[-empyre-] diapers art.

[christopher sullivan]

whoops hit send accidentally, as aI was saying...there is no incentive for the
child to  become potty trained. In much of the art academy, there are also
classes that give a pleasurable experience of connectedness, and
collaboration,
 and even presumed social relevance (community gardens, etc.) but really do
nothing to help artists create a vision of something unique or new, and also to
create work that can be read on many levels. The class becomes a group of like
thinkers supporting each other,, and not asking fundamental questions. 
sometimes learning how to think, is not fun. exciting, but not always fun. 

once during a lecture on how to write grants and artist proposals, a student
asked.."how do I get grants if I have not finished anything?" to which I said,
"well I hope you don't" The student wanted the feel of the artist life, but no
actual evaluation of quality. the simulacrum.
Chris

Quoting christopher sullivan <csulli at saic.edu>:

> 
> also, if the diaper is comfortable, there is no incentive for the child to
> become potty trained. Chris
> 
> Quoting davin heckman <davinheckman at gmail.com>:
> 
> >  I ran
> > > into the case of the disposable diaper and the result it has had in
> > > increasing by an average of several years now how long it takes for
> > children to be potty
> > > trained. On the surface it is valuable to eliminate children's
> discomfort
> > by
> > > optimizing the diaper.
> > > In fact current diapers increase general comfort by expanding in a
> > > soothing way and becoming warm. Likewise diaper changers appreciate all
> > > the gadgets to facilitate the change.
> > > The problem here is that the same object (the result of dozens of years
> of
> > > prototyping and field testing) is ergonomic at one time scale and not at
> a
> > larger one
> > > in time or at the scale of an entire society.
> > 
> > What a brilliant example!  These sorts of discussions circulate in
> > natural parenting groups.  And, in fact, various conceptions of
> > comfort circulate around discussions of cloth diapers.  On the one
> > hand, there is an argument that children wearing cloth diapers get
> > uncomfortable faster, learning to associate the feeling of having to
> > pee with immediate discomfort, which alters the parent/child dynamic
> > in such a way that you change your child's diapers more quickly and
> > frequently, your child might hold it for longer periods of time, and
> > will also potty train sooner.  Beyond this, there are folks who
> > advocate different kinds of cloth diapers, as well as no diapers (this
> > method requires extremely close living, learning to recognize signs,
> > and develop awareness at an early stage).
> > 
> > But at its fundamental level, you (and Cynthia, too, in reaching
> > towards an open exchange of knowledge in your fine arts program) are
> > gesturing here towards developing singular relationships based in
> > trial and error, adaptation and refinement.  I suppose the utopian
> > aspect of this type of emergent consciousness is that it is utterly
> > directed at improving the communication between two very different
> > people.  It cannot restrict itself to a single quality (comfort) and,
> > in fact, resists any effort to reduce relationships to a simple
> > measure of "effectiveness."  In each case, it involves seeking out the
> > other's needs, seeking the other's desires, recognizing the other's
> > limitations.....  bringing these uneven and changing considerations
> > closer to one's own needs, desires, limitations (all of which, I would
> > argue, might be just as surprising as those of the other, when put
> > into conversation with the other)....  and forging a relationship that
> > is itself just as rich as any of its constituent parts.  Of course
> > these things to do not always come up roses, but I'd like to think
> > that the terrain of community/communication itself is just as
> > rewarding as the ends which we seek.
> > 
> > As usual, I've gone on too long.  But, I should also recommend an
> > article by Irving Goh (which was recommended to me by a bright light
> > name Nick Knouf) on Structural Rejects:
> > http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/theory_and_event/v012/12.1.goh.html  It
> > works very well with the discussions we are having here.
> > 
> > Davin
> > _______________________________________________
> > empyre forum
> > empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> > http://www.subtle.net/empyre
> > 
> 
> 
> Christopher Sullivan
> Dept. of Film/Video/New Media
> School of the Art Institute of Chicago
> 112 so michigan
> Chicago Ill 60603
> csulli at saic.edu
> 312-345-3802
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
> 


Christopher Sullivan
Dept. of Film/Video/New Media
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
112 so michigan
Chicago Ill 60603
csulli at saic.edu
312-345-3802