today i decided that i should look at writing the proposal and in fact my whole project with a lighter spirit, brighter soul.
so.
topic statement
lalalalalalalalala
when i begin this study i wasn't aiming to prove singaporeans out of their geeky, obedient, oppressed and hard working image as would the world and even ourselves would view us.
the topic of my study began simply by questioning what people did in such a politically controled evironment such as singapore. how did people keep themselves safe and express their views and proliferate awareness at the same time?
thus the topic of my study is to explore how people in Singapore resist dominant powers, express political statements, and raise difficult issues in a highly politically controlled environement. Having borrowed James Scott's theory of the hidden transcripts, i would like to further determind the use of these hidden transcripts within the official and unofficial worlds of singapore as forms of expression and opposition and analyze the evolution of the use of these hidden transscripts in a third world - that is in between the official and unofficial worlds, a space, time, place where people conform and confront at the same time. through the study of the hidden transcripts in this third world i would like To pursue an understanding of my roles in possibily joining the interjection and challenging of singapore's social consciousness through art and other experimental forms.
Monday, February 25, 2008
thinking of arts-based research
i've been reading up on arts-based research to give me some ideas for my major project proposal.
it seems to me that there are 3 ways of using arts-based research:
1. art as data
2. art as inquiry
3. art as interpretation or representation
i am interested in the notion of using art to present research findings; the notion that not all experiences, feelings and information can be translated to words.
how can i use this for my research? for my major project?
on the topic of art and resistance/ social change in singapore, in what forms can i present it?
in what medium can i present the middle world? the middle world that i am still inquiring?
there is another thing that i am interested in. that is the use of art to discover the self, to brainstorm, to analyze theories. how can i use art to analyze what i already know to formulate something new? how can i use art to probe deeper into the matter?
as i am thinking of this, i suddenly realise that the little exercises that i have been working with prof honor and jiha were doing just that. like the one we did last week. thinking about before and after we came to canada and drawing a portrait to express that. honor meant for the information in these exercises to be useful for me in looking deeper into the issues that i am questioning. as i read the book, i came to understand that.
if i already have the topic in mind, how am i going to inquire it through art and how am i going to present it through art?
polyvocal?
photography?
installation?
relational art?
blog?
painting? drawing?
should i be doing a project that interact with people as a form of research?
hmmmm...
it all seems complicated. i want to simplify it.
simplify the theory, simplify the research, simplify the expression.
'simple is beautiful'
(now where have i heard of that before?)
thoughts:
sometimes i think that i have to make art my life in order to grasp for myself the channels of peace.
yet the research that i do, how is that connected to the peace that i am trying to find, and trying so hard to understand?
is the middle world of my theory a way for the people to balance power or to understand power or to empower themselves so that they will have a peace of mind? if we can comprehend the power structure and struggles that are working itself in the society, and if we interject that with our abilities, will we be happier? even if that provokes aggression, ignites anger.
maybe anger and agression will be present in the other party. however i think that the doer, the protagonist, the provoker, the interjector herself should remain calm, as calm as the particles in water and air. unabashed by waves of wind because they are in and within the elements themselves.
if we remain calm as we ride the waves, will the others see?
simple may be beautiful but perhaps things will always seem complicated.
we are walking the complicated road, i am walking down that complicated path.
-------
so have i convinced myself that my research indeed relates to my thoughts and ideas?
then how can that help in my project?
shall we go on?
the middle world - the middle world is only plausible if the protagonist is able to balance the official and unofficial world with patience, understanding, repose, confidence and acceptance.
is that possible?
it seems to me that there are 3 ways of using arts-based research:
1. art as data
2. art as inquiry
3. art as interpretation or representation
i am interested in the notion of using art to present research findings; the notion that not all experiences, feelings and information can be translated to words.
how can i use this for my research? for my major project?
on the topic of art and resistance/ social change in singapore, in what forms can i present it?
in what medium can i present the middle world? the middle world that i am still inquiring?
there is another thing that i am interested in. that is the use of art to discover the self, to brainstorm, to analyze theories. how can i use art to analyze what i already know to formulate something new? how can i use art to probe deeper into the matter?
as i am thinking of this, i suddenly realise that the little exercises that i have been working with prof honor and jiha were doing just that. like the one we did last week. thinking about before and after we came to canada and drawing a portrait to express that. honor meant for the information in these exercises to be useful for me in looking deeper into the issues that i am questioning. as i read the book, i came to understand that.
if i already have the topic in mind, how am i going to inquire it through art and how am i going to present it through art?
polyvocal?
photography?
installation?
relational art?
blog?
painting? drawing?
should i be doing a project that interact with people as a form of research?
hmmmm...
it all seems complicated. i want to simplify it.
simplify the theory, simplify the research, simplify the expression.
'simple is beautiful'
(now where have i heard of that before?)
thoughts:
sometimes i think that i have to make art my life in order to grasp for myself the channels of peace.
yet the research that i do, how is that connected to the peace that i am trying to find, and trying so hard to understand?
is the middle world of my theory a way for the people to balance power or to understand power or to empower themselves so that they will have a peace of mind? if we can comprehend the power structure and struggles that are working itself in the society, and if we interject that with our abilities, will we be happier? even if that provokes aggression, ignites anger.
maybe anger and agression will be present in the other party. however i think that the doer, the protagonist, the provoker, the interjector herself should remain calm, as calm as the particles in water and air. unabashed by waves of wind because they are in and within the elements themselves.
if we remain calm as we ride the waves, will the others see?
simple may be beautiful but perhaps things will always seem complicated.
we are walking the complicated road, i am walking down that complicated path.
-------
so have i convinced myself that my research indeed relates to my thoughts and ideas?
then how can that help in my project?
shall we go on?
the middle world - the middle world is only plausible if the protagonist is able to balance the official and unofficial world with patience, understanding, repose, confidence and acceptance.
is that possible?
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