One last hurrah!

For my final class project, I am creating a circus museum in Second Life using Special Collections objects including a number of photos and rare posters. Special Collections is located in Milner Library at Illinois State University. The Gamma Phi circus is going to perform on campus this April. Illinois State is one of two universities that has an 'in-house' circus training program, which is what Gamma Phi is. Florida State University is the other university that has a circus. I was doing some research for an NEH grant as part of my graduate assistant duties when I discovered this information. I was researching the history of ISU in order to discover when Art, Theater and Music history started to be taught. In order to do that I had to begin with the earliest course catalogs, which start almost with ISU's charter in 1857.

Physical education was introduced very early in the university curriculum and began with a YMCA facility in Bloomington/Normal. It was also considered important for women to "have a healthy complexion" fostered by 'appropriate' physical exercise. I believe this is clear indication of a specific sort of rhetoric aimed at the "fairer sex".

On campus, last week, I saw a poster that advertised the upcoming performance. The visual rhetoric of the image included a picture of a scantly clad female circus perform. Based on my review of hundreds of posters and photos from the ISU collection (mostly from the 1920's, 30's, and 40's) times have not changed much as far as what is used to 'sell' the circus.

I was not able to find an electronic version of the current poster. However, you can see an image from the past (or is it present?).

Metropolis - Cyborg Women in Film

I am reviewing the original script for Metropolis by both Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou for a Visual Culture seminar discussion. I find it curious that Lang's final film includes a different representation of women's roles (vamp vs. virgin) than Harbou's does. I am not really surprised, but it is interesting to see how film as evolved, or not, as the case may be.

Harbou is certainly a product of her time, but her explanation for why Rotwang creates a female 'robot' is much clearer in her screenplay than it is in the movie where the Vamp 'bot is referred to as a Machine Man.

As I have been reading about Laura Mulvey's analysis of the gaze in film and Donna Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto, I have had a different experience when contemplating this visually compelling film.

Document Designs

Over the past few weeks I have been working on my ideas for a final project. As I consider how to proceed, I find that I think of my self as a "communication architect", which our author Schriver describes so well.

In this role I plan to create a virtual space in Second Life, that will really let me 'play' with this role. By creating a 3D-like space, I will be able to be a virtual communication architect. In this space I will be able to experiment with 2D document designs, typography, photoshop, and communication planning.

I have included an image of the planned space that I have created thus far. Let me know what you think.

Science and the Gaze

In Chicago, in 2006, I went to see Gunther von Hagen's Body Worlds. At the time, I was not aware of the controversy surrounding both his labor practices in China or the source of his 'specimens'.

I took my children to the exhibit to try to explain to them what had happened to both of their grandfathers, who had both died within the year. We were able to see examples of cancer in the body, which really helped them understand what happened in one instance. We were also able to see how Parkinson's disease affects healthy brain matter. One grandpa donated his body to a medical school so doctors could learn more about Parkinson's disease by looking at what happened to his brain (although he would not have wanted to be on permanent display). His body was returned after cremation. The other grandpa spent $10,000 on a funeral. This was money that he did not have. I was conflicted about these issues at the time.

People asked me why I took my children to this and how they felt about it. I explained that I wanted them to understand that death was not to be feared, but rather understood so that we could make the most out of the time we have to live. Furthermore, the kids were not afraid or disgusted probably because my husband and I weren't. Other patrons of the museum were respectful as well.

I realize there are cultural differences in the interpretation of Body Worlds. I also now know that there were serious ethical concerns. Some of the bodies on display may have been of executed Chinese political prisoners. Hagen's has addressed this, but not to universal satisfaction. Also, Hagen's factory was in China where the labor practices were questionable. When he tried to purchase a facility in Poland for plastination of human bodies, there was an uproar due to the history of Nazi death camps in the region.

Now, as the picture above infers, Hagen's is processing more animals for his exhibits, again the factory is in China. It should be interesting to see if he gets as much flack for this as he does for his human exhibitions.