Because of our current situation in questioning the public and using them as examples for our work, i will have to do this challenge on myself. I have organised a journal of the spatial elements that make me feel immersed the my spaces I encounter and will go about my day documenting twice what the embodiment of the space i am in feels like. For the purpose of my research; working in virtual spaces. These moments will be when interacting with virtual spaces. i.e reading off a laptop or smart phone, computer gaming or watching tv. I will be testing the immersive quality of the device against or supporting my physical and mental senses of my surroundings.
Experience 1: Sitting in bed with my laptop.
In this situation i am immersed in the context of my writing. I am in a comfortable space where i feel secure to speak about the occurrences around me freely. The light quality is a blue light which is associated to mid-morning with little direct sunlight. My tactile experience is soft although my hands are required to touch majority the keys of my laptop which are plastic and hard. What is most likely unique to myself and others with the same opinion is that my room has strong associations to safety and self preservation. What is interesting in the context of the using this virtual space is that it is a public domain for outsiders to view the experience i am having through communication of this experience. Where i might not feel on display - in my room -, my thought processes are being projected onto those who wish to read them. I do not currently feel the sense of fear i usually might when speaking my mind in a class room or public space.
Why do i feel secure in this experience?
This may be due to the objects around me, being significant and familiar. This may be because of the perception i have of this room being private and it being socially unexceptable to be entered if i did not want the engagement. There is also a sense of comfortability in the clothes and blankets i choose to surround myself with to acquire the desired temperature i prefer.
What attention is paid to the minds task through the experience?
The space for me does not create a feeling of productivity - which is required for my mind to execute the task. My posture is slouched and this may mean that in half an hour i will feel the need to walk around or move out of the position. The screen is bright however, which is captivating and helps me to get less distracted by other objects in the room like the mug on my bedside table. The air is still, which does not require any attention or sensory commitment.
Experience 2: Sitting at my desk in studio
In this experience i am connected to space which is shared by other individuals. We are connected in thought by the music that Ryan is playing. The moving of peoples bodies around me are somewhat distracting but guiding my spatial entry and experience that i am having. The light quality is bright and alive and the cool air from the air conditioner is bringing life into the studio. My body is moving in a similar way to the way that it did in my bedroom but my body is upright and alert. I tend to be thinking in more of a pragmatic way because the scenario i am in is decentralised from a space which is geared towards my own emotional thinking.
The relationship between the objects around me and my body give me a sense of imagination further than my own space would. As i look at the objects and worked by others i think more about the possibilities of difference and others ways of working. Familiarity is replaced by intrigue.
What do i find productive about this experience?
There is less distraction, of things that make up my life experience, which makes me focus and solely think about the study that i am doing at the moment. My workspace at the moment is scarce of objects and images that remind me of the work i am doing so my mind is pretty acutely situated on my laptop screen. When i scan the room there is a sense that i am not doing the work i should in this space. I think this might come down to the relationship i have with the university studio. Others may use the space as a chill out zone or place to contemplate their work whereas for me I tend to only use this space for my work and have not yet done any of my personal studies or explorations in this space. Also socially this is an area which i feel restrained to the sorts of bodily motions that i might do. For example because i am a fidgeter, often when i am reading i scratch my head or pick my nails. In this space i would not feel the openness to do those things (could be a positive) because socially that might be something that would repel others.
Experience 3: Sitting in my car
Sitting in my car in the carpark of Massey University, the sound from the outside is muffled making is very quiet and calm. There is a emotional relationship to ownership over this and this makes the space personal to me. The light quality is dark and I feel like I am protected from the shell of material around me. My chair is soft and comfortable which makes in no rush to leave the space. The screen that I am writing on is a iPhone which is only partially encaptivating, if there was to be a movement in my peripheral I think I am likely to be distracted because of the small amount of space it takes up in my sight.
Experience 4: Sitting in Computer Lab in Block 11
I am working off both my Laptop and Desk Computer that is in the Lab. This is requiring a lot of my concentration so my focus is mainly on these screens. I am sitting at a desk on a chair, my body is upright and alert. The computer lab is relatively quiet so I am comfortable to slouch or listen to music without too much distraction of the surroundings around me. This makes the spatial elements of the site less immersive or important to the emotional understanding of the space that I would usually have in a studio space. The light quality is bright white but the wooden floors makes the space seem warm and the darkness outside creates a ambience in the space that is warm.
Comentários