Daihei Shibata: Shinkansen ver.2

Like the Gondry video for Star Guitar and Tal Rosner, [both links are in this blog].  Just love this sideways journeying.  Traveling in the Japanese high-speed train Shinkansen from Shinosaka to Tokyo.  The video sequence was shot by OLYMPUS EP-1(PEN).

Music: VanShe "So High"
 

Shinkansen ver.2 from daihei shibata on Vimeo.

London Futures

An exhibition of digitally enhanced images of London landmarks created to promote further awareness of climate change. The images are presented as postcards from the future, with the aim of 'bringing home the full impact of global warming, food scarcity, rising sea levels and how all Londoners will need to innovate and adapt to survive.' These images are impressive, disturbing, but complete fantasy. They show dystopia referring to a futuristic society that is purely fictional whilst applying symbols of real prejudice that is happening in the present and elsewhere in the world. They remind me of the last lecture, '...Other Destinations' where commonly known symbols and ideas are appropriated to a fake environment to stimulate viewers and evoke particular emotions.

The exhibition is currently on show at the Museum of London until the 6th March 2011. There are plenty of other images through the link - - Buckingham Palace surrounded by shanty towns, Parliament Square as a rice paddy and ice skaters on the Thames.

how our house resembles us as a person

This is my house. It's a 6 bedroom shared student house. I think that our houses do reflect who we are as a person. for example, what things we choose to have on display and what things we choose to keep out of view, how tidy we are and the things that se have. It reflects a bit on our own individual personality to how we style the house and our bedrooms.

Dystopia

the game shows life in and around vegas in a dystopian future after nuclear war. it has a cheery optomistic 50s feel to it which is in stark contrast to the ruins all around.

電気グルーブ Denki Groove / モノノケダンス

An emergent dystopian scene, or just a rave, and maybe even a type of reversioning or reinterpretation of the Hieronymus Bosch painting, Garden of Earthly Delights, which we discussed in the lecture.  The film's disruptive unravelling of the animation process, its shoddiness, particularly at the end is presented as the ultimate horror.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymIn5pqRH94&feature=related

Park Hill

In 1957 construction began on Park Hill, a council housing estate located in Sheffield. The construction was finished in 1961 and was received positively by the local community. What made Park Hill different from a lot of the large housing estates of the time was not just the architecture but also the sense of community.

When rehoming entire communities into a new building it wasn’t uncommon at the time for the people in charge to spilt entire communities up. However Park Hill was different as not only were neighbours able to be re-homed next to one another but the old street names from the previous area were also re-used, thus keeping the sense of community.

Although the building was initially seen as modern and offered better facilities than the current alternative at the time, decades later the building started to show its age and was in need of re-development. The building was listed in 1998 and is now being renovated by Urban Splash.

Its so common for people to quickly dismiss the future possibilities of just about any building made post-war. If its showing its age, best just to knock it down yeah? Eventually there will be a void in history when it comes to looking back at post-war buildings - particularly when it comes to social housing. Whilst some buildings can not be renovated because they are structurally unsound, the ones that aren’t should be preserved.

Although still in development, Park Hill is a great example of what can happen to architecture if people were willing to see beyond the surface and think. Although demolishing is often cheaper/easier - Plymouth Hoe Centre?

Michael

utopia?

"...the difference between a Utopia and a Dystopia can often lie in the visitor's point of view: one person's heaven can be another's hell."

My 'In-Between' Space

Within my home i find spaces that are unoccupied and used for 'passing through' most interesting. The way that they aren't dwelled in appeals to me, like they are a passage through time or a gateway between two spaces or dimensions. They have a function but are vital, necessary spaces rather than places to settle and exist in.
This particular space represents the meaning of the house in general as it isn't a permament home for me and where I move to next is unknown. In essence I am only passing through, I am in between two lives; my life as a student and the progression into my future self and my chosen career. My home now is therefor an 'in-between' place and will always have significance and will occupy a space in my memory but it is a place that I am passing through and will stay in a certain place in time. Just as I will change and move on, so will the place when someone else occupies it.

My Home

I've spent my whole life living under the same roof, and although the interior and exterior has changed slightly throughout the years it is my home. A place I feel secure and safe in my surroundings, with my family I share the space with.
My home is a place I enjoy being in, an escape from the outside world into my own world where I can relax in comfort. It is a place I have grown up in and have lots of memories from both the outside, in. This makes it a special dwelling for me to spend my time within. Although there are some empty rooms in my house, and unfurnished rooms it still to me is a space I look forward to entering and shutting the door behind me to relax with the ones close to me where everywhere I go theres a personal touch from my family to comfort me.
My room is a seperate area just for me, my own retreat thats personal to myself. Although I've spent 20 years/ all my life in this house, I've had various different bedrooms however I've alwats made it into my space. My newly decorated bedroom is a comfort zone for me, everything situated in my bedroom is what I have chosen for myself, striking wallpaper and bold black wardrobes reflects my interior interest and has created statemement pieces.
Not only is the interior of my home important to me but also the exterior garden creating a sense of place and freedom where I can also enjoy my time, weather permitting! Living behind a cricket field it brings a lot of activity during the summer months and then during the winter months I can view the snow on the moors from a window upstairs, all this together creates a beautiful surrounding to call home.