New Rube Ideas

I presented my Rube Goldberg device on Tuesday, although it wasn't exactly a device. The project reveals the Rube Goldberg machine in everyday life. I created a poster (below) with all of the photos I took in my trek around the city (to trace hello on the map). The process highlights the connections between people and their interactions at each of the sixteen points. In phase two (this poster is phase one) I will track the life story of the goods and services that are exchanged at each of these points. It's fascinating to think of the effect even small exchanges can make on people's lives.

I plan on staging a street intervention by placing posters at strategic points on a map, providing a website for people to go and tell the story of their recent transaction. This project requires participation in order to work, so maybe I will also send out emails to ask people to participate as well. Oh I could start a new Ning network, but some sort of platform that encourages interaction would work.

I just started envisioning this project taking off. People submit their latest interaction with another human, and how that changed their day in some way. For example, I just ate a great meal and took an extra long walk. On that walk I ran into someone I haven't seen in ten years, etc. I need to push the storytelling aspect of it, which is how I'm challenging myself lately. I could involve everyone on my facebook and twitter accounts if I wanted to, instead of restricting it to the posters on the street and word of mouth. The website should have a mapping technology that creates a beautiful design with each point entered. Not like a literal google map but something more abstract and human.

For the street intervention, I will scale the posters down and make them more noticable. Some of the circular photos will be takeaway cards with the website on the back. To be continued...

My Rube Adventure

I need to find a connection for my Rube Goldberg project. The assignment is to say "hello" and I want to map out strategic points on a map to spell the word out. The transactions in everyday life are a form of Rube goldberg device. You go to work, get the paycheck, have a dollar bill, spend it on flour, make cookies, bring them to your grandma, she gives you a bag of candy for trick-or-treaters, one trick-or-treater trades the candy for a video game, which he then gives as a birthday gift for his brother, etc.

"Live" is a good word to use, because I'm uncovering the device in our everyday life. On a side note, evil is live backwards. live/evil We can choose to use our purchases towards evil, like companies that have deplorable social practices or environmental standards. What are some examples of companies like that in nyc? live is so abstract, as usual I have a totally abstract idea. I also like "connect", "contact" and "transfer". Connect is the most meaningful of those three words, because it conveys a deeper connection among people than contact or transfer. It's about the interaction between people that results from the transactions (working, spending money, etc.).

Now I need to decide on an area of interest and strategic points that will elucidate my ideas. If I simply draw "connect" on a map that's not enough. I need to get outside and walk around, choosing my points thoughtfully. How can each of these points convey a greeting or transaction among people. Once I choose the points, I will map them and create posters to display on the street, as well as the website for people to go and share their stories about what their purchases have been for recently.

Hopefully I will get some good stories!

Update: I decided to trace the words "hello" on a map because that was the simplest and least obvious solution. I thought connect would be too obvious in the end, and made a quick decision before I left for the adventure. I'm really happy with the photos I took and look forward to placing them on a map to tell the story. I'm really interested in doing a google maps type thing where you click on the distinct points and images come up with a short description. That will complete phase 1 of the project. Phase 2 can be the poster/website project.