↘
TRANSCONTINENTAL STORYTELLING
4000 miles (1)
Human experiences interweave across great distances through the threads of storytelling. Even though the means and styles differ across the globe, stories and storytelling are unifying and inherent Human practices that help us understand and interpret the unnamable. As political theorist and philosopher, Hannah Arendt, writes, »Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.« By sharing stories, we find and make connections that ground us in time and space, and with today’s technology, we can easily exchange information in a variety of forms.The process of moving from digital to the analog realm creates a story of its own and narrative elements form as information changes state.
4000 Miles – Transcontinental Storytelling, is a collaborative short-term project between Herron School of Art and Design in Indiana, USA, and the Faculty of Design Würzburg (THWS), Germany. Students from both universities where challenged to share and developed narratives in various media that related to personal, curated artifacts.
The project is part of the Virtual Global Learning Exchange (VGLE). Bridging two institutions on two continents and two time zones, it aims to promote intercultural exchange and Blended Learning, focusing on linking physical and virtual learning environments for art and design practice.
The course is a cooperation of Prof. Sydney Craig ↗ (Herron), Prof. Dr. Gesa Foken ↗ (h da) and Prof. Judith Glaser (FGW).
Winter Term 2023/24
↘
Afterlife
Katie Binz, Lena Breidenbach, Kheyarra Johnson
What comes after death poses so many questions to humanity, as it isn’t something that can be experienced or a story that can be told. Life is the only existence that humans know, whereas death is often viewed as the polar opposite, a state of not consciously existing any longer. With this, many cultures, groups, religions, and individuals have different beliefs when it comes to the afterlife, some posing the question as to whether or not there even is one. The transition between life and death is a complex topic, which truly raises more questions and room for contemplation than it does in providing any one answer.
Each project uses visual imagery such as specifically chosen colors, symbols, forms, and text existing within planes of space that deliver their own separate narratives surrounding the same concept.
Each project uses visual imagery such as specifically chosen colors, symbols, forms, and text existing within planes of space that deliver their own separate narratives surrounding the same concept.
Despite all of our projects being centered around death and the afterlife, the results of our craft goes to show how differently each person’s interpretation may be and what particular motifs and concepts are significant to the individual.
↘
MindMingle-Box
Katina Newbern, Zoe Mallasch, Marinus Paul, Lea Sailer
In the realm of creative exploration, our project was conceived from the belief that potential lies in the loose threads connecting seemingly unrelated things. This thought became the foundation for our endeavor aimed at unraveling stories through unconventional interconnections. Our focus centered on crafting a collaborative notebook that would capture the essence of disparate elements while fostering a rich narrative.
Contemplating the challenge of supporting diverse inspirations into one cohesive space, we devised the concept of a physical box—a tangible repository for storing and exchanging thoughts. As a team distributed across different locations, we grappled with the issue of "missing" objects, leading us to employ placeholders to maintain continuity in our narrative.
To simulate the indelible mark left by an object, we delved into the design of the box itself. Each box, a testament to our collective creativity, boasts a carefully chosen quote that encapsulates the essence of our project.
Contemplating the challenge of supporting diverse inspirations into one cohesive space, we devised the concept of a physical box—a tangible repository for storing and exchanging thoughts. As a team distributed across different locations, we grappled with the issue of "missing" objects, leading us to employ placeholders to maintain continuity in our narrative.
To simulate the indelible mark left by an object, we delved into the design of the box itself. Each box, a testament to our collective creativity, boasts a carefully chosen quote that encapsulates the essence of our project.
Within these boxes, a delightful assortment of leaves, whimsical drawings, paper creations, and carefully selected objects act as tangible expressions of our thoughts and memories.
We visualized the traces of these missing objects, using outlines and silhouettes to elegantly connect them within the confines of the box. This visual representation became a bridge between the physical and the conceptual, showing the interconnectedness of stories.
As the boxes traverse the physical and metaphorical distance, this collaborative collection becomes complete, so that the disparate yet harmonious stories come together in a tangible, shared space.
We visualized the traces of these missing objects, using outlines and silhouettes to elegantly connect them within the confines of the box. This visual representation became a bridge between the physical and the conceptual, showing the interconnectedness of stories.
As the boxes traverse the physical and metaphorical distance, this collaborative collection becomes complete, so that the disparate yet harmonious stories come together in a tangible, shared space.
In an attempt to capture our individual relationship to the ocean, our team created four short films. The ocean and the small towns and Promenades on the coast acted as backdrops for us to explore themes of loneliness and fear,
but also to highlight the beauty and the stillness. As none of us live near the ocean, our miniature promenades were a medium to transport us to the coast. While we were seperated by 4000 Miles of sea, we still could work together on our respective mini-oceans. We worked intuitively and experimentally, tried to explore our differences and find out what unites our perspectives.
↘
Nostalgic Memories
Isabella Parrales, Evgenia Vildenburg, Kate Smith, Kylie Sprout
This project was driven with the idea that we wanted to share something as well as all of us connect to it too. We all did 4 sets of postcards that would describe a narration of nostalgia. The main idea was to do a cutout silhouette of ourselves into these postcards. It would bring a sense of being gone from that moment, but still having a piece of ourselves from then. We also wanted to make the postcards ambiguous due to the goal of us wanting to be able to combine each other’s postcards to gain a new narrative.
↘
Fragments of early Lives
Lily Martin, Amelie Deimel, Josie Salinas, Maddy Meyer
The time that shapes us the most is a long time ago. The memories of
childhood are blurred, a filter lies over them, and we only see fragments. They
become stories, not truths. However, one thing remains in our memory when we
think of memories. A feeling. We think of warmth, of less questioning and of
lightness. We tell stories that originated thousands of miles apart, reweave
them and create a landscape of small traces, fragments and essences. As a team,
we have set ourselves the task of creating a playful narrative while remaining
within light, even childlike aesthetics.
Soft fabrics, complemented with embroidery and accessories such as buttons, create the landscape of fragments that we have tried to tell in words and images so far. Each of us designed two square patches measuring 8 inches x 8 inches.
Soft fabrics, complemented with embroidery and accessories such as buttons, create the landscape of fragments that we have tried to tell in words and images so far. Each of us designed two square patches measuring 8 inches x 8 inches.
It was important to us to
overcome boundaries, not to create them. So, we gave freedom to our thoughts,
every scrap of memory, every button, every color is valid. On the patches we
tell individual stories as a symbol of the spatial distance, but in the end,
they come together, symbolizing the connection through our narrative, our
common work.
In "fragments of early lives" an image has been created from symbols of cultures, memories and dreams; a new memory, a new story that will be told again at some point.
In "fragments of early lives" an image has been created from symbols of cultures, memories and dreams; a new memory, a new story that will be told again at some point.
↘
Inherent
Daniel Griggs, Marieke Schäfer, Sarah Grace Wiggins
“existing in something as a permanent, essential, or characteristic attribute.”
“Inherent” is a project that aims to convey the connection of the human condition across culture and time; the idea that our humanity makes us all very much the same at our core.
We all went to an exhibition at a museum to gain inspiration– two of us to the same place in the United States and one of us in Germany. During our brainstorming and collection of ideas, a line was drawn almost immediately between the observations of all group members: the presence of bowls and/or ceramic items. Themes of the past and its connection to the present as well as the similarities between the cultures we saw became apparent.
“Inherent” is a project that aims to convey the connection of the human condition across culture and time; the idea that our humanity makes us all very much the same at our core.
We all went to an exhibition at a museum to gain inspiration– two of us to the same place in the United States and one of us in Germany. During our brainstorming and collection of ideas, a line was drawn almost immediately between the observations of all group members: the presence of bowls and/or ceramic items. Themes of the past and its connection to the present as well as the similarities between the cultures we saw became apparent.
We chose to create bowls to represent these embedded concepts. Our bowls were created with paper and made by hand; we made digital collages, primarily with images taken from books old and new; all of this to remain intune with our desire to both contrast and connect humanity through its ages. Our collages are made to be projected onto our physical bowls to create yet another layer of modernity and meaning. “Inherent” is designed to have multiple deep cross sections within it in order to invoke feelings of familiarity and for its viewers to draw their own conclusions.
We are not so different.
We are not so different.
↘
What Was
Ade Azikwe, Pia Hafner, Marin McCoy
In a world characterized by constant progress and digital noise, we have
made it our mission to preserve the magic of memory - the digital time capsule.
In the midst of the hustle of
our time, we have realized that memories are among the most precious
treasures of every individual. They build the foundation of who we are. This
digital time capsule is more than just a collection of bits and bytes.
Anyone can take part and capture their own stories and moments. Whether pictures, sounds or videos, everything is safely preserved in our capsule. At the same time, it also serves as a gift for our future generations, with whom we can share our precious stories. In this digital age, where time often seems fleeting, the capsule gives us the opportunity to capture the meaningful moments of our lives forever.
Anyone can take part and capture their own stories and moments. Whether pictures, sounds or videos, everything is safely preserved in our capsule. At the same time, it also serves as a gift for our future generations, with whom we can share our precious stories. In this digital age, where time often seems fleeting, the capsule gives us the opportunity to capture the meaningful moments of our lives forever.
