Dinner with Morgan

Since the basis of the project is sharing, yesterday I requested Morgan, a fourth year Grad student if I could discuss a few ideas with him. Previously some of my discussions with peers and advisers have been slightly moot. This is mostly due to the uncertainty in my topic. Hence I was unsure about this meeting as well.

However we had a rich discussion on various issues, branching of my grad project. We debated the notion of sharing, cultural value systems, and the significance of eating meals together. He mentioned the word 'imbalance' in relation to the issue I am addressing. This is a powerful metaphor symbolizing the teeter totter tray which I will be discussing in my next post. Another point he steered me towards was the notion of dysfunctional. 'Due to the dysfunctional nature of the situation I am making a statement with a dysfunctional set of objects'. This was a tangible summing up of the current ideas I am trying to illustrate.

A few sources I am to reflect upon are:
1. Roberts rules of order, rules of ethics.
http://www.robertsrules.com/
2. Super etiquette.

We concluded with a number of relevant tangents for this project to continue.

Momentum

This an intriguing surface to sit on, it requires co-ordination and encourages play.
Cate & Nelson
http://www.catenelson.com/

Stuck

At this point in the semester, a month has already passed and by this time I should my on my way to sketching of making some concrete progress on what I am physically making for my last semester Grad project.

Shockingly it is not the case, I am still shuffling. Getting suffocated in my thoughts and not visually communicating(dangerous). However I have managed to outline an important premise of the project from my last meeting with my grad advisers. It is:

I want people to interact with each other while they are eating there meals. This interaction can take place in the form of conversations, sharing, laughing or any other gesture which encourages people to eat together.

Survey

I created a survey using survey gizmo. The survey was sent out to a random selection of people from my mailing list. The purpose of the survey was to find out various activities people indulge in relating to their eating habits. Below are a few questions I asked:

1. Where do you eat your everyday meals?

2. List a few objects you interact with during meals?

3. Apart from eating what other activities/ tasks do you do at the table?

4.Who do you eat your daily meals with.

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/98775/conversations-at-the-dining-table

above is the link to fill the survey.

early inspiration

The plates have statics about hunger and food related issues printed on them, using heat sensitive inks the messages are revealed once the food is almost finished.
Below are couple of Rafael Morgan's plates



http://www.rafaelmorgan.com/2008/01/hunger-for-truth-plate.html

Design Charette 2007

The content for this intervention at the dining table was developed briefly in a design charette. In the Spring of 2007, we had a day long design charette. The entire Design department participated. We invited a local activist Herb Barbolet as a guest speaker and to deliver a project brief.

The theme was:
Design the modern dinner table.

Our group of 7/8 participants made a series of table cloths which displayed and encouraged social interactions; in terms of conversations at the dinner table. The content was generated in an arbitrary manner, appropriating themes and scenarios from the everyday social setting. We made 6/ 7 categories:

Friends: potluck
Family dinner
Business lunch
Dinner for 2
Eating alone

There were various prompts and topics to discuss/ talk printed on the table cloths in order to facilitate and help engage in conversations. Below are a couple layouts of the table cloths.

The family dinner:



The business lunch:

Introduction

This project is about the social interaction and engagement at the dinning table.

What will I be making?

For the course of this semester I propose to make a set of object for the dinning table/ area which would celebrate and encourage conversations.

Who will I be making this for?

People who don’t engage in conversations at the table, and want to.
People who have trouble talking to their kids at the table.
Couples who are distracted or don’t have much to talk at the table.
Any group of people in a domestic environment who want to talk at while eating.

A few other quires:
What is the role of conversations during meal?
What is the significance or eating together?
What role do conversations play at the dinning table?
What opportunities can created through social interactions at the eating place?
What is the role of tableware in social dinning?
How Can objects make you communicate and encourage conversations at the table?