Hacktivism Intent – ElizaB
Walk in My Shoes: An Art Installation
Concept/Idea
The idea of this project is to show what life is like as a second-generation immigrant. In this world, the paths that each individual takes towards success (or what we believe success to be) are incredibly varied. Especially in the college atmosphere, the general public is not fully aware of the fact that opportunities that some are given are the same opportunities that others have to fight to have and make sacrifices for. In order to address the concept of inviting people into the lives of a specific group in our American culture today, I would like to produce large scale installations, using photo documentation, of what I think it means to be a second-generation immigrant. This could potentially be a collection of pictures that many people can collaborate and contribute to. These images would be displayed throughout campus. In this way, we can aim to move closer towards bringing the different cultures we have across campus closer together by learning what it is like to walk in a stranger’s shoes.
Why is this important? For whom?
In any culture, it is important for people to acknowledge those around them. In this way, people can genuinely understand what it’s like to have the opportunities that those born into a developed culture already has. In a study by the Pew Research Center, it is found that second-generation Hispanic and Asian Americans find more value and importance than the general public on hard work and career success. In my personal account, which I am sure is the same across many second-generation immigrants my age, we have to also take on the inherent pressure of never failing. This is due to the fact that our parents sacrificed essentially everything they owned, including their own dreams, to travel to the United States and build a life from the ground up.
The purpose of this project is not to claim that second-generation immigrants are more hardworking than the average American. My goal is to simply show the public what life looks like in the homes of second-generation immigrants. In my own first-hand experience, second generation immigrants have to take fight incredibly to be in the same room that the average person can simply walk into.
On top of that, as an additional note, I think this would be a great project for me and my own personal growth. In my own path to college, I’ve often felt highly discouraged and incredibly overwhelmed by being surrounded by people who have opportunities directly handed to them, while I had to suffer through different levels of experiences to be able to just touch the same opportunities. With this project, I’m able to present a voice for not only myself but also other students who came from the same type of background that I did.
What New Media/hacktivism strategies will you use and why?
By crowdsourcing (a many-to-many strategy) visual documentation such as photos of everyday life coupled with a recorded response to these questions:
1. what is the meaning of success?
2. what was the hardest part of transitioning to life in America?
3. what was the biggest sacrifice your parents had to make in order for you to be here?
The product of this project would be large-sized visual presentations of images presented with the text. Individual collections of photos with corresponding text would be placed across campus.
Using the skills learned in New Media, I would be able to create a multimedia work of art that would carry out the purpose of my project.
Who is the audience and how do you hope it will influence them?
- The audience of this project is everyday students on a college campus. A college campus is a quintessential collection, mixture if you will, of students from various backgrounds. The paths that each of us took to get to this point are incredibly distinguished. With my project, I hope to show how one specific group, that I would identify as a part of, was able to get to where they are now. I understand that it is not quite possible to be a voice for every single student on this campus, but in this way we can bring into light at least one more group of people whose hard work is often overlooked.
Materials Needed:
- Camera
- Laptop
- Photo-editing software (to enhance photos) such as Lightroom
- Printing service
Timeline:
- 3 Weeks – To gather enough images for the collection
- Find collaborators or contributors
- 3 Weeks – To print adequate pieces of the installation
Estimated Budget:
- $150
Additional helpful sources:
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/02/07/second-generation-americans/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yjpXKzm6U8
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/16/asian-american-jobs-success-myth-arts
One thought on “Hacktivism Intent – ElizaB”
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“In my own path to college, I’ve often felt highly discouraged and incredibly overwhelmed by being surrounded by people who have opportunities directly handed to them, while I had to suffer through different levels of experiences to be able to just touch the same opportunities.” This is the sentence that really caught my attention. While I find the concept appealing, the other descriptions were more vague–while hard work and sacrifice have been part of the immigrant story for generations, what makes your story different are the specifics, and the ability to tell a story with the photos. I would work first on the specifics of the story, and then see how the photos can tell that story. What part of sacrifice & hard work are critical for the story you want to tell? I suspect that the particular hurdles you faced were not the same as in past generations, and that may be illuminating. I also like the personal growth aspect. But the real challenge will be how to tell this story in a way that can appeal to both Trump’s supporters (who are wary of immigrants) as well as the majority of Americans who are likely sympathetic. Your first image focuses on cooking, then reading/leisure, then a car scene, and a walk. If I want told this was an immigrant story I wouldn’t know it was. Can you focus on the specifics that really distinguish stories like yours? Finally, i didn’t see any of the specific New Media strategies we’ve discussed in class or in our readings…can you address this?