the Coca Cola fridge out of context , it is taken in isolation to reflect this idea that you are manipulated to see only the Coca Cola and no other brand. Physically you are confronted with the presence of it, it fills your entire field of vision.
So was your use of the bottles initially for their sound or the concept?
I started with the concept, simply consumerism, that which I have been interested in for a long time. I worked through some ideas around this but none which I could really apply musically. I was thinking of using multiple of an object from looking at Andy Warhol's work, in particular his Soup Cans as these alluded to the same umbrella of ideas, so from there the Coca Cola bottles seemed the obvious direction with suggestion from Phil Dadson. His musical experience was a great help in applying my more visual idea.
Why are you so interested in this concept?
I have been working in retail for over three years now so have seen first hand some of the chaos of consumerism. Working in a large scale homewares store over Christmas one year I saw not just the mad rush, the inflated emphasis on buying, the sales, the stock going out as faster than it came in. It seemed unbelievable with the amount of stock we were selling that people still needed to buy more. It didn't seem possible that the supposed need for all these objects was never fulfilled. I am also quite environmentally conscious so when I began to look at the other end of the objects life-span, the mindless disposal into landfills is directly related to this mindless spending and buying which we are manipulated to do.
So who is the target audience of your work?
I don't make any bold positive or negative statements, this particular work is quite neutral, mostly stating the facts that we chose to ignore. I actually have a level of respect for those who come up with marketing tactics because they really are clever. It isn't necessarily a bad thing but I want to make the general consumer aware of why they consume the way they do. We all know excess consumption, such as that of Coca Cola, is bad for us but wonder why we do it. I like to understand things and like to create things that help people open up to something they may not have been aware of, think of something in a new way.
You've explained the visual aesthetic but how does it relate to the fact that it is an instrument?
Music and jingles also play an important part in marketing. The high pitched 'ping' noise alludes to the tone adopted by Coca Cola in their advert, they portray magical worlds, happy people on beaches, celebrations, special ocassions; all part of the positive images and experiences they want you to associate with consuming their product. The particular advert my instrument is a reference to is the magical journey which takes place in a fantasty world inside the vending machine. This seems to have very little to do with Coca Cola but emparts a cute, happy feeling enhanced with the sweet, music box like tones.
How does this piece relate to previous works you've done?
In a previous project to design and build a wearable human interface, I created a stark white plaster human face with switches, which, when triggered would set off a stream of images relating to emotions. This relates to the 'facelessness' of consumerism, we are perhaps a blank canvas so open to manipulation. We are at the mercy of clever marketing who can control how we feel to make us want to buy a product. We are the white plaster face, our inputs are triggered by advertisments, the output is an evoked emotion.
How would you build on this concept in future projects?
I want perhaps to make something that makes a stronger comment because the hot issue at the moment is in creating a sustainable planet, a goal we are far from. I want to make something people can interact with, take art off the walls, something people can physically interact with and take some understanding with them to change some aspect of their life.
So I suppose what immediately stands out, why Coca Cola Bottles?
Several reasons, in terms of an instrument, the shape of them gives a really good sound when pressurized. In terms of concept, the Coca Cola contour bottle has become an icon, it is instantaneously recognisable and designed to be as such. You can look at my piece and even though the bottles have had their labels removed, there is no doubt what they are.
What sort of comment is this making on Coca Cola?
It is making a comment not specifically to Coca Cola but large scale companies and the marketing measures they put into place to enforce consumer branding and awareness. It is like instantaneous recognition young children make with the Golden Arches to get that branding in at a young age and imbed that loyalty into them.
In what other ways does your design reflect this?
The structure which houses the bottles is to allude to the shelf presence of Coca Cola, the monopoly if you will. You walk into any dairy or supermarket and there will be an entire shelf or fridge just top to bottom with the different sizes and ranges of Coke. You know with a supermarket that nothing is ever placed accidently, shelf space is like property, each shelf position has it's own value based on it's position relative to eye level and distance down the eye, all calculated in terms of studies of the psychology of shopping. It is all about marketing, consumerism and consumption, we are being manipulated to buy. My instrument takes the Coca Cola fridge out of context , it is taken in isolation to reflect this idea that you are manipulated to see only the Coca Cola and no other brand. Physically you are confronted with the presence of it, it fills your entire field of vision.
So was your use of the bottles initially for their sound or the concept?
I started with the concept, simply consumerism, that which I have been interested in for a long time. I worked through some ideas around this but none which I could really apply musically. I was thinking of using multiple of an object from looking at Andy Warhol's work, in particular his Soup Cans as these alluded to the same umbrella of ideas, so from there the Coca Cola bottles seemed the obvious direction with suggestion from Phil Dadson. His musical experience was a great help in applying my more visual idea.
Why are you so interested in this concept?
I have been working in retail for over three years now so have seen first hand some of the chaos of consumerism. Working in a large scale homewares store over Christmas one year I saw not just the mad rush, the inflated emphasis on buying, the sales, the stock going out as faster than it came in. It seemed unbelievable with the amount of stock we were selling that people still needed to buy more. It didn't seem possible that the supposed need for all these objects was never fulfilled. I am also quite environmentally conscious so when I began to look at the other end of the objects life-span, the mindless disposal into landfills is directly related to this mindless spending and buying which we are manipulated to do.
So who is the target audience of your work?
I don't make any bold positive or negative statements, this particular work is quite neutral, mostly stating the facts that we chose to ignore. I actually have a level of respect for those who come up with marketing tactics because they really are clever. It isn't necessarily a bad thing but I want to make the general consumer aware of why they consume the way they do. We all know excess consumption, such as that of Coca Cola, is bad for us but wonder why we do it. I like to understand things and like to create things that help people open up to something they may not have been aware of, think of something in a new way.
You've explained the visual aesthetic but how does it relate to the fact that it is an instrument?
Music and jingles also play an important part in marketing. The high pitched 'ping' noise alludes to the tone adopted by Coca Cola in their advert, they portray magical worlds, happy people on beaches, celebrations, special ocassions; all part of the positive images and experiences they want you to associate with consuming their product. The particular advert my instrument is a reference to is the magical journey which takes place in a fantasty world inside the vending machine. This seems to have very little to do with Coca Cola but emparts a cute, happy feeling enhanced with the sweet, music box like tones.
How does this piece relate to previous works you've done?
In a previous project to design and build a wearable human interface, I created a stark white plaster human face with switches, which, when triggered would set off a stream of images relating to emotions. This relates to the 'facelessness' of consumerism, we are perhaps a blank canvas so open to manipulation. We are at the mercy of clever marketing who can control how we feel to make us want to buy a product. We are the white plaster face, our inputs are triggered by advertisments, the output is an evoked emotion.
How would you build on this concept in future projects?
I want perhaps to make something that makes a stronger comment because the hot issue at the moment is in creating a sustainable planet, a goal we are far from. I want to make something people can interact with, take art off the walls, something people can physically interact with and take some understanding with them to change some aspect of their life.
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