Archive of Shared Experiences by Sabrina Valdes

Archive of Shared Experiences Sabrina N. Valdes Parsons School of Design BFA Interior Design Capstone Spring 2022

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Project Statement Visual Essay Stills Montage Stills + QR Code Interview Visualizations Historical Essay Site Context Diagram Site Analysis Observed Behavior Diagram Demographics Diagram Program Diagram Spatial Diagram Atmospheric Collage Material Palette Rendered Floor Plan Rendered Sections Lighting Collages Sense of Place Reflection Bibliography Annotated Bibliography

Project Statement When people connect to one another through their shared human experiences, they will often find that they have many commonalities. We all, to varying degrees, experience love and loss, joy and fear, and the universality of these experiences grounds us and provides a sense of inner-stability. It can be argued, though, that a vast portion of our society’s population is either struggling to connect with others as a result of the pandemic or is striving to have the connections they make be more meaningful than ones they’ve made in the past. Various participatory community art projects have acted as a vehicle for the meaningful connections we so desperately need, exposing the invisible and sometimes forgotten interdependent network connecting us all. The Archive of Shared Experiences aims to reveal these connections through various means of storytelling. In providing different communication styles - written, auditory and visual - this inclusive space will serve humankind well, amplifying all voices.

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IT’S BEEN DIFFICULT MAINTAINING MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS…

AND YET, I FIND MYSELF ENTWINED IN THE LIVES OF EVERYONE AROUND ME

ANIMATED MONTAGE

RELATING TO THE STORIES OF OTHERS REMINDS ME OF OUR SHARED HUMANITY 4

Connection Survey

An online survey consisting of 15 questions regarding support, belonging, community and connection was dispersed, ultimately yielding responses from 58 individuals. The age of these individuals ranged between 15 and 67 (with small spikes around the ages 21 and 50), and some diversity was noted amongst everyone’s cultural backgrounds. The following quotes were pulled from the handful of notable responses that were recieved.

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Participatory Community Arts Projects and The Inner Stability That Comes with Connection When people connect to one another through their shared human experiences, they will often find that they have many commonalities. We all to varying degrees experience love and loss, joy and fear… and the universality of these experiences grounds us, providing us with a sense of inner-stability.

It can be argued, though, that a vast portion of our society’s population is either struggling to connect with others as a result of the pandemic - and research has shown how detrimental this can be to our mental and emotional wellbeing - or is striving to have the connections they make be more meaningful than the ones they’ve made in the past.1 Various participatory community art projects have acted as vehicles for these meaningful connections we so desperately need, and in studying them we can find ways to take their ideas further. These types of art projects expose the invisible, and sometimes forgotten, interdependent network connecting us all.

This paper will examine the Strangers Project, “The Heart Archive,” and Measuring the Universe, discussing the ways in which they facilitate connection through written word, an 1

Sabrina Valdes, Online Connection Survey Personal, (2022).

auditory experience, and a visual experience, respectively. While it is clear that each project offers its own unique and valuable perspective when it comes to forming connections, they all serve as a way for us to encapsulate ourselves in our communities by making our mark, showing evidence that we exist.

Based in New York City, the Strangers Project was founded by Brandon Doman in 2009 as a small experiment. According to him, “what I thought would be a oneday exploration of the strangers we share space with every day turned into something I never could have imagined.”2 His mission,

It is precisely this that provides those who engage with the Strangers Project a sense of inner-stability. On the one hand, those who read the stories of others are able to either emphasize or sympathize with them and are reminded that they have a place in this world, creating a grounded feeling. On the other hand, those who share their own experiences are able to see physical proof that they exist, that they have a story, that they matter, and that they have left their mark on the world. Ultimately the project is about a connection with people around us, with ourselves, and with something greater than ourselves. Also, it is important to note that Doman only collects stories from passersby who stop to share in that moment with pen and paper.4 In this way he is able to collect

simply, is to make space for stories. Usually found at Washington Square Park (among other places) with a sign that says “What’s your story?”, a stack of blank papers, pens, and a makeshift gallery wall showcasing submissions from past participants, Doman invites those who pass by to anonymously contribute their own stories in whichever form that means to them. On his website, he states:

raw stories that were written with intention, unlike someone writing it digitally with time to revise and overthink their sentiment.

Additionally, the anonymous nature of these handwritten stories seems to enable people to be their most vulnerable selves.

What they (the submissions) all have in common is an honest voice of the human experience. We’re living in a time where the differences between us are magnified.

I believe that what starts as a simple act of listening can be a profoundly transformative experience. Exploring the lives of the people we share space with every day shows us how wonderfully human we all are. These stories engage strangers of all ages and backgrounds to reflect, rejoice, heal and connect through words.3

Permanently installed on the Japanese island Teshima in the Seto Inland Sea, “The Heart Archive”, originally titled “Les Archives

2

Brandon Doman, What’s Your Story? - The Strangers Project, (2009).

3 IBID

du Coeur”, by French artist Christian Boltanski showcases Boltanski’s collection of heartbeat recordings from the thousands of people who have visited the exhibition since 2008.5 While walking through the wooden structure on the island’s shore, visitors can either listen to different hearwtbeats in the main installation space while being provided with information on who the heartbeats belong to, search through the database of archived heartbeats, or have their own heartbeat recorded which subsequently becomes part of the exhibition.

This gathering of heartbeats is a continuation of Boltanski’s career-long examination of “issues of death, memory, disappearance and loss… In this work, the artist is assuming the role of ethnographer, establishing a record of humanity, offering to immortalize all of us equally whilst collecting proof of the fragility of the human condition.”6 Ultimately, each heartbeat acts as a testament to the recordees existence. The main installation space is a nearly pitch-black room lit by a singular lightbulb with dozens of rectangular black frames lining the walls. The lightbulb flickers to the beat of whichever heartbeat is playing throughout the space, only one heartbeat ever playing at a time before transitioning over into someone else’s recording. This main installation space can be potentially viewed as one living and breathing organism, brought to life through the fused thread of thousands of separate heartbeats (forming its own). In this way, people become part of a collective. Even if one decided not to record their own heartbeat and instead 5

4

Brandon Doman, What’s Your Story? - The Strangers Project, (2009).

Les Archives Du Cœur: Art, (Benesse Art Site Naoshima).

6 Christian Boltanski: Les Archives Du Coeur, (Serpentine Galleries 2010).

only listened to the heartbeats of others, they would still find comfort in the reminder that all of humankind has a heartbeat.

Another project to look at is Measuring the Universe by artist Roman Ondák. As stated by the Museum of Modern Art, without people’s active participation, Measuring the Universe (displayed at the museum in 2009) would not exist.7 The following is a description of the project provided by MoMa: A cross between a site-specific installation and an event open to everyone, the work begins as an empty white gallery. As visitors enter the room, they are invited to stand against the wall and have someone mark off their height and label it with their first name and the date of their visit… (this piece) took place over the course of nearly three months at MoMA, and the accumulation of thousands of measurements formed a thick, ragged black band that encircled the gallery walls…

Like much of Ondák’s work, Measuring the Universe stems from his interest in blurring

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MoMa Learning: Measuring the Universe by Roman Ondak, (MoMa).

the boundaries between art and everyday life.8 The “everyday life” instance in question is the moment in which a caregiver may mark a child’s height on a wall. This project speaks to the idea of “connection” in a variety of ways, one being the act of having to ask for the help of another to mark your height, creating a shared experience. Another way is how everyone’s mark slowly starts to overlap and obscure one anothers, forming a thick black line across the gallery walls. This indicates that the vast majority of people must be of a similar height, visually unifying them.

Additionally, the project has been replicated in other museums and spaces, drawing focus to both the individual and the collective (as an individual person amongst other people and as an individual space among other various spaces). Overall, Ondák’s work is created by the universal understanding of the act of measuring oneself as an individual, and as seeing that measurement as part of a larger collective action… you are not only measuring yourself, but positioning yourself within the universe the project creates.9 The ultimate ephemerality of the work’s material – the actual measurements as they eventually get painted over – indicates that “it is not about what the measurements show as quantifiable data, but about what it means to try and measure the universe through the people who compose it.”10 As

stated

earlier,

community art projects act as vehicles for meaningful connections we so desperately need - and these three projects all serve as a way for us to embed ourselves in our communities by making our mark, each offering their own unique and valuable perspective via their chosen media.

Interestingly, all three projects can be, and have been, easily replicated. The founder of the Strangers Project invites communities around the country to host their own version of the project, “The Heart Archive” had once set up a temporary recording station in London so that people could remotely contribute to the collection, and Measuring the Universe has been replicated in various museums around the world (always on display for a duration of three months before being painted over). In this way, even the seemingly temporary aspects of some of these projects become never-ending, connecting passersby and participants to everyone who came before and after them. Having the projects be replicable (and, in some cases, global) allows for the targeted community of each project to really be humankind at large. This speaks to the idea that our universally shared experiences have a unique way of connecting us all.

participatory

8

MoMa Learning: Measuring the Universe by Roman Ondak, (MoMa).

9 Acatia Finbow, Roman Ondák: Measuring the Universe 2007, (Tate Modern 2016).

10 IBID

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405 E 59th St Upon departing the M15 bus I was instantly greeted by a gust of cold wind and an early evening sky on the verge of shifting its color from blue to orange. It was Saturday, February 5th, at approximately 5:00 PM. Although the weather was marked as being 27 degrees fahrenheit, the “feels like’’ was 18 degrees with partially cloudy (but mostly clear) skies… and despite the frigidness and things being seemingly still, I was able to pretty quickly pick up on some “warmth” - red and brown brick buildings

Existing site

in every direction, plants that somehow still had green leaves, and a few warmly lit restaurants filled with lively chatter. As I walked the one block to Trader Joe’s I could sense I was approaching a space with a lot of energy, everyone around me walking with a hurried air of purpose to and from the site. There was some cultural diversity among the passerbyers but very few people of color (the majority of people seemingly in the middle to upper classes). In truth I was shocked to see as much cultural diversity as I did as I had previously read that Sutton Place’s population is fairly homogeneous (City-Data.com, n.d.), but in observing everyone’s actions I found that most people commuted to the site from other neighborhoods - some walking long distances, some taking a taxi, and some taking the subway. Entering Trader Joe’s, I was then pleasantly shocked to be embraced by such physical warmth considering how tall the ceilings were and how there was a lot of tile being utilized. The acoustics weren’t bad, either.

All conversations around me seemed to stay within a reasonable radius of themselves, the only sound catching my attention being the grocery check-out area with all of the employees yelling out to one another, constantly making “beeping” sounds with their price scanners. As someone who has shopped at various Trader Joes’ it was almost funny seeing the difference between the grandness of the interior structure itself (large arched windows, impressive columns, a vaulted ceiling, beautiful herringbone tiles and all) and the wooden stalls the business had used to show off their product and create aisles. Ultimately - in observing the space and thinking of my own plans for it - I saw an opportunity for flexibility, an existing interior and exterior that were both very unique (given that the site is located beneath a bridge), and a lot of potential.

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PERSONAL NOTES TAKEN WHEN OBSERVING THE BEHAVIORS OF OTHERS AT THE SITE

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DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD

… THE ARCHIVE OF SHARED EXPERIENCES HOPES TO WIDEN THEIR AUDIENCE VIA THE A.O.S.E. APP

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Visual Area

Emergency Exit

Written Area

Auditory Area

Support Space Transitional

Cafe

Restroom Written Area Auditory Area

Reception / Entry

BREAKDOWN OF THE SPACE’S VARIOUS PROGRAMS

Visual Area

INITIAL LAYOUT - VISITORS ARE ENCOURAGED TO EXPLORE THE SPACE HOWEVER THEY DEEM FIT

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ATMOSPHERIC COLLAGE

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Existing Materials

Proposed Materials

HERRINGBONE LEATHER FLOOR CEILING TILES TILES

MYCELIUM WALL PANELS

WHITE OAK

CONCRETE FLOORING

MILK PAINTS

(NOTE: WITH TIME, THE SURFACE OF THE LEATHER FLOOR TILES WILL CHANGE COLOR TO REFLECT THE AREAS MOST WALKED OVER - THIS IS ONE OF THE VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH VISITORS WILL LEAVE THEIR MARK ON THE SPACE)

(BOTH AT THE SITE AND IT’S SURROUNDING AREA)

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RENDERED FLOOR PLAN

EMERGENCY EXIT VISUAL AREA

WRITTEN AREA

CONFERENCE RM

AUDITORY AREA OFFICE

CAFE

BATH.

HALLWAY LOCKERS

OFFICE

NOT IN SCOPE

CENTRAL SEATING

WRITTEN AREA

STGE

AUDITORY AREA

RECEPTION

VISUAL AREA

BREAK ROOM

ENTRANCE

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THE SMALL ROOMS LOCATED IN THE AUDITORY AREA PROVIDE SPACES FOR PEOPLE TO BOTH RECORD THEIR OWN VOICES AND/OR LOOK THROUGH THE DATABASE OF ALL RECORDINGS SUBMITTED TO THE ARCHIVE.

THE DRAFT TABLES AND SMALL ROOMS LOCATED IN THE WRITTEN AREA SIMILARLY PROVIDE SPACES FOR PEOPLE TO BOTH WRITE THEIR OWN STORIES AND LOOK THROUGH THE DIGITAL DATABASE OF ALL WRITTEN STORIES SUBMITTED TO THE ARCHIVE.

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NOT IN SCOPE

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NIGHTIME LIGHTING

DAYTIME LIGHTING

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VISUAL AREA

AUDITORY AREA

WRITTEN AREA

(NOTE: EACH DOME EMITS LIGHT THAT FLICKERS TO THE SOUND OF THE VOICE RECORDING BEING PLAYED)

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Reflections What better way to finish my role as student than with a project that works with art, design, and psychology - a culmination of my life passions. This book is one of my biggest accomplishments to date, alongside the growth I’ve undergone to get here.

Many hours (and a lot of heart) went into this project… but it doesn’t compare to the hundreds of hours I’ve put into myself before I started working on it. The hard work that got me into Parsons in the first place… the hard work that got me into New World, the prestigious fine art high school I attended back home in Miami… the hard work that got me into South Miami Middle, the middle school I attended which also specialized in fine art… how, back when I was in elementary school, I used to check out artist biography books whenever I got the chance, taking notes on what I’d learn from them to see if there was anything I could apply to my own life and practice… and behind all that, a great deal of love and support from my family. This is who I am - and how fortunate am I to be going down this path.

I’d like to thank all of the professors who have guided me, all of the close friends I’ve made during my time here, and my family - everyone helping me through life’s changes.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Love, Sabrina

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Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography Berkman, Lisa F. “Chapter 7: Social Integration, Social Networks, Social Support, and Health.” Essay.

“Christian Boltanski: Les Archives Du Coeur.” Serpentine. Serpentine Galleries, July 2010. https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/christian-boltanski-les-archives-du-coeur/.

Doman, Brandon. “What’s Your Story?” The Strangers Project, February 12, 2009. http://strangersproject.com/.

Finbow, Acatia. “Roman Ondák, Measuring the Universe 2007.” Tate. Tate Modern, September 2016.

“Les Archives Du Cœur: Art.” Benesse Art Site Naoshima. Accessed February 23, 2022. https://benesse-artsite.jp/en/art/boltanski.html.

“MoMa Learning: Measuring the Universe by Roman Ondak.” MoMA. Accessed February 13, 2022.

Valdes, Sabrina. Online Connection Survey. Personal, February 23, 2022.

In Social Epidemiology, 186–233. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

The authors of this book define social epidemiology as the study of the social determinants of health, implying that an important goal of public health is to identify and address factors in the social environment that may be related to health outcomes. Individual chapters describe the conceptualization and measurement of numerous social variables, as well as the empirical evidence linking them to a broad range of mental, physical, and behavioral health outcomes. For my essay I plan to focus on Chapter 7: Social Integration, Social Networks, Social Support, and Health. In this chapter, authors Lisa Berkman and Thomas Glass take stock of the vast literature on this topic.

Their aim is “to revisit some of the seminal theories that have guided empirical work, revise and reformulate some of those ideas, and point the way toward productive lines of inquiry for the future”.

“Christian Boltanski: Les Archives Du Coeur.” Serpentine. Serpentine Galleries, July 2010. https:// www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/christian-boltanski-les-archives-du-coeur/.

A bit more in-depth than the information I was provided from the official website of Benesse Art Site Naoshima, reading the excerpt Serpentine Galleries has written regarding Christian Boltanski’s Les Archives Du Coeur will better inform my analysis of the piece. Additionally, this source provides further information in terms of the piece being replicated in a different country within a different context.

Doman, Brandon. “What’s Your Story?” The Strangers Project, February 12, 2009. http:// strangersproject.com/.

In finding Brandon Doman’s ongoing The Strangers Project inspiring, I plan to read through his submissions (which are posted to his website) to see what information I can pull from them.

Why would someone willingly share their story? In other words - why would people willingly expose personal information about themselves? Is it simply because the submissions are anonymous, or

is there something else that draws them in? What are their commonalities? What are their issues?

“MoMa Learning: Measuring the Universe by Roman Ondak.” MoMA. Accessed February 13, 2022.

What needs do these people turn to to find support? Additionally, learning more about the project

https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/roman-ondak-measuring-the-universe-2007/.

via its website will help strengthen my existing analysis based on my firsthand experience with it.

As stated on MoMa’s website, “without people’s active participation, Roman Ondák’s Measuring the Universe would not exist. A cross between a site-specific installation and an event

Finbow, Acatia. “Roman Ondák, Measuring the Universe 2007.” Tate. Tate Modern, September

open to everyone, the work begins as an empty white gallery. As visitors enter the room, they are

2016. https://www.tate.org.uk/research/publications/performance-at-tate/case-studies/roman-

invited to stand against the wall and have someone mark off their height and label it with their first

ondak-measuring-universe.

name and the date of their visit… (this piece) took place over the course of nearly three months at

Reading about Roman Ondák’s Measuring the Universe on Tate Modern’s website in addition

MoMA, and the accumulation of thousands of measurements formed a thick, ragged black band

to MoMa’s website will aid my analysis in offering me a slightly different perspective. Additionally,

that encircled the gallery walls… Like much of Ondák’s work, Measuring the Universe stems from

this source gives me a look into how the art project has been replicated in different countries.

his interest in blurring the boundaries between art and everyday life.” As this piece unifies people through their shared experience, it would be a good precedent to look into.

“Les Archives Du Cœur: Art.” Benesse Art Site Naoshima. Accessed March 1, 2022. https:// benesse-artsite.jp/en/art/boltanski.html.

Permanently installed on the island of Teshima in the Seto Inland Sea, “The Heart Archive”,

Valdes, Sabrina. Online Connection Survey. Personal, February 23, 2022.

I have created an online survey meant to aid my understanding of the general public’s views

originally titled “Les Archives du Coeur”, by the French artist Christian Boltanski showcases

on connection (as well as their views on participatory community art projects). With a total of 15

Boltanski’s collection of heartbeat recordings captured since 2008 from thousands of people who

questions and 53 respondents (all with different backgrounds and from a diverse age range), the

have visited the exhibition. While walking through the one-story structure, visitors can sit and listen

information I have gathered has been extremely insightful. Questions include (but are not limited

to different heartbeats (while being provided information on who the heartbeat belongs to), search

to): Where do you turn when looking for support? What makes you feel heard? In what instance(s)

through the database holding all the archives of heartbeats, and have their own heartbeat recorded

do you feel you’re really listening (as opposed to simply hearing)? Have you felt more disconnected

(subsequently becoming part of the exhibition). As this piece unifies people through their shared

from others since the beginning of the pandemic, and if so, in what ways? What should the purpose

experience, it would be a good precedent to look into.

of a community art project be?

Martinez, Erika, Dr. “Questions Regarding Relationships and How We Connect with Others.”

Telephone interview by author. February 21, 2022.

My cousin, Dr. Erika Martinez, is a therapist who specializes in ​​relational trauma, codependency, attachment disorders, and childhood emotional neglect in adults - all of which is to say she’s very knowledgeable when it comes to relationships (including the one with ourselves).

Her specialties aside, she is well versed in other areas of psychology as well. As I plan for my design to have a focus on mental health (looking specifically at relationships / community), I feel that she would be a valuable source of information.