Hedonism

Why do we consciously insist on doing things that we know are bad for us?

"Dissonance is most powerful when it is about our self-image. Feelings of foolishness, immorality and so on (including internal projections during decision-making) are dissonance in action.

If an action has been completed and cannot be undone, then the after-the-fact dissonance compels us to change our beliefs. If beliefs are moved, then the dissonance appears during decision-making, forcing us to take actions we would not have taken before."

Excerpt taken for an explanation of cognitive dissonance

5. Lying to Ourselves: Cognitive Dissonance

One might begin to suspect that people must be pretty good at either ignoring their own feelings, beliefs and desires, or flat out lying to themselves (and getting away with it). In a classic 1959 experiment psychologists designed an experiment with level upon level of deceit to see just how much a person will ignore their own experience, even to the point of helping to convince someone else of something they know is not true.

The human capacity for sustaining cognitive dissonance has since been confirmed in many other well-designed experiments. This capacity is linked closely with our desire to join and fit in with a group, adjusting our own values and beliefs about things to align with those of others. Perhaps, knowing about these propensities, we can learn to avoid believing our own lies too much

The Western developed word is amidst a health crisis, brought on by diseases and conditions we have chosen to inflict upon ourselves because of our excessive consumption of hedonistic pleasures such as un-suitable foods, cigarettes, alcohols and illicit drugs, all of which are resources that have become all too readily available to our child-like; - what we want, how we want it, when we want it - consumer attitudes. In the UK we are burdening the NHS with more and more cases of self inflicted diseases and debilitating conditions which we can consciously prevent. The health risks associated with the indulgence in these resources isn't something that is infectious or contagious, something we have no control over, we human beings are making bad choices and giving ourselves these problems that need never exist... So why are we doing it? And how far will we have to go to change our infantile attitudes?


Resources we regularly over indulge in:

Unsuitable food

"Obesity can cause a number of health problems, such as type 2 diabetes (a condition caused by too much glucose in the blood), and heart disease (when the heart’s blood supply is blocked).

Being overweight or obese can also shorten life expectancy (how long a person should live). In obese adults over 40 years of age, obesity can shorten life expectancy by 6-7 years."

Excerpt from NHS website

Illicit Drugs

"The 2009/10 British Crime Survey estimates that 8.6% of 16 to 59 year olds living in England and Wales have tried illegal drugs in the last year.

Among young people, this figure is more than twice as high, with an estimated 20% of 16 to 24 year olds having used illegal drugs in the last year.

Martin Barnes of DrugScope and neuroscientist Professor David Nutt explain the results of research into the effects of recreational drugs on the brain.

Excerpt from NHS website

Alcohol

"The cumulative effects of excessive alcohol consumption, especially when associated with a poor diet, affect every part of the body. The two main sites of damage are the liver and the nervous system."

"Alcoholism is also implicated in diabetes, inflammation of the pancreas, internal bleeding, weakening of the heart, high blood pressure and stroke. Alcohol intake during pregnancy is harmful to an unborn baby."

Excerpts from BBC website

Smoking

"Smoking is a greater cause of death and disability than any single disease, says the World Health Organization. According to their figures, it is responsible for approximately five million deaths worldwide every year. Tobacco smoking is a known or probable cause of approximately 25 diseases, and even the WHO says that its impact on world health is not fully assessed."

Excerpt from BBC website

My Hands Are My Heart

My Hands Are My Heart 1991

For one of his early sculptures Orozco picked up a chunk of clay and pressed it with both hands to give it the form of the space between them. The clearly visible imprint preserves the impromptu moment of creation, what he has described as 'a gesture of spontaneity'. Orozco's use of regular brick factory clay, rather than a specialist sculptor's material, is typical of his penchant for the humble and everyday.

Tate

Gabriel Orozco

Tate

The kid's have got it down

So why don't we?

Why are we, as individuals, as a nation even as a race; failing to fulfill out most rudimentary basic need properly. Maybe we all need a little refresher course in how to look after ourselves again... or a smack in the face followed by a "sort yourself out"

Students

Average student’s diet revealed

Article in context can be found: here

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

The average student lives on a diet of spag bol, jacket potatoes and frozen pizzas, a study revealed yesterday.

Research shows the typical scholar munches his or her way through almost 200 platefuls of spaghetti bolognaise during their time at university.

Stir-fry dishes came fourth followed by beans and toast, according to the poll of 2,000 students.

The study was carried out by Sainsbury’s to launch its Student Meal Ticket card.

Sainsbury’s Nutritionist Charlotte Parker said: ”It can be a shock for youngsters when they move away from home for the first time.

”If you have never cooked before, it can be a struggle mastering the basics and getting to grips with what food goes together.

”It’s important that students don’t just resort to eating fast food and take-aways and eat a healthy and varied diet.

”It’s pleasing to see that spaghetti bolognaise is the most popular dish as it can be a relatively healthy balanced meal, especially if you pack it full of vegetables, use extra lean mince and season with herbs rather than adding too much salt.”

The study found three quarters of uni-goers eat more nutritional food at home while seven out of ten also said they miss mum’s cooking.

Over 40 per cent of students who took part in the poll said they struggled cooking for themselves the first time they moved away from home.

The poll also revealed three quarters recycle the same meals every week.

Cooking politics in a student house can vary with 46 per cent of housemates saying they make their own meals but a more sociable 39 per cent take it in turns.

A resourceful 14 per cent say that those who cook get out of the washing-up afterwards.

But it’s not harmony all the time, with 21 per cent of respondents saying they have fallen out with fellow students over the weekly shop.

And a whopping 70 per cent said there have been arguments over stealing each others food.

Charlotte Parker added: ”Sainsbury’s has everything a student needs – the Meal Ticket to help with their funds, and the great basics range with hundreds of items at £1 or less and over 50 ways to get your five a day.

”So being on a budget doesn’t mean you have to eat unhealthily.”

The poll also revealed many students add a personal touch to dishes with 18 per cent admitting to adding Worcester Sauce to baked beans and a quirky 44 per cent add crisps to sandwiches.

Top 20 Student Meals

1. Spaghetti Bolognaise

2. Jacket potato with a filling

3. Frozen pizza

4. Stir-Fry

5. Beans on toast

6. Pasta and pesto

7. Bacon sandwich

8. Curry

9. Microwave ready meal

10. Tuna pasta bake

11. Chilli

12. Lasagne

13. Noodles

14. Omelette

15. Beef burgers and chips

16. Pot Noodles

17. Readymade Pie

18. Spaghetti Carbonara

19. Sausage, egg and chips

20. Spaghetti hoops on toast

Magical

I hate how you get so easily distracted/lead off course on youtube, but this is nice

Multi - Plate

"Perfect for serving appetizers, or as an alternative place setting.

Gourmet Trio is born out of a family of Gourmet plates, the result of joining various combinations of three to seven white dinner plates into a visually interesting and functional art series by rising French designer Jean Marc Gady.

Comes in a set of two plates of certified, glazed ceramic..."

Fill Trinity with candles, snacks, sweets, or personal trinkets. Lisa Hilland’s block candle holder is made out of solid stoneware, which slides out to accommodate many different objects in a straightforward arrangement. Trinity comes in a signature black gift box. 

Made of dolomite, this attractive and functional piece will add a touch of art and style to your home or office.

 Gourmet Trio   Trinity 

Art Objects

List of unsolved problems in philosophy

Art objects

This problem originally arose from the practice rather than theory of art. Marcel Duchamp, in the 20th century, challenged conventional notions of what "art" is, placing ordinary objects in galleries to prove that the context rather than content of an art piece determines what art is. In music, John Cage followed up on Duchamp's ideas, asserting that the term "music" applied simply to the sounds heard within a fixed interval of time. While it is easy to dismiss these assertions, further investigation shows that Duchamp and Cage are not so easily disproved. For example, if a pianist plays a Chopin etude, but his finger slips missing one note, is it still the Chopin etude or a new piece of music entirely? Most people would agree that it is still a Chopin etude (albeit with a missing note), which brings into play the Sorites Paradox, mentioned below. If one accepts that this is not a fundamentally changed work of music, however, one is implicitly agreeing with Cage that it is merely the duration and context of musical performance, rather than the precise content, which determines what music is. Hence, the question is what the criteria for art objects are and whether these criteria are entirely context-dependent.

Sensuous Tableware

Sensuous Tableware - ENG from ilan sinai on Vimeo.

Uncanny

Why are the personifications or animations of an inanimate object difficult to deal with...

Megawing

Creepy Table Ware

Creepy Table Ware

This is really strange and makes me feel a little uneasy - but i like it!

"...Israeili artist Ronit Baranga (born in 1973) uses clay and porcelain to craft some really disturbing tableware that would probably instantly make you lose your appetite.

Already known for her strange sculptures, Baranga applied her creepy creativity to the kitchen, putting realistic mouths and fingers on dishes and cups.

“I would like that anyone who sees my work feels something – what they feel is not relevant to me, as long as they feel. I hope that the emerging feelings will cause the viewers to think about the ideas behind my work… The combination of ceramic cups with ceramic fingers represent an idea in which the still creates a will of its own, enabling a cup to decide whether to stay or leave the situation it is in,” [1] says the artist ... "

Watts for wax

Harry Allen

100% natural beeswax; wick

A really smart observation

This Into That

This Into That™ Two-Bracket Bookshelf : Jim Rosenau

Size: Approximately 24"-28" long x 7" tall x 7" deep

This piece reminds me of the 10X10 project I took part in last year. Using found/recycled materials to product new products, the fact that the raw materials of this piece are found object makes it "limited - edition" as no two will ever be identical, I think that adds value to the piece, the back story of where the raw materials come from enrich the product and add history to it. 

It is also interesting to note this is a piece of literal design. A book shelf... manufactured from books. Oh how i love the irony...

If It's Not Nature It's Design...Right?

http://www.asknature.org/

Hyper-Realism

Sam Jinks

Still Life (Pieta) 2007

silicon, paint & human hair

160.0 x 123.0 cm

Excerpt from An Interview With Sam Jinks:

- -"What do you hope the viewer will take away from your sculptures?
I’d like to think that the viewer would feel something after viewing the work, perhaps they could even have some sort of physical experience or maybe see something that they can relate to in their own lives. "- -

This hauntingly realistic piece of Sam Jinks' work says to me: "Your life is in your hands..."

It boldly represents that familiar old saying people bat about so often that: "life's too short.." and conjures thoughts of looking forward at your aged-self , from yourself in the here and now almost to seek futuristic answers. It's an image that is frankly quite upsetting but incredibly, intrusively thought provoking and like all of Sam Jinks' work, something that cannot be ignored. The craftsmanship that has gone into creating each piece is something to behold itself.

Twitter?

Polly morgan

Receiver, 2009

24x8x7cm

Bakelite Telephone Receiver

+ 7 Taxidermy Quail chick Heads

I saw a piece about her on The Culture Show a while ago, maybe over a year ago and read an article in the Sunday Mail about her today on my lunch break. I think her work is fascinating and again in it resonates this kind of strange visual representation of something literal that subtly lures me in; it makes me envisage the sayings: "What are you yittering/twittering on about?" - or "It soudns like a hen hut in the background"

- - Morgan's work is certainly evolving, whether as a conscious reaction to fears of faddishness or not. The decorative, dollhouse-scale tableaux are being joined by the bolder, more abstract and more defiantly sculptural pieces, such as the giant spore-like orbs of wings that her assistants are prepping for on the other side of the room. Her newer work is perhaps less a subversion of the conventions of taxidermy — the glass domes, the life-like poses — and more an exploration of animals as a raw material.

"Maybe it will become more of a conventional medium, like using clay or oil paint," she ponders. There are certainly no immediate plans to abandon fur and feathers. "I don't know of many artists who use taxidermy pretty much exclusively as I do, and I just haven't exhausted it yet. - -

Excerpt from the Guiradian's: Observer On Sunday.

Its interesting to note she thinks of animals corpses now as a raw materials its an intriguing notion to explore... Can't help thinking there may be some use for that otter we have in our freezer after-all...

Slip Casting

Notes From Geoffs Master Class.

• Roll out the buff clay leaving good gaps around the sides of the object.
• Sink the object up until it's half way point building the clay around it - make sure the clay makes a seal around the object at its half way point.
• Smooth out the clay to make it as flat am imperfection-less as possible using kidneys and paint brushes.
• Soft soap the object if it is made form a porous material - use little amounts of soft soap and build up layers.
• Cotal the sides of the buff clay (to make the area for the plaster o be poured into) with melamine boards of other slabs of buff.
• Make coils of the buff to secure the walls in place so that the weight of the plaster wont make them fall and to prevent any leaks.
• When mixing the plaster sprinkle the plaster into water until little mountains appear.
• Leave it to stand.
• Gently hand mix the plaster being careful not to aggravate it and add air bubbles.
• Mix until it feels thick and like its just about to go off.
• Do not pour the plaster directly on top of the object - pour into the side of the mould.
• Fill a good distance above the object.
• When dry clean up the mould and add natches.
• Soft soap the inside of the mould - especially the natches or the parts won't separate.

My Soft Office

My Soft Office by Hella Jongerius

This is a prime example of the kind of designs that make me stop and think..

I saw this piece in New York last year; to me its a very visual representations of the mind set of society. We all waste our lives away in from of the latest LCD/LED screens and this product is a true reflection of the breakdown in societal family values. What happened to the "all sit down around the table" dinners of yester-year? They're now something you can reconstitute with water or micro wave the life out of because family values have broken down and people spend every waking minute over working themselves and where are we eating them? In isolation around the technologies which we find our life completely and utterly consumed by.

It may be the case that the intention for this product was to be functional and meet the demands of modern lifestyles, but it's the provoking visual appearance of what that need it that makes me recoil in horror. I would like to think it has been designed to exaggerate what we've become..

Laser Cutter to Roto-Moulder

Building up a 3D shape from a laser cut net shape to use as a mould on the Roto-Moulder.

Polyprop in the laser cutter being set up..

Working out which colours will cut or engrave.. the blue one or the red one...

The cut net...

Turns out the net i made didn't fit together properly.. me and maths don't mix.. so for times sake i used a spare net that was in the workshop, just to practise, i'll get back to making my own one later once i've got the hang of the process.

Added a little bit of food colouring for something a bit different turns out its does something strange to the chemical structure of the plastic and is a complete failure... i put the food colouring in the net before pouring the J-Cast in to see what kind of effect would come out if it, maybe it would have worked better if i had mixed them together..

(J-Cast ratio 1:1)

Food colouring was maybe not the best colourant to put into it. As you can see the walls have also become thin an stuck to the sides of the mould.. The ratio was bang on 50/50.. The food colouring may be to blame for some weakening?