Design Festa!

I really liked how our projects turned out. I wish I could have had more time to really make mine wonderful and actually include all of the other people I have met in Tokyo. I liked that the little phone messages from my neighbor's friends worked as a path, but there are a few other people I had talked to and collected pictures/audio to include in my project. With one friend I took pictures in Yoyogi park and with anther I recorded part of a conversation we had one day. I really wish I could have included all of that in time, but overall I think mine looked ok.

I didn't think I was going to like using Google Earth because I thought it was going to much more difficult that it actually was. The most difficult thing about finishing the project was trying to capture the screen without making any mistakes! There were so many times when I had to restart my screen capture because I had clicked on the wrong spot or the wrong track. Other than that I'm glad that my project was finished in time for the exhibition and I probably will try to make my project better for the exhibition in September!! :D

Revision to my Final Project Idea

Instead of exploring my neighborhood, I'm going to plot the places I've met people and link the bubbles on MyMap to stories and pictures about how I've met these people and what I've learned about them.

My arist statement might not be as easy to write because I dont' have a specific purpose for this project, but after hearing from our speaker on Tuesday I might have a purpose. It's not impossible to meet new people in big cities. After living in a big city for too long people might begin to think that it's difficult to make friends on trains or in bars or even just on the street. So far, I've found that it isn't. I've met people in other big cities accross the world and if I had more time I would be able to include little biographices about them. But for now I'll plot these people and show that you can find a friend anywhere and especially in Tokyo. :D

Final Project

Learning about all of the new equipment has been really exciting this week. I've been using the audio recorders in my podcasting class so that piece of equipment wasn't new to me, but the video cameras and the GPS trackers were new.

The GPS system seems to be pretty easy to use. I might be able to use that in my project if I decide to travel around to different areas in my neighborhood. I don't actually think I'll use the video recorders as much though because I haven't thought of a project to incorporate video and because I'm a little bit intimidated of recording. I need to practice more with those cameras before I feel completely ready to take on recording on my own. I don't think I fully understand how to adjust the settings to produce a successful video, but I'm very excited to learn and practice.

Ashes and Snow

What are some of the themes that the artist attempts to represent in his works?

The artist is trying to convey a message about the relationships between humans and animals. Some of his pictures might actually be more of an idea of he has of how humans and animals should relate. There is the sense that humans and animals could be closer to one another and eliminate any fear that might stand between them getting to know one another. The picture of the cheetah and the boy is a perfect example of how the artist is trying to say that there is no need to fear one another. I thought it was interesting that in pictures with the elephants the boys are wearing robes, but the boy in the picture with the cheetah is only wearing a small covering. You’d thin the boy with the cheetah would need more protection from clothing but the artist did an amazing job of conveying that the boy could be safe even if he was practically naked.

Is the artist attempting to document the interactions between humans and animals? If so, would you consider these documents similar to a snapshot, or does the artist attempt to romanticize the relationships? Why?

The artist really romanticizes the relationships between humans and animals. Very few of the pictures send natural, but mostly because the subjects were usually stationary. At the end of the exhibits there was more movement, as in the picture with the woman and the birds, but for the most part the pictures seemed almost posed. For what the artist was trying to create, there didn’t need to be a lot of action and the pictures really conveyed the idea that these animals and humans were comfortable around one another.

What are some of the ideological references implicit in the art, such as race, class, settings, etc?

I don’t think there were too many ideological references in the art. There were multiple races, but the class was indistinguishable and the setting was the same.

After typing that, maybe that’s an ideological reference -- all classes together and bound together despite differences in class.

How do you think the formal stylistic techniques help convey the art’s meaning? Is it ever confusing? If so, how?

The style of the art makes it feel like the artist is trying to really force these ideas. The repetitive style and color unite all of the pictures in conveying the artists’ meaning. He wants his pictures and videos to convey the same meaning and promote unity between animals and humans.

Please site any references in the exhibition of work you have seen before. Does any of this look familiar?

I’ve never seen an exhibition like this before. Another first for me was the use of video and photography together. I really enjoyed the video of the man swimming with the elephant. If you watched carefully, the man never lets out air bubbles. I had noticed that after a few minutes of watching him swim and I watched for a while just waiting for hi to let out a big air bubble, but he never did. That is an amazing detail that made him really seem like an underwater creature as he swam with the elephant.

Prestige

Two weekends ago I went to Meiji Temple with a friend of mine. We had decided to walk there while we waited for some friends to arrive and we were fortunate enough to walk in as a wedding procession passed. It was really amazing to see the people, but more interesting that that was what my friend was telling me about weddings.

I know that weddings in Japan are expensive, but she mentioned that it was probably super expensive to be married here. I hadn't thought of that. So I asked her, why would you want to spend so much money just to have your wedding here though?

"Status, of course. If you have your wedding here then everybody knows you have
a lot of money."

It's amazing to think that the idea of spending the money just to have the status among your social circle is important now. I guess in America we have that same mentality. The woman could buy a designer dress and the wedding could be a destination wedding an exotic country, but it doesn't seem to make sense that important ceremonies could be used to gain that status. Sure, a couple could pay the astronomical amount it would cost to be married at Meiji Temple, but really it shouldn't matter. Every culture has their way of showing status through elaborate ceremonies or possessions, but I think it takes away from the ceremony if you're only doing it for the prestige.

International Project

My international project group mentioned the topic of activities that can be accomplished on the train, which is kind of interesting. I don't know that many of the Tokyo people on trains get a whole lot finished in that time, but there surely are many things going on in that time.

There are a lot of sleepy people on the trains. They seem to ride the trains just to sleep. It always makes me feel uncomfortable when the person next to me sleeps and I never sleep on the train.

There are many readers and sodoku players. Most people are reading their book or their manga just to pass time. I always look at the books people are reading and if the book is in English I'll try to start a conversation. In doing this I've met a mother that was reading in English so that she could keep up with her children. She had raised them in the states for a while and so they spoke great English. She had borrowed her book from her daughter. I also met a business man who had been studying English for 20+ years. He was originally interested in it because of the Beetles, but then he said he had just continued to study. What I thought was most interesting about him was that he had an English news paper and he was highlighting the words he didn't know.

The people on their phones are my favorite because I think everybody uses their phone as a sort of back-up plan. If you've forgotten your book or music, you can just whip out your phone and do something on that.

I don't know if we'll end up doing anything with the activities on transportation systems for the International Project, but it's an interesting thing to notice on trains.

More Observations

We've mentioned a few times in class that there are rules that everyone's following in Japan and I've really been noticing many people and their behaviors, especially the people who are not following the "rules"

The other day, through a window, I watched a man eat an onigiri as he walked down the sidewalk. Even though I'm sure he was starving, he was eating it as though he needed to hurry and be seen as little as possible as he ate. I guess he had decided that he was going to eat it, but a little voice in his head was probably telling him, "Hey! What are you doing?! You're not supposed to eat and walk down the street." So instead of just eating in happily, he tried to eat it as quickly as possible.

Another man was doing something even more bizarre! I was coming up the stairs at Azabu Juban station the other day, and as all of you know there are so many stairs! (Maybe I should count them one day.) I looked up to see just how many more I had to climb and I noticed that there was a man walking down the stairs backwards. He was an older Japanese man and he had just decided to walk down backwards. I don't' know why and I didn't want to stop him, but I did pass and say "Gambate!" because I'm sure it's a little bit difficult to get down all of those stairs backwards! :D

Design Festa!

Our trip to Design Festa was really interesting because I was very curious about the place where we are going to exhibit our work. It's an interesting gallery, mostly because of it's location and it's set up. I hadn't expected there to be as many rooms as there were and I was most surprised by the bathroom and kitchen that we will be able to use the weekend that we're there. Who was bringing the blender for the margaritas again? :)

What's in your bag?

My bag was a Christmas gift from my grandma. It's a pink leather bag and I love it because it's so soft and it has SO many little pockets. It's great that everything in my bag has it's own little space.

Attached to one of the zippers inside my bag is a little charm that I got on New Year's day at a temple near my house. I don't actually know what it says but my friend said that I had to keep it in my bag at all times, so I do.

My journal. This journal is made from recycled paper. Every page is different because a woman in New York collects pieces of paper and binds them into journals.

Everywhere I go I carry Dr. Pepper chapstick with me, but in this bag I also have lipstick and lip liner for times when I get bored on the train. If you ever see me coming off of the train with bright red lips you can assume that my iPod died and I didn't have anything to read.

My wallet and coin purse

Pens, USB memory stick and school supplies. My mom gave me the little container full of supplies and inside I have a stapler, tape, hole punch, paper clips, etc. It is the most useful thing anyone has ever given me.

Maps, tickets and exhibition announcements. The most important thing in this pile is the subway map. I always keep one with me because I'm always lost!

Notebooks for class

Harajuku

This weekend, I went to Harajuku for the first time with a friend of mine. Neither of us had been there and it actually wasn't at all how I expected it to be. Anytime I've asked someone about Harajuku one of the words that they usually tend to describe it as is "crazy." I expected lots of loud people and unique clothe, but I also expected for it to be more wild in a way.

I didn't really think it was wild or crazy. Sure, some of the people are dressed in interesting ways and there were lots of singers and dancers, but really it felt more like a giant stage for everyone to perform. No need to sign up--just come and use the park as your auditorium. The audience moves around more than most audiences do, but everyone has the opportunity to share their talents.

When we started walking toward the park we ran into some people with "Free Hug" signs. I've seen these signs in other big cities, but it was different in Japan. Most Japanese people don't hug too many people and I can think of many awkward hugs that I've had with some of my Japanese friends. These people were really friendly.

These belly dancers had a crowd of people waiting to watch them perform. Even though they weren't playing music or dancing at the time, as the people passed they paused and waited to watch these girls. Of all the people at the park that day I think these girls stood out. Of all the people we watched, these girls and some tap dancers were my favorite.

There were a lot of people getting ready when I got there also. I think this man was going to put on a little magic show, but he was nice enough to pose for a picture as he prepared.

This biker was really great, but as more and more people stopped to watch the amount of space he had to ride on got smaller and smaller. He even fell once trying to avoid hitting a woman passing by. It's really brave of these bikers and skateboarders to practice in a space like this because there are so many people around that they could bump into.
Finally there were LOTS of musicians at the park. Maybe the drummers in the picture are friends with Nao. The younger musicians liked being photographed and they were much happier playing with a crowd watching, but the drummers didn't really like that. It seemed like they would have rather just played and didn't really want spectators.

I had a really great time walking through the park and watching the people in Harajuku.


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I had to record audio for another class about my day in Harajuku so I figured I might as well add it to this blog too.
Click Here.

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Rules We Learn to Follow

We talked in class about the social standards that we adjust to when we move to a new place. Like how in Tokyo it’s inappropriate to walk while you eat. There are customs and rules that we have to learn when we’re trying to assimilate into a new culture.

I learned one of these on the train the other day. This young guy was sitting next to me and he started to fall asleep. I was reading and out of the corner of my eye I could see his head bobbing. Then, slowly it started to fall in my direction until it was almost resting on my shoulder. I really wanted to tap him and make him move his head. I looked around at the people to see if they thought it was strange that this guy was falling asleep in my direction, but nobody reacted. When the train arrived at my stop I stood up carefully, so that I wouldn’t wake him and got off the train.

Maybe I’ve never been in this sort of situation, so I didn’t know how to react to it, but I felt awkward sitting there with this guy so close to me. I started watching the sleepers on my trains and I noticed that the way people react in this situation is just to sit there and let the person sleep. I watched a woman fall asleep the same way my guy had and the man next to her continued to read without reacting to her head on his shoulder. It’s very strange for me to think that a complete stranger is allowed to let their head fall almost on your shoulder, but on Tokyo subways it’s allowed.

Three Day Project

The place I chose is a grocery store in Kita-Ku. This store is about ten minutes away from my house and it’s the first place I went to when I moved into the neighborhood. On the first floor there’s a grocery store, a bakery, a pharmacy and a flower shop. On the second floor there is a book shop, dry cleaners, 100 Yen Shop, shoe store, futon/linen store, and a clothing store. Even though most of the people in the neighborhood use it primarily for groceries, it’s a very convenient store to have since there’s so much condensed into that one building. Unlike grocery stores that are near train stations and main roads, this store is hidden within the houses and apartment buildings that surround it. People usually walk or ride their bikes here.


Day One

Observe. I chose to observe mostly from the benches that are outside around the building. I can see the people that come and there are usually people sitting on these benches either while they wait, or just to sit after they’ve shopped.

Day Two

I arrived at about 6:45 and outside of the building there are 173 bikes.

After I walked around the building to count the bikes I went to sit on the bench that I had sat on the day before, but there was a man there. I was walking toward a bench nearby when he looked up at me and said, “Hello, Baby.” There was no way I was going to sit anywhere near this man, because he didn’t look like a safe person to sit by for an hour or two, so I went inside of the store for a while.

Inside, most of the people are downstairs in the grocery store. There are mostly women with children shopping for dinner, but there are also a lot of middle school and high school students. There are a few schools around this area so a lot of the students come here after school. Everyone was busy shopping so I went upstairs. In the bookstore there are men and women in suits looking for books. Maybe they’re coming here to find a new book to read on the subway. In the area where the clothes are, there are a few women and even fewer men looking through the racks of clothes. There isn’t a huge selection for them to look through, so you can tell they’re only looking out of boredom or curiosity. None of them look like they really want to find any new clothes. Nobody is in the shoe store and there’s only one woman in the futon shop. She seems to be on a mission to find a new blanket. The dry cleaner doesn’t have too many people around the counter, but behind the workers there are many garments hanging in plastic bags. At the 100 Yen Shop there are a few young people looking around. One boy is in his early twenties and he’s looking through the notebooks and stationary supplies. There’s a young couple looking at the dishes and discussing which ones to buy. There are two cashiers and a line of about five people. In the line there are two older women, that might have come to the store together, but they each have a basket. There are two young women and one young man each with their baskets full. Everyone else in the store is shopping quickly and quietly. Unike the men and women shopping for clothes, these people are scanning the shelves and looking specifically for certain items. I’ve made my way around the second floor so I decided to try the bench again. Hopefully that man has left.

Thankfully, he has.

I sat at the bench at the end of the row. There are six benches total but when I arrived there are only three other people sitting—an older couple and a man. The older couple seems to just be resting before they walk home. They each have a bag at their feet. The man on the bench is just sitting with a can of beer and watching the people. There are so many bikes outside of the store. They’re arranged neatly into two lines. A woman arrives on a bike with her two daughters. One of them is about twelve or thirteen and she is riding on her own bike next to her mother. The other daughter is eight or nine and she’s riding the back of her mother’s bike. Most of the mothers carry their children on their bikes, but this girl is definitely big enough to be riding her own bike. A few school girls arrive and more mothers with children.

Then, the most interesting man comes and sits on the bench at the other end of the row. I’ve seen this man before, because he’s here almost every night. I’d never seen him arrive or depart from the benches because I’ve never arrived this early. I’m usually just running into the store to buy a few things, but he’s usually here when I come in the evenings. He’s about sixty-five for seventy and he’s wearing a plain white shirt and black pants. His face isn’t a typical Japanese face. He’s got a long square jaw, high cheek bones and round eyes. He sits down and reaches into his bag for a glass bottle of Sake, opens it and begins drinking. I can see that he’s not really watching anyone; he’s just gazing toward the door. Then his face begins to look sad. The glass of sake is about two-thirds empty by this time and then he begins to cry. He’s not actually crying with tears and he never is, but his face looks very sad and he shakes his head every so often. When he shakes his head he usually mumbles something, which might be the explanation to why he’s crying, but I’m never close enough to tell what he’s saying. The other man that had been sitting at the bench has left, but the couple leaves when the man begins to cry. They gave him a curious glance before they picked up their bags and walked off. I want to stay and watch this man, but it’s starting to get late.

Day Three

It’s raining really hard today. I count the bikes again, and there are only 97 when I arrive.

I went inside for a while, because it was raining pretty hard when I arrived. After about fifteen minutes it dies down a little. Here are a couple pictures.

It started raining really hard again, so I walked home.