New Bento - Major Studio 1
I set out to make a speculative nutrition piece that explores the convenience of portable food. By using the concept of bento (ancient Japanese slang for "convenience", modern Japanese art form) as a medium with which to investigate how people think about acquiring their food, where is comes from and what it takes to get their meal.
Instruction Set for Strangers - Major Studio 1
Location Creation
A group project in which the brief was to create an interaction that was “readable” without any written instructions or demonstration.
5 in 5 Day 5 - Major Studio 1
View food en route in a larger map
fOOD EN ROUTE RESOURCE MAP
Survival in NYC is the best some people can hope for. The word survive can have a negative connotation but access to free and at-cost food in NYC is really a practical matter of class and access. Especially when you consider that even growing your own food is not possible or even illegal. Some community garden memberships are free. Dumpster diving is free. Crab fishing off a dock with string and chicken bones is free. I don’t believe in freeganism as a viable lifestyle since it springs from wasteful practices that, if freegans achieved their aims, would cease to be a phenomenon. But eithin the context of the costs of feeding yourself in New York City it's an admirable "damn the man" attitude that I wish I was brave enough to try. I've started mapping places where I've seen what I believe to be higher quality discarded food, food growing or food being caught. Hopefully an ongoing project. Here are some links on finding free food, how to dumpster dive and a freegan map (a bit dated)
*This project was not my first idea. My attempts to acquire the parts needed to make what I originally wanted to make (a potato battery) did not happen in time
5 in 5 Day 4 - Major Studio 1
A Game of Squash - Processing Sketch
I designed this simple processing game to teach myself about the numerous sorts of squash that constantly show up in my CSA share. I never know what to do with them and it breaks my heart to see them eventually shrivel on my kitchen table only to be thrown away whole a month later. Squash are cheap, they keep well and and are full of general goodness so there's no reason not to eat 'em all up.
This project is a bit of a failure for me. I feel that I overlaid what I know how to do in web onto processing rather than coding something effective. But it was a great exercise for some coding practice.
UPDATE: Here is the archived source code on openprocessing.org.
5 in 5 Day 3 - Major Studio 1
Recipe Darlin’ Aggregator
The goal for this day’s project was twofold: to aggregate recipes form sites that i like into one place and to learn how to install and customize a hosted WordPress site on my own. Both need work but both are working, so who's complaining? plus I'm making ginger salmon for dinner! recipedarlin.me
Aggregation Results
recipedarlin.com screengrab
5 in 5 Day 2 - Major Studio 1
Hands-Free Shopping
Who doesn't look silly when carrying too many grocery bags in the city? As someone who will go pretty far out of the way for cheap, quality produce I've had my fair share of walks and bike rides that felt like I was setting off on the Oregon Trail.
When carrying delicious things a long distance, it's just impossible to fit it all in one bag and still have the weight distributed properly. I wanted to make a comfortable, portable, carrying aid that would also allow me to have at least one of my hands free. this would make my shopping trips less painful and potentially aid in doing so more frequently.
such modern burdens
Grocery Bra™ in action
prototype of the hands-free bag harness
sketch
5 in 5 Day 1 - Major Studio 1
Personal Food Guide Pyramid
I've decided to use this time to focus on food. Specifically on feeding myself. The act of consuming food has much cultural significance and yet in the last 100 years we've lost our natural priority to commune and sup together. Local bounty, seasonal specialties and annual feasts have lost their connection and meaning. Yet we are inundated with choice.So I've made my own food guide based on my own observations and preferences. Damn the man and his pyramid.
USDA Food Pyramid - 1996
In order to deal with this assault of choice we invented the Four Food Groups. Then the Food Guide Pyramid. Now there's Choose My Plate. All of them a weird visualization of a probable compromise between the USDA and the dairy, beef, corn, and soybean lobbies. But it's hard toss out, even with the knowledge of it's, um, less than nutritional inception. The food guide pyramid was the first data visualization to impact my life. But how did we get to this point? Do we need something like this to remind us of what it means to eat a good meal? And if one were to follow the classic food guide pyramid would you really be eating all that well?
US Food Administration - 1883
US food guide -1916
choosemyplate.gov - 2007
The Non-Entrance - Major Studio 1
My first group project of grad school.
The department relocated to 6 East 16th street on the 12th floor and there are a few odd spaces outside of the classrooms. It used to be the offices for Vitoria’s Secret PINK.
The assignment was as follows: Interrogate the space. That's it. Here's what me, matt, jeremy and KJ came up with.