Revisited: Critical Practices Showcase
On December 12, the second day of the Jacobs Winter Design Showcase, students from “Critical Practices” displayed projects that critiqued issues within contemporary culture. BCNM faculty and course instructor Jill Miller said the final products were representative of problems her class felt strongly about, thinking critically about the world we’re living in.
People were free to create physical prototypes or board displays to best represent their issue.
Among the physical prototypes was PanoTech, a smart security monitor. The project questioned the notion of surveillance as a means to improve safety by providing its monitor a physical space and body. When users physically saw themselves being watched, its creators hoped to give a feeling of uneasiness to portray the irony between security and the invasion of privacy.
Fortify also sought to point out the absurdity of its topic: the corporatized nature of school shootings. The group created a vending machine that dispensed a satirical safety kit and assign roles to its students (i.e. defense, first aid, response, lockdown). However, even the items inside the kit were designed to be borderline ineffective, highlighting the consequences from the lack of government response and the growing desensitization to gun violence.
Other students from the class imagined conversations between fictional characters and real-life historical figures. Photoshopping a TIME magazine cover, students utilized the face of Rick Sanchez from the animated series, “Rick and Morty,” to emphasize the merit of arts and humanities education in a system that is preferential to STEM. They then wrote an editorial moderating a conversation between him and arist William Morris.
If you're interested in seeing more “Critical Practices” projects, check out the photos below.
