diff --git a/ada/index.html b/ada/index.html index e736359..16977f2 100644 --- a/ada/index.html +++ b/ada/index.html @@ -10,14 +10,14 @@ -

Title

-

Grad project Description

+

Backplaces

Hi.
I made this play for you. It is a question, for us to hold together.

Is all intimacy about bodies? What is it about our bodies that makes @@ -48,16 +48,18 @@ Inspired by an email response from a survey I conducted about receiving emotional support on the Internet, this story explores the contradiction of being online while wanting to disconnect. It is a web play inviting you to navigate both of these feelings.

-

Good Pie is a great big play of pies, a performance that took a year -to bring together. It had three phases. First, as my friends left, I -baked each of them a goodbye pie. Then I hosted two performances. In the +

Cake Intimacies is a performance that took a year to bring together. +It is a small selection of stories people told me and I held to memory +and rewrote here. The stories come from two perfomances I hosted. In the first, I asked participants to eat cake, sitting facing or away from -each other and sharing their stories about cake and the Internet. In the -second I predicted participants’ future lives on the Internet using -felted archetypes and received stories from their Internet past in -return. This website is a reflection of all these experiences. Each Good -Pie has a filling that tells a story, merging the bodily with the -digital and making a mess of it all.

+each other and sharing their stories about cake and the Internet. The +second perfomance was hosted at the Art Meets Radical Openness Festival, +as part of the Turning of the Internet workshop. For this performance I +predicted participants’ future lives on the Internet using felted +archetypes and received stories from their Internet past in return. Now +the stories are here, each of them a cake with a filling that tells a +story, merging the bodily with the digital and making a mess of it +all.

I love you and hope you see what I saw in these stories.

Safe dreams now. I will talk to you soon.

diff --git a/ada/index.md b/ada/index.md index 8303450..d52a8f4 100644 --- a/ada/index.md +++ b/ada/index.md @@ -1,27 +1,34 @@ --- -title: Project +title: Backplaces author: Ada --- -# Title - -### Grad project Description +# Backplaces +adadesign.nl/backplaces\ Hi.\ I made this play for you. It is a question, for us to hold together. -Is all intimacy about bodies? What is it about our bodies that makes intimacy? What happens when our bodies distance intimacy from us? This small anthology of poems and short stories lives with these questions---about having a body without intimacy and intimacy without a body.This project is also a homage to everyone who has come before and alongside me, sharing their vulnerability and emotions on the Internet. I called the places where these things happen backplaces. They are small, tender online rooms where people experiencing societally uncomfortable pain can find relief, ease, and transcendence. +Is all intimacy about bodies? What is it about our bodies that makes intimacy? What happens when our bodies distance intimacy from us? This small anthology of poems and short stories lives with these questions---about having a body without intimacy and intimacy without a body. This project is also a homage to everyone who has come before and alongside me, sharing their vulnerability and emotions on the Internet. I called the places where these things happen backplaces. They are small, tender online rooms where people experiencing societally uncomfortable pain can find relief, ease, and transcendence.\ -I made three backplaces for you to see, click, and feel: Solar Sibling, Hermit Fantasy, and Good Pie. Each of these is the result of its own unique performance or project. Some of the stories I will share carry memories of pain---both physical and emotional. As you sit in the audience, know I am with you, holding your hand through each scene. If the performance feels overwhelming at any point, you have my full permission to step out, take a break, or leave. This is not choreographed, and I care deeply for you. +I made three backplaces for you to see, click, and feel: Solar Sibling, Hermit Fantasy, and Cake Intimacies. Each of these is the result of its own unique performance or project. Some of the stories I will share carry memories of pain---both physical and emotional. As you sit in the audience, know I am with you, holding your hand through each scene. If the performance feels overwhelming at any point, you have my full permission to step out, take a break, or leave. This is not choreographed, and I care deeply for you.\ +![This is the Index, the stage of my play. Each felted item is an act.](index.png) -Solar Sibling is an online performance of shared loss and the complex pain that siblings can sometimes bring. This project uses comments people left on TikTok poetry. I extracted the emotions from these comments, mixed them with my own, and crafted them into poems. It is an ongoing performance, ending only when your own feelings are secretly whispered to me. +Solar Sibling is an online performance of shared loss about leaving and siblings. This project used comments people left on TikTok poetry. I extracted the emotions from these comments, mixed them with my own, and crafted them into poems. It is an ongoing performance, ending only when your feelings are secretly whispered to me. When you do, by typing into the comment box, your feelings are sent to me and the first act closes as the sun rises.\ +![The initial comment shaped poems and their sun count. ](solar-1.png) +![The fillable comment where you can whisper your feelings to me.](solar-2.png) -Hermit Fantasy is a short story about a bot who wants to be a hermit. Inspired by an email response from a survey I conducted about receiving emotional support on the Internet, this story explores the contradiction of being online while wanting to disconnect. It is a web play inviting you to navigate both of these feelings. +Hermit Fantasy is a short story about a bot who wants to be a hermit. Inspired by an email response from a survey I conducted about receiving emotional support on the Internet, this story explores the contradiction of being online while wanting to disconnect. As an act it's a series of letters, click by click.\ -Cake Intimacies is a performance that took a year to bring together. It is a small selection of stories people told me and I held to memory and rewrote here. The stories come from two perfomances I hosted. In the first, I asked participants to eat cake, sitting facing or away from each other and sharing their stories about cake and the Internet. The second perfomance was hosted at the Art Meets Radical Openness Festival, as part of the Turning of the Internet workshop. For this performance I predicted participants' future lives on the Internet using felted archetypes and received stories from their Internet past in return. -Now the stories are here, each of them a cake with a filling that tells a story, merging the bodily with the digital and making a mess of it all. +![The first letter.](one.png) +![The second letter.](two.png) -I love you and hope you see what I saw in these stories. +Cake Intimacies is a performance that took a year to bring together. It is a small selection of stories people told me and I held to memory and rewrote here. The stories come from two performances I hosted. First, I asked participants to eat cake, sitting facing or away from each other and sharing their stories about cake and the Internet. The second performance was hosted at the Art Meets Radical Openness Festival, as part of the Turning of the Internet workshop. For this performance, I predicted participants' future lives on the Internet using felted archetypes and received stories from their Internet past in return. +Now the stories are here, each of them a cake with a filling that tells a story, merging the bodily with the digital and making a mess of it all.\ -Safe dreams now. I will talk to you soon. +![The first two stories and their memory illustrations.](pie.png) +![The second stories in the way they were meant to be experienced.](phone-pie.png) +The play ends as all plays do. The curtains close, the website stays but the stories will never sound the same. For the final act, I give you the stories. It's one last game, one last joke to ask my question again. Digital intimacies about the digital, our bodies and the cakes we eat. For the last act, I ask you to eat digital stories. To eat a comment, to eat a digital intimacy. Sharing an act of physical intimacy with yourself and with me, by eating sweets together. Sweets about digital intimacies that never had a body. +There is no moral, no bow to wrap the story in. A great big mess of transcendence into the digital, of intimacy and of bodies. The way it always is. Thankfully.\ +![Accept My Cookies, biscuits and bows for the performance.](biscuits.png) \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/ada/thesis.html b/ada/thesis.html index 284335e..564438f 100644 --- a/ada/thesis.html +++ b/ada/thesis.html @@ -10,16 +10,16 @@ -

&lt?water -bodies&gt : A narrative exploration of divergent digital -intimacies

+

<?water bodies>

+

A +narrative exploration of divergent digital intimacies

Water, stories, the body, all the things we do, are mediums that hide and show what’s hidden. (Rumi, 1995 translation)

꙳for you

@@ -153,7 +153,9 @@ legitimacy of his connections, finding no way to do so except by emphasizing their tangible bodily experiences. The community’s claim to authenticity thus had to lie in the physical experiences of its members— the visible bodies and hearable voices, the weddings, births, and -funerals (1993). You’re dreaming again, good.
Would you feel closer to me if you could hear my voice?
Is my voice a sound? Could it be a feeling?.

+funerals (1993). You’re dreaming again, +good.
Would you feel closer to me if you could hear my voice?
Is +my voice a sound? Could it be a feeling?.

Even then, and even by people with no interest in undermining the value of the virtual, the distinction between physical and virtual was confusing. Rheingold himself reinforces the boundary of body relations @@ -414,7 +416,12 @@ integral role in human aesthetics, all harmonic series diverge, perpetually expanding without ever concluding. They embody a richness that transcends conventional boundaries, blending into one another infinitely.

-

[Figure 1 - Harmonic Series to 32 (Hyacint,2017).]

+
+ + +

By likening digital bodies to divergent series, we embrace the complexity and infinite possibilities arising from their interconnectedness and deviation from the norm. However, it’s crucial to @@ -694,7 +701,7 @@ cybercommunities’, Journal of Sociology, 51(4), pp. 950–967. doi:10.1177/1440783313486220.

Yun, J. (2020) ‘The Leaving Season’, in Some Are Always Hungry. University of Nebraska Press.

-

&lt?/water bodies&gt

+

<?/water bodies>

\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/ada/thesis.md b/ada/thesis.md index 83f2a64..465362a 100644 --- a/ada/thesis.md +++ b/ada/thesis.md @@ -1,10 +1,12 @@ --- -title: <?water bodies> A narrative exploration of divergent digital intimacies +title: \ author: Ada --- -# <?water bodies> : A narrative exploration of divergent digital intimacies +# <?water bodies> + +### A narrative exploration of divergent digital intimacies Water, stories, the body, all the things we do, are @@ -205,7 +207,7 @@ his connections, finding no way to do so except by emphasizing their tangible bodily experiences. The community’s claim to authenticity thus had to lie in the physical experiences of its members— the visible bodies and hearable voices, the weddings, births, and -funerals (1993).
You’re dreaming again, good.
Would you feel closer to me if you could hear my voice?
Is my voice a sound? Could it be a feeling?. +funerals (1993).You’re dreaming again, good.
Would you feel closer to me if you could hear my voice?
Is my voice a sound? Could it be a feeling? Even then, and even by people with no interest in undermining the value of the virtual, the distinction @@ -216,7 +218,20 @@ computer relations by referring to his family as a “unfamiliar faces” (1993). Constantly interplaying digital connections with the physical characteristics of the kind of connections people valued before the -internet. (2) +internet.I will be honest +with you, I have little +patience for this +recurring line of +thought that seeks to +distinguish people’s +noses from their +hearts, as if there +was a physical love +that is the valuable +one and a virtual +imaginary one that is +feeble and +unworthy. In any case, his primary interest seemed to be to emphasize computer relations as valid forms of @@ -267,7 +282,13 @@ relationship, flew to California to marry him. The community was a witness and is now an archive of his declining wit as cancer spread to his brain and his famously articulate and scathing comments got -shorter, fearful, and more tender. (3) +shorter, fearful, and more tender.Initially, when a +member he often argued with offered to pray for him Mandel had +replied: “You can shovel your self-aggrandizing sentiments up you +wide ass sideways for the duration as far as I'm concerned." Later, +as the cancer progressed: “I ain't nearly as brave as you all think. I am +scared silly of the pain of dying this way. I am not very good at playing +saint. Pray for me, please. Before he posted his final goodbye, he chose to do one last thing. Together with another member, they @@ -295,7 +316,19 @@ what he later called his grieving for the community, with which he could not play anymore once his own body died. By doing so, he was starting to blend the boundaries of intimacy through computers and bodies, -driven by his love and grief. (4) +driven by his love and grief.It’s out of care +and not lack of +relevance that I am +not showing you +Mandel’s goodbye +message. It’s enough +to know he was deep +in the grief of having +to leave a +community he loved +and cared for and +that pain was felt in +every word. When he talked about the bot in previous messages, it sounded almost like a joke. A caring haunting of the @@ -329,7 +362,29 @@ human behavior online, simulating how a physical body might act, what it would click on, and what would it say. On social media, bots engage in a kind of interpretative dance of human interaction, performing -based on instructions provided by humans. (5) +based on instructions provided by humans.The first bot +communities on the +internet are now +born, half- +mistakenly. They are +always spiritual +communities posting +religious images +created by artificial +intelligence, all the +comments echoing +choirs of bots +praising. Amen, +amen, amen. I am +not naive, I know +they are built by +humans but it is this +performance of +religiosity that I am +interested in, and +how little humanity +is shown in it. It is +something else. Unlike an internet body, which represents the virtual embodiment of a person, a bot doesn’t seek to be a @@ -370,7 +425,8 @@ rather than an affective experience, works just the same. McGlotten uses a conceptualization of the virtual -based on the philosopher Deleuze’s, (6) which can be +based on the philosopher Deleuze’s,A step in a step in +a step, sorry. which can be used to refer to a virtual body as well. The virtual is in this case a cluster of waiting, dreaming, and remembering, embodying potential. @@ -474,7 +530,30 @@ If care is offered, it's often only with a desire to assimilate the divergent body back into expected standards of normalcy and ability. This leaves those with non-conforming bodies isolated, ashamed, and -yearning for connection and acceptance (7) +yearning for connection and acceptance.I am talking here +about the distress +caused by mental +health issues that +have direct +connections to +physicality—self- +injuring in any direct +form; food, drugs, +pain. The culturally +uncomfortable +diseases, the it’s- +personal- +responsibility, and +just-stop disorders. +This is a hidden +topic of this text +because I cared +more about the pain +surrounding them +and the reasons to +hide rather than the +grim physicality of +them all. In the depths of isolation and confusion, marginalized bodies often look for belonging and understanding @@ -560,7 +639,20 @@ Individuals who forge and inhabit these communities, fostering tender, intimate connections amongst themselves, are not deviant but rather divergent. Deviance involves bifurcation, a split estuary from the -river of appropriate cultural behavior. (8) +river of appropriate cultural behavior.Of course, the +river itself is not a +river; it’s many +confused streams +that believe +themselves both the +same and separate. I +don’t know where +I’m going with this, I +just don’t love the +river of normativity +and I’d rather go +swim in the ocean of +dreams with you. Divergence can be so much more than that. In mathematics, a divergent series extends infinitely @@ -586,7 +678,7 @@ expanding without ever concluding. They embody a richness that transcends conventional boundaries, blending into one another infinitely. -![Figure 1 - Harmonic Series to 32 (Hyacint,2017).](Harmonic_series.png) +![Figure 1 - Harmonic Series to 32 (Hyacint,2017).](../images/Harmonic-series.png) By likening digital bodies to divergent series, we embrace the complexity and infinite possibilities @@ -611,7 +703,33 @@ nourishment, or thriving. What does comfort mean for a body whose whole existence is uncomfortable? Moreover, what if the comfort care performed for these divergent bodies makes them too comfortable -being in their pained state of self? Could they be? (9) +being in their pained state of self? Could they be?I heard the idea of +living questions for +the first time in +“Letters to A Young +Poet” by Rainer +Maria Rilke and then +again on the podcast +On Being with Krista +Tippet. It may be a +bit transparent but +this entire text is +informed by the +concept of keeping +the unsolved in your +heart and learning to +love it. Not +searching for the +answers for we +cannot live them yet. +The point is to live it +all. It could be that +at some point we will +live our way to an +answer but it is +feeling the questions +alive within us that is +important. Do you? Caring for a digital body involves providing it with space to live, giving its experimental bot-feelings @@ -740,7 +858,11 @@ Berlant denotes that intimacy itself always requires hopeful imagination. It requires belief in the existence of an ideal other who is emotionally attuned to one's own experiences and fantasies, conditioned by the -same longings and with willing reciprocity (2008). (10) +same longings and with willing reciprocity (2008).If we were to be +honest, the entire +exercise of writing +this for you requires +this very faith. In the context of the intimacy of a Backplace, where divergent digital bodies have formed a community @@ -791,175 +913,8 @@ I leave even though I love all of your digital bodies. I leave because I love you, little digital body and you are me. -## 2. A LIFE TO BE HAD 11 - -## sidenotes - -1. You’re dreaming -again, good. -Would you feel -closer to me if you -could hear my -voice? -Is my voice a sound? -Could it be a -feeling? - -2. I will be honest -with you, I have little -patience for this -recurring line of -thought that seeks to -distinguish people’s -noses from their -hearts, as if there -was a physical love -that is the valuable -one and a virtual -imaginary one that is -feeble and -unworthy. - -3. Initially, when a -member he often -argued with o ered -to pray for him -Mandel had -replied: “You can -shovel your self- -aggrandizing -sentiments up you -wide ass sideways -for the duration as -far as I'm -concerned." Later, -as the cancer -progressed: “I ain't -nearly as brave as -you all think. I am -scared silly of the -pain of dying this -way. I am not very -good at playing -saint. Pray for me, -please. - -4. It’s out of care -and not lack of -relevance that I am -not showing you -Mandel’s goodbye -message. It’s enough -to know he was deep -in the grief of having -to leave a -community he loved -and cared for and -that pain was felt in -every word. - -5. The first bot -communities on the -internet are now -born, half- -mistakenly. They are -always spiritual -communities posting -religious images -created by artificial -intelligence, all the -comments echoing -choirs of bots -praising. Amen, -amen, amen. I am -not naive, I know -they are built by -humans but it is this -performance of -religiosity that I am -interested in, and -how little humanity -is shown in it. It is -something else. - -6. A step in a step in -a step, sorry. - -7. I am talking here -about the distress -caused by mental -health issues that -have direct -connections to -physicality—self- -injuring in any direct -form; food, drugs, -pain. The culturally -uncomfortable -diseases, the it’s- -personal- -responsibility, and -just-stop disorders. -This is a hidden -topic of this text -because I cared -more about the pain -surrounding them -and the reasons to -hide rather than the -grim physicality of -them all. - -8. Of course, the -river itself is not a -river; it’s many -confused streams -that believe -themselves both the -same and separate. I -don’t know where -I’m going with this, I -just don’t love the -river of normativity -and I’d rather go -swim in the ocean of -dreams with you. - -9. I heard the idea of -living questions for -the first time in -“Letters to A Young -Poet” by Rainer -Maria Rilke and then -again on the podcast -On Being with Krista -Tippet. It may be a -bit transparent but -this entire text is -informed by the -concept of keeping -the unsolved in your -heart and learning to -love it. Not -searching for the -answers for we -cannot live them yet. -The point is to live it -all. It could be that -at some point we will -live our way to an -answer but it is -feeling the questions -alive within us that is -important. Do you? - -10. If we were to be -honest, the entire -exercise of writing -this for you requires -this very faith. - -11. Was this the end of this story? +## 2. A LIFE TO BE HAD +Was this the end of this story? In the epilogue, you sit your body down and enter your computer. The air coming in from the window smells wet and earthy, new. The sun shines low on the horizon. @@ -1022,7 +977,7 @@ You try not to panic, but you know you have been detected. You pack up your things: the pie I made you, a love letter, two hands made out of felt, a star, a door, a stuffed animal; and -you leave again. +you leave again. ## references @@ -1088,5 +1043,4 @@ doi:10.1177/1440783313486220. Yun, J. (2020) ‘The Leaving Season’, in Some Are Always Hungry. University of Nebraska Press. - -<?/water bodies> +# <?/water bodies> diff --git a/aglaia/call1.png b/aglaia/call1.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..36e0d4d Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/call1.png differ diff --git a/aglaia/call2.png b/aglaia/call2.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c00ae4f Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/call2.png differ diff --git a/aglaia/call_scenario.png b/aglaia/call_scenario.png deleted file mode 100644 index ea3dfbb..0000000 Binary files a/aglaia/call_scenario.png and /dev/null differ diff --git a/aglaia/chae_form.jpg b/aglaia/chae_form.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4a50f4f Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/chae_form.jpg differ diff --git a/aglaia/dereg1.png b/aglaia/dereg1.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..67a9847 Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/dereg1.png differ diff --git a/aglaia/dereg2.png b/aglaia/dereg2.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..250bbb0 Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/dereg2.png differ diff --git a/aglaia/deregistration1.png b/aglaia/deregistration1.png deleted file mode 100644 index b1277f6..0000000 Binary files a/aglaia/deregistration1.png and /dev/null differ diff --git a/aglaia/index.html b/aglaia/index.html index 80a73eb..0829953 100644 --- a/aglaia/index.html +++ b/aglaia/index.html @@ -10,87 +10,101 @@

Talking Documents

-

Talking Documents are performative bureaucratic text inspections -using auto-ethnographical means that intend to create temporal public -interventions through performative readings.

-

While I had this inherent concern about borders and bureaucratic -structures in relation to migration, I decided to start zooming in and -explore my own bureaucratic surroundings through my personal lens. As a -student, I was eager to understand and dig into the educational -institutions’ bureaucratic mechanisms being driven by smaller-scale -bureaucratic struggles and peers’ narratives, stories and experiences. -My starting point were concerns and a need to explore potential -bureaucratic dramaturgies within the educational institution I am -currently part as a student. However, unexpected emergencies placed -centrally my personal bureaucratic struggles that were being unfolded in -parallel with the making period. Accordingly, this project was -dynamically being reshaped due to the material constraints of the -bureaucratic timeline. I utilized the paperwork interface of my -smaller-scale story in order to unravel and foreground questions related -to the role of bureaucracy as less material border and as a mechanism of -regulation that reflects narratives, ideologies, policies of the -state.

-

The scenario Central element of this project is a seven-act scenario -that construct my personal paperwork story, unraveling the actual -struggles of my communication with the government due my recent eviction -on the 31st of January 2024. The body of the text of the “theatrical” -script is sourced from the original documents, email threads as well as -recordings of the conversations with the municipality of Rotterdam that -I documented and archived throughout this period. I preserved the -sequence of the given sentences and by discarding the graphic design of -the initial forms, I structured and repurposed the text into a playable -scenario. I perceive the document as a unit and the primary interface of -the bureaucratic network. The embedded performativity of “real” -bureaucratic rituals establishes and empowers (bureaucratic) -institutions through repetitive acts. The transformation of the +

+ + +
+

This project appeared as a need to explore potential bureaucratic +dramaturgies within the educational institution I was part as a student. +I was curious about educational bureaucratic mechanisms being driven by +smaller-scale paperwork struggles and peers’ narratives, stories and +experiences. However, unexpected emergencies - due to my eviction on the +31st of January 2024 - placed centrally my personal struggles unfolded +in parallel with the making period. I ended up conducting accidentally +auto-ethnography as the project was dynamically being reshaped due to +the material constraints of the bureaucratic timeline.

+

Talking Documents are performative bureaucratic text inspections that +intend to create temporal public interventions through performative +readings. I utilized the paperwork interface of my smaller-scale story +in order to unravel and foreground questions related to the role of +bureaucracy as less material border and as a regulatory mechanism +reflecting narratives, ideologies, policies.

+

Central element of this project is a seven-act scenario that +construct my personal paperwork story, unraveling the actual struggles +of my communication with the government. The body of the text of the +“theatrical” script is sourced from the original documents, email +threads as well as recordings of the conversations with the municipality +of Rotterdam I documented and archived throughout this period. I +preserved the sequence of the given sentences and by discarding the +graphic design of the initial forms, I structured and repurposed the +text into a playable scenario.

+

+

+

I perceive the document as a unit and as the fundamental symbolic +interface of the bureaucratic network. The transformation of the materiality of a document into a scenario to be enacted collectively in -public attempts to examine these artifacts and highlight the shrouded +public aims to examine these artifacts and highlight the shrouded performative elements of these processes.

-

The public readings of the scenario I see the collective readings of -these scenarios as a way of instant publishing and as a communal tool of -inspecting bureaucratic bordering infrastructures. How can these -re-enactments be situated in different institutional contexts and -examine their structures? I am particularly interested in the -site-specificity of these “acts”. I organized a series of performative -readings of my own bureaucratic literature in different spaces and -contexts, pubic and semi-public, like Leeszaal, WDKA, Art Meets Radical -Openness Festival in Linz, the City Hall of Rotterdam where I invited -people to perform the play together, like a theater. The marginal voices -of potential applicants are embodying and enacting a role. “The speech -does not only describe but brings things into existence”(Austin, 1975). -My intention was to stretch the limits of dramaturgical speech through -vocalizing a document and turn individual administrative cases into -public ones. How do the inscribed words in the documents are not -descriptive but on the contrary “are instrumentalized in getting things -done”(Butler,1997). Words as active agents. Bodies as low-tech “human -microphones”. A group of people performs the bureaucratic scenario in -chorus, out loud, in the corridor of the school’s building, in the main -hall, at the square right across, outside of the municipality -building.

+

I see the collective readings of these scenarios as a way of instant +publishing and as a communal tool of inspecting bureaucratic bordering +infrastructures. How can these re-enactments be situated in different +institutional contexts and examine their structures? I organized a +series of performative readings of my own bureaucratic literature in +different spaces and contexts, pubic and semi-public WDKA, Art Meets +Radical Openness Festival in Linz, the City Hall of Rotterdam where I +invited people to perform the play together, like a tiny theater.

+
+ + +
+

+
+ + +
+
+The garden of Gemeente + +
+

The marginal voices of potential applicants are embodying and +enacting a role. “The speech does not only describe but brings things +into existence”(Austin, 1975). My intention was to stretch the limits of +dramaturgical speech through vocalizing a document and turn individual +administrative cases into public ones. How do the inscribed words in the +documents are not descriptive but on the contrary “are instrumentalized +in getting things done”(Butler,1997). Words as active agents. Bodies as +low-tech “human microphones”. A group of people performs the +bureaucratic scenario in chorus, out loud, in the corridor of the +school’s building, in the main hall, at the square right across, outside +of the municipality building.

I documented and recorded these public acts and I re-created the -collectively vocalised and transformed scenario. This audio piece is a -constellation of different recordings and soundscapes of these public -moments that I edited and collaged into a single story that could -constitute a vocal archive.

-

I am inviting past and future applicants, traumatized students, -injured bearers, bureaucratic border crossers, stressed expired document -holders to share, vocalize, read out loud, amplify, (un)name, dismantle -the injurious words of these artifacts.

-

[images] [Leeszaal West Rotterdam - 7th of November 2023 – People -queuing to receive their documents] [WDKA- Winjhaven Building- 5th of -February 2024- reading of act0 “” and act1 “”] [Art Meets Radical -Openness Festival – Linz, Austria - 11th of May 2024 - Reading act 2”” -and act3 “” in the tent] x2 [City Hall Rotterdam- 30th of May 2024 - -Reading of act 5 “” and act 6 “”] x2 [XML at XPUB studio - January 2024 -- Passport Reading Session] [BOOKLET 1] [BOOKLET 2]

+collectively voiced scenario. This audio piece is a constellation of +different recordings and soundscapes of these public moments, a vocal +archive, published in the graduation exhibition of XPUB in 2024.

+
+ + +
\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/aglaia/index.md b/aglaia/index.md index 30e449f..873b999 100644 --- a/aglaia/index.md +++ b/aglaia/index.md @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ --- -title: Project +title: Talking Documents author: Aglaia --- @@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ author: Aglaia # Talking Documents ### -![WDKA- Winjhaven Building- February 2024- reading of act0 “” and act1 “”](../aglaia/wijhaven.JPG) +![WDKA- Winjhaven Building- February 2024- reading of act0 and act1](../aglaia/wijnhaven.JPG) This project appeared as a need to explore potential bureaucratic dramaturgies within the educational institution I was part as a student. I was curious about educational bureaucratic mechanisms being driven by smaller-scale paperwork struggles and peers’ narratives, stories and experiences. However, unexpected emergencies - due to my eviction on the 31st of January 2024 - placed centrally my personal struggles unfolded in parallel with the making period. I ended up conducting accidentally auto-ethnography as the project was dynamically being reshaped due to the material constraints of the bureaucratic timeline. @@ -15,8 +15,13 @@ Talking Documents are performative bureaucratic text inspections that intend to Central element of this project is a seven-act scenario that construct my personal paperwork story, unraveling the actual struggles of my communication with the government. The body of the text of the “theatrical” script is sourced from the original documents, email threads as well as recordings of the conversations with the municipality of Rotterdam I documented and archived throughout this period. I preserved the sequence of the given sentences and by discarding the graphic design of the initial forms, I structured and repurposed the text into a playable scenario. -![Act 2 "Call with the municipality about the rejection of my application"](../aglaia/call_scenario.png) -![Act 7 "Confirmation document of my deregistration"](../aglaia/deregistration1.png) +![Act 2 "Call with the municipality about the rejection of my application"](../aglaia/call1.png) + +![ ](../aglaia/call2.png) + +![Act 7 "Confirmation document of my deregistration"](../aglaia/dereg1.png) + +![ ](../aglaia/dereg2.png) I perceive the document as a unit and as the fundamental symbolic interface of the bureaucratic network. The transformation of the materiality of a document into a scenario to be enacted collectively in public aims to examine these artifacts and highlight the shrouded performative elements of these processes. @@ -27,7 +32,7 @@ I organized a series of performative readings of my own bureaucratic literature ![ ](../aglaia/AMRO_kamo.jpg) -![City Hall Rotterdam - May 2024 - Reading of Act 5 and Act 6](../aglaia/gemeente_front.png) +![City Hall Rotterdam - May 2024 - Reading of Act 5 and Act 6](../aglaia/gemeente_front.jpg) ![The garden of Gemeente](../aglaia/statue_garden.jpg) @@ -35,4 +40,4 @@ The marginal voices of potential applicants are embodying and enacting a role. I documented and recorded these public acts and I re-created the collectively voiced scenario. This audio piece is a constellation of different recordings and soundscapes of these public moments, a vocal archive, published in the graduation exhibition of XPUB in 2024. -![XML at XPUB studio – January 2024 - Passport Reading Session](../aglaia/passport1.png) + diff --git a/aglaia/mitsi.jpg b/aglaia/mitsi.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9fbf154 Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/mitsi.jpg differ diff --git a/aglaia/objection2.png b/aglaia/objection2.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..65e6c2c Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/objection2.png differ diff --git a/aglaia/ojection1.png b/aglaia/ojection1.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4f04e7c Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/ojection1.png differ diff --git a/aglaia/passport1.png b/aglaia/passport1.png index 65a171f..111ba7e 100644 Binary files a/aglaia/passport1.png and b/aglaia/passport1.png differ diff --git a/aglaia/passport2.png b/aglaia/passport2.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4c52518 Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/passport2.png differ diff --git a/aglaia/postal.png b/aglaia/postal.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f4c3674 Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/postal.png differ diff --git a/aglaia/quality.jpg b/aglaia/quality.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6c8fbdd Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/quality.jpg differ diff --git a/aglaia/queue.jpg b/aglaia/queue.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..26f3615 Binary files /dev/null and b/aglaia/queue.jpg differ diff --git a/aglaia/thesis.html b/aglaia/thesis.html index fd0ca94..0cac57f 100644 --- a/aglaia/thesis.html +++ b/aglaia/thesis.html @@ -10,10 +10,11 @@

Performing the @@ -629,9 +630,10 @@ such acts are not expected to be performed, evoked contradictory feelings or thoughts. Over-identifying with a role was being instrumentalized as an “interrogation” of one’s own involvement in the reproduction of social discourses, power, authority, hegemony.

-

[ Participants, during Leeszaal event, are waiting in a queue (18) to -collect the application forms and sign1 ] [ One of the forms that the -audience had to fill out during the Lesszaal event ]

+

[Leeszaal West Rotterdam - November 2023 – People queuing(18) to +receive their documents and sign ]

+

[ One of the forms that the audience had to fill out during the +Lesszaal event ]

3.

Title: “Passport Reading Session” When: January 2024 Where: XML – XPUB studio Who: Ada, Aglaia, Stephen, Joseph

diff --git a/aglaia/thesis.md b/aglaia/thesis.md index c4427ca..2412731 100644 --- a/aglaia/thesis.md +++ b/aglaia/thesis.md @@ -120,26 +120,14 @@ The contradiction embedded in many cultural and educational institutions lies in The genuine essence of education is not bureaucratic at all, neither does it have to fit and ground its foundations under a bureaucratic roof. “The pedagogical process runs counter to the hierarchical, impersonal qualities of bureaucracy” (Cunningham, 2017). However, people working in educational institutions acknowledge the fact that entrenched bureaucratic systems impose their material constraints on teaching structures and on how these actors in this process interact with each other.“Students and staff are treated as human capital” (Cunningham, 2017). This determination can dehumanize people involved, like when "faculty-as-labor" and "students-as-consumers" are marginalized and treated as just variables. ------------------ -|…………………*…………………| -|………………………………………| -|………………………………………| -|………………………………………| -|………………………………………| -|………………………………………| -|………………………………………| -| | -| ... + | ------------------ - -“t h e r e i s n o -D O C U M E N T -o f -c i v i l i s a t i o n -w h i c h i s n o t -a t t h e s a m e t i m e -a d o c u m e n t -o f b a r b a r i s m” + +“there is no +document +of civilisation +which is not +at the same time +a document +of barbarism” -Walter Benjamin- (Pater, 2021) @@ -172,9 +160,8 @@ One month ago (from the writing present), my friend Chae made for my birthday th In the latter case, the inscription technology used is the sugar blue paste and the handwriting of Chae. The text in the white-blue government document forces a different reading from the white-blue biscuit document, even if they carry the same bits of information. If I do not read carefully the text in the folder and if I do not act according to the suggested actions there is a threat. The level of threat varies in relation to the case, the identities of the holder, the state, the context, etc. There is no room for negotiation in bureaucracy and this is the omnipresent underlying violence. The threat of violence shrouded within its structures and foundations does not permit any questioning but on the contrary creates “willful blindness” towards them(15). Bureaucracies are not stupid inherently rather they manage and coerce processes that reproduce docile and stupid behaviors. -[ The birthday biscuit that Chae made, re-creating the Dutch government form ] +![The birthday biscuit that Chae made, re-creating the Dutch government form](../aglaia/chae_form.jpg) ------------------------------------------ ### v o c a l a r c h i v e s – t a l k i n g d o c u m e n t s This chapter is mainly a constellation of some prototypes I created while writing and coping with personal bureaucratic challenges. I provided some further space for my anxiety by unpacking and exploring the material conditions that nourished it within this timeline. @@ -203,7 +190,8 @@ Reflections-Thoughts: This experiment was my first attempt to start interrogatin These 'rituals' are components of a larger “culture of evidence”, serving as a tool that blurs the distinction between discourse and reality (Cunningham, 2017). This culture of evidence influences how people perceive and understand information. The primary purposes of these metrics are twofold: they play a role in the marketing sphere, attracting potential students to the university as well as they are utilized in interactions and negotiations with the government, which increasingly cuts budgets allocated to universities. -[ The linguistic experiment of the Quality Assurance Questionnaire Document ] +![The linguistic experiment of the Quality Assurance Questionnaire Document](../aglaia/quality.jpg) + #### 2. Title: “Department of Bureaucracy and Administration Customs Enforcement” @@ -216,10 +204,9 @@ Description: During the first public moment at Leeszaal, I decided to embody and Reflections-Thoughts: Beyond the information gathered through my bureaucratic-like questionnaires, the most crucial element of this experiment was the understanding and highlighting of the hidden performative elements that entrench these “rituals”. It was amazing seeing the audience becoming instantly actors of the play enacting willingly a administrative ritualistic scene. The provided context of this “play” was a social library hosting a masters course public event on graduation projects. I am wondering whether this asymphony between the repetitive bureaucratic acts within the space of Leeszaal, where such acts are not expected to be performed, evoked contradictory feelings or thoughts. Over-identifying with a role was being instrumentalized as an “interrogation” of one’s own involvement in the reproduction of social discourses, power, authority, hegemony. -[Leeszaal West Rotterdam - November 2023 – People queuing(18) to receive their documents and sign ] +![Leeszaal West Rotterdam - November 2023 – People queuing(18) to receive their documents and sign](../aglaia/queue.jpg) - -[ One of the forms that the audience had to fill out during the Lesszaal event ] +![One of the forms that the audience had to fill out during the Lesszaal event](../aglaia/mitsi.jpg) #### 3. Title: “Passport Reading Session” @@ -235,7 +222,9 @@ Reflections-Thoughts: For the first time I observed this object so closely. The We read the embedded signs, symbols, categories, texts, magical numbers in our passports that construct our profiles. Seeing someone's passport, ID cards, visas, travel documents might mean that you are able to understand how easy or not is for them to move, what are their travel paths, how departure or arrival is smooth or cruel. Are there emotions along the way? For some people these are documents “that embody power — minimal or no waiting, peaceful departure, warm and confident arrival” (Khosravi, 2021). -[ Part of the A6 booklet of the transcription of the passport readings session ] x2 +[Part of the A6 booklet of the transcription of the passport readings session](../aglaia/passport1.png) + +[ ](../aglaia/passport2.png) #### 4. Title: “Postal Address Application Scenario” @@ -249,26 +238,26 @@ The first and the last moment of the performance was during a semi-public tryout Reflections-Thoughts: Vocalizing and embodying the bureaucratic questions was quite useful in acknowledging the government’s voice and presence as something tangible rather than a floating, arbitrary entity. It was interesting observing the bureaucrats performing their role with confidence and entitlement, contrasting with the applicants who appeared to be more stressed to respond convincingly and promptly. There is a notable distinction between performativity and performance. Performing consciously and theatrically amplifying real bureaucratic texts by occupying roles and overidentifying with them can constitute a diffractive moment, a tool itself. From bureaucratic text to performative text scenarios to speech. The embedded (but rather unconscious) performativity of “real” bureaucratic rituals establishes and empowers (bureaucratic) institutions through repetitive acts. These theatrical moments attempt to highlight the shrouded performative elements of these processes. -[ A6 booklet of the first chapter of the “theatrical” scenario created out of the Postal Address Application documents and performed by XPUB peers ] x2 +[A6 booklet of the first chapter of the “theatrical” scenario created out of the Postal Address Application documents and performed by XPUB peers](../aglaia/postal.png) ------------------------------------------ -### (instead of) c o n c l u s i o n +### c o n c l u s i o n -#### (next chapters of the case with reference number A.B.2024.4.03188) +#### next chapters of the case with reference number A.B.2024.4.03188 I expanded the “play” by incorporating additional “scenes” sourced again from the documents accompanying the ongoing “conversation with the government”. Two weeks after submitting my application for a short-term postal address [16/02/2024], I received a letter from the municipality stating their rejection of my request and warning me of potential fines if I fail to declare a valid address and provide a rental contract. After extensive communication with the municipality, I decided to respond to this decision by writing and sending an objection letter [19/02/2024]. The objections committee received my letter [21/02/2024], and after some days, they issued a confirmation letter outlining the following steps of the objection process which involves hearings with municipality lawyers and further investigation of my case. The textual components collaged for the next “episodes” are sourced from the transcribed recordings of my actual conversations with the municipality clerks, my objection letter, the confirmation documents including the steps I am required to take. My case has finished by this time. I withdrew my objection [7/03/2024] and I de-registered [11/03/2024] after a good amount of stress and precarity. My bureaucratic literature is meant to be read and voiced collectively. People’s bureaucratic literatures should be read and voiced collectively. My intention is to facilitate a series of collective performative readings of bureaucratic scenarios or other portable paperwork stories as a way of publishing and inspecting bureaucratic bordering infrastructures. The marginal voices of potential applicants are embodying and performing a role. “The speech does not only describe but brings things into existence” (Austin, 1975). I would like to stretch the limits of dramaturgical speech through vocalizing a document in public with others and turn an individual administrative case into a public one. How do the inscribed words in the documents are not descriptive but on the contrary “are instrumentalized in getting things done” (Butler, 1997). Words as active agents. I am inviting past and future applicants, traumatized students, injured bearers, bureaucratic border crossers, stressed expired document holders or just curious people to share, vocalize, talk through, read out loud, amplify, (un)name, unplace, dismantle the injurious words of these artifacts. -[ Part of A6 booklet scenarios of the next chapters of my bureaucratic story aimed to be performed ] x2 +[ ](../aglaia/objection1.png) +[ ](../aglaia/objection2.png) ------------------------------------------ #### “we didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us”(20) As I sit in the waiting area at the gate B7 in the airport preparing to come back to the Netherlands, I am writing the last lines of this text. I am thinking of all these borders and gates that my body was able to pass through smoothly, carrying my magical object through which I embody power- at least within this context. However, I yearn for a reality where we stop looking at those bodies that cross the multifaceted borders and get crossed and entrenched by them, but on the contrary we start interrogating and shouting at the contexts and the frameworks that construct them and render them invisible, natural and powerful. + ### s i d e n o t e s 1. I live somewhere in the margins of scattered references, footnotes, citations, examinations embracing the inconvenience of talking back to myself, to the reader and to all those people whose ideas gave soul to the text. I shelter in the borderlands of the pages my fragmented thoughts, flying words, introspections, voices. Enlightenment and inspiration given by the text “Dear Science” written by Katherine McKittrick. 2. I use the word borderland to refer to Greece as a (mostly) transit zone in the migrants’ and refugees’ route towards Europe. @@ -292,7 +281,7 @@ The term is borrowed from the protests of the Occupy Wall Street Movement in 201 19. Vosk is an offline open-source speech recognition toolkit 20. US Immigrant Rights Movement Slogan (Keshavarz, 2016) ------------------------------------------ + ### r e f e r e n c e s Agamben, G. (2000) Means without end: Notes on politics. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. diff --git a/generate-print.py b/generate-print.py index b8ce64b..66bd1f2 100644 --- a/generate-print.py +++ b/generate-print.py @@ -11,11 +11,13 @@ print("---------") print("Generating print html") print("---------") + +image_location = "../images/" all_html = [] # new way using folder list folders = open('./print/section-order.txt').read().splitlines() -stoplist = ["print", "spin-wheel"] +stoplist = ["print", "images"] # print(folders) titles = [] @@ -51,6 +53,13 @@ for folder in folders: html_data = subprocess.check_output(pandoc_command, shell=True, text=True,encoding="utf-8") print("html has been generated woooooooo!") + + s1 = ' Experimental Publishing 2024 The index for the website + test \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/introduction/index.html b/introduction/index.html index 7fce61c..123f97c 100644 --- a/introduction/index.html +++ b/introduction/index.html @@ -10,10 +10,11 @@

Act 1. Scene 1.

@@ -41,10 +42,10 @@ during…

the reader: we?

the book: …I mean the four of us, the students of Experimental Publishing at the Piet Zwart Institute. From 2022 until today, June -2024, we published three special issues together. We wrote four theses’ +2024, we published three special issues together. We wrote four theses and made four graduation projects. We grew our hair out and cut it and grew it again and dyed it. We cared and cried for each other, we brewed -muddy coffee and bootlegged books. (the book tears up) Finishing a +muddy coffee and bootlegged books. (The book tears up) Finishing a Master’s is a bit of a heavy moment for us and this book is a gentle archive, a memory of things that have been beautiful to us.

the reader (sarcastically): do you have a tissue, im soooo diff --git a/introduction/index.md b/introduction/index.md index d6b7382..d0f3d2a 100644 --- a/introduction/index.md +++ b/introduction/index.md @@ -1,3 +1,8 @@ +--- +title: Introduction +author: + +--- Act 1. Scene 1. diff --git a/irmak/index.html b/irmak/index.html index 6dd5317..e6a4abe 100644 --- a/irmak/index.html +++ b/irmak/index.html @@ -10,23 +10,50 @@

-

Wink!

-

Grad project Description

-

Wink is a prototype for an interactive picture book platform. This platform aims - to make reading into a mindfull and thought provoking process by using interactive and playful elements, multiple stories within one narrative and sound elements. Especially today where consumerism and low attention span is a rising issue especially amongst young readers, this was an important task to tackle. The thought of Wink emerged to find a more sustainable and creative way of reading for elementary school children. -

-

Working as a children's literature editor for years, I came to a realisation that picture books were turning into another object that kids read and consume on daily basis. At least this is what I observed in Turkey. Teachers and parents were finding it difficult to find new books constantly or were tired of rereading the same book. As a young person in the publishing sector, I believe there should be more options for children as there is for adults; such as ebooks, audiobooks etc. But moreover a "book" that can be redefined, reread or be interacted with. So I revisited an old story I wrote, translated to English and named it, "Bee Within".

-

Bee Within, is a story about grief and it is based on my experiences throughout the years. I erased it, rewrote it, edited it, destroyed it multiple times over the past years, simultaneously with new experiences of loss. In the end, I believe the story turned out to be an ode to - remembering or might I say an ode to not being able to forget or an ode to the fear of forgetting - which I now think is a great and sweet battle between death and life. I think it is an important subject to touch upon, especially for children dealing with trauma in many parts of the world. -

-

Over the past two years, experimenting with storytelling techniques, interactivity options and workshops with children and adults, around reading and doing various exercises on Bee Within, I improved the story to be a more playful and interactive one which can be re-read, re-played and eventually re-formed non digitally to be reachable for all children. Here is some documentation from the beggining of this journey towards making accesible interactive narratives...

-
+

Wink!

+

A Prototype +for Interactive Children’s Literature

+

Wink is a prototype for an interactive picture book platform. This +platform aims to make reading into a mindfull and thought provoking +process by using interactive and playful elements, multiple stories +within one narrative and sound elements. Especially today where +consumerism and low attention span is a rising issue especially amongst +young readers, this was an important task to tackle. The thought of Wink +emerged to find a more sustainable and creative way of reading for +elementary school children.

+

Working as a children’s literature editor for years, I came to a +realisation that picture books were turning into another object that +kids read and consume on daily basis. At least this is what I observed +in Turkey. Teachers and parents were finding it difficult to find new +books constantly or were tired of rereading the same book. As a young +person in the publishing sector, I believe there should be more options +for children as there is for adults; such as ebooks, audiobooks etc. But +moreover a “book” that can be redefined, reread or be interacted with. +So I revisited an old story I wrote, translated to English and named it, +“Bee Within”.

+

Bee Within, is a story about grief and it is based on my experiences +throughout the years. I erased it, rewrote it, edited it, destroyed it +multiple times over the past years, simultaneously with new experiences +of loss. In the end, I believe the story turned out to be an ode to +remembering or might I say an ode to not being able to forget or an ode +to the fear of forgetting which I now think is a great and sweet battle +between death and life. I think it is an important subject to touch +upon, especially for children dealing with trauma in many parts of the +world.

+

Over the past two years, experimenting with storytelling techniques, +interactivity options and workshops with children and adults, around +reading and doing various exercises on Bee Within, I improved the story +to be a more playful and interactive one which can be re-read, re-played +and eventually re-formed non digitally to be reachable for all children. +Here is some documentation from the beggining of this journey towards +making accesible interactive narratives…

+
\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/irmak/index.md b/irmak/index.md index 7275118..1434542 100644 --- a/irmak/index.md +++ b/irmak/index.md @@ -1,13 +1,13 @@ --- -title: Project -author: Stephen +title: Wink! +author: Irmak --- -# Title -Wink! -A Prototype for Interactive Children's Literature -### Grad project Description +# Wink! + +### A Prototype for Interactive Children's Literature + Wink is a prototype for an interactive picture book platform. This platform aims to make reading into a mindfull and thought provoking process by using interactive and playful elements, multiple stories within one narrative and sound elements. Especially today where consumerism and low attention span is a rising issue especially amongst young readers, this was an important task to tackle. The thought of Wink emerged to find a more sustainable and creative way of reading for elementary school children. diff --git a/irmak/thesis.html b/irmak/thesis.html index d33b792..a6d5a86 100644 --- a/irmak/thesis.html +++ b/irmak/thesis.html @@ -10,50 +10,56 @@ -

Fair Leads

-

Fair leads or Fair winds is a saying sailors and knotters use to greet each other. It comes from the working end of a string that will soon be forming a knot.

-

+

Fair Leads

+

Fair +leads or Fair winds is a saying sailors and knotters use to greet each +other. It comes from the working end of a string that will soon be +forming a knot.

I would like to clarify and introduce some terms for you in order to read this text in the desired way. For a while, we will stay in the bight of this journey as we move into forming loops, theories and ideas on how interactive picture books can be used to foster curiosity for reading and creativity for children. I am building a web platform called Wink that aims to contain a children’s story I wrote and am making into -an interactive experience, in relation to my research.
Through this -bight of the thesis, I feel the necessity to clarify my intention of -using knots as a “thinking and writing object” throughout my research -journey. Although knots are physical objects and technically crucial in -many fi elds of labor and life, they are also objects of thought and are -open for wide minds’ appreciation. Throughout history, knots have been -used to connect, stop, secure, bind, protect, decorate, record data, -punish, contain, fl y and many other purposes. So if the invention of fl -ying -which required a wing that was supported using certain types of -knotswas initiated with the knowledge of how to use strings to make -things, why wouldn’t a research paper make use of this wonderful art as -an inspiration for writing and interactive reading?
KNOTS AS -OBJECTS TO THINK WITH There is a delicate complexity of thinking of and -with knots, which ignites layers of simultaneous connections to one’s -specifi c experience; where one person may associate the knots with -struggles they face, another may think of connecting or thriving times. -In a workshop in Rotterdam, I asked participants to write three words -that comes to mind when they think of knots. There were some words in -common like strong, chaotic, confusing and anxious. On the other hand, -there were variations of connection, binding, bridge and support. -Keeping these answers in mind or by coming up with your words on knots -and embodying them in the practice of reading would make a diff erence -in how you understand the same text.
Seeing how these words, -interpretations of a physical object were so diff erent to each other -was transcendental. In this thesis, I am excited to share my -understanding of knots with you. My three words for knots are -resistance, imagination and infi nity. Keeping these in mind, I -experimented with certain reading modes as you will see later on.
-Knots are known to be used 15 to 17 thousand years ago for multiple +an interactive experience, in relation to my research.

+

Through this bight of the thesis, I feel the necessity to clarify my +intention of using knots as a “thinking and writing object” throughout +my research journey. Although knots are physical objects and technically +crucial in many fields of labor and life, they are also objects of +thought and are open for wide minds’ appreciation. Throughout history, +knots have been used to connect, stop, secure, bind, protect, decorate, +record data, punish, contain, fly and many other purposes. So if the +invention of flying -which required a wing that was supported using +certain types of knotswas initiated with the knowledge of how to use +strings to make things, why wouldn’t a research paper make use of this +wonderful art as an inspiration for writing and interactive reading?

+

KNOTS AS OBJECTS TO THINK +WITH

+

There is a delicate complexity of thinking of and with knots, which +ignites layers of simultaneous connections to one’s specific experience; +where one person may associate the knots with struggles they face, +another may think of connecting or thriving times. In a workshop in +Rotterdam, I asked participants to write three words that comes to mind +when they think of knots. There were some words in common like strong, +chaotic, confusing and anxious. On the other hand, there were variations +of connection, binding, bridge and support. Keeping these answers in +mind or by coming up with your words on knots and embodying them in the +practice of reading would make a diff erence in how you understand the +same text.

+

Seeing how these words, interpretations of a physical object were so +diff erent to each other was transcendental. In this thesis, I am +excited to share my understanding of knots with you. My three words for +knots are resistance, imagination and infinity. Keeping these in mind, I +experimented with certain reading modes as you will see later on.

+

Knots are known to be used 15 to 17 thousand years ago for multiple purposes. These purposes were often opposing each other. For example, it could be used to let something loose or to restrain it; for pleasure or pain; for going high above or down below… I believe this diversity of @@ -61,8 +67,9 @@ uses can also be seen in how people approach knots as an idea or a metaphor. One can think it represents chaos where someone else might see it as a helpful mark. Essentially, this diversity is what got me interested in knots years ago and since then, I have found ways to -implement this “loop of thought” in my daily life and research methods. -
There are two main reasons to why I chose to write this essay in a +implement this “loop of thought” in my daily life and research +methods.

+

There are two main reasons to why I chose to write this essay in a “knotted” format. One is that I would like to share my process and progress of research on this project and this involves “thinking with an object”, in this case types of knots. In Evocative Objects, Sherry @@ -75,8 +82,9 @@ this as an opportunity to experiment if I can use knots as an interactive (which is not in knots’ nature since they are mainly practiced in solo) and playful element in writing. This is also why I would like to take a moment to mention what happens to the interplay of -processes in which we call thought when we think with knots in specific. -
For Turkle and Seymour Papert, who is a mathematician, computer +processes in which we call thought when we think with knots in +specific.

+

For Turkle and Seymour Papert, who is a mathematician, computer scientist and educator that did remarkable research on constructivism, being able to make a reading experience tangible, or even physically representable makes the process of thought more concrete. Concrete @@ -89,311 +97,338 @@ mind at ease with complex chains of thought. Imagine you are reading a story… What if you think of the string itself as the journey and the slip knot (which is a type of stopper knot) as a representation of an antagonist because of its specific use in hunting, would this change -your approach to reading this story? I believe so…
What if instead -of a slip knot a Bowline was on the string, would that represent -something else in the story because of its usage in practice. A Bowline -is commonly used to form a fi xed loop at the end of a string; it’s -strong but easy to tie, untie. Due to these qualities, we can imagine -the bowline to represent the conclusion in a story. What if we have a -Square Knot, how would that change the course of a narrative? Square -knot is used to bundle objects and make the two ends of the same string -connect. From just this, we can use it to represent the connection -between the beginning and end of a story. My point is, there are -limitless implementations on how to use knots in literature because of -their versatile purposes and the narrative vocabulary they create. -Topologists are still trying to identify seemingly infi nite numbers of +your approach to reading this story? I believe so…

+

What if instead of a slip knot a Bowline was on the string, would +that represent something else in the story because of its usage in +practice. A Bowline is commonly used to form a fixed loop at the end of +a string; it’s strong but easy to tie, untie. Due to these qualities, we +can imagine the bowline to represent the conclusion in a story. What if +we have a Square Knot, how would that change the course of a narrative? +Square knot is used to bundle objects and make the two ends of the same +string connect. From just this, we can use it to represent the +connection between the beginning and end of a story. My point is, there +are limitless implementations on how to use knots in literature because +of their versatile purposes and the narrative vocabulary they create. +Topologists are still trying to identify seemingly infinite numbers of combinations which we simply call “knots” and I see this as an -inspiration to keep writing.
One example of the wondrous -versatility and potential of knots is how they are used to archive and -encrypt information. Incan people from the Andes region recorded -information on Quipus, dating back to 700 CE. Quipus are textile devices -consisting of several rows of cotton and/or camelid string that would be -knotted in a specifi c way to record, store and transmit information -ranging from accounting and census data to communicate complex -mathematical and narrative information (Medrano, Urton, 2018). Another -example is the Yakima Time Ball, which was used by North-American Yakama -people to show life events and family aff airs. This is why I humbly -decided to document my research process with a Quipu of my own. I am -trying to symbolize the twists, decisions and practices throughout this -year with knots of my choosing. I was inspired by Nayeli Vega’s -question, “What can a knot become and what can become a knot?”
-WEAVING INTO THE TEXT This thesis expects participation from its reader. -You have the option to have a mode of reading, where you will be guided -by strings to start reading from a certain section according to the type -of reader you are and read the loops one by one until the end, weaving -through the text. To determine the string or mode of reading, there are -some simple questions to answer. The three modes of reading are combine, -slide, build . After you discover the starting point with the yes or no -map in the upcoming pages, you will continue the reading journey through -the strings of diff erent colors that will get you through the text. -This way, the linear text will become in a way, non-linear by your -personal experience. Bear in mind that you can choose to read this -thesis from beginning to end as a single string too if you wish so.
-Combine mode of reading is for readers who are more interested in the +inspiration to keep writing.

+

One example of the wondrous versatility and potential of knots is how +they are used to archive and encrypt information. Incan people from the +Andes region recorded information on Quipus, dating back to 700 CE. +Quipus are textile devices consisting of several rows of cotton and/or +camelid string that would be knotted in a specific way to record, store +and transmit information ranging from accounting and census data to +communicate complex mathematical and narrative information (Medrano, +Urton, 2018). Another example is the Yakima Time Ball, which was used by +North-American Yakama people to show life events and family aff airs. +This is why I humbly decided to document my research process with a +Quipu of my own. I am trying to symbolize the twists, decisions and +practices throughout this year with knots of my choosing. I was inspired +by Nayeli Vega’s question, “What can a knot become and what can become a +knot?”

+

WEAVING INTO THE TEXT

+

This thesis expects participation from its reader. You have the +option to have a mode of reading, where you will be guided by strings to +start reading from a certain section according to the type of reader you +are and read the loops one by one until the end, weaving through the +text. To determine the string or mode of reading, there are some simple +questions to answer. The three modes of reading are combine, slide, +build . After you discover the starting point with the yes or no map in +the upcoming pages, you will continue the reading journey through the +strings of diff erent colors that will get you through the text. This +way, the linear text will become in a way, non-linear by your personal +experience.

+

Bear in mind that you can choose to read this thesis from beginning +to end as a single string too if you wish so.

+

Combine mode of reading is for readers who are more interested in the journey and the connections between process and result. Slide mode of reading is for more laid back readers who aren’t looking to connect ideas but are more focused on the motivation and purpose of the project. Build readers are detail oriented and academic readers who would prefer -a “traditional” lead to reading.
Alongside the different strings to -follow the text, there will be little drawings in the margins as seen -above, which will have diff erent representations like in a Quipu. -Certain knots represent the experiences that raise interesting -opportunities for research and distinct events I went through while -making the project and underneath the drawing you can fi nd the relation -to the knot itself explained. For example if I couldn’t manage to do -something I planned to do, this will be represented with a broken knot. -Bend knots which are used to connect two strings, will be representing -the relation between theories and my ownexperiences/motivations. Hitches -which are knots that are formed around a solid object, such as a spar, -post, or ring will be representing the evidence or data I have collected -on the subject. We move on now with the working end and make some loops! -
This map will reveal your mode of reading. The order of reading -will be indicated with a loop sign Please hold a string in your hand as -you read the text and make knots or loops as you weave through the -reading as an exercise for concrete thinking. See you at the standing -end! and a number on top of the sign with a color. This is the numeric -order you can follow to read the thesis.

-

Working End

-

Why am I doing this?
My desire to write a children’s book about -grief and memory ignited when I was studying in college and doing an -internship in a publishing house in Ankara. I was struggling to process -a loss I experienced at the time and to fi nd something to cling to on a -daily basis. Then one day I started hearing a buzzing sound in my -bedroom at my family’s house. I searched everywhere but couldn’t fi nd -the source for this noise. I asked my father and he started searching -too. A couple of days passed and the buzzing was still there.
One -day I found a bee on the fl oor in my bedroom and realized that the bees -nested on the roof and were coming inside my room through a gap in the -lamp. I was terrifi ed because I have an allergy to bees and thought -they might sting me in my sleep. This moment was when I realized I was -so determined to fi nd this buzzing sound for some time that I forgot -about dealing with the loss I was experiencing. This made me feel very -guilty and I remember thinking I betrayed the person I lost.
As -funny as it may appear, I felt like I was sabotaged by these bees that I -thought were here to hurt me but in the end they made me understand that -its ok to let things go and every being does what it has to do to fi nd -its way of survival. The little habitat that they chose to create in my -room seemed like a calling or a sign that I can aff ect another living -being signifi cantly without being aware of it. This goes for -everything, no matter if some people leave us in this world, they have -living matter in us that keeps pulsing. So then I started researching -bees and their ecosystems. I read Alan Watts, Alan Lightman, Emily -Dickinson, Maurice Sendak, Meghan O’Rourke, Oliver Sacks, Joanna Macy, -Rilke, Montaigne and theories on order in chaos, correlative vision, -harmony of contained confl icts and the mortality paradox. I wrote a lot -and erased a lot and fairly fi gured out the wisdom of not knowing -things.
Years passed and I wrote and deleted and rewrote the story -that I am working on to make interactive today so many times and was -waiting on it because it always felt incomplete. In a way it will always -be incomplete because of the natural ambiguity the topic carries. Years -later, grief was back in my life with the loss of my grandfather. So -therefore, the story I wrote and abandoned changed again as I attempted -to rewrite it as a diff erent version of myself with a diff erent -understanding of death. And this went on… The story remained hidden and -I forgot why it ever existed in the fi rst place.
Last year when -two earthquakes hit Syria and Turkey, I was drowned like everyone I -know, by a collective trauma and grief. Then this horrible feeling fl -ared up by neglect and desperation. It was and still is impossible to -mourn so many strangers at the same time. I lost two dear friends, I was -furious, away from home, mostly alone and remembered vividly my failed -attempt to understand or place grief in one of the piles in my mind. -
Previous months, I was working on this story (yes, again) but -didn’t know how to tackle the text because it was so diff erent to what -I was experiencing now, when compared to the last time I rewrote it. A -tutor asked me why I wrote this story in the fi rst place and I couldn’t +a “traditional” lead to reading.

+

Alongside the different strings to follow the text, there will be +little drawings in the margins as seen above, which will have diff erent +representations like in a Quipu. Certain knots represent the experiences +that raise interesting opportunities for research and distinct events I +went through while making the project and underneath the drawing you can +find the relation to the knot itself explained. For example if I +couldn’t manage to do something I planned to do, this will be +represented with a broken knot. Bend knots which are used to connect two +strings, will be representing the relation between theories and my +ownexperiences/motivations. Hitches which are knots that are formed +around a solid object, such as a spar, post, or ring will be +representing the evidence or data I have collected on the subject. We +move on now with the working end and make some loops!

+

This map will reveal your mode of reading. The order of reading will +be indicated with a loop sign Please hold a string in your hand as you +read the text and make knots or loops as you weave through the reading +as an exercise for concrete thinking. See you at the standing end! and a +number on top of the sign with a color. This is the numeric order you +can follow to read the thesis.

+

Working End

+

Why am I doing this?

+

My desire to write a children’s book about grief and memory ignited +when I was studying in college and doing an internship in a publishing +house in Ankara. I was struggling to process a loss I experienced at the +time and to find something to cling to on a daily basis. Then one day I +started hearing a buzzing sound in my bedroom at my family’s house. I +searched everywhere but couldn’t find the source for this noise. I asked +my father and he started searching too. A couple of days passed and the +buzzing was still there.

+

One day I found a bee on the floor in my bedroom and realized that +the bees nested on the roof and were coming inside my room through a gap +in the lamp. I was terrified because I have an allergy to bees and +thought they might sting me in my sleep. This moment was when I realized +I was so determined to find this buzzing sound for some time that I +forgot about dealing with the loss I was experiencing. This made me feel +very guilty and I remember thinking I betrayed the person I lost.

+

As funny as it may appear, I felt like I was sabotaged by these bees +that I thought were here to hurt me but in the end they made me +understand that its ok to let things go and every being does what it has +to do to find its way of survival. The little habitat that they chose to +create in my room seemed like a calling or a sign that I can aff ect +another living being significantly without being aware of it. This goes +for everything, no matter if some people leave us in this world, they +have living matter in us that keeps pulsing. So then I started +researching bees and their ecosystems. I read Alan Watts, Alan Lightman, +Emily Dickinson, Maurice Sendak, Meghan O’Rourke, Oliver Sacks, Joanna +Macy, Rilke, Montaigne and theories on order in chaos, correlative +vision, harmony of contained conflicts and the mortality paradox. I +wrote a lot and erased a lot and fairly figured out the wisdom of not +knowing things.

+

Years passed and I wrote and deleted and rewrote the story that I am +working on to make interactive today so many times and was waiting on it +because it always felt incomplete. In a way it will always be incomplete +because of the natural ambiguity the topic carries. Years later, grief +was back in my life with the loss of my grandfather. So therefore, the +story I wrote and abandoned changed again as I attempted to rewrite it +as a diff erent version of myself with a diff erent understanding of +death. And this went on… The story remained hidden and I forgot why it +ever existed in the first place.

+

Last year when two earthquakes hit Syria and Turkey, I was drowned +like everyone I know, by a collective trauma and grief. Then this +horrible feeling flared up by neglect and desperation. It was and still +is impossible to mourn so many strangers at the same time. I lost two +dear friends, I was furious, away from home, mostly alone and remembered +vividly my failed attempt to understand or place grief in one of the +piles in my mind.

+

Previous months, I was working on this story (yes, again) but didn’t +know how to tackle the text because it was so diff erent to what I was +experiencing now, when compared to the last time I rewrote it. A tutor +asked me why I wrote this story in the first place and I couldn’t remember. I kept tracing back to 2016 and step by step, remembered why, as told above. The consciousness that this story is actually a personal history of how I went through grief in diff erent stages of my life, made me realise that it doesn’t have to be or even can be a perfect -story.
In the end with the experience I had with loss, I believe -the story turned out to be an ode to remembering or might I say an ode -to not being able to forget or an ode to the fear of forgetting
-Loop 2 The effect of storytelling knowledge on kids’ development and +story.

+

In the end with the experience I had with loss, I believe the story +turned out to be an ode to remembering or might I say an ode to not +being able to forget or an ode to the fear of forgetting

+

Loop 2

+

The effect of storytelling knowledge on kids’ development and creativity. What can we learn from open ended and multiple ending -stories? ability to form basic stories or to express their emotions -through fi ctional characters or events. Children are not born with a -wide vocabulary of emotions and expressions. They learn how to read, -mimic and express their feelings over time. The more children read, -write and are exposed to social environments, the more they widen their -sense and ability of expressing themselves. The language gained as kids -comes in many forms and storytelling plays a crucial role in this -development. The exposure to stories prepares the kids to the era of -reading and writing. Children come to understand and value feelings -through conversation (Dettore, 2002). When children are off ered to read -or share stories, they also learn to understand people around them -better and gain emotional literacy.
Storytelling has been a means -of communicating with others for many centuries. It is not only a way to -discuss important events, but also a way to entertain one another -(Lawrence & Paige, 2013). Stories have been told orally, in writing -or with drawings for thousands of years and some of these stories are -still alive. This is because language is a living thing that travels -through time and still remains brand new. When necessary, it just adapts -form, evolves and blends in with the changing world. Children comprehend -the idea that they have a story to tell by hearing other stories and -this ignites the imagination. We tend to forget many things but almost -everyone remembers one small story they heard or read when they were a -kid, this moment we remember is the moment a certain story sparked for -us.
Nowadays storytelling takes many forms. For example, some -readers’ story might even begin from here although it isn’t the -beginning. Interactivity is one of the storytelling forms that can -signifi - cantly improve children’s creativity. This is mainly because -children as readers or listeners get to contribute and aff ect the -story. This of course requires and improves creative and active -thinking. Getting the chance to choose a path for a fi ctional character -gives the child the freedom and confi dence of constructing a world, a -character or an adventure. Although this is essentially “writing” as we -know it, children think of this as a game, yet to discover they are -actually becoming writers. What kind of reward can we expect from active +stories?

+

ability to form basic stories or to express their emotions through +fictional characters or events. Children are not born with a wide +vocabulary of emotions and expressions. They learn how to read, mimic +and express their feelings over time. The more children read, write and +are exposed to social environments, the more they widen their sense and +ability of expressing themselves. The language gained as kids comes in +many forms and storytelling plays a crucial role in this development. +The exposure to stories prepares the kids to the era of reading and +writing. Children come to understand and value feelings through +conversation (Dettore, 2002). When children are off ered to read or +share stories, they also learn to understand people around them better +and gain emotional literacy.

+

Storytelling has been a means of communicating with others for many +centuries. It is not only a way to discuss important events, but also a +way to entertain one another (Lawrence & Paige, 2013). Stories have +been told orally, in writing or with drawings for thousands of years and +some of these stories are still alive. This is because language is a +living thing that travels through time and still remains brand new. When +necessary, it just adapts form, evolves and blends in with the changing +world. Children comprehend the idea that they have a story to tell by +hearing other stories and this ignites the imagination. We tend to +forget many things but almost everyone remembers one small story they +heard or read when they were a kid, this moment we remember is the +moment a certain story sparked for us.

+

Nowadays storytelling takes many forms. For example, some readers’ +story might even begin from here although it isn’t the beginning. +Interactivity is one of the storytelling forms that can signifi- cantly +improve children’s creativity. This is mainly because children as +readers or listeners get to contribute and aff ect the story. This of +course requires and improves creative and active thinking. Getting the +chance to choose a path for a fictional character gives the child the +freedom and confi dence of constructing a world, a character or an +adventure. Although this is essentially “writing” as we know it, +children think of this as a game, yet to discover they are actually +becoming writers. What kind of reward can we expect from active participation in a story? Narrative pleasure can be generally described -in terms of immersions (spatial, temporal, emotional, epistemic) in a fi -ctional world (Ryan, 2009). When we are set to create or co-create a +in terms of immersions (spatial, temporal, emotional, epistemic) in a +fictional world (Ryan, 2009). When we are set to create or co-create a world, the narrative has eff ects on us such as curiosity, suspense and surprise. At this point, we start creatively producing ideas to keep -these three emotions.
Interactive storytelling reminds everyone but -especially children that there are limitless endings to a story that is -solely up to the maker’s creation. Learning to think this way instead of -knowing or assuming an end to a story, I think infl uences the -children’s decision making abilities and sense of responsibility towards -their creations. It is basically the same in theatre where if an actor -chooses to create an imaginary suitcase on stage, they can’t simply -leave this object they created on stage and exit the scene because the -audience will wonder why the actor didn’t take the imaginary suitcase as -they left. In this case, when kids decide to choose a path or item or -any attribute for a character in a story, they feel responsible and -curious to see it through to the end or decide what to do with it. This -interactivity therefore creates a unique bond between the reader/writer -and the text.
There are many theories on how to approach -interactive literature for children. Multi-literacy theory and digital -literacies are some of the theories which I fi nd relevant to my aim -with Wink. Multiliteracy theory in a nutshell is an education oriented -framework that aims to expand traditional reading and writing skills. -This theory was developed by the New London Group. They were a -collective of scholars and educators who addressed the changing nature -of literacy in an increasingly globalized, digital world. The theory -explores multiple modes of communication consisting The sense of -storytelling settles for kids, starting from age three. By this time, -children have the of multimodal communication, cultural and social -contexts, critical inquiry, socio-cultural learning theory and -pedagogical implications. Multimodal communication focuses on the -variety of communication techniques. This was groundbreaking in the 90s -because of its acknowledgment of a diverse range of literacies and its -departure from traditional approaches to literary texts. This theory +these three emotions.

+

Interactive storytelling reminds everyone but especially children +that there are limitless endings to a story that is solely up to the +maker’s creation. Learning to think this way instead of knowing or +assuming an end to a story, I think influences the children’s decision +making abilities and sense of responsibility towards their creations. It +is basically the same in theatre where if an actor chooses to create an +imaginary suitcase on stage, they can’t simply leave this object they +created on stage and exit the scene because the audience will wonder why +the actor didn’t take the imaginary suitcase as they left. In this case, +when kids decide to choose a path or item or any attribute for a +character in a story, they feel responsible and curious to see it +through to the end or decide what to do with it. This interactivity +therefore creates a unique bond between the reader/writer and the +text.

+

There are many theories on how to approach interactive literature for +children. Multi-literacy theory and digital literacies are some of the +theories which I find relevant to my aim with Wink. Multiliteracy theory +in a nutshell is an education oriented framework that aims to expand +traditional reading and writing skills. This theory was developed by the +New London Group. They were a collective of scholars and educators who +addressed the changing nature of literacy in an increasingly globalized, +digital world. The theory explores multiple modes of communication +consisting The sense of storytelling settles for kids, starting from age +three. By this time, children have the of multimodal communication, +cultural and social contexts, critical inquiry, socio-cultural learning +theory and pedagogical implications. Multimodal communication focuses on +the variety of communication techniques. This was groundbreaking in the +90s because of its acknowledgment of a diverse range of literacies and +its departure from traditional approaches to literary texts. This theory includes new media and communication studies such as visual, digital, -special and gestural literacies.
I kept this theory in mind as I -chose the interactivity elements to use in the picture book. I think the -usage of multiple media such as sound, image and games is a good way to -start and diff erentiate from a regular interactive e-book. The fact -that this theory has an educational perspective and is taking the -rapidly changing qualities of literature seriously, made me consider it -as a guide in designing the prototype.
Looking through the -perspective of multiliteracies, questions come up for me that lead to -the rest of this thesis: What is an interactive picture book? Is it a -book? Is it a game? Is it an exercise? What is it defi ned as? How can -we design an interactive reading environment without confusing children? -
Loop 3 Diff erences and similarities between interactive e-books -and storytelling games Storytelling games and interactive e-books have -many things in common. To begin with, they both centralize the narrative -to engage the audience. While both of these formats are storytelling -tools, e-books tend to stay more in a linear narrative and format when -compared to storytelling games where the audience is commonly the main -character. Reading experiences are also a way to be in the shoes of the -narrator or the character but in a storytelling game, you embody the -mission and the experience overrules the story most of the time. In the -specifi c example of a child, storytelling games are complicated and -puzzle driven where the player has missions to complete. Whereas in an -interactive e-book, the missions are solely based on the interactive -elements implemented in the text and images. Another diff erence is that -the visual world in an interactive e-book is less cinematic and has -limited movement. The imagery plays a massive role in a storytelling -game where the world created is off ered to the player. In an -interactive e-book, the text itself is designed to be playful and ready -for readers to discover. The main diff erence in my opinion that -separates these two methods of storytelling is the reward. In a game, we -expect to be rewarded by a victory, passing a level or unlocking -something throughout the experience. In an interactive e-book, we work -with the story and in return we expect a good experience and there is no -reward other than that. But, the whole design of interactivity involves -aspects of a game where the reader –not the player- is captured by -surprise eff ects or elements that come up on the pages. This ignites -curiosity but not ambition, which is a good start to foster the love for -reading.
Loop 4 Ways of using interactivity in digital platforms -CASA theory, also known as the Cognitive-Aff ective-Social Theory of +special and gestural literacies.

+

I kept this theory in mind as I chose the interactivity elements to +use in the picture book. I think the usage of multiple media such as +sound, image and games is a good way to start and diff erentiate from a +regular interactive e-book. The fact that this theory has an educational +perspective and is taking the rapidly changing qualities of literature +seriously, made me consider it as a guide in designing the +prototype.

+

Looking through the perspective of multiliteracies, questions come up +for me that lead to the rest of this thesis: What is an interactive +picture book? Is it a book? Is it a game? Is it an exercise?

+

What is it defined as? How can we design an interactive reading +environment without confusing children?

+

Loop 3

+

Diff erences and similarities between interactive e-books and +storytelling games

+

Storytelling games and interactive e-books have many things in +common. To begin with, they both centralize the narrative to engage the +audience. While both of these formats are storytelling tools, e-books +tend to stay more in a linear narrative and format when compared to +storytelling games where the audience is commonly the main character. +Reading experiences are also a way to be in the shoes of the narrator or +the character but in a storytelling game, you embody the mission and the +experience overrules the story most of the time. In the specific example +of a child, storytelling games are complicated and puzzle driven where +the player has missions to complete. Whereas in an interactive e-book, +the missions are solely based on the interactive elements implemented in +the text and images.

+

Another diff erence is that the visual world in an interactive e-book +is less cinematic and has limited movement. The imagery plays a massive +role in a storytelling game where the world created is off ered to the +player. In an interactive e-book, the text itself is designed to be +playful and ready for readers to discover.

+

The main diff erence in my opinion that separates these two methods +of storytelling is the reward. In a game, we expect to be rewarded by a +victory, passing a level or unlocking something throughout the +experience. In an interactive e-book, we work with the story and in +return we expect a good experience and there is no reward other than +that. But, the whole design of interactivity involves aspects of a game +where the reader –not the player- is captured by surprise eff ects or +elements that come up on the pages. This ignites curiosity but not +ambition, which is a good start to foster the love for reading.

+

Loop 4

+

Ways of using interactivity in digital platforms

+

CASA theory, also known as the Cognitive-Aff ective-Social Theory of Learning and Development, is a framework used in educational psychology to understand how learning occurs within the context of cognitive, aff ective, and social factors. Research on cognitive learning with keeping in mind the limited attention span and memory factors. For children in -specifi c, I think these are very important factors to keep in mind when +specific, I think these are very important factors to keep in mind when trying to design an interactive experience. This is because children get bored very easily and can be disengaged because of failure of solving/understanding something in a story. This is something I kept in mind as I wrote for children and chose the interactive elements in the -story.
Finding the balance between making the interactive element -surprising and making it easy to interact with is the key to designing -for kids in this scenario. We don’t want to make them struggle and use -the limited attention span in a non-engaging way but we want to keep the -reading interesting enough so they want to continue. Digging deeper into -how to do this, I found Children Computer Interaction (CCI) study very -useful. This study examines how children of diff erent ages and -developmental stages interact with digital devices and how these -interactions can support their growth. This made me think about digital -gestures; how they change through generations and how to use these to -design a platform where children can navigate easily and freely. CCI -suggests that when introducing a new media to children its better to -start easy and clear when they try it. Through this I think the best -easy interaction is the tap or click for children. It is easy to do, -instinctive and common. So I decided to base the interactive elements on -click animations. There are multiple ways to use digital gestures in -storytelling to make the experience more intriguing. These are usually -elements such as sound, animations, voice-overs that are ignited with a -click or tap by the reader. For children younger than 5, its usually -just tapping over the page and experiencing an action-reaction. For -older kids between the ages 6-8, I made some workshops to fi gure out -which types of interactive elements are most useful in engaging them in -the reading process. It is true that sound and animations are very -inclusive and it is engaging for kids to fi nd out which part of a page -is interactive by clicking on images. Another thing I found out is that -kids enjoy being a part of the story. For the prototype of Bee Within -(the story I am using to test interactivity also can be read in the -appendix) I will focus on color, sound and click based animations -according to the results of my research. Loop 5 What is the target age -group for the designated prototype and why? It is tricky when it comes -to choosing the right age spectrum for children’s interactive -literature. Children between the ages 3-5, referred to as preschoolers -have more developed social skills and day by day increasing interest in -play. They can take on roles in imaginative play scenarios. They can -also share and take turns more, listen and think about rules of a game. -They can form friendships and connections easily. School age children -are between the ages 6-12, which is Wink’s chosen age group is a little -diff erent. These kids can form more rooted friendships and engage in -more complex narratives. They learn to negotiate and compromise around -this time as well. This age group is desired for Wink because kids this -age are open to creative problem solving, connecting events and -comprehending slightly more complex narratives. Moreover, this age group -would benefi t the most from the interactive stories and the reading -process because of the developmental phase they are in. The average -amount of time children between these ages use on a daily basis is -depending on their parents and circumstances. But to be fair, it is -often not less than 2 hours. If a child isn’t very interested in +story.

+

Finding the balance between making the interactive element surprising +and making it easy to interact with is the key to designing for kids in +this scenario. We don’t want to make them struggle and use the limited +attention span in a non-engaging way but we want to keep the reading +interesting enough so they want to continue.

+

Digging deeper into how to do this, I found Children Computer +Interaction (CCI) study very useful. This study examines how children of +diff erent ages and developmental stages interact with digital devices +and how these interactions can support their growth. This made me think +about digital gestures; how they change through generations and how to +use these to design a platform where children can navigate easily and +freely. CCI suggests that when introducing a new media to children its +better to start easy and clear when they try it. Through this I think +the best easy interaction is the tap or click for children. It is easy +to do, instinctive and common. So I decided to base the interactive +elements on click animations.

+

There are multiple ways to use digital gestures in storytelling to +make the experience more intriguing. These are usually elements such as +sound, animations, voice-overs that are ignited with a click or tap by +the reader. For children younger than 5, its usually just tapping over +the page and experiencing an action-reaction. For older kids between the +ages 6-8, I made some workshops to figure out which types of interactive +elements are most useful in engaging them in the reading process.

+

It is true that sound and animations are very inclusive and it is +engaging for kids to find out which part of a page is interactive by +clicking on images. Another thing I found out is that kids enjoy being a +part of the story. For the prototype of Bee Within (the story I am using +to test interactivity also can be read in the appendix) I will focus on +color, sound and click based animations according to the results of my +research.

+

Loop 5

+

What is the target age group for the designated prototype and +why?

+

It is tricky when it comes to choosing the right age spectrum for +children’s interactive literature. Children between the ages 3-5, +referred to as preschoolers have more developed social skills and day by +day increasing interest in play. They can take on roles in imaginative +play scenarios. They can also share and take turns more, listen and +think about rules of a game. They can form friendships and connections +easily.

+

School age children are between the ages 6-12, which is Wink’s chosen +age group is a little diff erent. These kids can form more rooted +friendships and engage in more complex narratives. They learn to +negotiate and compromise around this time as well. This age group is +desired for Wink because kids this age are open to creative problem +solving, connecting events and comprehending slightly more complex +narratives. Moreover, this age group would benefit the most from the +interactive stories and the reading process because of the developmental +phase they are in.

+

The average amount of time children between these ages use on a daily +basis is depending on their parents and circumstances. But to be fair, +it is often not less than 2 hours. If a child isn’t very interested in spending these hours reading a book, why not ask them: “Would you like -to be a part of a story?” Today, kids from age 3 can use digital -gestures successfully and experience these as simple as fl ipping the -page of a book. This is why it is fairly easy to create an interactive -picture book which kids can navigate themselves and be able to browse -through with or without their parents. But for Wink, I chose to design -for older kids because I want to experiment on multi-leveled narratives -and I want to avoid the risk of confusing children.
Loop 6 Limits -of interactivity in narratives for children and why do we have less -modes of reading and writing for children? Although there are many -upsides of creating digital environments for children due to their -advanced skills in technology from early ages, there are also risks -involved in this where the kid can be overwhelmed and confused due to -the autonomy they receive. Reading a story is supposed to be eff ortless -and a good free time activity but with interactive picture books, it is -slightly more than that and more complicated as an experience. First of -all, with the story at hand, called Bee Within, there are two other -stories in one. Although the main story is about a little girl’s -journey, kids get the chance to hear the Queen Bee’s story and the -tree’s story as well. This is not a must but if they interact with +to be a part of a story?”

+

Today, kids from age 3 can use digital gestures successfully and +experience these as simple as flipping the page of a book. This is why +it is fairly easy to create an interactive picture book which kids can +navigate themselves and be able to browse through with or without their +parents. But for Wink, I chose to design for older kids because I want +to experiment on multi-leveled narratives and I want to avoid the risk +of confusing children.

+

Loop 6

+

Limits of interactivity in narratives for children and why do we have +less modes of reading and writing for children?

+

Although there are many upsides of creating digital environments for +children due to their advanced skills in technology from early ages, +there are also risks involved in this where the kid can be overwhelmed +and confused due to the autonomy they receive. Reading a story is +supposed to be eff ortless and a good free time activity but with +interactive picture books, it is slightly more than that and more +complicated as an experience.

+

First of all, with the story at hand, called Bee Within, there are +two other stories in one. Although the main story is about a little +girl’s journey, kids get the chance to hear the Queen Bee’s story and +the tree’s story as well. This is not a must but if they interact with certain pictures on the page, they will be led to the bee’s perspective or the trees. This is where the storyline can get a little bit complicated for younger kids. The child reader at this point should be @@ -401,328 +436,352 @@ able to follow the main storyline after visiting the side quests or stories presented in the interactive book. To create this balance I tried to limit the interactive elements I used in the main story. I tried to keep the picture animations limited and focused more on the -storylines. Another aspect I am concerned about after the workshop I did -with the kids, is the risk of confusion due to an undefi ned and -multimodal design for a “book”. Kids tend to be confused when they can’t -defi ne things or are asked to improvise without knowing the -purpose.They know what a book is and that it is similar to what they -encounter on the screen. But the method of reading and interacting with -Bee Within is diff erent than what they are used to. This concerns me -because they might prefer to just read a book or play a game instead of -discovering a new thing, which they are exposed to daily because they -are always in a process of active learning. So one more thing to learn -might come as exhausting. Therefore, in designing, I want to make -interactions as clear as possible for them. Loop 7 Interactive reading -and writing examples and surveys done with kids As an improvisation -theater enthusiast myself, I tried to engage the kids with the story -through some exercises and games during the workshops. My aim was to see -how involved they want to be in storytelling. Improvisation has a -certain way of storytelling and interaction where there are either too -many options or none. You need to have good empathy and harmony with the -person you are acting with and you are designated to be creative in your -own way. I tried to use several improv games and warmups to involve the -kids in the story more and see how they see certain characters from the -picture book. My first attempt was to make a survey at the end of -workshops with kids to whether they liked it or not, but when I -researched further, surveying with kids has very diff erent methods and -complications. Most kids either really like or really dislike things. -Finding the in between emotions with a survey, ends up being vague. Most -surveys done with kids use emoticons as representation of a good or bad -or average time. Instead, I chose to observe the environment and -understand how much empathy kids can off er in an interactive reading or -playing environment. Loop 8 What does the joy of destruction and the awe -eff ect have to do with interactivity? Indeed, why did we ever start -playing games? The most important aspect of a game for me is that it -surprises you and leaves you in awe towards something you weren’t -expecting happened. I feel like every reaction I give when I’m -surprised, is a mirror of what I felt when I was playing freeze and had -to stop moving at any given time or when I found the last friend hiding -somewhere in hide and seek. This feeling of appreciation and -unexpectedness is why most people remember certain games, movies from -their childhoods very vividly. Its an introduction to a feeling we -experience maybe for the fi rst time because we don’t necessarily learn -from books how and when to feel surprised, that is why it’s a surprise; -we live it, experience it and it leaves and impression with us.
In -my opinion, what drives everyone as a common denominator is amazement; -because it takes us to our childhoods or distant memories where we fi -rst felt that feeling of awe. This is the main purpose behind any kind -of interactive design and I think books can be an amazing medium to -experiment this with. Specifi cally because this ancient device can take -us to numerous worlds. For me as a millennial, books give me enough -amazement as it is. But as I worked in publishing through the years and -observed, I think kids today need something more to ignite their -interest. There are so many factors in a picture book such as the image, -the text and sound which can be played with to create an experience that -is more surprising. This is the main purpose behind my research and -protoype. Today’s world being visually stimulating and serving very -short attention spans with social media, it is a tough task to insert a -story or reading experience that requires full attention and patience. -There are examples of Tiktok stories, Instagram reels, audio books and -games that try to tell stories worth listening with attention. Wink is -also an attempt to do this and I believe the key is to make an already -engaging story enriched with interactive elements that appear to you -through a click if you choose to. I think this is also the key to -nourishing a new way of storytelling. Loop 9 Interactivity in reading -and writing in history. What changed? Interactivity has always been an -experimental area in literature from inscriptions to narrative games -then to playable stories and artifi cial intelligence. I will expand -some of these examples from the rich history of interactive fi ction. -When I dig a little bit into the media archaeology there are three still -relevant aspects that strike me and change/improve my approach to Wink. -The fi rst is the need to connect that remains untouched through -centuries of human communication, the second is how there were multiple -projects concerning interactive media especially for kids that later -turned into narrative games or remained as prototypes and lastly how the -integration of media and literature has been such a grand topic even -before information and technology era. Some examples to this is music, -masks, puppets, props used in storytelling. Ancient texts with -annotations such as The Odyssey, The Mahabharata are maybe the earliest -written interactive experiences in a historical context. They are -published with notes and explanations, clarifi cations which make the -text inhabit diff erent opinions and approaches in an engaging way where -the reader can choose to hop on and off from the annotation and margin -texts. From the 70s to the present there have been many examples but I -will be focusing on a few here. One of them is, Choose your own -adventure books which allowed the reader to participate in the plot. -These still exist as picture books where you are directed to certain -pages according to the choices you make throughout the story. Along with -this were also board games and cards that required interactive inputs. -Some examples to this is exploding kittens or cards against humanity -where the player has the autonomy to be creative and fi ll in the blanks -to win the game. Simultaneously, text-based adventure games such as Zork -and Adventure were popular. Early days of computing off ered a wide -space for exploring virtual worlds. In the early 80s, hypertext fi ction -contributed to electronic literature. Hyperlinks were used as a tool to -navigate a text and choose paths of reading. This inspired me to write -this thesis with diff erent modes of reading as well. After the 80’s, -Interactive fi ction gained popularity as a genre of interacting with -text based input. Dynabook by Alan Kay was prototyped during this time -as a promising reading and writing device designed for children.
-The 21st century off ers a combination of text and illustrations in +storylines.

+

Another aspect I am concerned about after the workshop I did with the +kids, is the risk of confusion due to an undefined and multimodal design +for a “book”. Kids tend to be confused when they can’t define things or +are asked to improvise without knowing the purpose.They know what a book +is and that it is similar to what they encounter on the screen. But the +method of reading and interacting with Bee Within is diff erent than +what they are used to. This concerns me because they might prefer to +just read a book or play a game instead of discovering a new thing, +which they are exposed to daily because they are always in a process of +active learning. So one more thing to learn might come as exhausting. +Therefore, in designing, I want to make interactions as clear as +possible for them.

+

Loop 7

+

Interactive reading and writing examples and surveys done with kids +As an improvisation theater enthusiast myself, I tried to engage the +kids with the story through some exercises and games during the +workshops. My aim was to see how involved they want to be in +storytelling. Improvisation has a certain way of storytelling and +interaction where there are either too many options or none. You need to +have good empathy and harmony with the person you are acting with and +you are designated to be creative in your own way. I tried to use +several improv games and warmups to involve the kids in the story more +and see how they see certain characters from the picture book.

+

My first attempt was to make a survey at the end of workshops with +kids to whether they liked it or not, but when I researched further, +surveying with kids has very diff erent methods and complications.

+

Most kids either really like or really dislike things. Finding the in +between emotions with a survey, ends up being vague. Most surveys done +with kids use emoticons as representation of a good or bad or average +time. Instead, I chose to observe the environment and understand how +much empathy kids can off er in an interactive reading or playing +environment.

+

Loop 8

+

What does the joy of destruction and the awe eff ect have to do with +interactivity? Indeed, why did we ever start playing games? The most +important aspect of a game for me is that it surprises you and leaves +you in awe towards something you weren’t expecting happened. I feel like +every reaction I give when I’m surprised, is a mirror of what I felt +when I was playing freeze and had to stop moving at any given time or +when I found the last friend hiding somewhere in hide and seek. This +feeling of appreciation and unexpectedness is why most people remember +certain games, movies from their childhoods very vividly. Its an +introduction to a feeling we experience maybe for the first time because +we don’t necessarily learn from books how and when to feel surprised, +that is why it’s a surprise; we live it, experience it and it leaves and +impression with us.

+

In my opinion, what drives everyone as a common denominator is +amazement; because it takes us to our childhoods or distant memories +where we first felt that feeling of awe. This is the main purpose behind +any kind of interactive design and I think books can be an amazing +medium to experiment this with. Specifically because this ancient device +can take us to numerous worlds. For me as a millennial, books give me +enough amazement as it is. But as I worked in publishing through the +years and observed, I think kids today need something more to ignite +their interest. There are so many factors in a picture book such as the +image, the text and sound which can be played with to create an +experience that is more surprising. This is the main purpose behind my +research and protoype. Today’s world being visually stimulating and +serving very short attention spans with social media, it is a tough task +to insert a story or reading experience that requires full attention and +patience. There are examples of Tiktok stories, Instagram reels, audio +books and games that try to tell stories worth listening with attention. +Wink is also an attempt to do this and I believe the key is to make an +already engaging story enriched with interactive elements that appear to +you through a click if you choose to. I think this is also the key to +nourishing a new way of storytelling.

+

Loop 9

+

Interactivity in reading and writing in history. What changed?

+

Interactivity has always been an experimental area in literature from +inscriptions to narrative games then to playable stories and artificial +intelligence. I will expand some of these examples from the rich history +of interactive fiction. When I dig a little bit into the media +archaeology there are three still relevant aspects that strike me and +change/improve my approach to Wink. The first is the need to connect +that remains untouched through centuries of human communication, the +second is how there were multiple projects concerning interactive media +especially for kids that later turned into narrative games or remained +as prototypes and lastly how the integration of media and literature has +been such a grand topic even before information and technology era. Some +examples to this is music, masks, puppets, props used in +storytelling.

+

Ancient texts with annotations such as The Odyssey, The Mahabharata +are maybe the earliest written interactive experiences in a historical +context. They are published with notes and explanations, clarifications +which make the text inhabit diff erent opinions and approaches in an +engaging way where the reader can choose to hop on and off from the +annotation and margin texts. From the 70s to the present there have been +many examples but I will be focusing on a few here. One of them is, +Choose your own adventure books which allowed the reader to participate +in the plot. These still exist as picture books where you are directed +to certain pages according to the choices you make throughout the story. +Along with this were also board games and cards that required +interactive inputs. Some examples to this is exploding kittens or cards +against humanity where the player has the autonomy to be creative and +fill in the blanks to win the game. Simultaneously, text-based adventure +games such as Zork and Adventure were popular. Early days of computing +off ered a wide space for exploring virtual worlds. In the early 80s, +hypertext fiction contributed to electronic literature. Hyperlinks were +used as a tool to navigate a text and choose paths of reading. This +inspired me to write this thesis with diff erent modes of reading as +well. After the 80’s, Interactive fiction gained popularity as a genre +of interacting with text based input. Dynabook by Alan Kay was +prototyped during this time as a promising reading and writing device +designed for children.

+

The 21st century off ers a combination of text and illustrations in augmented reality books that have animations, sound and external interactions. These are followed by digital storytelling platforms like Wattpad and Storybird and interactive e-book apps such as Pibocco, Bookr and Tiny Minies. Most of these apps are dedicated to education however and not solely to creativity. Their aim is to use creative elements to -foster education for kids. With Wink, I want to use a mainly educational -tool (a book) to foster creativity and expression. So I believe it is -the opposite purpose as to these examples in certain ways. I am trying -to combine the delicacy of a narrative where you can only be a reader -and the excitement of autonomous writing and experiencing. This is -because I think the understanding and usage of media changed in the last -years. Some tools that created the awe eff ect for users faded and left -their place to more compact designs. Although audio books were very -welcome at some point, younger users nowadays prefer book summary apps -or podcasts to them. Of course they are still used and not outdated but -there is certainly a visible change to where media is heading. Loop 10 -Experimentation of creative exercises to be used in WINK. Exercises of -storytelling with words, images, drawing, sound and gestures. Before I -completed the prototype of Wink, I reached out to an international -school in Rotterdam to make a 20 minute workshop with kids between ages -6-8. The aim here was to grasp the interactive elements in the picture -book to implement in the digital framework. I wanted to see which parts -of the story the children found exiting and which ones are not so -thrilling for them. It also helped me draw the pictures for the book -accordingly and edit the text with their reactions in mind. Due to a -privacy agreement, I couldn’t record or use any data from the workshop -but I made some helpful observations from my time there. The fi rst -workshop I planned consisted of two main parts that made up 20 minutes. -The fi rst 10 minutes we read Bee Within (attached in the appendix) -together in a circle and the last 10 minutes we played little +foster education for kids.

+

With Wink, I want to use a mainly educational tool (a book) to foster +creativity and expression. So I believe it is the opposite purpose as to +these examples in certain ways. I am trying to combine the delicacy of a +narrative where you can only be a reader and the excitement of +autonomous writing and experiencing.

+

This is because I think the understanding and usage of media changed +in the last years. Some tools that created the awe eff ect for users +faded and left their place to more compact designs. Although audio books +were very welcome at some point, younger users nowadays prefer book +summary apps or podcasts to them. Of course they are still used and not +outdated but there is certainly a visible change to where media is +heading.

+

Loop 10

+

Experimentation of creative exercises to be used in WINK. Exercises +of storytelling with words, images, drawing, sound and gestures.

+

Before I completed the prototype of Wink, I reached out to an +international school in Rotterdam to make a 20 minute workshop with kids +between ages 6-8. The aim here was to grasp the interactive elements in +the picture book to implement in the digital framework. I wanted to see +which parts of the story the children found exiting and which ones are +not so thrilling for them. It also helped me draw the pictures for the +book accordingly and edit the text with their reactions in mind. Due to +a privacy agreement, I couldn’t record or use any data from the workshop +but I made some helpful observations from my time there.

+

The first workshop I planned consisted of two main parts that made up +20 minutes. The first 10 minutes we read Bee Within (attached in the +appendix) together in a circle and the last 10 minutes we played little improvisation games, focused on the three main characters in the story (the bee, the kid and the tree). I made three groups and gave these groups the three characters. I asked them to embody a character throughout the workshop and be loyal to it. Each group of three had 1 minute on the stage to silently improvise their characters. They were to -use one sentence if they wanted to speak. During the fi rst part, I -couldn’t observe as I was busy reading but their teacher kindly took -notes during this time, regarding the children’ reactions to parts of -the story. I inserted the bees and trees narrative to the reading by -tossing the paper I had in my hand and picking up a new one as I kept -reading the bees and trees story. This was crucial because I wanted to -see if this multiple stories in one concept would be confusing for kids. -The teacher told me that they were excited about my gesture of juggling -papers as I seemingly read one story. They were intrigued and confused -at fi rst but they did keep up with the storyline and understood all. -Her notes basically said they were very focused and less interested in -the kids journey. They really liked the bee and were a bit confused with -the tree. There were 12 international kids and 3 of them didn’t want to -join the workshop, they wanted to observe. I told them that they could -paint and draw what they see. The drawings they made were of their -classmates acting as trees or bees. They drew their classmate with a -stinger and the other was of a classmate as a tree with his hands wide -open as he was performing. What struck me most on the second part of the -workshop was how these kids used the room so freely and in relation to -their characters. Because we read the story before the improvisation -games, some of their characters were infl uenced by how it is in the -story we read. Next workshop, I am planning to not tell the story but to -talk about it before and give context. This is because I want to see how -their understanding changes without a limitation of a story.
Bees -in the classroom that day were all very active and they used chairs, -tables and windows to position themselves in a higher perspective. -Children who played the kid were usually standing closer to the trees -and looked very calm. Trees were all very diff erent. One of the kids -used postits as leaves. Some of them didn’t have leaves because it is -winter. Trees didn’t move at all and the bees were buzzing all around. -“The kid” usually sat near the tree, on the tree (as in the other -performers’ lap or hugged them). Overall only 2 groups used the option -to say a sentence which were, “I want to go on an adventure” “I don’t -wanna leave Gray(the tree)” This was a good feedback for me because I -realized they are very perceptive of actions and facial expressions -rather than words. The workshop we did in the studio with XPUB 2 -students was harder than the session with the kids because everyone felt -so restricted to obligations and were not comfortable to let go of -bodily control. No one actually attempted in using objects from the room -which is a huge diff erence with the kids because they drew on their -faces, used plastic bags as wings for the bee and made sounds with their -mouths as trees. The next workshop was to discover how improv would work -without reading the story fi rst. This workshop was fruitful because it -helped me realize how much information or guidance I have to off er for -children in order for them to be comfortable to participate and interact -without confusion. We made a circle and I summarized the story to the -kids, acting in the middle of the circle. This broke the ice completely +use one sentence if they wanted to speak.

+

During the first part, I couldn’t observe as I was busy reading but +their teacher kindly took notes during this time, regarding the +children’ reactions to parts of the story. I inserted the bees and trees +narrative to the reading by tossing the paper I had in my hand and +picking up a new one as I kept reading the bees and trees story. This +was crucial because I wanted to see if this multiple stories in one +concept would be confusing for kids. The teacher told me that they were +excited about my gesture of juggling papers as I seemingly read one +story. They were intrigued and confused at first but they did keep up +with the storyline and understood all. Her notes basically said they +were very focused and less interested in the kids journey. They really +liked the bee and were a bit confused with the tree.

+

There were 12 international kids and 3 of them didn’t want to join +the workshop, they wanted to observe. I told them that they could paint +and draw what they see. The drawings they made were of their classmates +acting as trees or bees. They drew their classmate with a stinger and +the other was of a classmate as a tree with his hands wide open as he +was performing.

+

What struck me most on the second part of the workshop was how these +kids used the room so freely and in relation to their characters. +Because we read the story before the improvisation games, some of their +characters were influenced by how it is in the story we read. Next +workshop, I am planning to not tell the story but to talk about it +before and give context. This is because I want to see how their +understanding changes without a limitation of a story.

+

Bees in the classroom that day were all very active and they used +chairs, tables and windows to position themselves in a higher +perspective. Children who played the kid were usually standing closer to +the trees and looked very calm. Trees were all very diff erent. One of +the kids used postits as leaves. Some of them didn’t have leaves because +it is winter. Trees didn’t move at all and the bees were buzzing all +around. “The kid” usually sat near the tree, on the tree (as in the +other performers’ lap or hugged them).

+

Overall only 2 groups used the option to say a sentence which were, +“I want to go on an adventure” “I don’t wanna leave Gray(the tree)”

+

This was a good feedback for me because I realized they are very +perceptive of actions and facial expressions rather than words. The +workshop we did in the studio with XPUB 2 students was harder than the +session with the kids because everyone felt so restricted to obligations +and were not comfortable to let go of bodily control. No one actually +attempted in using objects from the room which is a huge diff erence +with the kids because they drew on their faces, used plastic bags as +wings for the bee and made sounds with their mouths as trees.

+

The next workshop was to discover how improv would work without +reading the story first. This workshop was fruitful because it helped me +realize how much information or guidance I have to off er for children +in order for them to be comfortable to participate and interact without +confusion. We made a circle and I summarized the story to the kids, +acting in the middle of the circle. This broke the ice completely because I was a part of the workshop and they thought I was funny. For the next part, I divided the group in three and assigned a character to them. After this, I asked them to decide on an attitude, pop in the -middle and tell or act out their character. I went fi rst and they -followed easily. They were not under the infl uence of the story so the -performances were diff erent but they still got infl uenced by each +middle and tell or act out their character. I went first and they +followed easily. They were not under the influence of the story so the +performances were diff erent but they still got influenced by each other, which in my opinion is inevitable. Some of the kids were buzzing/running around, the “kids” were walking around, acting like they are playing which I found very interesting. Some trees were small some were mighty and old. It was helpful to see the diff erent attributions -they gave to the characters. After the circle session, they separated in -three groups: the kids, the bees and the trees. I asked each group to -come up, walk around randomly, embodying the character they chose. Then -as I rang the bell, I asked them to change the character. I asked them -to be a busy, tired, injured, happy and scared bee one by one. They kept -walking randomly and acted these feelings out. For the “kids”, I asked -them to be angry, sad, scared, and curious. For the trees I asked them -to be wise, mad, funny and happy. The results were amazing. They adapted -very quickly to the changing of emotions which showed me that this age -gap was good to work with. The trees stopped walking as I changed the -emotions and this was an affi rmation to not animate the tree with -movement but more with changing of color and tiny animations. They -mostly used arms and face expressions to show the emotions, some of them -ducked or made sounds. As I said mad, one of the kids ran and put her -red jacket on. This made me think about using color to show emotions for -the tree. It was good to see that they weren’t scared or discouraged by -negative emotions as well. We ended the workshop by drawing our -characters. It was nice to see them own their imaginary characters -enough to draw them with joy.
The last workshop was dedicated to -discovering the sound aspect. The tree in the story speaks in verses so -I chose one verse and read/performed it in a circle to begin with. Then -I gave them some instruments: a drum, a bell, aluminum folio, a balloon -and a bubble wrap. I asked for a few volunteers and they made sound eff -ects as I read the verse very slowly. This went good and I saw that they -like to dramatize the sounds and make them funny or unexpected. They -used the bubble wrap to make sounds for snowing or aluminum folio for -the volcano. They had great fun but I think I made a mistake by making a -few kids do foley at the same time because they didn’t know how to take -turns and were hesitant at fi rst. Then quite impressively, they made +they gave to the characters.

+

After the circle session, they separated in three groups: the kids, +the bees and the trees. I asked each group to come up, walk around +randomly, embodying the character they chose. Then as I rang the bell, I +asked them to change the character. I asked them to be a busy, tired, +injured, happy and scared bee one by one. They kept walking randomly and +acted these feelings out. For the “kids”, I asked them to be angry, sad, +scared, and curious. For the trees I asked them to be wise, mad, funny +and happy. The results were amazing. They adapted very quickly to the +changing of emotions which showed me that this age gap was good to work +with. The trees stopped walking as I changed the emotions and this was +an affirmation to not animate the tree with movement but more with +changing of color and tiny animations. They mostly used arms and face +expressions to show the emotions, some of them ducked or made sounds. As +I said mad, one of the kids ran and put her red jacket on. This made me +think about using color to show emotions for the tree. It was good to +see that they weren’t scared or discouraged by negative emotions as +well. We ended the workshop by drawing our characters. It was nice to +see them own their imaginary characters enough to draw them with +joy.

+

The last workshop was dedicated to discovering the sound aspect. The +tree in the story speaks in verses so I chose one verse and +read/performed it in a circle to begin with. Then I gave them some +instruments: a drum, a bell, aluminum folio, a balloon and a bubble +wrap. I asked for a few volunteers and they made sound eff ects as I +read the verse very slowly. This went good and I saw that they like to +dramatize the sounds and make them funny or unexpected. They used the +bubble wrap to make sounds for snowing or aluminum folio for the +volcano. They had great fun but I think I made a mistake by making a few +kids do foley at the same time because they didn’t know how to take +turns and were hesitant at first. Then quite impressively, they made their own system where they took turns to make eff ects for each -sentence. Then I made four groups of three. 3 kids as actors and 3 kids -as foley actors. They buddied up and made short scenes where one group -made sounds eff ects to the others acting on stage. This was the best -part of this workshop because they could lead the actors with the sounds -they made or vice versa. This I think is very important because it shows -that they like to be a part of or be eff ective to the story itself. -They were very creative in using the objects in the room and turning -them into a tool for sound. They enjoyed to foley the bee and the other +sentence.

+

Then I made four groups of three. 3 kids as actors and 3 kids as +foley actors. They buddied up and made short scenes where one group made +sounds eff ects to the others acting on stage. This was the best part of +this workshop because they could lead the actors with the sounds they +made or vice versa. This I think is very important because it shows that +they like to be a part of or be eff ective to the story itself. They +were very creative in using the objects in the room and turning them +into a tool for sound. They enjoyed to foley the bee and the other characters not so much. Which showed me that I should focus on the sound -of the bee in the prototype. Overall, the workshops were very helpful -for me to understand where to focus on as I develop. I realized that -some of the sound, color and movement animations I planned were too -complicated and I decided to make them more simplistic. I decided to -animate the tree with only color because I was eff ected by this one -participant who took the red jacket to represent the tree was mad. For -the bee I decided to focus on sound more. For the kid I decided to use -more visual animations to make it more interesting.
One other thing -the workshops helped me with is the multiple stories I am planning to -tell in one narrative. The book I have has two side quest/stories so it -nice to see that kids weren’t confused with these narratives. I decided -to make the story of the tree as a click game where the lines appear by -clicking and the bee’s story through a text based game. I wanted to use -click game with the tree because it seemed like they needed more -stimulation to be interested in that story and I though a ‘reveal the -story’ click game could keep them interested. For the bee, knowing they -like the character, I wanted to make it more like a game to give the -kids a chance and autonomy to be a part of the story itself.

-Loop 11 The diff erences of these exercises in WINK than the already -existing interactive e-book platforms The interactive e-book apps -existing today, made especially for children, are quite similar in both -format and purpose. If we take a look at Bookr, Piboco, and Kotobee, we -can see they seek a new way to tell a story but have one mode of -reading. The stories are linear and can be read once, without side -quests. This is the main diff erence with what I am trying to design. -Wink acts as a tool to play with and choose paths. The story isn’t -linear in the traditional way where you interact with the pictures and -fi nish the book but there are side stories to the main story that they -can discover or choose not to. I think this is a solid diff erence. This -makes it a playable narrative, diff erent from a book. This prototype is -a good start to see how far I can get with the interactive elements and -side stories without confusing or discouraging the children. There are -many other aspects that can be implemented to this design such as -writing elements and drawing but for the meantime, also in -correspondence with the workshops, I choose to test the sound and image -along with one main and two small narratives. For future prototypes, I -envision space to draw and write as a contribution to the story and -maybe turning Wink into a hybrid format with more autonomous features. -For me, at this point, it’s valuable and essential to see if my -technique of combining narratives is working or not. Loop 12 Standing -End After many loops of thought, we are here at the standing end of the +of the bee in the prototype.

+

Overall, the workshops were very helpful for me to understand where +to focus on as I develop. I realized that some of the sound, color and +movement animations I planned were too complicated and I decided to make +them more simplistic. I decided to animate the tree with only color +because I was eff ected by this one participant who took the red jacket +to represent the tree was mad. For the bee I decided to focus on sound +more. For the kid I decided to use more visual animations to make it +more interesting.

+

One other thing the workshops helped me with is the multiple stories +I am planning to tell in one narrative. The book I have has two side +quest/stories so it nice to see that kids weren’t confused with these +narratives. I decided to make the story of the tree as a click game +where the lines appear by clicking and the bee’s story through a text +based game. I wanted to use click game with the tree because it seemed +like they needed more stimulation to be interested in that story and I +though a ‘reveal the story’ click game could keep them interested. For +the bee, knowing they like the character, I wanted to make it more like +a game to give the kids a chance and autonomy to be a part of the story +itself.

+

Loop 11

+

The diff erences of these exercises in WINK than the already existing +interactive e-book platforms The interactive e-book apps existing today, +made especially for children, are quite similar in both format and +purpose. If we take a look at Bookr, Piboco, and Kotobee, we can see +they seek a new way to tell a story but have one mode of reading. The +stories are linear and can be read once, without side quests. This is +the main diff erence with what I am trying to design. Wink acts as a +tool to play with and choose paths. The story isn’t linear in the +traditional way where you interact with the pictures and finish the book +but there are side stories to the main story that they can discover or +choose not to. I think this is a solid diff erence. This makes it a +playable narrative, diff erent from a book.

+

This prototype is a good start to see how far I can get with the +interactive elements and side stories without confusing or discouraging +the children. There are many other aspects that can be implemented to +this design such as writing elements and drawing but for the meantime, +also in correspondence with the workshops, I choose to test the sound +and image along with one main and two small narratives.

+

For future prototypes, I envision space to draw and write as a +contribution to the story and maybe turning Wink into a hybrid format +with more autonomous features. For me, at this point, it’s valuable and +essential to see if my technique of combining narratives is working or +not.

+

Loop 12

+

Standing End

+

After many loops of thought, we are here at the standing end of the thesis. There is room for more loops and knots in the future to secure this string of thought but for now, we have come to the dock and rest -ashore. Reading this thesis with a string, using concrete thinking as a +ashore.

+

Reading this thesis with a string, using concrete thinking as a technique to go through a research and text was a helpful exercise for me and helped me mark my thoughts and ideas. The overarching theme of knots and experimental approach to modes of reading was valuable for me to share and try as an enthusiastic young writer. I like that I asked -the reader to interact with the thesis and follow paths accordingly. It -was enlightening to see the results of working with kids and be able to -see from their point of view and alter everything according to these -encounters. Using CCI and Multiliteracy theory as a guide to approach -the design and prototype was helpful in understanding how to approach -and tackle the desire of making something for children. Now from where I -stand, I feel more rooted and have a clearer idea of what works and -doesn’t work. Some features that I think would work very well like the -choice of writing didn’t go as planned because multiple narratives is -already too much. I realized I underestimated the eff ect of introducing -a new media to children. This is why I decided to take it step by step -with the interactivity. Taking a step to make Wink and using the story I -wrote and feel is important in my personal history as a prototype was a -breakthrough. I feel like my interest and desire to discover new ways of -writing, reading and experiencing literature is ongoing and it was a -beautiful journey so far. I am looking forward to making more knots on -this long and mysterious string at hand.
Bibliography: Cope, B. and -Kalantzis, M. (2009) ‘“multiliteracies”: New Literacies, new learning’, -Pedagogies: An International Journal, 4(3), pp. 164–195. -doi:10.1080/15544800903076044. Dettore, E. (2002) “Children’s emotional -GrowthAdults’ role as emotional archaeologists,” Childhood education, -78(5), pp. 278–281. doi: 10.1080/00094056.2002.10522741. Ingold, T. -(2015) The life of lines. London, England: Routledge. Lawrence, R. L. -and Paige, D. S. (2016) “What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning -through storytelling: What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning -through storytelling,” New directions for adult and continuing -education, 2016(149), pp. 63–72. doi: 10.1002/ace.20177. Papert, S. and -Papert, S. A. (2020) Mindstorms (revised): Children, computers, and -powerful ideas. London, England: Basic Books. Ryan, M.-L. (2009) “From -narrative games to playable stories: Toward a poetics of interactive -narrative,” StoryWorlds A Journal of Narrative Studies, 1(1), pp. 43–59. -doi: 10.1353/stw.0.0003. Smeets, D. and Bus, A. (2013) “Picture -Storybooks Go Digital: Pros and Cons,” in Quality Reading Instruction in -the Age of Common Core Standards. International Reading Association, -pp. 176–189. Strohecker, C. (ed.) (1978) Why knot? MIT. The Effect of -Multimodality in Increasing Motivation and Collaboration among 4th CSE -EFL Students (no date). Turkle, S. (ed.) (2014) Evocative objects: -Things we think with. MIT Press. Urton, M. M. &. (2018) The khipu -code: the knotty mystery of the Inkas’ 3D records, aeon. Available at: -https:// +the reader to interact with the thesis and follow paths accordingly.

+

It was enlightening to see the results of working with kids and be +able to see from their point of view and alter everything according to +these encounters. Using CCI and Multiliteracy theory as a guide to +approach the design and prototype was helpful in understanding how to +approach and tackle the desire of making something for children.

+

Now from where I stand, I feel more rooted and have a clearer idea of +what works and doesn’t work. Some features that I think would work very +well like the choice of writing didn’t go as planned because multiple +narratives is already too much. I realized I underestimated the eff ect +of introducing a new media to children. This is why I decided to take it +step by step with the interactivity.

+

Taking a step to make Wink and using the story I wrote and feel is +important in my personal history as a prototype was a breakthrough. I +feel like my interest and desire to discover new ways of writing, +reading and experiencing literature is ongoing and it was a beautiful +journey so far. I am looking forward to making more knots on this long +and mysterious string at hand.

+

Bibliography: Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (2009) ‘“multiliteracies”: +New Literacies, new learning’, Pedagogies: An International Journal, +4(3), pp. 164–195. doi:10.1080/15544800903076044. Dettore, E. (2002) +“Children’s emotional GrowthAdults’ role as emotional archaeologists,” +Childhood education, 78(5), pp. 278–281. doi: +10.1080/00094056.2002.10522741. Ingold, T. (2015) The life of lines. +London, England: Routledge. Lawrence, R. L. and Paige, D. S. (2016) +“What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning through storytelling: +What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning through storytelling,” +New directions for adult and continuing education, 2016(149), pp. 63–72. +doi: 10.1002/ace.20177. Papert, S. and Papert, S. A. (2020) Mindstorms +(revised): Children, computers, and powerful ideas. London, England: +Basic Books. Ryan, M.-L. (2009) “From narrative games to playable +stories: Toward a poetics of interactive narrative,” StoryWorlds A +Journal of Narrative Studies, 1(1), pp. 43–59. doi: 10.1353/stw.0.0003. +Smeets, D. and Bus, A. (2013) “Picture Storybooks Go Digital: Pros and +Cons,” in Quality Reading Instruction in the Age of Common Core +Standards. International Reading Association, pp. 176–189. Strohecker, +C. (ed.) (1978) Why knot? MIT. The Effect of Multimodality in Increasing +Motivation and Collaboration among 4th CSE EFL Students (no date). +Turkle, S. (ed.) (2014) Evocative objects: Things we think with. MIT +Press. Urton, M. M. &. (2018) The khipu code: the knotty mystery of +the Inkas’ 3D records, aeon. Available at: https:// aeon.co/ideas/the-khipu-code-the-knotty-mystery-of-the-inkas-3d-records. Vega, N. (2022) Codes in Knots. Sensing Digital Memories, The Whole Life. Available at: https://wholelife.hkw.de/ -codes-in-knots-sensing-digital-memories/. Appendix: -

+codes-in-knots-sensing-digital-memories/.

\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/irmak/thesis.md b/irmak/thesis.md index 4024d4f..b6565df 100644 --- a/irmak/thesis.md +++ b/irmak/thesis.md @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ --- -title: Thesis -author: Stephen +title: Fair Leads +author: Irmak --- @@ -8,640 +8,639 @@ author: Stephen ### Fair leads or Fair winds is a saying sailors and knotters use to greet each other. It comes from the working end of a string that will soon be forming a knot. - I would like to clarify and introduce some terms for you in order to read this text in the desired - way. For a while, we will stay in the bight of this journey as we move into forming loops, theories - and ideas on how interactive picture books can be used to foster curiosity for reading and creativity - for children. I am building a web platform called Wink that aims to contain a children’s story I - wrote and am making into an interactive experience, in relation to my research. - - Through this bight of the thesis, I feel the necessity to clarify my intention of using knots as a - “thinking and writing object” throughout my research journey. Although knots are physical objects - and technically crucial in many fi elds of labor and life, they are also objects of thought and - are open for wide minds’ appreciation. Throughout history, knots have been used to connect, stop, - secure, bind, protect, decorate, record data, punish, contain, fl y and many other purposes. So if - the invention of fl ying -which required a wing that was supported using certain types of knotswas - initiated with the knowledge of how to use strings to make things, why wouldn’t a research - paper make use of this wonderful art as an inspiration for writing and interactive reading? - - ## KNOTS AS OBJECTS TO THINK WITH - There is a delicate complexity of thinking of and with knots, which ignites layers of simultaneous - connections to one’s specifi c experience; where one person may associate the knots with struggles - they face, another may think of connecting or thriving times. In a workshop in Rotterdam, I - asked participants to write three words that comes to mind when they think of knots. There were - some words in common like strong, chaotic, confusing and anxious. On the other hand, there - were variations of connection, binding, bridge and support. Keeping these answers in mind or by - coming up with your words on knots and embodying them in the practice of reading would make - a diff erence in how you understand the same text. - - Seeing how these words, interpretations of a physical object were so diff erent to each other was - transcendental. In this thesis, I am excited to share my understanding of knots with you. My three - words for knots are resistance, imagination and infi nity. Keeping these in mind, I experimented - with certain reading modes as you will see later on. - - Knots are known to be used 15 to 17 thousand years ago for multiple purposes. These purposes - were often opposing each other. For example, it could be used to let something loose or to restrain - it; for pleasure or pain; for going high above or down below… I believe this diversity of uses can - also be seen in how people approach knots as an idea or a metaphor. One can think it represents - chaos where someone else might see it as a helpful mark. Essentially, this diversity is what got - me interested in knots years ago and since then, I have found ways to implement this “loop of - thought” in my daily life and research methods. - - There are two main reasons to why I chose to write this essay in a “knotted” format. One is that I - would like to share my process and progress of research on this project and this involves “thinking - with an object”, in this case types of knots. In Evocative Objects, Sherry Turkle, who is a sociologist - and the founder of MIT initiative of technology and self, refers to the object in the exercise - of thinking as emotional and intellectual companions that anchor memory, sustain relationships - and provoke new ideas. I completely agree with this statement through personal experience. The - second reason is that I see this as an opportunity to experiment if I can use knots as an interactive - (which is not in knots’ nature since they are mainly practiced in solo) and playful element in - writing. This is also why I would like to take a moment to mention what happens to the interplay - of processes in which we call thought when we think with knots in specific. - - For Turkle and Seymour Papert, who is a mathematician, computer scientist and educator that - did remarkable research on constructivism, being able to make a reading experience tangible, or - even physically representable makes the process of thought more concrete. Concrete thinking in - this sense is a way of thinking that I adapted to in the past years, where you think with the object - and imagine it vividly during the process and address meanings to it as you read or write along. - This way it’s easier to compartmentalize or attribute certain parts of a text to an imagined or real - physical item which makes the mind at ease with complex chains of thought. - Imagine you are reading a story… What if you think of the string itself as the journey and the - slip knot (which is a type of stopper knot) as a representation of an antagonist because of its specific use in hunting, would this change your approach to reading this story? I believe so… - - What if instead of a slip knot a Bowline was on the string, would that represent something else in - the story because of its usage in practice. A Bowline is commonly used to form a fi xed loop at the - end of a string; it’s strong but easy to tie, untie. Due to these qualities, we can imagine the bowline - to represent the conclusion in a story. What if we have a Square Knot, how would that change the - course of a narrative? Square knot is used to bundle objects and make the two ends of the same - string connect. From just this, we can use it to represent the connection between the beginning - and end of a story. My point is, there are limitless implementations on how to use knots in literature - because of their versatile purposes and the narrative vocabulary they create. Topologists are - still trying to identify seemingly infi nite numbers of combinations which we simply call “knots” - and I see this as an inspiration to keep writing. - - One example of the wondrous versatility and potential of knots is how they are used to archive - and encrypt information. Incan people from the Andes region recorded information on Quipus, - dating back to 700 CE. Quipus are textile devices consisting of several rows of cotton and/or - camelid string that would be knotted in a specifi c way to record, store and transmit information - ranging from accounting and census data to communicate complex mathematical and narrative - information (Medrano, Urton, 2018). Another example is the Yakima Time Ball, which was used - by North-American Yakama people to show life events and family aff airs. - This is why I humbly decided to document my research process with a Quipu of my own. I am - trying to symbolize the twists, decisions and practices throughout this year with knots of my - choosing. I was inspired by Nayeli Vega’s question, “What can a knot become and what can become - a knot?” - +I would like to clarify and introduce some terms for you in order to read this text in the desired +way. For a while, we will stay in the bight of this journey as we move into forming loops, theories +and ideas on how interactive picture books can be used to foster curiosity for reading and creativity +for children. I am building a web platform called Wink that aims to contain a children’s story I +wrote and am making into an interactive experience, in relation to my research. + +Through this bight of the thesis, I feel the necessity to clarify my intention of using knots as a +“thinking and writing object” throughout my research journey. Although knots are physical objects +and technically crucial in many fields of labor and life, they are also objects of thought and +are open for wide minds’ appreciation. Throughout history, knots have been used to connect, stop, +secure, bind, protect, decorate, record data, punish, contain, fly and many other purposes. So if +the invention of flying -which required a wing that was supported using certain types of knotswas +initiated with the knowledge of how to use strings to make things, why wouldn’t a research +paper make use of this wonderful art as an inspiration for writing and interactive reading? + +## KNOTS AS OBJECTS TO THINK WITH +There is a delicate complexity of thinking of and with knots, which ignites layers of simultaneous +connections to one’s specific experience; where one person may associate the knots with struggles +they face, another may think of connecting or thriving times. In a workshop in Rotterdam, I +asked participants to write three words that comes to mind when they think of knots. There were +some words in common like strong, chaotic, confusing and anxious. On the other hand, there +were variations of connection, binding, bridge and support. Keeping these answers in mind or by +coming up with your words on knots and embodying them in the practice of reading would make +a diff erence in how you understand the same text. + +Seeing how these words, interpretations of a physical object were so diff erent to each other was +transcendental. In this thesis, I am excited to share my understanding of knots with you. My three +words for knots are resistance, imagination and infinity. Keeping these in mind, I experimented +with certain reading modes as you will see later on. + +Knots are known to be used 15 to 17 thousand years ago for multiple purposes. These purposes +were often opposing each other. For example, it could be used to let something loose or to restrain +it; for pleasure or pain; for going high above or down below… I believe this diversity of uses can +also be seen in how people approach knots as an idea or a metaphor. One can think it represents +chaos where someone else might see it as a helpful mark. Essentially, this diversity is what got +me interested in knots years ago and since then, I have found ways to implement this “loop of +thought” in my daily life and research methods. + +There are two main reasons to why I chose to write this essay in a “knotted” format. One is that I +would like to share my process and progress of research on this project and this involves “thinking +with an object”, in this case types of knots. In Evocative Objects, Sherry Turkle, who is a sociologist +and the founder of MIT initiative of technology and self, refers to the object in the exercise +of thinking as emotional and intellectual companions that anchor memory, sustain relationships +and provoke new ideas. I completely agree with this statement through personal experience. The +second reason is that I see this as an opportunity to experiment if I can use knots as an interactive +(which is not in knots’ nature since they are mainly practiced in solo) and playful element in +writing. This is also why I would like to take a moment to mention what happens to the interplay +of processes in which we call thought when we think with knots in specific. + +For Turkle and Seymour Papert, who is a mathematician, computer scientist and educator that +did remarkable research on constructivism, being able to make a reading experience tangible, or +even physically representable makes the process of thought more concrete. Concrete thinking in +this sense is a way of thinking that I adapted to in the past years, where you think with the object +and imagine it vividly during the process and address meanings to it as you read or write along. +This way it’s easier to compartmentalize or attribute certain parts of a text to an imagined or real +physical item which makes the mind at ease with complex chains of thought. +Imagine you are reading a story… What if you think of the string itself as the journey and the +slip knot (which is a type of stopper knot) as a representation of an antagonist because of its specific use in hunting, would this change your approach to reading this story? I believe so… + +What if instead of a slip knot a Bowline was on the string, would that represent something else in +the story because of its usage in practice. A Bowline is commonly used to form a fixed loop at the +end of a string; it’s strong but easy to tie, untie. Due to these qualities, we can imagine the bowline +to represent the conclusion in a story. What if we have a Square Knot, how would that change the +course of a narrative? Square knot is used to bundle objects and make the two ends of the same +string connect. From just this, we can use it to represent the connection between the beginning +and end of a story. My point is, there are limitless implementations on how to use knots in literature +because of their versatile purposes and the narrative vocabulary they create. Topologists are +still trying to identify seemingly infinite numbers of combinations which we simply call “knots” +and I see this as an inspiration to keep writing. + +One example of the wondrous versatility and potential of knots is how they are used to archive +and encrypt information. Incan people from the Andes region recorded information on Quipus, +dating back to 700 CE. Quipus are textile devices consisting of several rows of cotton and/or +camelid string that would be knotted in a specific way to record, store and transmit information +ranging from accounting and census data to communicate complex mathematical and narrative +information (Medrano, Urton, 2018). Another example is the Yakima Time Ball, which was used +by North-American Yakama people to show life events and family aff airs. +This is why I humbly decided to document my research process with a Quipu of my own. I am +trying to symbolize the twists, decisions and practices throughout this year with knots of my +choosing. I was inspired by Nayeli Vega’s question, “What can a knot become and what can become +a knot?” + ## WEAVING INTO THE TEXT - This thesis expects participation from its reader. You have the option to have a mode of reading, - where you will be guided by strings to start reading from a certain section according to the type of - reader you are and read the loops one by one until the end, weaving through the text. To determine - the string or mode of reading, there are some simple questions to answer. - The three modes of reading are combine, slide, build . After you discover the starting point - with the yes or no map in the upcoming pages, you will continue the reading journey through the - strings of diff erent colors that will get you through the text. This way, the linear text will become - in a way, non-linear by your personal experience. - - Bear in mind that you can choose to read this thesis from beginning to end as a single string too if - you wish so. - - Combine mode of reading is for readers who are more interested in the journey and the connections - between process and result. Slide mode of reading is for more laid back readers who - aren’t looking to connect ideas but are more focused on the motivation and purpose of the - project. Build readers are detail oriented and academic readers who would prefer a “traditional” - lead to reading. - - Alongside the different strings to follow the text, there will be little drawings in the margins as seen above, which will have diff erent representations like in a Quipu. Certain knots represent the experiences that raise interesting opportunities for research and distinct events I went through while making the project and underneath the drawing you can fi nd the relation to the knot itself explained. - For example if I couldn’t manage to do something I planned to do, this will be represented with a - broken knot. Bend knots which are used to connect two strings, will be representing the relation between theories and my ownexperiences/motivations. Hitches which are knots that are formed around a - solid object, such as a spar, post, or ring will be representing the evidence or data I have collected on the subject. We move on now with the working end and make some loops! - - This map will reveal your mode of reading. The order of reading will be indicated with a loop sign - Please hold a string in your hand as you read the text and make knots or loops as you weave through the - reading as an exercise for concrete thinking. See you at the standing end! - and a number on top of the sign with a color. This is the numeric order you can follow to read the thesis. - +This thesis expects participation from its reader. You have the option to have a mode of reading, +where you will be guided by strings to start reading from a certain section according to the type of +reader you are and read the loops one by one until the end, weaving through the text. To determine +the string or mode of reading, there are some simple questions to answer. +The three modes of reading are combine, slide, build . After you discover the starting point +with the yes or no map in the upcoming pages, you will continue the reading journey through the +strings of diff erent colors that will get you through the text. This way, the linear text will become +in a way, non-linear by your personal experience. + +Bear in mind that you can choose to read this thesis from beginning to end as a single string too if +you wish so. + +Combine mode of reading is for readers who are more interested in the journey and the connections +between process and result. Slide mode of reading is for more laid back readers who +aren’t looking to connect ideas but are more focused on the motivation and purpose of the +project. Build readers are detail oriented and academic readers who would prefer a “traditional” +lead to reading. + +Alongside the different strings to follow the text, there will be little drawings in the margins as seen above, which will have diff erent representations like in a Quipu. Certain knots represent the experiences that raise interesting opportunities for research and distinct events I went through while making the project and underneath the drawing you can find the relation to the knot itself explained. +For example if I couldn’t manage to do something I planned to do, this will be represented with a +broken knot. Bend knots which are used to connect two strings, will be representing the relation between theories and my ownexperiences/motivations. Hitches which are knots that are formed around a +solid object, such as a spar, post, or ring will be representing the evidence or data I have collected on the subject. We move on now with the working end and make some loops! + +This map will reveal your mode of reading. The order of reading will be indicated with a loop sign +Please hold a string in your hand as you read the text and make knots or loops as you weave through the +reading as an exercise for concrete thinking. See you at the standing end! +and a number on top of the sign with a color. This is the numeric order you can follow to read the thesis. + ## Working End ### Why am I doing this? - - My desire to write a children’s book about grief and memory ignited when I was studying in college - and doing an internship in a publishing house in Ankara. I was struggling to process a loss I - experienced at the time and to fi nd something to cling to on a daily basis. Then one day I started - hearing a buzzing sound in my bedroom at my family’s house. I searched everywhere but couldn’t - fi nd the source for this noise. I asked my father and he started searching too. A couple of days - passed and the buzzing was still there. - - One day I found a bee on the fl oor in my bedroom and realized that the bees nested on the roof - and were coming inside my room through a gap in the lamp. I was terrifi ed because I have an - allergy to bees and thought they might sting me in my sleep. This moment was when I realized I - was so determined to fi nd this buzzing sound for some time that I forgot about dealing with the - loss I was experiencing. This made me feel very guilty and I remember thinking I betrayed the - person I lost. - - As funny as it may appear, I felt like I was sabotaged by these bees that I thought were here to - hurt me but in the end they made me understand that its ok to let things go and every being does - what it has to do to fi nd its way of survival. The little habitat that they chose to create in my room - seemed like a calling or a sign that I can aff ect another living being signifi cantly without being - aware of it. This goes for everything, no matter if some people leave us in this world, they have - living matter in us that keeps pulsing. So then I started researching bees and their ecosystems. I - read Alan Watts, Alan Lightman, Emily Dickinson, Maurice Sendak, Meghan O’Rourke, Oliver - Sacks, Joanna Macy, Rilke, Montaigne and theories on order in chaos, correlative vision, harmony - of contained confl icts and the mortality paradox. I wrote a lot and erased a lot and fairly - figured out the wisdom of not knowing things. - - Years passed and I wrote and deleted and rewrote the story that I am working on to make interactive - today so many times and was waiting on it because it always felt incomplete. In a way it - will always be incomplete because of the natural ambiguity the topic carries. Years later, grief was - back in my life with the loss of my grandfather. So therefore, the story I wrote and abandoned - changed again as I attempted to rewrite it as a diff erent version of myself with a diff erent understanding of death. And this went on… The story remained hidden and I forgot why it ever existed - in the fi rst place. - - Last year when two earthquakes hit Syria and Turkey, I was drowned like everyone I know, by a - collective trauma and grief. Then this horrible feeling fl ared up by neglect and desperation. It was - and still is impossible to mourn so many strangers at the same time. I lost two dear friends, I was - furious, away from home, mostly alone and remembered vividly my failed attempt to understand - or place grief in one of the piles in my mind. - - Previous months, I was working on this story (yes, again) but didn’t know how to tackle the text - because it was so diff erent to what I was experiencing now, when compared to the last time I rewrote - it. A tutor asked me why I wrote this story in the fi rst place and I couldn’t remember. I kept - tracing back to 2016 and step by step, remembered why, as told above. The consciousness that this - story is actually a personal history of how I went through grief in diff erent stages of my life, made - me realise that it doesn’t have to be or even can be a perfect story. - - In the end with the experience I had with loss, I believe the story turned out to be an ode to - remembering or might I say an ode to not being able to forget or an ode to the fear of forgetting + +My desire to write a children’s book about grief and memory ignited when I was studying in college +and doing an internship in a publishing house in Ankara. I was struggling to process a loss I +experienced at the time and to find something to cling to on a daily basis. Then one day I started +hearing a buzzing sound in my bedroom at my family’s house. I searched everywhere but couldn’t +find the source for this noise. I asked my father and he started searching too. A couple of days +passed and the buzzing was still there. + +One day I found a bee on the floor in my bedroom and realized that the bees nested on the roof +and were coming inside my room through a gap in the lamp. I was terrified because I have an +allergy to bees and thought they might sting me in my sleep. This moment was when I realized I +was so determined to find this buzzing sound for some time that I forgot about dealing with the +loss I was experiencing. This made me feel very guilty and I remember thinking I betrayed the +person I lost. + +As funny as it may appear, I felt like I was sabotaged by these bees that I thought were here to +hurt me but in the end they made me understand that its ok to let things go and every being does +what it has to do to find its way of survival. The little habitat that they chose to create in my room +seemed like a calling or a sign that I can aff ect another living being significantly without being +aware of it. This goes for everything, no matter if some people leave us in this world, they have +living matter in us that keeps pulsing. So then I started researching bees and their ecosystems. I +read Alan Watts, Alan Lightman, Emily Dickinson, Maurice Sendak, Meghan O’Rourke, Oliver +Sacks, Joanna Macy, Rilke, Montaigne and theories on order in chaos, correlative vision, harmony +of contained conflicts and the mortality paradox. I wrote a lot and erased a lot and fairly +figured out the wisdom of not knowing things. + +Years passed and I wrote and deleted and rewrote the story that I am working on to make interactive +today so many times and was waiting on it because it always felt incomplete. In a way it +will always be incomplete because of the natural ambiguity the topic carries. Years later, grief was +back in my life with the loss of my grandfather. So therefore, the story I wrote and abandoned +changed again as I attempted to rewrite it as a diff erent version of myself with a diff erent understanding of death. And this went on… The story remained hidden and I forgot why it ever existed +in the first place. + +Last year when two earthquakes hit Syria and Turkey, I was drowned like everyone I know, by a +collective trauma and grief. Then this horrible feeling flared up by neglect and desperation. It was +and still is impossible to mourn so many strangers at the same time. I lost two dear friends, I was +furious, away from home, mostly alone and remembered vividly my failed attempt to understand +or place grief in one of the piles in my mind. + +Previous months, I was working on this story (yes, again) but didn’t know how to tackle the text +because it was so diff erent to what I was experiencing now, when compared to the last time I rewrote +it. A tutor asked me why I wrote this story in the first place and I couldn’t remember. I kept +tracing back to 2016 and step by step, remembered why, as told above. The consciousness that this +story is actually a personal history of how I went through grief in diff erent stages of my life, made +me realise that it doesn’t have to be or even can be a perfect story. + +In the end with the experience I had with loss, I believe the story turned out to be an ode to +remembering or might I say an ode to not being able to forget or an ode to the fear of forgetting ### Loop 2 - The effect of storytelling knowledge on kids’ development and creativity. What can - we learn from open ended and multiple ending stories? - - ability to form basic stories or to express their emotions through fi ctional characters or events. - Children are not born with a wide vocabulary of emotions and expressions. They learn how to - read, mimic and express their feelings over time. The more children read, write and are exposed - to social environments, the more they widen their sense and ability of expressing themselves. The - language gained as kids comes in many forms and storytelling plays a crucial role in this development. - The exposure to stories prepares the kids to the era of reading and writing. Children come - to understand and value feelings through conversation (Dettore, 2002). When children are off ered - to read or share stories, they also learn to understand people around them better and gain emotional - literacy. - - Storytelling has been a means of communicating with others for many centuries. It is not only - a way to discuss important events, but also a way to entertain one another (Lawrence & Paige, - 2013). Stories have been told orally, in writing or with drawings for thousands of years and some - of these stories are still alive. This is because language is a living thing that travels through time - and still remains brand new. When necessary, it just adapts form, evolves and blends in with the - changing world. Children comprehend the idea that they have a story to tell by hearing other - stories and this ignites the imagination. We tend to forget many things but almost everyone remembers - one small story they heard or read when they were a kid, this moment we remember is - the moment a certain story sparked for us. - - Nowadays storytelling takes many forms. For example, some readers’ story might even begin from - here although it isn’t the beginning. Interactivity is one of the storytelling forms that can signifi - - cantly improve children’s creativity. This is mainly because children as readers or listeners get to - contribute and aff ect the story. This of course requires and improves creative and active thinking. - Getting the chance to choose a path for a fi ctional character gives the child the freedom and confi - dence of constructing a world, a character or an adventure. Although this is essentially “writing” - as we know it, children think of this as a game, yet to discover they are actually becoming writers. - What kind of reward can we expect from active participation in a story? Narrative pleasure can - be generally described in terms of immersions (spatial, temporal, emotional, epistemic) in a fi ctional - world (Ryan, 2009). When we are set to create or co-create a world, the narrative has eff ects - on us such as curiosity, suspense and surprise. At this point, we start creatively producing ideas to - keep these three emotions. - - Interactive storytelling reminds everyone but especially children that there are limitless endings to - a story that is solely up to the maker’s creation. Learning to think this way instead of knowing or - assuming an end to a story, I think infl uences the children’s decision making abilities and sense of - responsibility towards their creations. It is basically the same in theatre where if an actor chooses - to create an imaginary suitcase on stage, they can’t simply leave this object they created on stage - and exit the scene because the audience will wonder why the actor didn’t take the imaginary - suitcase as they left. In this case, when kids decide to choose a path or item or any attribute for a - character in a story, they feel responsible and curious to see it through to the end or decide what - to do with it. This interactivity therefore creates a unique bond between the reader/writer and - the text. - - There are many theories on how to approach interactive literature for children. Multi-literacy theory - and digital literacies are some of the theories which I fi nd relevant to my aim with Wink. Multiliteracy theory in a nutshell is an education oriented framework that aims to expand traditional - reading and writing skills. This theory was developed by the New London Group. They were a - collective of scholars and educators who addressed the changing nature of literacy in an increasingly - globalized, digital world. The theory explores multiple modes of communication consisting - The sense of storytelling settles for kids, starting from age three. By this time, children have the - of multimodal communication, cultural and social contexts, critical inquiry, socio-cultural learning - theory and pedagogical implications. Multimodal communication focuses on the variety of - communication techniques. This was groundbreaking in the 90s because of its acknowledgment - of a diverse range of literacies and its departure from traditional approaches to literary texts. This - theory includes new media and communication studies such as visual, digital, special and gestural - literacies. - - I kept this theory in mind as I chose the interactivity elements to use in the picture book. I think - the usage of multiple media such as sound, image and games is a good way to start and diff erentiate - from a regular interactive e-book. The fact that this theory has an educational perspective and - is taking the rapidly changing qualities of literature seriously, made me consider it as a guide in - designing the prototype. - - Looking through the perspective of multiliteracies, questions come up for me that lead to the - rest of this thesis: What is an interactive picture book? Is it a book? Is it a game? Is it an exercise? - - What is it defined as? How can we design an interactive reading environment without confusing - children? - +The effect of storytelling knowledge on kids’ development and creativity. What can +we learn from open ended and multiple ending stories? + +ability to form basic stories or to express their emotions through fictional characters or events. +Children are not born with a wide vocabulary of emotions and expressions. They learn how to +read, mimic and express their feelings over time. The more children read, write and are exposed +to social environments, the more they widen their sense and ability of expressing themselves. The +language gained as kids comes in many forms and storytelling plays a crucial role in this development. +The exposure to stories prepares the kids to the era of reading and writing. Children come +to understand and value feelings through conversation (Dettore, 2002). When children are off ered +to read or share stories, they also learn to understand people around them better and gain emotional +literacy. + +Storytelling has been a means of communicating with others for many centuries. It is not only +a way to discuss important events, but also a way to entertain one another (Lawrence & Paige, +2013). Stories have been told orally, in writing or with drawings for thousands of years and some +of these stories are still alive. This is because language is a living thing that travels through time +and still remains brand new. When necessary, it just adapts form, evolves and blends in with the +changing world. Children comprehend the idea that they have a story to tell by hearing other +stories and this ignites the imagination. We tend to forget many things but almost everyone remembers +one small story they heard or read when they were a kid, this moment we remember is +the moment a certain story sparked for us. + +Nowadays storytelling takes many forms. For example, some readers’ story might even begin from +here although it isn’t the beginning. Interactivity is one of the storytelling forms that can signifi- +cantly improve children’s creativity. This is mainly because children as readers or listeners get to +contribute and aff ect the story. This of course requires and improves creative and active thinking. +Getting the chance to choose a path for a fictional character gives the child the freedom and confi +dence of constructing a world, a character or an adventure. Although this is essentially “writing” +as we know it, children think of this as a game, yet to discover they are actually becoming writers. +What kind of reward can we expect from active participation in a story? Narrative pleasure can +be generally described in terms of immersions (spatial, temporal, emotional, epistemic) in a fictional +world (Ryan, 2009). When we are set to create or co-create a world, the narrative has eff ects +on us such as curiosity, suspense and surprise. At this point, we start creatively producing ideas to +keep these three emotions. + +Interactive storytelling reminds everyone but especially children that there are limitless endings to +a story that is solely up to the maker’s creation. Learning to think this way instead of knowing or +assuming an end to a story, I think influences the children’s decision making abilities and sense of +responsibility towards their creations. It is basically the same in theatre where if an actor chooses +to create an imaginary suitcase on stage, they can’t simply leave this object they created on stage +and exit the scene because the audience will wonder why the actor didn’t take the imaginary +suitcase as they left. In this case, when kids decide to choose a path or item or any attribute for a +character in a story, they feel responsible and curious to see it through to the end or decide what +to do with it. This interactivity therefore creates a unique bond between the reader/writer and +the text. + +There are many theories on how to approach interactive literature for children. Multi-literacy theory +and digital literacies are some of the theories which I find relevant to my aim with Wink. Multiliteracy theory in a nutshell is an education oriented framework that aims to expand traditional +reading and writing skills. This theory was developed by the New London Group. They were a +collective of scholars and educators who addressed the changing nature of literacy in an increasingly +globalized, digital world. The theory explores multiple modes of communication consisting +The sense of storytelling settles for kids, starting from age three. By this time, children have the +of multimodal communication, cultural and social contexts, critical inquiry, socio-cultural learning +theory and pedagogical implications. Multimodal communication focuses on the variety of +communication techniques. This was groundbreaking in the 90s because of its acknowledgment +of a diverse range of literacies and its departure from traditional approaches to literary texts. This +theory includes new media and communication studies such as visual, digital, special and gestural +literacies. + +I kept this theory in mind as I chose the interactivity elements to use in the picture book. I think +the usage of multiple media such as sound, image and games is a good way to start and diff erentiate +from a regular interactive e-book. The fact that this theory has an educational perspective and +is taking the rapidly changing qualities of literature seriously, made me consider it as a guide in +designing the prototype. + +Looking through the perspective of multiliteracies, questions come up for me that lead to the +rest of this thesis: What is an interactive picture book? Is it a book? Is it a game? Is it an exercise? + +What is it defined as? How can we design an interactive reading environment without confusing +children? + ### Loop 3 - Diff erences and similarities between interactive e-books and storytelling games - - Storytelling games and interactive e-books have many things in common. To begin with, they - both centralize the narrative to engage the audience. While both of these formats are storytelling - tools, e-books tend to stay more in a linear narrative and format when compared to storytelling - games where the audience is commonly the main character. Reading experiences are also a way - to be in the shoes of the narrator or the character but in a storytelling game, you embody the mission - and the experience overrules the story most of the time. In the specifi c example of a child, - storytelling games are complicated and puzzle driven where the player has missions to complete. - Whereas in an interactive e-book, the missions are solely based on the interactive elements implemented - in the text and images. - - Another diff erence is that the visual world in an interactive e-book is less cinematic and has limited - movement. The imagery plays a massive role in a storytelling game where the world created is - off ered to the player. In an interactive e-book, the text itself is designed to be playful and ready for readers to discover. - - The main diff erence in my opinion that separates these two methods of storytelling is the reward. - In a game, we expect to be rewarded by a victory, passing a level or unlocking something throughout - the experience. In an interactive e-book, we work with the story and in return we expect a - good experience and there is no reward other than that. But, the whole design of interactivity - involves aspects of a game where the reader –not the player- is captured by surprise eff ects or - elements that come up on the pages. This ignites curiosity but not ambition, which is a good start - to foster the love for reading. +Diff erences and similarities between interactive e-books and storytelling games + +Storytelling games and interactive e-books have many things in common. To begin with, they +both centralize the narrative to engage the audience. While both of these formats are storytelling +tools, e-books tend to stay more in a linear narrative and format when compared to storytelling +games where the audience is commonly the main character. Reading experiences are also a way +to be in the shoes of the narrator or the character but in a storytelling game, you embody the mission +and the experience overrules the story most of the time. In the specific example of a child, +storytelling games are complicated and puzzle driven where the player has missions to complete. +Whereas in an interactive e-book, the missions are solely based on the interactive elements implemented +in the text and images. + +Another diff erence is that the visual world in an interactive e-book is less cinematic and has limited +movement. The imagery plays a massive role in a storytelling game where the world created is +off ered to the player. In an interactive e-book, the text itself is designed to be playful and ready for readers to discover. + +The main diff erence in my opinion that separates these two methods of storytelling is the reward. +In a game, we expect to be rewarded by a victory, passing a level or unlocking something throughout +the experience. In an interactive e-book, we work with the story and in return we expect a +good experience and there is no reward other than that. But, the whole design of interactivity +involves aspects of a game where the reader –not the player- is captured by surprise eff ects or +elements that come up on the pages. This ignites curiosity but not ambition, which is a good start +to foster the love for reading. ### Loop 4 - Ways of using interactivity in digital platforms - - CASA theory, also known as the Cognitive-Aff ective-Social Theory of Learning and Development, - is a framework used in educational psychology to understand how learning occurs within - the context of cognitive, aff ective, and social factors. Research on cognitive learning with keeping - in mind the limited attention span and memory factors. For children in specifi c, I think these are - very important factors to keep in mind when trying to design an interactive experience. This is because - children get bored very easily and can be disengaged because of failure of solving/understanding - something in a story. This is something I kept in mind as I wrote for children and chose - the interactive elements in the story. - - Finding the balance between making the interactive element surprising and making it easy to - interact with is the key to designing for kids in this scenario. We don’t want to make them struggle - and use the limited attention span in a non-engaging way but we want to keep the reading interesting - enough so they want to continue. - - Digging deeper into how to do this, I found Children Computer Interaction (CCI) study very - useful. This study examines how children of diff erent ages and developmental stages interact with - digital devices and how these interactions can support their growth. This made me think about - digital gestures; how they change through generations and how to use these to design a platform - where children can navigate easily and freely. CCI suggests that when introducing a new media - to children its better to start easy and clear when they try it. Through this I think the best easy - interaction is the tap or click for children. It is easy to do, instinctive and common. So I decided to - base the interactive elements on click animations. - - There are multiple ways to use digital gestures in storytelling to make the experience more intriguing. - These are usually elements such as sound, animations, voice-overs that are ignited with a - click or tap by the reader. For children younger than 5, its usually just tapping over the page and - experiencing an action-reaction. For older kids between the ages 6-8, I made some workshops to - fi gure out which types of interactive elements are most useful in engaging them in the reading - process. - - It is true that sound and animations are very inclusive and it is engaging for kids to fi nd out which - part of a page is interactive by clicking on images. Another thing I found out is that kids enjoy - being a part of the story. For the prototype of Bee Within (the story I am using to test interactivity - also can be read in the appendix) I will focus on color, sound and click based animations according - to the results of my research. - - ### Loop 5 - What is the target age group for the designated prototype and why? - - It is tricky when it comes to choosing the right age spectrum for children’s interactive literature. - Children between the ages 3-5, referred to as preschoolers have more developed social skills and - day by day increasing interest in play. They can take on roles in imaginative play scenarios. They - can also share and take turns more, listen and think about rules of a game. They can form friendships - and connections easily. - - School age children are between the ages 6-12, which is Wink’s chosen age group is a little diff erent. - These kids can form more rooted friendships and engage in more complex narratives. They - learn to negotiate and compromise around this time as well. This age group is desired for Wink - because kids this age are open to creative problem solving, connecting events and comprehending - slightly more complex narratives. Moreover, this age group would benefi t the most from the interactive - stories and the reading process because of the developmental phase they are in. - - The average amount of time children between these ages use on a daily basis is depending on - their parents and circumstances. But to be fair, it is often not less than 2 hours. If a child isn’t very interested in spending these hours reading a book, why not ask them: “Would you like to be a part - of a story?” - - Today, kids from age 3 can use digital gestures successfully and experience these as simple as - fl ipping the page of a book. This is why it is fairly easy to create an interactive picture book which - kids can navigate themselves and be able to browse through with or without their parents. But for - Wink, I chose to design for older kids because I want to experiment on multi-leveled narratives - and I want to avoid the risk of confusing children. - - ### Loop 6 - Limits of interactivity in narratives for children and why do we have less modes of - reading and writing for children? - - Although there are many upsides of creating digital environments for children due to their advanced - skills in technology from early ages, there are also risks involved in this where the kid can - be overwhelmed and confused due to the autonomy they receive. Reading a story is supposed to - be eff ortless and a good free time activity but with interactive picture books, it is slightly more - than that and more complicated as an experience. - - First of all, with the story at hand, called Bee Within, there are two other stories in one. Although - the main story is about a little girl’s journey, kids get the chance to hear the Queen Bee’s story and - the tree’s story as well. This is not a must but if they interact with certain pictures on the page, - they will be led to the bee’s perspective or the trees. This is where the storyline can get a little bit complicated for younger kids. The child reader at this point should be able to follow the main - storyline after visiting the side quests or stories presented in the interactive book. To create this - balance I tried to limit the interactive elements I used in the main story. I tried to keep the picture - animations limited and focused more on the storylines. - - Another aspect I am concerned about after the workshop I did with the kids, is the risk of confusion - due to an undefi ned and multimodal design for a “book”. Kids tend to be confused when - they can’t defi ne things or are asked to improvise without knowing the purpose.They know what a - book is and that it is similar to what they encounter on the screen. But the method of reading and - interacting with Bee Within is diff erent than what they are used to. This concerns me because they - might prefer to just read a book or play a game instead of discovering a new thing, which they - are exposed to daily because they are always in a process of active learning. So one more thing to - learn might come as exhausting. Therefore, in designing, I want to make interactions as clear as - possible for them. +Ways of using interactivity in digital platforms + +CASA theory, also known as the Cognitive-Aff ective-Social Theory of Learning and Development, +is a framework used in educational psychology to understand how learning occurs within +the context of cognitive, aff ective, and social factors. Research on cognitive learning with keeping +in mind the limited attention span and memory factors. For children in specific, I think these are +very important factors to keep in mind when trying to design an interactive experience. This is because +children get bored very easily and can be disengaged because of failure of solving/understanding +something in a story. This is something I kept in mind as I wrote for children and chose +the interactive elements in the story. + +Finding the balance between making the interactive element surprising and making it easy to +interact with is the key to designing for kids in this scenario. We don’t want to make them struggle +and use the limited attention span in a non-engaging way but we want to keep the reading interesting +enough so they want to continue. + +Digging deeper into how to do this, I found Children Computer Interaction (CCI) study very +useful. This study examines how children of diff erent ages and developmental stages interact with +digital devices and how these interactions can support their growth. This made me think about +digital gestures; how they change through generations and how to use these to design a platform +where children can navigate easily and freely. CCI suggests that when introducing a new media +to children its better to start easy and clear when they try it. Through this I think the best easy +interaction is the tap or click for children. It is easy to do, instinctive and common. So I decided to +base the interactive elements on click animations. + +There are multiple ways to use digital gestures in storytelling to make the experience more intriguing. +These are usually elements such as sound, animations, voice-overs that are ignited with a +click or tap by the reader. For children younger than 5, its usually just tapping over the page and +experiencing an action-reaction. For older kids between the ages 6-8, I made some workshops to +figure out which types of interactive elements are most useful in engaging them in the reading +process. + +It is true that sound and animations are very inclusive and it is engaging for kids to find out which +part of a page is interactive by clicking on images. Another thing I found out is that kids enjoy +being a part of the story. For the prototype of Bee Within (the story I am using to test interactivity +also can be read in the appendix) I will focus on color, sound and click based animations according +to the results of my research. + +### Loop 5 +What is the target age group for the designated prototype and why? + +It is tricky when it comes to choosing the right age spectrum for children’s interactive literature. +Children between the ages 3-5, referred to as preschoolers have more developed social skills and +day by day increasing interest in play. They can take on roles in imaginative play scenarios. They +can also share and take turns more, listen and think about rules of a game. They can form friendships +and connections easily. + +School age children are between the ages 6-12, which is Wink’s chosen age group is a little diff erent. +These kids can form more rooted friendships and engage in more complex narratives. They +learn to negotiate and compromise around this time as well. This age group is desired for Wink +because kids this age are open to creative problem solving, connecting events and comprehending +slightly more complex narratives. Moreover, this age group would benefit the most from the interactive +stories and the reading process because of the developmental phase they are in. + +The average amount of time children between these ages use on a daily basis is depending on +their parents and circumstances. But to be fair, it is often not less than 2 hours. If a child isn’t very interested in spending these hours reading a book, why not ask them: “Would you like to be a part +of a story?” + +Today, kids from age 3 can use digital gestures successfully and experience these as simple as +flipping the page of a book. This is why it is fairly easy to create an interactive picture book which +kids can navigate themselves and be able to browse through with or without their parents. But for +Wink, I chose to design for older kids because I want to experiment on multi-leveled narratives +and I want to avoid the risk of confusing children. + +### Loop 6 +Limits of interactivity in narratives for children and why do we have less modes of +reading and writing for children? + +Although there are many upsides of creating digital environments for children due to their advanced +skills in technology from early ages, there are also risks involved in this where the kid can +be overwhelmed and confused due to the autonomy they receive. Reading a story is supposed to +be eff ortless and a good free time activity but with interactive picture books, it is slightly more +than that and more complicated as an experience. + +First of all, with the story at hand, called Bee Within, there are two other stories in one. Although +the main story is about a little girl’s journey, kids get the chance to hear the Queen Bee’s story and +the tree’s story as well. This is not a must but if they interact with certain pictures on the page, +they will be led to the bee’s perspective or the trees. This is where the storyline can get a little bit complicated for younger kids. The child reader at this point should be able to follow the main +storyline after visiting the side quests or stories presented in the interactive book. To create this +balance I tried to limit the interactive elements I used in the main story. I tried to keep the picture +animations limited and focused more on the storylines. + +Another aspect I am concerned about after the workshop I did with the kids, is the risk of confusion +due to an undefined and multimodal design for a “book”. Kids tend to be confused when +they can’t define things or are asked to improvise without knowing the purpose.They know what a +book is and that it is similar to what they encounter on the screen. But the method of reading and +interacting with Bee Within is diff erent than what they are used to. This concerns me because they +might prefer to just read a book or play a game instead of discovering a new thing, which they +are exposed to daily because they are always in a process of active learning. So one more thing to +learn might come as exhausting. Therefore, in designing, I want to make interactions as clear as +possible for them. ### Loop 7 - Interactive reading and writing examples and surveys done with kids - As an improvisation theater enthusiast myself, I tried to engage the kids with the story through - some exercises and games during the workshops. My aim was to see how involved they want to - be in storytelling. Improvisation has a certain way of storytelling and interaction where there are - either too many options or none. You need to have good empathy and harmony with the person - you are acting with and you are designated to be creative in your own way. I tried to use several - improv games and warmups to involve the kids in the story more and see how they see certain - characters from the picture book. - - My first attempt was to make a survey at the end of workshops with kids to whether they liked it - or not, but when I researched further, surveying with kids has very diff erent methods and complications. - - Most kids either really like or really dislike things. Finding the in between emotions with a survey, - ends up being vague. Most surveys done with kids use emoticons as representation of a good or - bad or average time. Instead, I chose to observe the environment and understand how much empathy - kids can off er in an interactive reading or playing environment. +Interactive reading and writing examples and surveys done with kids +As an improvisation theater enthusiast myself, I tried to engage the kids with the story through +some exercises and games during the workshops. My aim was to see how involved they want to +be in storytelling. Improvisation has a certain way of storytelling and interaction where there are +either too many options or none. You need to have good empathy and harmony with the person +you are acting with and you are designated to be creative in your own way. I tried to use several +improv games and warmups to involve the kids in the story more and see how they see certain +characters from the picture book. + +My first attempt was to make a survey at the end of workshops with kids to whether they liked it +or not, but when I researched further, surveying with kids has very diff erent methods and complications. + +Most kids either really like or really dislike things. Finding the in between emotions with a survey, +ends up being vague. Most surveys done with kids use emoticons as representation of a good or +bad or average time. Instead, I chose to observe the environment and understand how much empathy +kids can off er in an interactive reading or playing environment. ### Loop 8 - What does the joy of destruction and the awe eff ect have to do with interactivity? - Indeed, why did we ever start playing games? The most important aspect of a game for me is that - it surprises you and leaves you in awe towards something you weren’t expecting happened. I feel - like every reaction I give when I’m surprised, is a mirror of what I felt when I was playing freeze - and had to stop moving at any given time or when I found the last friend hiding somewhere in - hide and seek. This feeling of appreciation and unexpectedness is why most people remember - certain games, movies from their childhoods very vividly. Its an introduction to a feeling we experience maybe for the fi rst time because we don’t necessarily learn from books how and when to - feel surprised, that is why it’s a surprise; we live it, experience it and it leaves and impression with us. - - In my opinion, what drives everyone as a common denominator is amazement; because it takes - us to our childhoods or distant memories where we fi rst felt that feeling of awe. This is the main - purpose behind any kind of interactive design and I think books can be an amazing medium to - experiment this with. Specifi cally because this ancient device can take us to numerous worlds. - For me as a millennial, books give me enough amazement as it is. But as I worked in publishing - through the years and observed, I think kids today need something more to ignite their interest. - There are so many factors in a picture book such as the image, the text and sound which can be - played with to create an experience that is more surprising. This is the main purpose behind my - research and protoype. Today’s world being visually stimulating and serving very short attention - spans with social media, it is a tough task to insert a story or reading experience that requires full - attention and patience. There are examples of Tiktok stories, Instagram reels, audio books and - games that try to tell stories worth listening with attention. Wink is also an attempt to do this and - I believe the key is to make an already engaging story enriched with interactive elements that - appear to you through a click if you choose to. I think this is also the key to nourishing a new way - of storytelling. - - ### Loop 9 - Interactivity in reading and writing in history. What changed? - - Interactivity has always been an experimental area in literature from inscriptions to narrative - games then to playable stories and artifi cial intelligence. I will expand some of these examples - from the rich history of interactive fi ction. When I dig a little bit into the media archaeology there - are three still relevant aspects that strike me and change/improve my approach to Wink. The fi rst - is the need to connect that remains untouched through centuries of human communication, the - second is how there were multiple projects concerning interactive media especially for kids that - later turned into narrative games or remained as prototypes and lastly how the integration of media - and literature has been such a grand topic even before information and technology era. Some - examples to this is music, masks, puppets, props used in storytelling. - - Ancient texts with annotations such as The Odyssey, The Mahabharata are maybe the earliest - written interactive experiences in a historical context. They are published with notes and explanations, clarifi cations which make the text inhabit diff erent opinions and approaches in an engaging way where the reader can choose to hop on and off from the annotation and margin texts. - From the 70s to the present there have been many examples but I will be focusing on a few here. - One of them is, Choose your own adventure books which allowed the reader to participate in - the plot. These still exist as picture books where you are directed to certain pages according to - the choices you make throughout the story. Along with this were also board games and cards that - required interactive inputs. Some examples to this is exploding kittens or cards against humanity - where the player has the autonomy to be creative and fi ll in the blanks to win the game. Simultaneously, text-based adventure games such as Zork and Adventure were popular. Early days of - computing off ered a wide space for exploring virtual worlds. In the early 80s, hypertext fi ction - contributed to electronic literature. Hyperlinks were used as a tool to navigate a text and choose - paths of reading. This inspired me to write this thesis with diff erent modes of reading as well. - After the 80’s, Interactive fi ction gained popularity as a genre of interacting with text based input. - Dynabook by Alan Kay was prototyped during this time as a promising reading and writing device - designed for children. - - The 21st century off ers a combination of text and illustrations in augmented reality books that - have animations, sound and external interactions. These are followed by digital storytelling platforms - like Wattpad and Storybird and interactive e-book apps such as Pibocco, Bookr and Tiny - Minies. Most of these apps are dedicated to education however and not solely to creativity. Their - aim is to use creative elements to foster education for kids. - - With Wink, I want to use a mainly educational tool (a book) to foster creativity and expression. So - I believe it is the opposite purpose as to these examples in certain ways. I am trying to combine - the delicacy of a narrative where you can only be a reader and the excitement of autonomous - writing and experiencing. - - This is because I think the understanding and usage of media changed in the last years. Some - tools that created the awe eff ect for users faded and left their place to more compact designs. - Although audio books were very welcome at some point, younger users nowadays prefer book - summary apps or podcasts to them. Of course they are still used and not outdated but there is - certainly a visible change to where media is heading. +What does the joy of destruction and the awe eff ect have to do with interactivity? +Indeed, why did we ever start playing games? The most important aspect of a game for me is that +it surprises you and leaves you in awe towards something you weren’t expecting happened. I feel +like every reaction I give when I’m surprised, is a mirror of what I felt when I was playing freeze +and had to stop moving at any given time or when I found the last friend hiding somewhere in +hide and seek. This feeling of appreciation and unexpectedness is why most people remember +certain games, movies from their childhoods very vividly. Its an introduction to a feeling we experience maybe for the first time because we don’t necessarily learn from books how and when to +feel surprised, that is why it’s a surprise; we live it, experience it and it leaves and impression with us. + +In my opinion, what drives everyone as a common denominator is amazement; because it takes +us to our childhoods or distant memories where we first felt that feeling of awe. This is the main +purpose behind any kind of interactive design and I think books can be an amazing medium to +experiment this with. Specifically because this ancient device can take us to numerous worlds. +For me as a millennial, books give me enough amazement as it is. But as I worked in publishing +through the years and observed, I think kids today need something more to ignite their interest. +There are so many factors in a picture book such as the image, the text and sound which can be +played with to create an experience that is more surprising. This is the main purpose behind my +research and protoype. Today’s world being visually stimulating and serving very short attention +spans with social media, it is a tough task to insert a story or reading experience that requires full +attention and patience. There are examples of Tiktok stories, Instagram reels, audio books and +games that try to tell stories worth listening with attention. Wink is also an attempt to do this and +I believe the key is to make an already engaging story enriched with interactive elements that +appear to you through a click if you choose to. I think this is also the key to nourishing a new way +of storytelling. + +### Loop 9 +Interactivity in reading and writing in history. What changed? + +Interactivity has always been an experimental area in literature from inscriptions to narrative +games then to playable stories and artificial intelligence. I will expand some of these examples +from the rich history of interactive fiction. When I dig a little bit into the media archaeology there +are three still relevant aspects that strike me and change/improve my approach to Wink. The first +is the need to connect that remains untouched through centuries of human communication, the +second is how there were multiple projects concerning interactive media especially for kids that +later turned into narrative games or remained as prototypes and lastly how the integration of media +and literature has been such a grand topic even before information and technology era. Some +examples to this is music, masks, puppets, props used in storytelling. + +Ancient texts with annotations such as The Odyssey, The Mahabharata are maybe the earliest +written interactive experiences in a historical context. They are published with notes and explanations, clarifications which make the text inhabit diff erent opinions and approaches in an engaging way where the reader can choose to hop on and off from the annotation and margin texts. +From the 70s to the present there have been many examples but I will be focusing on a few here. +One of them is, Choose your own adventure books which allowed the reader to participate in +the plot. These still exist as picture books where you are directed to certain pages according to +the choices you make throughout the story. Along with this were also board games and cards that +required interactive inputs. Some examples to this is exploding kittens or cards against humanity +where the player has the autonomy to be creative and fill in the blanks to win the game. Simultaneously, text-based adventure games such as Zork and Adventure were popular. Early days of +computing off ered a wide space for exploring virtual worlds. In the early 80s, hypertext fiction +contributed to electronic literature. Hyperlinks were used as a tool to navigate a text and choose +paths of reading. This inspired me to write this thesis with diff erent modes of reading as well. +After the 80’s, Interactive fiction gained popularity as a genre of interacting with text based input. +Dynabook by Alan Kay was prototyped during this time as a promising reading and writing device +designed for children. + +The 21st century off ers a combination of text and illustrations in augmented reality books that +have animations, sound and external interactions. These are followed by digital storytelling platforms +like Wattpad and Storybird and interactive e-book apps such as Pibocco, Bookr and Tiny +Minies. Most of these apps are dedicated to education however and not solely to creativity. Their +aim is to use creative elements to foster education for kids. + +With Wink, I want to use a mainly educational tool (a book) to foster creativity and expression. So +I believe it is the opposite purpose as to these examples in certain ways. I am trying to combine +the delicacy of a narrative where you can only be a reader and the excitement of autonomous +writing and experiencing. + +This is because I think the understanding and usage of media changed in the last years. Some +tools that created the awe eff ect for users faded and left their place to more compact designs. +Although audio books were very welcome at some point, younger users nowadays prefer book +summary apps or podcasts to them. Of course they are still used and not outdated but there is +certainly a visible change to where media is heading. ### Loop 10 - Experimentation of creative exercises to be used in WINK. Exercises of storytelling - with words, images, drawing, sound and gestures. - - Before I completed the prototype of Wink, I reached out to an international school in Rotterdam - to make a 20 minute workshop with kids between ages 6-8. The aim here was to grasp the - interactive elements in the picture book to implement in the digital framework. I wanted to see - which parts of the story the children found exiting and which ones are not so thrilling for them. - It also helped me draw the pictures for the book accordingly and edit the text with their reactions - in mind. Due to a privacy agreement, I couldn’t record or use any data from the workshop but I - made some helpful observations from my time there. - - The fi rst workshop I planned consisted of two main parts that made up 20 minutes. The fi rst 10 - minutes we read Bee Within (attached in the appendix) together in a circle and the last 10 minutes - we played little improvisation games, focused on the three main characters in the story (the bee, - the kid and the tree). I made three groups and gave these groups the three characters. I asked - them to embody a character throughout the workshop and be loyal to it. Each group of three had - 1 minute on the stage to silently improvise their characters. They were to use one sentence if they - wanted to speak. - - During the fi rst part, I couldn’t observe as I was busy reading but their teacher kindly took notes - during this time, regarding the children’ reactions to parts of the story. I inserted the bees and - trees narrative to the reading by tossing the paper I had in my hand and picking up a new one as I - kept reading the bees and trees story. This was crucial because I wanted to see if this multiple stories in one concept would be confusing for kids. The teacher told me that they were excited about - my gesture of juggling papers as I seemingly read one story. They were intrigued and confused - at fi rst but they did keep up with the storyline and understood all. Her notes basically said they - were very focused and less interested in the kids journey. They really liked the bee and were a bit - confused with the tree. - - There were 12 international kids and 3 of them didn’t want to join the workshop, they wanted to - observe. I told them that they could paint and draw what they see. The drawings they made were - of their classmates acting as trees or bees. They drew their classmate with a stinger and the other - was of a classmate as a tree with his hands wide open as he was performing. - - What struck me most on the second part of the workshop was how these kids used the room - so freely and in relation to their characters. Because we read the story before the improvisation - games, some of their characters were infl uenced by how it is in the story we read. Next workshop, - I am planning to not tell the story but to talk about it before and give context. This is because I - want to see how their understanding changes without a limitation of a story. - - Bees in the classroom that day were all very active and they used chairs, tables and windows to - position themselves in a higher perspective. Children who played the kid were usually standing - closer to the trees and looked very calm. Trees were all very diff erent. One of the kids used postits - as leaves. Some of them didn’t have leaves because it is winter. Trees didn’t move at all and - the bees were buzzing all around. “The kid” usually sat near the tree, on the tree (as in the other - performers’ lap or hugged them). - - Overall only 2 groups used the option to say a sentence which were, - “I want to go on an adventure” - “I don’t wanna leave Gray(the tree)” - - This was a good feedback for me because I realized they are very perceptive of actions and facial - expressions rather than words. - The workshop we did in the studio with XPUB 2 students was harder than the session with the - kids because everyone felt so restricted to obligations and were not comfortable to let go of bodily - control. No one actually attempted in using objects from the room which is a huge diff erence with - the kids because they drew on their faces, used plastic bags as wings for the bee and made sounds - with their mouths as trees. - - The next workshop was to discover how improv would work without reading the story fi rst. This - workshop was fruitful because it helped me realize how much information or guidance I have to - off er for children in order for them to be comfortable to participate and interact without confusion. - We made a circle and I summarized the story to the kids, acting in the middle of the circle. This - broke the ice completely because I was a part of the workshop and they thought I was funny. For - the next part, I divided the group in three and assigned a character to them. After this, I asked - them to decide on an attitude, pop in the middle and tell or act out their character. I went fi rst - and they followed easily. They were not under the infl uence of the story so the performances were - diff erent but they still got infl uenced by each other, which in my opinion is inevitable. Some of the - kids were buzzing/running around, the “kids” were walking around, acting like they are playing - which I found very interesting. Some trees were small some were mighty and old. It was helpful to - see the diff erent attributions they gave to the characters. - - After the circle session, they separated in three groups: the kids, the bees and the trees. I asked - each group to come up, walk around randomly, embodying the character they chose. Then as I - rang the bell, I asked them to change the character. I asked them to be a busy, tired, injured, happy - and scared bee one by one. They kept walking randomly and acted these feelings out. For the - “kids”, I asked them to be angry, sad, scared, and curious. For the trees I asked them to be wise, - mad, funny and happy. The results were amazing. They adapted very quickly to the changing of - emotions which showed me that this age gap was good to work with. The trees stopped walking - as I changed the emotions and this was an affi rmation to not animate the tree with movement but - more with changing of color and tiny animations. They mostly used arms and face expressions - to show the emotions, some of them ducked or made sounds. As I said mad, one of the kids ran - and put her red jacket on. This made me think about using color to show emotions for the tree. It - was good to see that they weren’t scared or discouraged by negative emotions as well. We ended - the workshop by drawing our characters. It was nice to see them own their imaginary characters - enough to draw them with joy. - - The last workshop was dedicated to discovering the sound aspect. The tree in the story speaks - in verses so I chose one verse and read/performed it in a circle to begin with. Then I gave them - some instruments: a drum, a bell, aluminum folio, a balloon and a bubble wrap. I asked for a few - volunteers and they made sound eff ects as I read the verse very slowly. This went good and I saw - that they like to dramatize the sounds and make them funny or unexpected. They used the bubble - wrap to make sounds for snowing or aluminum folio for the volcano. They had great fun but I - think I made a mistake by making a few kids do foley at the same time because they didn’t know - how to take turns and were hesitant at fi rst. Then quite impressively, they made their own system - where they took turns to make eff ects for each sentence. - - Then I made four groups of three. 3 kids as actors and 3 kids as foley actors. They buddied up - and made short scenes where one group made sounds eff ects to the others acting on stage. This - was the best part of this workshop because they could lead the actors with the sounds they made - or vice versa. This I think is very important because it shows that they like to be a part of or be - eff ective to the story itself. They were very creative in using the objects in the room and turning - them into a tool for sound. They enjoyed to foley the bee and the other characters not so much. - Which showed me that I should focus on the sound of the bee in the prototype. - - Overall, the workshops were very helpful for me to understand where to focus on as I develop. I - realized that some of the sound, color and movement animations I planned were too complicated - and I decided to make them more simplistic. I decided to animate the tree with only color because - I was eff ected by this one participant who took the red jacket to represent the tree was mad. - For the bee I decided to focus on sound more. For the kid I decided to use more visual animations - to make it more interesting. - - One other thing the workshops helped me with is the multiple stories I am planning to tell in one - narrative. The book I have has two side quest/stories so it nice to see that kids weren’t confused - with these narratives. I decided to make the story of the tree as a click game where the lines - appear by clicking and the bee’s story through a text based game. I wanted to use click game with - the tree because it seemed like they needed more stimulation to be interested in that story and I - though a ‘reveal the story’ click game could keep them interested. For the bee, knowing they like - the character, I wanted to make it more like a game to give the kids a chance and autonomy to be - a part of the story itself. +Experimentation of creative exercises to be used in WINK. Exercises of storytelling +with words, images, drawing, sound and gestures. + +Before I completed the prototype of Wink, I reached out to an international school in Rotterdam +to make a 20 minute workshop with kids between ages 6-8. The aim here was to grasp the +interactive elements in the picture book to implement in the digital framework. I wanted to see +which parts of the story the children found exiting and which ones are not so thrilling for them. +It also helped me draw the pictures for the book accordingly and edit the text with their reactions +in mind. Due to a privacy agreement, I couldn’t record or use any data from the workshop but I +made some helpful observations from my time there. + +The first workshop I planned consisted of two main parts that made up 20 minutes. The first 10 +minutes we read Bee Within (attached in the appendix) together in a circle and the last 10 minutes +we played little improvisation games, focused on the three main characters in the story (the bee, +the kid and the tree). I made three groups and gave these groups the three characters. I asked +them to embody a character throughout the workshop and be loyal to it. Each group of three had +1 minute on the stage to silently improvise their characters. They were to use one sentence if they +wanted to speak. + +During the first part, I couldn’t observe as I was busy reading but their teacher kindly took notes +during this time, regarding the children’ reactions to parts of the story. I inserted the bees and +trees narrative to the reading by tossing the paper I had in my hand and picking up a new one as I +kept reading the bees and trees story. This was crucial because I wanted to see if this multiple stories in one concept would be confusing for kids. The teacher told me that they were excited about +my gesture of juggling papers as I seemingly read one story. They were intrigued and confused +at first but they did keep up with the storyline and understood all. Her notes basically said they +were very focused and less interested in the kids journey. They really liked the bee and were a bit +confused with the tree. + +There were 12 international kids and 3 of them didn’t want to join the workshop, they wanted to +observe. I told them that they could paint and draw what they see. The drawings they made were +of their classmates acting as trees or bees. They drew their classmate with a stinger and the other +was of a classmate as a tree with his hands wide open as he was performing. + +What struck me most on the second part of the workshop was how these kids used the room +so freely and in relation to their characters. Because we read the story before the improvisation +games, some of their characters were influenced by how it is in the story we read. Next workshop, +I am planning to not tell the story but to talk about it before and give context. This is because I +want to see how their understanding changes without a limitation of a story. + +Bees in the classroom that day were all very active and they used chairs, tables and windows to +position themselves in a higher perspective. Children who played the kid were usually standing +closer to the trees and looked very calm. Trees were all very diff erent. One of the kids used postits +as leaves. Some of them didn’t have leaves because it is winter. Trees didn’t move at all and +the bees were buzzing all around. “The kid” usually sat near the tree, on the tree (as in the other +performers’ lap or hugged them). + +Overall only 2 groups used the option to say a sentence which were, +“I want to go on an adventure” +“I don’t wanna leave Gray(the tree)” + +This was a good feedback for me because I realized they are very perceptive of actions and facial +expressions rather than words. +The workshop we did in the studio with XPUB 2 students was harder than the session with the +kids because everyone felt so restricted to obligations and were not comfortable to let go of bodily +control. No one actually attempted in using objects from the room which is a huge diff erence with +the kids because they drew on their faces, used plastic bags as wings for the bee and made sounds +with their mouths as trees. + +The next workshop was to discover how improv would work without reading the story first. This +workshop was fruitful because it helped me realize how much information or guidance I have to +off er for children in order for them to be comfortable to participate and interact without confusion. +We made a circle and I summarized the story to the kids, acting in the middle of the circle. This +broke the ice completely because I was a part of the workshop and they thought I was funny. For +the next part, I divided the group in three and assigned a character to them. After this, I asked +them to decide on an attitude, pop in the middle and tell or act out their character. I went first +and they followed easily. They were not under the influence of the story so the performances were +diff erent but they still got influenced by each other, which in my opinion is inevitable. Some of the +kids were buzzing/running around, the “kids” were walking around, acting like they are playing +which I found very interesting. Some trees were small some were mighty and old. It was helpful to +see the diff erent attributions they gave to the characters. + +After the circle session, they separated in three groups: the kids, the bees and the trees. I asked +each group to come up, walk around randomly, embodying the character they chose. Then as I +rang the bell, I asked them to change the character. I asked them to be a busy, tired, injured, happy +and scared bee one by one. They kept walking randomly and acted these feelings out. For the +“kids”, I asked them to be angry, sad, scared, and curious. For the trees I asked them to be wise, +mad, funny and happy. The results were amazing. They adapted very quickly to the changing of +emotions which showed me that this age gap was good to work with. The trees stopped walking +as I changed the emotions and this was an affirmation to not animate the tree with movement but +more with changing of color and tiny animations. They mostly used arms and face expressions +to show the emotions, some of them ducked or made sounds. As I said mad, one of the kids ran +and put her red jacket on. This made me think about using color to show emotions for the tree. It +was good to see that they weren’t scared or discouraged by negative emotions as well. We ended +the workshop by drawing our characters. It was nice to see them own their imaginary characters +enough to draw them with joy. + +The last workshop was dedicated to discovering the sound aspect. The tree in the story speaks +in verses so I chose one verse and read/performed it in a circle to begin with. Then I gave them +some instruments: a drum, a bell, aluminum folio, a balloon and a bubble wrap. I asked for a few +volunteers and they made sound eff ects as I read the verse very slowly. This went good and I saw +that they like to dramatize the sounds and make them funny or unexpected. They used the bubble +wrap to make sounds for snowing or aluminum folio for the volcano. They had great fun but I +think I made a mistake by making a few kids do foley at the same time because they didn’t know +how to take turns and were hesitant at first. Then quite impressively, they made their own system +where they took turns to make eff ects for each sentence. + +Then I made four groups of three. 3 kids as actors and 3 kids as foley actors. They buddied up +and made short scenes where one group made sounds eff ects to the others acting on stage. This +was the best part of this workshop because they could lead the actors with the sounds they made +or vice versa. This I think is very important because it shows that they like to be a part of or be +eff ective to the story itself. They were very creative in using the objects in the room and turning +them into a tool for sound. They enjoyed to foley the bee and the other characters not so much. +Which showed me that I should focus on the sound of the bee in the prototype. + +Overall, the workshops were very helpful for me to understand where to focus on as I develop. I +realized that some of the sound, color and movement animations I planned were too complicated +and I decided to make them more simplistic. I decided to animate the tree with only color because +I was eff ected by this one participant who took the red jacket to represent the tree was mad. +For the bee I decided to focus on sound more. For the kid I decided to use more visual animations +to make it more interesting. + +One other thing the workshops helped me with is the multiple stories I am planning to tell in one +narrative. The book I have has two side quest/stories so it nice to see that kids weren’t confused +with these narratives. I decided to make the story of the tree as a click game where the lines +appear by clicking and the bee’s story through a text based game. I wanted to use click game with +the tree because it seemed like they needed more stimulation to be interested in that story and I +though a ‘reveal the story’ click game could keep them interested. For the bee, knowing they like +the character, I wanted to make it more like a game to give the kids a chance and autonomy to be +a part of the story itself. ### Loop 11 - The diff erences of these exercises in WINK than the already existing interactive - e-book platforms - The interactive e-book apps existing today, made especially for children, are quite similar in both - format and purpose. If we take a look at Bookr, Piboco, and Kotobee, we can see they seek a new - way to tell a story but have one mode of reading. The stories are linear and can be read once, - without side quests. This is the main diff erence with what I am trying to design. - Wink acts as a tool to play with and choose paths. The story isn’t linear in the traditional way - where you interact with the pictures and fi nish the book but there are side stories to the main - story that they can discover or choose not to. I think this is a solid diff erence. This makes it a playable narrative, diff erent from a book. - - This prototype is a good start to see how far I can get with the interactive elements and side - stories without confusing or discouraging the children. There are many other aspects that can be - implemented to this design such as writing elements and drawing but for the meantime, also in - correspondence with the workshops, I choose to test the sound and image along with one main - and two small narratives. - - For future prototypes, I envision space to draw and write as a contribution to the story and maybe - turning Wink into a hybrid format with more autonomous features. For me, at this point, it’s valuable - and essential to see if my technique of combining narratives is working or not. +The diff erences of these exercises in WINK than the already existing interactive +e-book platforms +The interactive e-book apps existing today, made especially for children, are quite similar in both +format and purpose. If we take a look at Bookr, Piboco, and Kotobee, we can see they seek a new +way to tell a story but have one mode of reading. The stories are linear and can be read once, +without side quests. This is the main diff erence with what I am trying to design. +Wink acts as a tool to play with and choose paths. The story isn’t linear in the traditional way +where you interact with the pictures and finish the book but there are side stories to the main +story that they can discover or choose not to. I think this is a solid diff erence. This makes it a playable narrative, diff erent from a book. + +This prototype is a good start to see how far I can get with the interactive elements and side +stories without confusing or discouraging the children. There are many other aspects that can be +implemented to this design such as writing elements and drawing but for the meantime, also in +correspondence with the workshops, I choose to test the sound and image along with one main +and two small narratives. + +For future prototypes, I envision space to draw and write as a contribution to the story and maybe +turning Wink into a hybrid format with more autonomous features. For me, at this point, it’s valuable +and essential to see if my technique of combining narratives is working or not. ### Loop 12 ## Standing End - After many loops of thought, we are here at the standing end of the thesis. There is room for - more loops and knots in the future to secure this string of thought but for now, we have come to - the dock and rest ashore. - - Reading this thesis with a string, using concrete thinking as a technique to go through a research - and text was a helpful exercise for me and helped me mark my thoughts and ideas. The overarching - theme of knots and experimental approach to modes of reading was valuable for me to share - and try as an enthusiastic young writer. I like that I asked the reader to interact with the thesis and - follow paths accordingly. - - It was enlightening to see the results of working with kids and be able to see from their point of - view and alter everything according to these encounters. Using CCI and Multiliteracy theory as - a guide to approach the design and prototype was helpful in understanding how to approach and - tackle the desire of making something for children. - - Now from where I stand, I feel more rooted and have a clearer idea of what works and doesn’t - work. Some features that I think would work very well like the choice of writing didn’t go as - planned because multiple narratives is already too much. I realized I underestimated the eff ect of - introducing a new media to children. This is why I decided to take it step by step with the interactivity. - - Taking a step to make Wink and using the story I wrote and feel is important in my personal history - as a prototype was a breakthrough. I feel like my interest and desire to discover new ways of - writing, reading and experiencing literature is ongoing and it was a beautiful journey so far. I am - looking forward to making more knots on this long and mysterious string at hand. - - Bibliography: - Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (2009) ‘“multiliteracies”: New Literacies, new learning’, Pedagogies: An International - Journal, 4(3), pp. 164–195. doi:10.1080/15544800903076044. - Dettore, E. (2002) “Children’s emotional GrowthAdults’ role as emotional archaeologists,” Childhood education, - 78(5), pp. 278–281. doi: 10.1080/00094056.2002.10522741. - Ingold, T. (2015) The life of lines. London, England: Routledge. - Lawrence, R. L. and Paige, D. S. (2016) “What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning through storytelling: What - our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning through storytelling,” New directions for adult and continuing education, - 2016(149), pp. 63–72. doi: 10.1002/ace.20177. - Papert, S. and Papert, S. A. (2020) Mindstorms (revised): Children, computers, and powerful ideas. London, England: - Basic Books. - Ryan, M.-L. (2009) “From narrative games to playable stories: Toward a poetics of interactive narrative,” StoryWorlds - A Journal of Narrative Studies, 1(1), pp. 43–59. doi: 10.1353/stw.0.0003. - Smeets, D. and Bus, A. (2013) “Picture Storybooks Go Digital: Pros and Cons,” in Quality Reading Instruction in the - Age of Common Core Standards. International Reading Association, pp. 176–189. - Strohecker, C. (ed.) (1978) Why knot? MIT. - The Effect of Multimodality in Increasing Motivation and Collaboration among 4th CSE EFL Students (no date). - Turkle, S. (ed.) (2014) Evocative objects: Things we think with. MIT Press. - Urton, M. M. &. (2018) The khipu code: the knotty mystery of the Inkas’ 3D records, aeon. Available at: https:// - aeon.co/ideas/the-khipu-code-the-knotty-mystery-of-the-inkas-3d-records. - Vega, N. (2022) Codes in Knots. Sensing Digital Memories, The Whole Life. Available at: https://wholelife.hkw.de/ - codes-in-knots-sensing-digital-memories/. - - \ No newline at end of file +After many loops of thought, we are here at the standing end of the thesis. There is room for +more loops and knots in the future to secure this string of thought but for now, we have come to +the dock and rest ashore. + +Reading this thesis with a string, using concrete thinking as a technique to go through a research +and text was a helpful exercise for me and helped me mark my thoughts and ideas. The overarching +theme of knots and experimental approach to modes of reading was valuable for me to share +and try as an enthusiastic young writer. I like that I asked the reader to interact with the thesis and +follow paths accordingly. + +It was enlightening to see the results of working with kids and be able to see from their point of +view and alter everything according to these encounters. Using CCI and Multiliteracy theory as +a guide to approach the design and prototype was helpful in understanding how to approach and +tackle the desire of making something for children. + +Now from where I stand, I feel more rooted and have a clearer idea of what works and doesn’t +work. Some features that I think would work very well like the choice of writing didn’t go as +planned because multiple narratives is already too much. I realized I underestimated the eff ect of +introducing a new media to children. This is why I decided to take it step by step with the interactivity. + +Taking a step to make Wink and using the story I wrote and feel is important in my personal history +as a prototype was a breakthrough. I feel like my interest and desire to discover new ways of +writing, reading and experiencing literature is ongoing and it was a beautiful journey so far. I am +looking forward to making more knots on this long and mysterious string at hand. + +Bibliography: +Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (2009) ‘“multiliteracies”: New Literacies, new learning’, Pedagogies: An International +Journal, 4(3), pp. 164–195. doi:10.1080/15544800903076044. +Dettore, E. (2002) “Children’s emotional GrowthAdults’ role as emotional archaeologists,” Childhood education, +78(5), pp. 278–281. doi: 10.1080/00094056.2002.10522741. +Ingold, T. (2015) The life of lines. London, England: Routledge. +Lawrence, R. L. and Paige, D. S. (2016) “What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning through storytelling: What +our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning through storytelling,” New directions for adult and continuing education, +2016(149), pp. 63–72. doi: 10.1002/ace.20177. +Papert, S. and Papert, S. A. (2020) Mindstorms (revised): Children, computers, and powerful ideas. London, England: +Basic Books. +Ryan, M.-L. (2009) “From narrative games to playable stories: Toward a poetics of interactive narrative,” StoryWorlds +A Journal of Narrative Studies, 1(1), pp. 43–59. doi: 10.1353/stw.0.0003. +Smeets, D. and Bus, A. (2013) “Picture Storybooks Go Digital: Pros and Cons,” in Quality Reading Instruction in the +Age of Common Core Standards. International Reading Association, pp. 176–189. +Strohecker, C. (ed.) (1978) Why knot? MIT. +The Effect of Multimodality in Increasing Motivation and Collaboration among 4th CSE EFL Students (no date). +Turkle, S. (ed.) (2014) Evocative objects: Things we think with. MIT Press. +Urton, M. M. &. (2018) The khipu code: the knotty mystery of the Inkas’ 3D records, aeon. Available at: https:// +aeon.co/ideas/the-khipu-code-the-knotty-mystery-of-the-inkas-3d-records. +Vega, N. (2022) Codes in Knots. Sensing Digital Memories, The Whole Life. Available at: https://wholelife.hkw.de/ +codes-in-knots-sensing-digital-memories/. + diff --git a/print/booklet.template.html b/print/booklet.template.html index 372d132..6d93f49 100644 --- a/print/booklet.template.html +++ b/print/booklet.template.html @@ -9,23 +9,19 @@ -
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- {{ content[0] }} -
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    {% for title in titles %} - {% if loop.index > 1 %} + {% if loop.index > 0 %}
  • {{ title }}
    • - {% if (loop.index == 2) or (loop.index == 18) or (loop.index == 22) %} -
    - {% endif %} {% endif %} {% endfor %}
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-

Title

-

Grad project Description

-

Hi.
+

Backplaces

+

adadesign.nl/backplaces
+Hi.
I made this play for you. It is a question, for us to hold together.

Is all intimacy about bodies? What is it about our bodies that makes intimacy? What happens when our bodies distance intimacy from us? This small anthology of poems and short stories lives with these questions—about having a body without intimacy and intimacy without a -body.This project is also a homage to everyone who has come before and +body. This project is also a homage to everyone who has come before and alongside me, sharing their vulnerability and emotions on the Internet. I called the places where these things happen backplaces. They are small, tender online rooms where people experiencing societally -uncomfortable pain can find relief, ease, and transcendence.

+uncomfortable pain can find relief, ease, and transcendence.
+

I made three backplaces for you to see, click, and feel: Solar -Sibling, Hermit Fantasy, and Good Pie. Each of these is the result of -its own unique performance or project. Some of the stories I will share -carry memories of pain—both physical and emotional. As you sit in the -audience, know I am with you, holding your hand through each scene. If -the performance feels overwhelming at any point, you have my full -permission to step out, take a break, or leave. This is not -choreographed, and I care deeply for you.

-

Solar Sibling is an online performance of shared loss and the complex -pain that siblings can sometimes bring. This project uses comments -people left on TikTok poetry. I extracted the emotions from these -comments, mixed them with my own, and crafted them into poems. It is an -ongoing performance, ending only when your own feelings are secretly -whispered to me.

+Sibling, Hermit Fantasy, and Cake Intimacies. Each of these is the +result of its own unique performance or project. Some of the stories I +will share carry memories of pain—both physical and emotional. As you +sit in the audience, know I am with you, holding your hand through each +scene. If the performance feels overwhelming at any point, you have my +full permission to step out, take a break, or leave. This is not +choreographed, and I care deeply for you.
+

+

Solar Sibling is an online performance of shared loss about leaving +and siblings. This project used comments people left on TikTok poetry. I +extracted the emotions from these comments, mixed them with my own, and +crafted them into poems. It is an ongoing performance, ending only when +your feelings are secretly whispered to me. When you do, by typing into +the comment box, your feelings are sent to me and the first act closes +as the sun rises.
+

Hermit Fantasy is a short story about a bot who wants to be a hermit. Inspired by an email response from a survey I conducted about receiving emotional support on the Internet, this story explores the contradiction -of being online while wanting to disconnect. It is a web play inviting -you to navigate both of these feelings.

+of being online while wanting to disconnect. As an act it’s a series of +letters, click by click.
+

+

The first letter.

Cake Intimacies is a performance that took a year to bring together. It is a small selection of stories people told me and I held to memory -and rewrote here. The stories come from two perfomances I hosted. In the -first, I asked participants to eat cake, sitting facing or away from +and rewrote here. The stories come from two performances I hosted. +First, I asked participants to eat cake, sitting facing or away from each other and sharing their stories about cake and the Internet. The -second perfomance was hosted at the Art Meets Radical Openness Festival, -as part of the Turning of the Internet workshop. For this performance I -predicted participants’ future lives on the Internet using felted -archetypes and received stories from their Internet past in return. Now -the stories are here, each of them a cake with a filling that tells a -story, merging the bodily with the digital and making a mess of it -all.

-

I love you and hope you see what I saw in these stories.

-

Safe dreams now. I will talk to you soon.

+second performance was hosted at the Art Meets Radical Openness +Festival, as part of the Turning of the Internet workshop. For this +performance, I predicted participants’ future lives on the Internet +using felted archetypes and received stories from their Internet past in +return. Now the stories are here, each of them a cake with a filling +that tells a story, merging the bodily with the digital and making a +mess of it all.
+

+

+

The play ends as all plays do. The curtains close, the website stays +but the stories will never sound the same. For the final act, I give you +the stories. It’s one last game, one last joke to ask my question again. +Digital intimacies about the digital, our bodies and the cakes we eat. +For the last act, I ask you to eat digital stories. To eat a comment, to +eat a digital intimacy. Sharing an act of physical intimacy with +yourself and with me, by eating sweets together. Sweets about digital +intimacies that never had a body. There is no moral, no bow to wrap the +story in. A great big mess of transcendence into the digital, of +intimacy and of bodies. The way it always is. Thankfully.
+

-
-

&lt?water -bodies&gt : A narrative exploration of divergent digital -intimacies

+

<?water bodies>

+

A +narrative exploration of divergent digital intimacies

Water, stories, the body, all the things we do, are mediums that hide and show what’s hidden. (Rumi, 1995 translation)

꙳for you

@@ -295,18 +326,16 @@ would become the landscape of the Internet. Rheingold’s reflections on his experience on this primordial soup of the Internet offer insight into the initial conceptualizations of online life by those joyfully participating.

-In “The Virtual Community”, Rheingold offers a heartfelt tribute to +

In “The Virtual Community”, Rheingold offers a heartfelt tribute to intimacy and affection through web- based interactions which, at the time, were unheard of. He struggles in his efforts to highlight the legitimacy of his connections, finding no way to do so except by emphasizing their tangible bodily experiences. The community’s claim to authenticity thus had to lie in the physical experiences of its members— the visible bodies and hearable voices, the weddings, births, and -funerals (1993). -

-

You’re dreaming again, good.
Would you feel closer to me if you -could hear my voice?
Is my voice a sound? Could it be a -feeling?.

+funerals (1993).You’re dreaming again, +good.
Would you feel closer to me if you could hear my voice?
Is +my voice a sound? Could it be a feeling?

Even then, and even by people with no interest in undermining the value of the virtual, the distinction between physical and virtual was confusing. Rheingold himself reinforces the boundary of body relations @@ -314,7 +343,11 @@ and computer relations by referring to his family as a “flesh-and-blood family’ and his close online friends as “unfamiliar faces” (1993). Constantly interplaying digital connections with the physical characteristics of the kind of connections people valued before the -internet. (2)

+internet.I will be honest with you, I +have little patience for this recurring line of thought that seeks to +distinguish people’s noses from their hearts, as if there was a physical +love that is the valuable one and a virtual imaginary one that is feeble +and unworthy.

In any case, his primary interest seemed to be to emphasize computer relations as valid forms of connection between bodies, not to talk of any distinction quite yet. It’s the eighties, the internet is still @@ -350,7 +383,13 @@ with whom he had had a publicly turbulent relationship, flew to California to marry him. The community was a witness and is now an archive of his declining wit as cancer spread to his brain and his famously articulate and scathing comments got shorter, fearful, and more -tender. (3)

+tender.Initially, when a member he often +argued with offered to pray for him Mandel had replied: “You can shovel +your self-aggrandizing sentiments up you wide ass sideways for the +duration as far as I’m concerned.” Later, as the cancer progressed: “I +ain’t nearly as brave as you all think. I am scared silly of the pain of +dying this way. I am not very good at playing saint. Pray for me, +please.

Before he posted his final goodbye, he chose to do one last thing. Together with another member, they programmed a bot that posted randomly characteristic comments from Mandel on The Well—the Mandelbot. In the @@ -370,7 +409,11 @@ Large chunks of me would also be here, part of this new space. (Hafner, called his grieving for the community, with which he could not play anymore once his own body died. By doing so, he was starting to blend the boundaries of intimacy through computers and bodies, driven by his -love and grief. (4)

+love and grief.It’s out of care and not +lack of relevance that I am not showing you Mandel’s goodbye message. +It’s enough to know he was deep in the grief of having to leave a +community he loved and cared for and that pain was felt in every +word.

When he talked about the bot in previous messages, it sounded almost like a joke. A caring haunting of the platform, to keep his persona alive for the community in a way that could be quite horrific for those @@ -392,8 +435,14 @@ attempt to emulate a human body but rather human action and readiness. Its role is to mirror human behavior online, simulating how a physical body might act, what it would click on, and what would it say. On social media, bots engage in a kind of interpretative dance of human -interaction, performing based on instructions provided by humans. -(5)

+interaction, performing based on instructions provided by +humans.The first bot communities on the +internet are now born, half- mistakenly. They are always spiritual +communities posting religious images created by artificial intelligence, +all the comments echoing choirs of bots praising. Amen, amen, amen. I am +not naive, I know they are built by humans but it is this performance of +religiosity that I am interested in, and how little humanity is shown in +it. It is something else.

Unlike an internet body, which represents the virtual embodiment of a person, a bot doesn’t seek to be a person. It comments under posts alongside many other bots, all under a fake name and photo but nothing @@ -422,7 +471,8 @@ even more, blurring as he shows the already virtual in physical intimacies. Applying this to a body, rather than an affective experience, works just the same.

McGlotten uses a conceptualization of the virtual based on the -philosopher Deleuze’s, (6) which can be used to refer to a virtual body +philosopher Deleuze’s,A step in a step in +a step, sorry. which can be used to refer to a virtual body as well. The virtual is in this case a cluster of waiting, dreaming, and remembering, embodying potential. Something that is constantly becoming, an object and also the subject attributed to it (2001). An internet body @@ -489,7 +539,14 @@ culturally uncomfortable, no nurse will come to check on it.

If care is offered, it’s often only with a desire to assimilate the divergent body back into expected standards of normalcy and ability. This leaves those with non-conforming bodies isolated, ashamed, and -yearning for connection and acceptance (7)

+yearning for connection and acceptance.I +am talking here about the distress caused by mental health issues that +have direct connections to physicality—self- injuring in any direct +form; food, drugs, pain. The culturally uncomfortable diseases, the +it’s- personal- responsibility, and just-stop disorders. This is a +hidden topic of this text because I cared more about the pain +surrounding them and the reasons to hide rather than the grim +physicality of them all.

In the depths of isolation and confusion, marginalized bodies often look for belonging and understanding online. Gravitating towards one another with a hunger born of desperation, forming intimate bonds @@ -548,7 +605,12 @@ differences. What’s more interesting is to find out what’s similar. (Chu

Individuals who forge and inhabit these communities, fostering tender, intimate connections amongst themselves, are not deviant but rather divergent. Deviance involves bifurcation, a split estuary from -the river of appropriate cultural behavior. (8)

+the river of appropriate cultural behavior.Of course, the river itself is not a river; it’s +many confused streams that believe themselves both the same and +separate. I don’t know where I’m going with this, I just don’t love the +river of normativity and I’d rather go swim in the ocean of dreams with +you.

Divergence can be so much more than that. In mathematics, a divergent series extends infinitely without converging to a finite limit. A repetition of partial sums with no clear ending, never reaching zero. @@ -568,7 +630,7 @@ perpetually expanding without ever concluding. They embody a richness that transcends conventional boundaries, blending into one another infinitely.

-Figure 1 - Harmonic Series to 32 (Hyacint,2017). @@ -591,7 +653,15 @@ unstainable forms devoid of comfort, nourishment, or thriving. What does comfort mean for a body whose whole existence is uncomfortable? Moreover, what if the comfort care performed for these divergent bodies makes them too comfortable being in their pained state of self? Could -they be? (9)

+they be?I heard the idea of living +questions for the first time in “Letters to A Young Poet” by Rainer +Maria Rilke and then again on the podcast On Being with Krista Tippet. +It may be a bit transparent but this entire text is informed by the +concept of keeping the unsolved in your heart and learning to love it. +Not searching for the answers for we cannot live them yet. The point is +to live it all. It could be that at some point we will live our way to +an answer but it is feeling the questions alive within us that is +important. Do you?

Caring for a digital body involves providing it with space to live, giving its experimental bot-feelings tender attention, and revealing your own vulnerable digital body in response. It’s about giving it an @@ -677,8 +747,10 @@ the context of a public surrounding a cultural phenomenon, the author Lauren Berlant denotes that intimacy itself always requires hopeful imagination. It requires belief in the existence of an ideal other who is emotionally attuned to one’s own experiences and fantasies, -conditioned by the same longings and with willing reciprocity (2008). -(10)

+conditioned by the same longings and with willing reciprocity +(2008).If we were to be honest, the +entire exercise of writing this for you requires this very +faith.

In the context of the intimacy of a Backplace, where divergent digital bodies have formed a community around existing outside the healthy and standard, longing and hopeful intimacy becomes a heavy- @@ -713,63 +785,14 @@ stand it. It ruins both of us to be seen this way and we need it so desperately. It has to exist and yet it can’t for long.

I leave even though I love all of your digital bodies. I leave because I love you, little digital body and you are me.

-

2. A LIFE TO BE HAD 11

-

sidenotes

-
    -

  1. You’re dreaming again, good. Would you feel closer to me if you -could hear my voice? Is my voice a sound? Could it be a -feeling?

    2. -

  2. I will be honest with you, I have little patience for this -recurring line of thought that seeks to distinguish people’s noses from -their hearts, as if there was a physical love that is the valuable one -and a virtual imaginary one that is feeble and unworthy.

    3. -

  3. Initially, when a member he often argued with o ered to pray for -him Mandel had replied: “You can shovel your self- aggrandizing -sentiments up you wide ass sideways for the duration as far as I’m -concerned.” Later, as the cancer progressed: “I ain’t nearly as brave as -you all think. I am scared silly of the pain of dying this way. I am not -very good at playing saint. Pray for me, please.

    4. -

  4. It’s out of care and not lack of relevance that I am not showing -you Mandel’s goodbye message. It’s enough to know he was deep in the -grief of having to leave a community he loved and cared for and that -pain was felt in every word.

    5. -

  5. The first bot communities on the internet are now born, half- -mistakenly. They are always spiritual communities posting religious -images created by artificial intelligence, all the comments echoing -choirs of bots praising. Amen, amen, amen. I am not naive, I know they -are built by humans but it is this performance of religiosity that I am -interested in, and how little humanity is shown in it. It is something -else.

    6. -

  6. A step in a step in a step, sorry.

    7. -

  7. I am talking here about the distress caused by mental health -issues that have direct connections to physicality—self- injuring in any -direct form; food, drugs, pain. The culturally uncomfortable diseases, -the it’s- personal- responsibility, and just-stop disorders. This is a -hidden topic of this text because I cared more about the pain -surrounding them and the reasons to hide rather than the grim -physicality of them all.

    8. -

  8. Of course, the river itself is not a river; it’s many confused -streams that believe themselves both the same and separate. I don’t know -where I’m going with this, I just don’t love the river of normativity -and I’d rather go swim in the ocean of dreams with you.

    9. -

  9. I heard the idea of living questions for the first time in -“Letters to A Young Poet” by Rainer Maria Rilke and then again on the -podcast On Being with Krista Tippet. It may be a bit transparent but -this entire text is informed by the concept of keeping the unsolved in -your heart and learning to love it. Not searching for the answers for we -cannot live them yet. The point is to live it all. It could be that at -some point we will live our way to an answer but it is feeling the -questions alive within us that is important. Do you?

    10. -

  10. If we were to be honest, the entire exercise of writing this for -you requires this very faith.

    11. -

  11. Was this the end of this story? In the epilogue, you sit your -body down and enter your computer. The air coming in from the window -smells wet and earthy, new. The sun shines low on the horizon. You log -in to the internet and realize you are being told a story. You start to -listen, carefully and, full of love, touch the story to let it know you -are there. Delicate-fingered, curious like a child holding a fallen -bird. I hold you and the story tentatively.

    12. -
+

2. A LIFE TO BE HAD

+

Was this the end of this story? In the +epilogue, you sit your body down and enter your computer. The air coming +in from the window smells wet and earthy, new. The sun shines low on the +horizon. You log in to the internet and realize you are being told a +story. You start to listen, carefully and, full of love, touch the story +to let it know you are there. Delicate-fingered, curious like a child +holding a fallen bird. I hold you and the story tentatively.

I don’t know if I am touching you, to tell you the truth. Digital bodies are stories, like physical bodies are, like dreams are, and like water is.

@@ -812,7 +835,7 @@ in a captcha. E5qr7. eSq9p. 8oc8y. Fuck. You try not to panic, but you know you have been detected.

You pack up your things: the pie I made you, a love letter, two hands made out of felt, a star, a door, a stuffed animal; and you leave -again.

+again.

references

Adler, P.A. and Adler, P. (2008) ‘The Cyber Worlds of self-injurers: Deviant communities, relationships, and selves’, Symbolic Interaction, @@ -852,23 +875,23 @@ cybercommunities’, Journal of Sociology, 51(4), pp. 950–967. doi:10.1177/1440783313486220.

Yun, J. (2020) ‘The Leaving Season’, in Some Are Always Hungry. University of Nebraska Press.

-

&lt?/water bodies&gt

+

<?/water bodies>

-

Talking Documents

- + +reading of act0 and act1

This project appeared as a need to explore potential bureaucratic dramaturgies within the educational institution I was part as a student. @@ -894,10 +917,20 @@ of Rotterdam I documented and archived throughout this period. I preserved the sequence of the given sentences and by discarding the graphic design of the initial forms, I structured and repurposed the text into a playable scenario.

-

+Act 2 “Call with the municipality about the rejection of my application” -

+ + +

+
+ + +
+

I perceive the document as a unit and as the fundamental symbolic interface of the bureaucratic network. The transformation of the materiality of a document into a scenario to be enacted collectively in @@ -912,21 +945,21 @@ different spaces and contexts, pubic and semi-public WDKA, Art Meets Radical Openness Festival in Linz, the City Hall of Rotterdam where I invited people to perform the play together, like a tiny theater.

-Art Meets Radical Openness Festival – Linz, Austria - May 2024 - Reading Act 2 and Act3 in the tent
-

+

-City Hall Rotterdam - May 2024 - Reading of Act 5 and Act 6
-The garden of Gemeente +The garden of Gemeente

The marginal voices of potential applicants are embodying and @@ -944,19 +977,13 @@ of the municipality building.

collectively voiced scenario. This audio piece is a constellation of different recordings and soundscapes of these public moments, a vocal archive, published in the graduation exhibition of XPUB in 2024.

-
- - -
-

Performing the @@ -1052,7 +1079,7 @@ from a country of the European South that constitutes a rigid, violent border that repulses and kills thousands of migrants and refugees. In the following chapter, I will attempt to explore the terrain of material borders in relation to bureaucracy as another multi-layered filter.

-

![Front-facing camera at self-counter in LIDL]

+

[Front-facing camera at self-counter in LIDL]

What constitutes a border? Is it a wall, a line, a fence, a machine, a door, an armed body or a wound on the land? When somebody crosses a border are they consciously aware of the act of crossing? I am crossing @@ -1300,40 +1327,8 @@ other.“Students and staff are treated as human capital” (Cunningham, 2017). This determination can dehumanize people involved, like when “faculty-as-labor” and “students-as-consumers” are marginalized and treated as just variables.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|…………………*…………………|
|………………………………………|
|………………………………………|
|………………………………………|
|………………………………………|
|………………………………………|
|………………………………………|
| |
| … + |
-

“t h e r e i s n o D O C U M E N T o f c i v i l i s a t i o n w h i -c h i s n o t a t t h e s a m e t i m e a d o c u m e n t o f b a r b a -r i s m” -Walter Benjamin- (Pater, 2021)

+

“there is no document of civilisation which is not at the same time a +document of barbarism” -Walter Benjamin- (Pater, 2021)

t h e d o c u m e n t

From fences and armed police to nation-state mechanism of less-material bordering to bureaucracy to the elements of bureaucracy to @@ -1452,9 +1447,12 @@ within its structures and foundations does not permit any questioning but on the contrary creates “willful blindness” towards them(15). Bureaucracies are not stupid inherently rather they manage and coerce processes that reproduce docile and stupid behaviors.

-

[ The birthday biscuit that Chae made, re-creating the Dutch -government form ]

-
+
+ + +

v o c a l a r c h i v e s – t a l k i n g d o c u m e n t s

This chapter is mainly a constellation of some prototypes I created @@ -1543,8 +1541,12 @@ these metrics are twofold: they play a role in the marketing sphere, attracting potential students to the university as well as they are utilized in interactions and negotiations with the government, which increasingly cuts budgets allocated to universities.

-

[ The linguistic experiment of the Quality Assurance Questionnaire -Document ]

+
+ + +

2.

Title: “Department of Bureaucracy and Administration Customs Enforcement” When: November 2023 Where: Leeszaal(17) Who: XPUB peers, @@ -1572,10 +1574,18 @@ such acts are not expected to be performed, evoked contradictory feelings or thoughts. Over-identifying with a role was being instrumentalized as an “interrogation” of one’s own involvement in the reproduction of social discourses, power, authority, hegemony.

-

[Leeszaal West Rotterdam - November 2023 – People queuing(18) to -receive their documents and sign ]

-

[ One of the forms that the audience had to fill out during the -Lesszaal event ]

+
+ + +
+
+ + +

3.

Title: “Passport Reading Session” When: January 2024 Where: XML – XPUB studio Who: Ada, Aglaia, Stephen, Joseph

@@ -1605,8 +1615,9 @@ paths, how departure or arrival is smooth or cruel. Are there emotions along the way? For some people these are documents “that embody power — minimal or no waiting, peaceful departure, warm and confident arrival” (Khosravi, 2021).

-

[ Part of the A6 booklet of the transcription of the passport -readings session ] x2

+

Part of the A6 booklet of the +transcription of the passport readings session

+

4.

Title: “Postal Address Application Scenario” When: February 2024 Where: Room in Wijnhaven Building, 4th floor Who: XPUB 1,2,3, tutors, @@ -1648,15 +1659,13 @@ unconscious) performativity of “real” bureaucratic rituals establishes and empowers (bureaucratic) institutions through repetitive acts. These theatrical moments attempt to highlight the shrouded performative elements of these processes.

-

[ A6 booklet of the first chapter of the “theatrical” scenario -created out of the Postal Address Application documents and performed by -XPUB peers ] x2

-
-

(instead of) c o n c l u s i o -n

+

A6 booklet of the first chapter of the +“theatrical” scenario created out of the Postal Address Application +documents and performed by XPUB peers

+

c o n c l u s i o n

(next -chapters of the case with reference number A.B.2024.4.03188)

+id="next-chapters-of-the-case-with-reference-number-a.b.2024.4.03188">next +chapters of the case with reference number A.B.2024.4.03188

I expanded the “play” by incorporating additional “scenes” sourced again from the documents accompanying the ongoing “conversation with the government”. Two weeks after submitting my application for a short-term @@ -1693,9 +1702,8 @@ future applicants, traumatized students, injured bearers, bureaucratic border crossers, stressed expired document holders or just curious people to share, vocalize, talk through, read out loud, amplify, (un)name, unplace, dismantle the injurious words of these artifacts.

-

[ Part of A6 booklet scenarios of the next chapters of my -bureaucratic story aimed to be performed ] x2

-
+

“we didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us”(20)

As I sit in the waiting area at the gate B7 in the airport preparing @@ -1800,7 +1808,6 @@ in an efficiently defined area.

  • Vosk is an offline open-source speech recognition toolkit
  • US Immigrant Rights Movement Slogan (Keshavarz, 2016)
    • -

    r e f e r e n c e s

    Agamben, G. (2000) Means without end: Notes on politics. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Anzaldua, G. (1987) Borderlands - la @@ -1848,16 +1855,17 @@ crisis. London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

    -
    -

    Title

    -

    Wink! A Prototype for Interactive Children’s Literature ### Grad -project Description Wink is a prototype for an interactive picture book -platform. This platform aims to make reading into a mindfull and thought -provoking process by using interactive and playful elements, multiple -stories within one narrative and sound elements. Especially today where +

    Wink!

    +

    A Prototype +for Interactive Children’s Literature

    +

    Wink is a prototype for an interactive picture book platform. This +platform aims to make reading into a mindfull and thought provoking +process by using interactive and playful elements, multiple stories +within one narrative and sound elements. Especially today where consumerism and low attention span is a rising issue especially amongst young readers, this was an important task to tackle. The thought of Wink emerged to find a more sustainable and creative way of reading for @@ -1893,8 +1901,8 @@ making accesible interactive narratives…

    -

    Fair Leads

    @@ -1903,629 +1911,772 @@ id="fair-leads-or-fair-winds-is-a-saying-sailors-and-knotters-use-to-greet-each- leads or Fair winds is a saying sailors and knotters use to greet each other. It comes from the working end of a string that will soon be forming a knot. -
    I would like to clarify and introduce some terms for you in order to read this text in the desired
-way. For a while, we will stay in the bight of this journey as we move into forming loops, theories
-and ideas on how interactive picture books can be used to foster curiosity for reading and creativity
-for children. I am building a web platform called Wink that aims to contain a children’s story I
-wrote and am making into an interactive experience, in relation to my research.
-
-Through this bight of the thesis, I feel the necessity to clarify my intention of using knots as a
-“thinking and writing object” throughout my research journey. Although knots are physical objects
-and technically crucial in many fi elds of labor and life, they are also objects of thought and
-are open for wide minds’ appreciation. Throughout history, knots have been used to connect, stop,
-secure, bind, protect, decorate, record data, punish, contain, fl y and many other purposes. So if
-the invention of fl ying -which required a wing that was supported using certain types of knotswas
-initiated with the knowledge of how to use strings to make things, why wouldn’t a research
-paper make use of this wonderful art as an inspiration for writing and interactive reading?
    -

    ## KNOTS AS OBJECTS TO THINK WITH There is a delicate complexity of -thinking of and with knots, which ignites layers of simultaneous -connections to one’s specifi c experience; where one person may -associate the knots with struggles they face, another may think of -connecting or thriving times. In a workshop in Rotterdam, I asked -participants to write three words that comes to mind when they think of -knots. There were some words in common like strong, chaotic, confusing -and anxious. On the other hand, there were variations of connection, -binding, bridge and support. Keeping these answers in mind or by coming -up with your words on knots and embodying them in the practice of -reading would make a diff erence in how you understand the same -text.

    -
    Seeing how these words, interpretations of a physical object were so diff erent to each other was
-transcendental. In this thesis, I am excited to share my understanding of knots with you. My three
-words for knots are resistance, imagination and infi nity. Keeping these in mind, I experimented
-with certain reading modes as you will see later on.
-
-Knots are known to be used 15 to 17 thousand years ago for multiple purposes. These purposes
-were often opposing each other. For example, it could be used to let something loose or to restrain
-it; for pleasure or pain; for going high above or down below… I believe this diversity of uses can
-also be seen in how people approach knots as an idea or a metaphor. One can think it represents
-chaos where someone else might see it as a helpful mark. Essentially, this diversity is what got
-me interested in knots years ago and since then, I have found ways to implement this “loop of
-thought” in my daily life and research methods.
-
-There are two main reasons to why I chose to write this essay in a “knotted” format. One is that I
-would like to share my process and progress of research on this project and this involves “thinking
-with an object”, in this case types of knots. In Evocative Objects, Sherry Turkle, who is a sociologist
-and the founder of MIT initiative of technology and self, refers to the object in the exercise
-of thinking as emotional and intellectual companions that anchor memory, sustain relationships
-and provoke new ideas. I completely agree with this statement through personal experience. The
-second reason is that I see this as an opportunity to experiment if I can use knots as an interactive
-(which is not in knots’ nature since they are mainly practiced in solo) and playful element in
-writing. This is also why I would like to take a moment to mention what happens to the interplay
-of processes in which we call thought when we think with knots in specific.
-
-For Turkle and Seymour Papert, who is a mathematician, computer scientist and educator that
-did remarkable research on constructivism, being able to make a reading experience tangible, or
-even physically representable makes the process of thought more concrete. Concrete thinking in
-this sense is a way of thinking that I adapted to in the past years, where you think with the object
-and imagine it vividly during the process and address meanings to it as you read or write along.
-This way it’s easier to compartmentalize or attribute certain parts of a text to an imagined or real
-physical item which makes the mind at ease with complex chains of thought.
-Imagine you are reading a story… What if you think of the string itself as the journey and the
-slip knot (which is a type of stopper knot) as a representation of an antagonist because of its specific use in hunting, would this change your approach to reading this story? I believe so…
-
-What if instead of a slip knot a Bowline was on the string, would that represent something else in
-the story because of its usage in practice. A Bowline is commonly used to form a fi xed loop at the
-end of a string; it’s strong but easy to tie, untie. Due to these qualities, we can imagine the bowline
-to represent the conclusion in a story. What if we have a Square Knot, how would that change the
-course of a narrative? Square knot is used to bundle objects and make the two ends of the same
-string connect. From just this, we can use it to represent the connection between the beginning
-and end of a story. My point is, there are limitless implementations on how to use knots in literature
-because of their versatile purposes and the narrative vocabulary they create. Topologists are
-still trying to identify seemingly infi nite numbers of combinations which we simply call “knots”
-and I see this as an inspiration to keep writing.
-
-One example of the wondrous versatility and potential of knots is how they are used to archive
-and encrypt information. Incan people from the Andes region recorded information on Quipus,
-dating back to 700 CE. Quipus are textile devices consisting of several rows of cotton and/or
-camelid string that would be knotted in a specifi c way to record, store and transmit information
-ranging from accounting and census data to communicate complex mathematical and narrative
-information (Medrano, Urton, 2018). Another example is the Yakima Time Ball, which was used
-by North-American Yakama people to show life events and family aff airs.
-This is why I humbly decided to document my research process with a Quipu of my own. I am
-trying to symbolize the twists, decisions and practices throughout this year with knots of my
-choosing. I was inspired by Nayeli Vega’s question, “What can a knot become and what can become
-a knot?”
    +

    I would like to clarify and introduce some terms for you in order to +read this text in the desired way. For a while, we will stay in the +bight of this journey as we move into forming loops, theories and ideas +on how interactive picture books can be used to foster curiosity for +reading and creativity for children. I am building a web platform called +Wink that aims to contain a children’s story I wrote and am making into +an interactive experience, in relation to my research.

    +

    Through this bight of the thesis, I feel the necessity to clarify my +intention of using knots as a “thinking and writing object” throughout +my research journey. Although knots are physical objects and technically +crucial in many fields of labor and life, they are also objects of +thought and are open for wide minds’ appreciation. Throughout history, +knots have been used to connect, stop, secure, bind, protect, decorate, +record data, punish, contain, fly and many other purposes. So if the +invention of flying -which required a wing that was supported using +certain types of knotswas initiated with the knowledge of how to use +strings to make things, why wouldn’t a research paper make use of this +wonderful art as an inspiration for writing and interactive reading?

    +

    KNOTS AS OBJECTS TO THINK +WITH

    +

    There is a delicate complexity of thinking of and with knots, which +ignites layers of simultaneous connections to one’s specific experience; +where one person may associate the knots with struggles they face, +another may think of connecting or thriving times. In a workshop in +Rotterdam, I asked participants to write three words that comes to mind +when they think of knots. There were some words in common like strong, +chaotic, confusing and anxious. On the other hand, there were variations +of connection, binding, bridge and support. Keeping these answers in +mind or by coming up with your words on knots and embodying them in the +practice of reading would make a diff erence in how you understand the +same text.

    +

    Seeing how these words, interpretations of a physical object were so +diff erent to each other was transcendental. In this thesis, I am +excited to share my understanding of knots with you. My three words for +knots are resistance, imagination and infinity. Keeping these in mind, I +experimented with certain reading modes as you will see later on.

    +

    Knots are known to be used 15 to 17 thousand years ago for multiple +purposes. These purposes were often opposing each other. For example, it +could be used to let something loose or to restrain it; for pleasure or +pain; for going high above or down below… I believe this diversity of +uses can also be seen in how people approach knots as an idea or a +metaphor. One can think it represents chaos where someone else might see +it as a helpful mark. Essentially, this diversity is what got me +interested in knots years ago and since then, I have found ways to +implement this “loop of thought” in my daily life and research +methods.

    +

    There are two main reasons to why I chose to write this essay in a +“knotted” format. One is that I would like to share my process and +progress of research on this project and this involves “thinking with an +object”, in this case types of knots. In Evocative Objects, Sherry +Turkle, who is a sociologist and the founder of MIT initiative of +technology and self, refers to the object in the exercise of thinking as +emotional and intellectual companions that anchor memory, sustain +relationships and provoke new ideas. I completely agree with this +statement through personal experience. The second reason is that I see +this as an opportunity to experiment if I can use knots as an +interactive (which is not in knots’ nature since they are mainly +practiced in solo) and playful element in writing. This is also why I +would like to take a moment to mention what happens to the interplay of +processes in which we call thought when we think with knots in +specific.

    +

    For Turkle and Seymour Papert, who is a mathematician, computer +scientist and educator that did remarkable research on constructivism, +being able to make a reading experience tangible, or even physically +representable makes the process of thought more concrete. Concrete +thinking in this sense is a way of thinking that I adapted to in the +past years, where you think with the object and imagine it vividly +during the process and address meanings to it as you read or write +along. This way it’s easier to compartmentalize or attribute certain +parts of a text to an imagined or real physical item which makes the +mind at ease with complex chains of thought. Imagine you are reading a +story… What if you think of the string itself as the journey and the +slip knot (which is a type of stopper knot) as a representation of an +antagonist because of its specific use in hunting, would this change +your approach to reading this story? I believe so…

    +

    What if instead of a slip knot a Bowline was on the string, would +that represent something else in the story because of its usage in +practice. A Bowline is commonly used to form a fixed loop at the end of +a string; it’s strong but easy to tie, untie. Due to these qualities, we +can imagine the bowline to represent the conclusion in a story. What if +we have a Square Knot, how would that change the course of a narrative? +Square knot is used to bundle objects and make the two ends of the same +string connect. From just this, we can use it to represent the +connection between the beginning and end of a story. My point is, there +are limitless implementations on how to use knots in literature because +of their versatile purposes and the narrative vocabulary they create. +Topologists are still trying to identify seemingly infinite numbers of +combinations which we simply call “knots” and I see this as an +inspiration to keep writing.

    +

    One example of the wondrous versatility and potential of knots is how +they are used to archive and encrypt information. Incan people from the +Andes region recorded information on Quipus, dating back to 700 CE. +Quipus are textile devices consisting of several rows of cotton and/or +camelid string that would be knotted in a specific way to record, store +and transmit information ranging from accounting and census data to +communicate complex mathematical and narrative information (Medrano, +Urton, 2018). Another example is the Yakima Time Ball, which was used by +North-American Yakama people to show life events and family aff airs. +This is why I humbly decided to document my research process with a +Quipu of my own. I am trying to symbolize the twists, decisions and +practices throughout this year with knots of my choosing. I was inspired +by Nayeli Vega’s question, “What can a knot become and what can become a +knot?”

    WEAVING INTO THE TEXT

    -
    This thesis expects participation from its reader. You have the option to have a mode of reading,
-where you will be guided by strings to start reading from a certain section according to the type of
-reader you are and read the loops one by one until the end, weaving through the text. To determine
-the string or mode of reading, there are some simple questions to answer.
-The three modes of reading are combine, slide, build . After you discover the starting point
-with the yes or no map in the upcoming pages, you will continue the reading journey through the
-strings of diff erent colors that will get you through the text. This way, the linear text will become
-in a way, non-linear by your personal experience.
-
-Bear in mind that you can choose to read this thesis from beginning to end as a single string too if
-you wish so.
-
-Combine mode of reading is for readers who are more interested in the journey and the connections
-between process and result. Slide mode of reading is for more laid back readers who
-aren’t looking to connect ideas but are more focused on the motivation and purpose of the
-project. Build readers are detail oriented and academic readers who would prefer a “traditional”
-lead to reading.
-
-Alongside the different strings to follow the text, there will be little drawings in the margins as seen above, which will have diff erent representations like in a Quipu. Certain knots represent the experiences that raise interesting opportunities for research and distinct events I went through while making the project and underneath the drawing you can fi nd the relation to the knot itself explained.
-For example if I couldn’t manage to do something I planned to do, this will be represented with a
-broken knot. Bend knots which are used to connect two strings, will be representing the relation between theories and my ownexperiences/motivations. Hitches which are knots that are formed around a
-solid object, such as a spar, post, or ring will be representing the evidence or data I have collected on the subject. We move on now with the working end and make some loops!
-
-This map will reveal your mode of reading. The order of reading will be indicated with a loop sign
-Please hold a string in your hand as you read the text and make knots or loops as you weave through the
-reading as an exercise for concrete thinking. See you at the standing end!
-and a number on top of the sign with a color. This is the numeric order you can follow to read the thesis.
    +

    This thesis expects participation from its reader. You have the +option to have a mode of reading, where you will be guided by strings to +start reading from a certain section according to the type of reader you +are and read the loops one by one until the end, weaving through the +text. To determine the string or mode of reading, there are some simple +questions to answer. The three modes of reading are combine, slide, +build . After you discover the starting point with the yes or no map in +the upcoming pages, you will continue the reading journey through the +strings of diff erent colors that will get you through the text. This +way, the linear text will become in a way, non-linear by your personal +experience.

    +

    Bear in mind that you can choose to read this thesis from beginning +to end as a single string too if you wish so.

    +

    Combine mode of reading is for readers who are more interested in the +journey and the connections between process and result. Slide mode of +reading is for more laid back readers who aren’t looking to connect +ideas but are more focused on the motivation and purpose of the project. +Build readers are detail oriented and academic readers who would prefer +a “traditional” lead to reading.

    +

    Alongside the different strings to follow the text, there will be +little drawings in the margins as seen above, which will have diff erent +representations like in a Quipu. Certain knots represent the experiences +that raise interesting opportunities for research and distinct events I +went through while making the project and underneath the drawing you can +find the relation to the knot itself explained. For example if I +couldn’t manage to do something I planned to do, this will be +represented with a broken knot. Bend knots which are used to connect two +strings, will be representing the relation between theories and my +ownexperiences/motivations. Hitches which are knots that are formed +around a solid object, such as a spar, post, or ring will be +representing the evidence or data I have collected on the subject. We +move on now with the working end and make some loops!

    +

    This map will reveal your mode of reading. The order of reading will +be indicated with a loop sign Please hold a string in your hand as you +read the text and make knots or loops as you weave through the reading +as an exercise for concrete thinking. See you at the standing end! and a +number on top of the sign with a color. This is the numeric order you +can follow to read the thesis.

    Working End

    Why am I doing this?

    -
    My desire to write a children’s book about grief and memory ignited when I was studying in college
-and doing an internship in a publishing house in Ankara. I was struggling to process a loss I
-experienced at the time and to fi nd something to cling to on a daily basis. Then one day I started
-hearing a buzzing sound in my bedroom at my family’s house. I searched everywhere but couldn’t
-fi nd the source for this noise. I asked my father and he started searching too. A couple of days
-passed and the buzzing was still there.
-
-One day I found a bee on the fl oor in my bedroom and realized that the bees nested on the roof
-and were coming inside my room through a gap in the lamp. I was terrifi ed because I have an
-allergy to bees and thought they might sting me in my sleep. This moment was when I realized I
-was so determined to fi nd this buzzing sound for some time that I forgot about dealing with the
-loss I was experiencing. This made me feel very guilty and I remember thinking I betrayed the
-person I lost.
-
-As funny as it may appear, I felt like I was sabotaged by these bees that I thought were here to
-hurt me but in the end they made me understand that its ok to let things go and every being does
-what it has to do to fi nd its way of survival. The little habitat that they chose to create in my room
-seemed like a calling or a sign that I can aff ect another living being signifi cantly without being
-aware of it. This goes for everything, no matter if some people leave us in this world, they have
-living matter in us that keeps pulsing. So then I started researching bees and their ecosystems. I
-read Alan Watts, Alan Lightman, Emily Dickinson, Maurice Sendak, Meghan O’Rourke, Oliver
-Sacks, Joanna Macy, Rilke, Montaigne and theories on order in chaos, correlative vision, harmony
-of contained confl icts and the mortality paradox. I wrote a lot and erased a lot and fairly
-figured out the wisdom of not knowing things.
-
-Years passed and I wrote and deleted and rewrote the story that I am working on to make interactive
-today so many times and was waiting on it because it always felt incomplete. In a way it
-will always be incomplete because of the natural ambiguity the topic carries. Years later, grief was
-back in my life with the loss of my grandfather. So therefore, the story I wrote and abandoned
-changed again as I attempted to rewrite it as a diff erent version of myself with a diff erent understanding of death. And this went on… The story remained hidden and I forgot why it ever existed
-in the fi rst place.
-
-Last year when two earthquakes hit Syria and Turkey, I was drowned like everyone I know, by a
-collective trauma and grief. Then this horrible feeling fl ared up by neglect and desperation. It was
-and still is impossible to mourn so many strangers at the same time. I lost two dear friends, I was
-furious, away from home, mostly alone and remembered vividly my failed attempt to understand
-or place grief in one of the piles in my mind.
-
-Previous months, I was working on this story (yes, again) but didn’t know how to tackle the text
-because it was so diff erent to what I was experiencing now, when compared to the last time I rewrote
-it. A tutor asked me why I wrote this story in the fi rst place and I couldn’t remember. I kept
-tracing back to 2016 and step by step, remembered why, as told above. The consciousness that this
-story is actually a personal history of how I went through grief in diff erent stages of my life, made
-me realise that it doesn’t have to be or even can be a perfect story.
-
-In the end with the experience I had with loss, I believe the story turned out to be an ode to
-remembering or might I say an ode to not being able to forget or an ode to the fear of forgetting
    +

    My desire to write a children’s book about grief and memory ignited +when I was studying in college and doing an internship in a publishing +house in Ankara. I was struggling to process a loss I experienced at the +time and to find something to cling to on a daily basis. Then one day I +started hearing a buzzing sound in my bedroom at my family’s house. I +searched everywhere but couldn’t find the source for this noise. I asked +my father and he started searching too. A couple of days passed and the +buzzing was still there.

    +

    One day I found a bee on the floor in my bedroom and realized that +the bees nested on the roof and were coming inside my room through a gap +in the lamp. I was terrified because I have an allergy to bees and +thought they might sting me in my sleep. This moment was when I realized +I was so determined to find this buzzing sound for some time that I +forgot about dealing with the loss I was experiencing. This made me feel +very guilty and I remember thinking I betrayed the person I lost.

    +

    As funny as it may appear, I felt like I was sabotaged by these bees +that I thought were here to hurt me but in the end they made me +understand that its ok to let things go and every being does what it has +to do to find its way of survival. The little habitat that they chose to +create in my room seemed like a calling or a sign that I can aff ect +another living being significantly without being aware of it. This goes +for everything, no matter if some people leave us in this world, they +have living matter in us that keeps pulsing. So then I started +researching bees and their ecosystems. I read Alan Watts, Alan Lightman, +Emily Dickinson, Maurice Sendak, Meghan O’Rourke, Oliver Sacks, Joanna +Macy, Rilke, Montaigne and theories on order in chaos, correlative +vision, harmony of contained conflicts and the mortality paradox. I +wrote a lot and erased a lot and fairly figured out the wisdom of not +knowing things.

    +

    Years passed and I wrote and deleted and rewrote the story that I am +working on to make interactive today so many times and was waiting on it +because it always felt incomplete. In a way it will always be incomplete +because of the natural ambiguity the topic carries. Years later, grief +was back in my life with the loss of my grandfather. So therefore, the +story I wrote and abandoned changed again as I attempted to rewrite it +as a diff erent version of myself with a diff erent understanding of +death. And this went on… The story remained hidden and I forgot why it +ever existed in the first place.

    +

    Last year when two earthquakes hit Syria and Turkey, I was drowned +like everyone I know, by a collective trauma and grief. Then this +horrible feeling flared up by neglect and desperation. It was and still +is impossible to mourn so many strangers at the same time. I lost two +dear friends, I was furious, away from home, mostly alone and remembered +vividly my failed attempt to understand or place grief in one of the +piles in my mind.

    +

    Previous months, I was working on this story (yes, again) but didn’t +know how to tackle the text because it was so diff erent to what I was +experiencing now, when compared to the last time I rewrote it. A tutor +asked me why I wrote this story in the first place and I couldn’t +remember. I kept tracing back to 2016 and step by step, remembered why, +as told above. The consciousness that this story is actually a personal +history of how I went through grief in diff erent stages of my life, +made me realise that it doesn’t have to be or even can be a perfect +story.

    +

    In the end with the experience I had with loss, I believe the story +turned out to be an ode to remembering or might I say an ode to not +being able to forget or an ode to the fear of forgetting

    Loop 2

    -
    The effect of storytelling knowledge on kids’ development and creativity. What can
-we learn from open ended and multiple ending stories?
-
-ability to form basic stories or to express their emotions through fi ctional characters or events.
-Children are not born with a wide vocabulary of emotions and expressions. They learn how to
-read, mimic and express their feelings over time. The more children read, write and are exposed
-to social environments, the more they widen their sense and ability of expressing themselves. The
-language gained as kids comes in many forms and storytelling plays a crucial role in this development.
-The exposure to stories prepares the kids to the era of reading and writing. Children come
-to understand and value feelings through conversation (Dettore, 2002). When children are off ered
-to read or share stories, they also learn to understand people around them better and gain emotional
-literacy.
-
-Storytelling has been a means of communicating with others for many centuries. It is not only
-a way to discuss important events, but also a way to entertain one another (Lawrence & Paige,
-2013). Stories have been told orally, in writing or with drawings for thousands of years and some
-of these stories are still alive. This is because language is a living thing that travels through time
-and still remains brand new. When necessary, it just adapts form, evolves and blends in with the
-changing world. Children comprehend the idea that they have a story to tell by hearing other
-stories and this ignites the imagination. We tend to forget many things but almost everyone remembers
-one small story they heard or read when they were a kid, this moment we remember is
-the moment a certain story sparked for us.
-
-Nowadays storytelling takes many forms. For example, some readers’ story might even begin from
-here although it isn’t the beginning. Interactivity is one of the storytelling forms that can signifi -
-cantly improve children’s creativity. This is mainly because children as readers or listeners get to
-contribute and aff ect the story. This of course requires and improves creative and active thinking.
-Getting the chance to choose a path for a fi ctional character gives the child the freedom and confi
-dence of constructing a world, a character or an adventure. Although this is essentially “writing”
-as we know it, children think of this as a game, yet to discover they are actually becoming writers.
-What kind of reward can we expect from active participation in a story? Narrative pleasure can
-be generally described in terms of immersions (spatial, temporal, emotional, epistemic) in a fi ctional
-world (Ryan, 2009). When we are set to create or co-create a world, the narrative has eff ects
-on us such as curiosity, suspense and surprise. At this point, we start creatively producing ideas to
-keep these three emotions.
-
-Interactive storytelling reminds everyone but especially children that there are limitless endings to
-a story that is solely up to the maker’s creation. Learning to think this way instead of knowing or
-assuming an end to a story, I think infl uences the children’s decision making abilities and sense of
-responsibility towards their creations. It is basically the same in theatre where if an actor chooses
-to create an imaginary suitcase on stage, they can’t simply leave this object they created on stage
-and exit the scene because the audience will wonder why the actor didn’t take the imaginary
-suitcase as they left. In this case, when kids decide to choose a path or item or any attribute for a
-character in a story, they feel responsible and curious to see it through to the end or decide what
-to do with it. This interactivity therefore creates a unique bond between the reader/writer and
-the text.
-
-There are many theories on how to approach interactive literature for children. Multi-literacy theory
-and digital literacies are some of the theories which I fi nd relevant to my aim with Wink. Multiliteracy theory in a nutshell is an education oriented framework that aims to expand traditional
-reading and writing skills. This theory was developed by the New London Group. They were a
-collective of scholars and educators who addressed the changing nature of literacy in an increasingly
-globalized, digital world. The theory explores multiple modes of communication consisting
-The sense of storytelling settles for kids, starting from age three. By this time, children have the
-of multimodal communication, cultural and social contexts, critical inquiry, socio-cultural learning
-theory and pedagogical implications. Multimodal communication focuses on the variety of
-communication techniques. This was groundbreaking in the 90s because of its acknowledgment
-of a diverse range of literacies and its departure from traditional approaches to literary texts. This
-theory includes new media and communication studies such as visual, digital, special and gestural
-literacies.
-
-I kept this theory in mind as I chose the interactivity elements to use in the picture book. I think
-the usage of multiple media such as sound, image and games is a good way to start and diff erentiate
-from a regular interactive e-book. The fact that this theory has an educational perspective and
-is taking the rapidly changing qualities of literature seriously, made me consider it as a guide in
-designing the prototype.
-
-Looking through the perspective of multiliteracies, questions come up for me that lead to the
-rest of this thesis: What is an interactive picture book? Is it a book? Is it a game? Is it an exercise?
-
-What is it defined as? How can we design an interactive reading environment without confusing
-children?
    +

    The effect of storytelling knowledge on kids’ development and +creativity. What can we learn from open ended and multiple ending +stories?

    +

    ability to form basic stories or to express their emotions through +fictional characters or events. Children are not born with a wide +vocabulary of emotions and expressions. They learn how to read, mimic +and express their feelings over time. The more children read, write and +are exposed to social environments, the more they widen their sense and +ability of expressing themselves. The language gained as kids comes in +many forms and storytelling plays a crucial role in this development. +The exposure to stories prepares the kids to the era of reading and +writing. Children come to understand and value feelings through +conversation (Dettore, 2002). When children are off ered to read or +share stories, they also learn to understand people around them better +and gain emotional literacy.

    +

    Storytelling has been a means of communicating with others for many +centuries. It is not only a way to discuss important events, but also a +way to entertain one another (Lawrence & Paige, 2013). Stories have +been told orally, in writing or with drawings for thousands of years and +some of these stories are still alive. This is because language is a +living thing that travels through time and still remains brand new. When +necessary, it just adapts form, evolves and blends in with the changing +world. Children comprehend the idea that they have a story to tell by +hearing other stories and this ignites the imagination. We tend to +forget many things but almost everyone remembers one small story they +heard or read when they were a kid, this moment we remember is the +moment a certain story sparked for us.

    +

    Nowadays storytelling takes many forms. For example, some readers’ +story might even begin from here although it isn’t the beginning. +Interactivity is one of the storytelling forms that can signifi- cantly +improve children’s creativity. This is mainly because children as +readers or listeners get to contribute and aff ect the story. This of +course requires and improves creative and active thinking. Getting the +chance to choose a path for a fictional character gives the child the +freedom and confi dence of constructing a world, a character or an +adventure. Although this is essentially “writing” as we know it, +children think of this as a game, yet to discover they are actually +becoming writers. What kind of reward can we expect from active +participation in a story? Narrative pleasure can be generally described +in terms of immersions (spatial, temporal, emotional, epistemic) in a +fictional world (Ryan, 2009). When we are set to create or co-create a +world, the narrative has eff ects on us such as curiosity, suspense and +surprise. At this point, we start creatively producing ideas to keep +these three emotions.

    +

    Interactive storytelling reminds everyone but especially children +that there are limitless endings to a story that is solely up to the +maker’s creation. Learning to think this way instead of knowing or +assuming an end to a story, I think influences the children’s decision +making abilities and sense of responsibility towards their creations. It +is basically the same in theatre where if an actor chooses to create an +imaginary suitcase on stage, they can’t simply leave this object they +created on stage and exit the scene because the audience will wonder why +the actor didn’t take the imaginary suitcase as they left. In this case, +when kids decide to choose a path or item or any attribute for a +character in a story, they feel responsible and curious to see it +through to the end or decide what to do with it. This interactivity +therefore creates a unique bond between the reader/writer and the +text.

    +

    There are many theories on how to approach interactive literature for +children. Multi-literacy theory and digital literacies are some of the +theories which I find relevant to my aim with Wink. Multiliteracy theory +in a nutshell is an education oriented framework that aims to expand +traditional reading and writing skills. This theory was developed by the +New London Group. They were a collective of scholars and educators who +addressed the changing nature of literacy in an increasingly globalized, +digital world. The theory explores multiple modes of communication +consisting The sense of storytelling settles for kids, starting from age +three. By this time, children have the of multimodal communication, +cultural and social contexts, critical inquiry, socio-cultural learning +theory and pedagogical implications. Multimodal communication focuses on +the variety of communication techniques. This was groundbreaking in the +90s because of its acknowledgment of a diverse range of literacies and +its departure from traditional approaches to literary texts. This theory +includes new media and communication studies such as visual, digital, +special and gestural literacies.

    +

    I kept this theory in mind as I chose the interactivity elements to +use in the picture book. I think the usage of multiple media such as +sound, image and games is a good way to start and diff erentiate from a +regular interactive e-book. The fact that this theory has an educational +perspective and is taking the rapidly changing qualities of literature +seriously, made me consider it as a guide in designing the +prototype.

    +

    Looking through the perspective of multiliteracies, questions come up +for me that lead to the rest of this thesis: What is an interactive +picture book? Is it a book? Is it a game? Is it an exercise?

    +

    What is it defined as? How can we design an interactive reading +environment without confusing children?

    Loop 3

    -
    Diff erences and similarities between interactive e-books and storytelling games
-
-Storytelling games and interactive e-books have many things in common. To begin with, they
-both centralize the narrative to engage the audience. While both of these formats are storytelling
-tools, e-books tend to stay more in a linear narrative and format when compared to storytelling
-games where the audience is commonly the main character. Reading experiences are also a way
-to be in the shoes of the narrator or the character but in a storytelling game, you embody the mission
-and the experience overrules the story most of the time. In the specifi c example of a child,
-storytelling games are complicated and puzzle driven where the player has missions to complete.
-Whereas in an interactive e-book, the missions are solely based on the interactive elements implemented
-in the text and images.
-
-Another diff erence is that the visual world in an interactive e-book is less cinematic and has limited
-movement. The imagery plays a massive role in a storytelling game where the world created is
-off ered to the player. In an interactive e-book, the text itself is designed to be playful and ready for readers to discover.
-
-The main diff erence in my opinion that separates these two methods of storytelling is the reward.
-In a game, we expect to be rewarded by a victory, passing a level or unlocking something throughout
-the experience. In an interactive e-book, we work with the story and in return we expect a
-good experience and there is no reward other than that. But, the whole design of interactivity
-involves aspects of a game where the reader –not the player- is captured by surprise eff ects or
-elements that come up on the pages. This ignites curiosity but not ambition, which is a good start
-to foster the love for reading.
    +

    Diff erences and similarities between interactive e-books and +storytelling games

    +

    Storytelling games and interactive e-books have many things in +common. To begin with, they both centralize the narrative to engage the +audience. While both of these formats are storytelling tools, e-books +tend to stay more in a linear narrative and format when compared to +storytelling games where the audience is commonly the main character. +Reading experiences are also a way to be in the shoes of the narrator or +the character but in a storytelling game, you embody the mission and the +experience overrules the story most of the time. In the specific example +of a child, storytelling games are complicated and puzzle driven where +the player has missions to complete. Whereas in an interactive e-book, +the missions are solely based on the interactive elements implemented in +the text and images.

    +

    Another diff erence is that the visual world in an interactive e-book +is less cinematic and has limited movement. The imagery plays a massive +role in a storytelling game where the world created is off ered to the +player. In an interactive e-book, the text itself is designed to be +playful and ready for readers to discover.

    +

    The main diff erence in my opinion that separates these two methods +of storytelling is the reward. In a game, we expect to be rewarded by a +victory, passing a level or unlocking something throughout the +experience. In an interactive e-book, we work with the story and in +return we expect a good experience and there is no reward other than +that. But, the whole design of interactivity involves aspects of a game +where the reader –not the player- is captured by surprise eff ects or +elements that come up on the pages. This ignites curiosity but not +ambition, which is a good start to foster the love for reading.

    Loop 4

    -
    Ways of using interactivity in digital platforms
-
-CASA theory, also known as the Cognitive-Aff ective-Social Theory of Learning and Development,
-is a framework used in educational psychology to understand how learning occurs within
-the context of cognitive, aff ective, and social factors. Research on cognitive learning with keeping
-in mind the limited attention span and memory factors. For children in specifi c, I think these are
-very important factors to keep in mind when trying to design an interactive experience. This is because
-children get bored very easily and can be disengaged because of failure of solving/understanding
-something in a story. This is something I kept in mind as I wrote for children and chose
-the interactive elements in the story. 
-
-Finding the balance between making the interactive element surprising and making it easy to
-interact with is the key to designing for kids in this scenario. We don’t want to make them struggle
-and use the limited attention span in a non-engaging way but we want to keep the reading interesting
-enough so they want to continue.
-
-Digging deeper into how to do this, I found Children Computer Interaction (CCI) study very
-useful. This study examines how children of diff erent ages and developmental stages interact with
-digital devices and how these interactions can support their growth. This made me think about
-digital gestures; how they change through generations and how to use these to design a platform
-where children can navigate easily and freely. CCI suggests that when introducing a new media
-to children its better to start easy and clear when they try it. Through this I think the best easy
-interaction is the tap or click for children. It is easy to do, instinctive and common. So I decided to
-base the interactive elements on click animations.
-
-There are multiple ways to use digital gestures in storytelling to make the experience more intriguing.
-These are usually elements such as sound, animations, voice-overs that are ignited with a
-click or tap by the reader. For children younger than 5, its usually just tapping over the page and
-experiencing an action-reaction. For older kids between the ages 6-8, I made some workshops to
-fi gure out which types of interactive elements are most useful in engaging them in the reading
-process.
-
-It is true that sound and animations are very inclusive and it is engaging for kids to fi nd out which
-part of a page is interactive by clicking on images. Another thing I found out is that kids enjoy
-being a part of the story. For the prototype of Bee Within (the story I am using to test interactivity
-also can be read in the appendix) I will focus on color, sound and click based animations according
-to the results of my research.
    -

    ### Loop 5 What is the target age group for the designated prototype -and why?

    -
    It is tricky when it comes to choosing the right age spectrum for children’s interactive literature.
-Children between the ages 3-5, referred to as preschoolers have more developed social skills and
-day by day increasing interest in play. They can take on roles in imaginative play scenarios. They
-can also share and take turns more, listen and think about rules of a game. They can form friendships
-and connections easily.
-
-School age children are between the ages 6-12, which is Wink’s chosen age group is a little diff erent.
-These kids can form more rooted friendships and engage in more complex narratives. They
-learn to negotiate and compromise around this time as well. This age group is desired for Wink
-because kids this age are open to creative problem solving, connecting events and comprehending
-slightly more complex narratives. Moreover, this age group would benefi t the most from the interactive
-stories and the reading process because of the developmental phase they are in.
-
-The average amount of time children between these ages use on a daily basis is depending on
-their parents and circumstances. But to be fair, it is often not less than 2 hours. If a child isn’t very interested in spending these hours reading a book, why not ask them: “Would you like to be a part
-of a story?”
-
-Today, kids from age 3 can use digital gestures successfully and experience these as simple as
-fl ipping the page of a book. This is why it is fairly easy to create an interactive picture book which
-kids can navigate themselves and be able to browse through with or without their parents. But for
-Wink, I chose to design for older kids because I want to experiment on multi-leveled narratives
-and I want to avoid the risk of confusing children.
    -

    ### Loop 6 Limits of interactivity in narratives for children and why -do we have less modes of reading and writing for children?

    -
    Although there are many upsides of creating digital environments for children due to their advanced
-skills in technology from early ages, there are also risks involved in this where the kid can
-be overwhelmed and confused due to the autonomy they receive. Reading a story is supposed to
-be eff ortless and a good free time activity but with interactive picture books, it is slightly more
-than that and more complicated as an experience.
-
-First of all, with the story at hand, called Bee Within, there are two other stories in one. Although
-the main story is about a little girl’s journey, kids get the chance to hear the Queen Bee’s story and
-the tree’s story as well. This is not a must but if they interact with certain pictures on the page,
-they will be led to the bee’s perspective or the trees. This is where the storyline can get a little bit complicated for younger kids. The child reader at this point should be able to follow the main
-storyline after visiting the side quests or stories presented in the interactive book. To create this
-balance I tried to limit the interactive elements I used in the main story. I tried to keep the picture
-animations limited and focused more on the storylines.
-
-Another aspect I am concerned about after the workshop I did with the kids, is the risk of confusion
-due to an undefi ned and multimodal design for a “book”. Kids tend to be confused when
-they can’t defi ne things or are asked to improvise without knowing the purpose.They know what a
-book is and that it is similar to what they encounter on the screen. But the method of reading and
-interacting with Bee Within is diff erent than what they are used to. This concerns me because they
-might prefer to just read a book or play a game instead of discovering a new thing, which they
-are exposed to daily because they are always in a process of active learning. So one more thing to
-learn might come as exhausting. Therefore, in designing, I want to make interactions as clear as
-possible for them.
    +

    Ways of using interactivity in digital platforms

    +

    CASA theory, also known as the Cognitive-Aff ective-Social Theory of +Learning and Development, is a framework used in educational psychology +to understand how learning occurs within the context of cognitive, aff +ective, and social factors. Research on cognitive learning with keeping +in mind the limited attention span and memory factors. For children in +specific, I think these are very important factors to keep in mind when +trying to design an interactive experience. This is because children get +bored very easily and can be disengaged because of failure of +solving/understanding something in a story. This is something I kept in +mind as I wrote for children and chose the interactive elements in the +story.

    +

    Finding the balance between making the interactive element surprising +and making it easy to interact with is the key to designing for kids in +this scenario. We don’t want to make them struggle and use the limited +attention span in a non-engaging way but we want to keep the reading +interesting enough so they want to continue.

    +

    Digging deeper into how to do this, I found Children Computer +Interaction (CCI) study very useful. This study examines how children of +diff erent ages and developmental stages interact with digital devices +and how these interactions can support their growth. This made me think +about digital gestures; how they change through generations and how to +use these to design a platform where children can navigate easily and +freely. CCI suggests that when introducing a new media to children its +better to start easy and clear when they try it. Through this I think +the best easy interaction is the tap or click for children. It is easy +to do, instinctive and common. So I decided to base the interactive +elements on click animations.

    +

    There are multiple ways to use digital gestures in storytelling to +make the experience more intriguing. These are usually elements such as +sound, animations, voice-overs that are ignited with a click or tap by +the reader. For children younger than 5, its usually just tapping over +the page and experiencing an action-reaction. For older kids between the +ages 6-8, I made some workshops to figure out which types of interactive +elements are most useful in engaging them in the reading process.

    +

    It is true that sound and animations are very inclusive and it is +engaging for kids to find out which part of a page is interactive by +clicking on images. Another thing I found out is that kids enjoy being a +part of the story. For the prototype of Bee Within (the story I am using +to test interactivity also can be read in the appendix) I will focus on +color, sound and click based animations according to the results of my +research.

    +

    Loop 5

    +

    What is the target age group for the designated prototype and +why?

    +

    It is tricky when it comes to choosing the right age spectrum for +children’s interactive literature. Children between the ages 3-5, +referred to as preschoolers have more developed social skills and day by +day increasing interest in play. They can take on roles in imaginative +play scenarios. They can also share and take turns more, listen and +think about rules of a game. They can form friendships and connections +easily.

    +

    School age children are between the ages 6-12, which is Wink’s chosen +age group is a little diff erent. These kids can form more rooted +friendships and engage in more complex narratives. They learn to +negotiate and compromise around this time as well. This age group is +desired for Wink because kids this age are open to creative problem +solving, connecting events and comprehending slightly more complex +narratives. Moreover, this age group would benefit the most from the +interactive stories and the reading process because of the developmental +phase they are in.

    +

    The average amount of time children between these ages use on a daily +basis is depending on their parents and circumstances. But to be fair, +it is often not less than 2 hours. If a child isn’t very interested in +spending these hours reading a book, why not ask them: “Would you like +to be a part of a story?”

    +

    Today, kids from age 3 can use digital gestures successfully and +experience these as simple as flipping the page of a book. This is why +it is fairly easy to create an interactive picture book which kids can +navigate themselves and be able to browse through with or without their +parents. But for Wink, I chose to design for older kids because I want +to experiment on multi-leveled narratives and I want to avoid the risk +of confusing children.

    +

    Loop 6

    +

    Limits of interactivity in narratives for children and why do we have +less modes of reading and writing for children?

    +

    Although there are many upsides of creating digital environments for +children due to their advanced skills in technology from early ages, +there are also risks involved in this where the kid can be overwhelmed +and confused due to the autonomy they receive. Reading a story is +supposed to be eff ortless and a good free time activity but with +interactive picture books, it is slightly more than that and more +complicated as an experience.

    +

    First of all, with the story at hand, called Bee Within, there are +two other stories in one. Although the main story is about a little +girl’s journey, kids get the chance to hear the Queen Bee’s story and +the tree’s story as well. This is not a must but if they interact with +certain pictures on the page, they will be led to the bee’s perspective +or the trees. This is where the storyline can get a little bit +complicated for younger kids. The child reader at this point should be +able to follow the main storyline after visiting the side quests or +stories presented in the interactive book. To create this balance I +tried to limit the interactive elements I used in the main story. I +tried to keep the picture animations limited and focused more on the +storylines.

    +

    Another aspect I am concerned about after the workshop I did with the +kids, is the risk of confusion due to an undefined and multimodal design +for a “book”. Kids tend to be confused when they can’t define things or +are asked to improvise without knowing the purpose.They know what a book +is and that it is similar to what they encounter on the screen. But the +method of reading and interacting with Bee Within is diff erent than +what they are used to. This concerns me because they might prefer to +just read a book or play a game instead of discovering a new thing, +which they are exposed to daily because they are always in a process of +active learning. So one more thing to learn might come as exhausting. +Therefore, in designing, I want to make interactions as clear as +possible for them.

    Loop 7

    -
    Interactive reading and writing examples and surveys done with kids
-As an improvisation theater enthusiast myself, I tried to engage the kids with the story through
-some exercises and games during the workshops. My aim was to see how involved they want to
-be in storytelling. Improvisation has a certain way of storytelling and interaction where there are
-either too many options or none. You need to have good empathy and harmony with the person
-you are acting with and you are designated to be creative in your own way. I tried to use several
-improv games and warmups to involve the kids in the story more and see how they see certain
-characters from the picture book.
-
-My first attempt was to make a survey at the end of workshops with kids to whether they liked it
-or not, but when I researched further, surveying with kids has very diff erent methods and complications.
-
-Most kids either really like or really dislike things. Finding the in between emotions with a survey,
-ends up being vague. Most surveys done with kids use emoticons as representation of a good or
-bad or average time. Instead, I chose to observe the environment and understand how much empathy
-kids can off er in an interactive reading or playing environment.
    +

    Interactive reading and writing examples and surveys done with kids +As an improvisation theater enthusiast myself, I tried to engage the +kids with the story through some exercises and games during the +workshops. My aim was to see how involved they want to be in +storytelling. Improvisation has a certain way of storytelling and +interaction where there are either too many options or none. You need to +have good empathy and harmony with the person you are acting with and +you are designated to be creative in your own way. I tried to use +several improv games and warmups to involve the kids in the story more +and see how they see certain characters from the picture book.

    +

    My first attempt was to make a survey at the end of workshops with +kids to whether they liked it or not, but when I researched further, +surveying with kids has very diff erent methods and complications.

    +

    Most kids either really like or really dislike things. Finding the in +between emotions with a survey, ends up being vague. Most surveys done +with kids use emoticons as representation of a good or bad or average +time. Instead, I chose to observe the environment and understand how +much empathy kids can off er in an interactive reading or playing +environment.

    Loop 8

    -
    What does the joy of destruction and the awe eff ect have to do with interactivity?
-Indeed, why did we ever start playing games? The most important aspect of a game for me is that
-it surprises you and leaves you in awe towards something you weren’t expecting happened. I feel
-like every reaction I give when I’m surprised, is a mirror of what I felt when I was playing freeze
-and had to stop moving at any given time or when I found the last friend hiding somewhere in
-hide and seek. This feeling of appreciation and unexpectedness is why most people remember
-certain games, movies from their childhoods very vividly. Its an introduction to a feeling we experience maybe for the fi rst time because we don’t necessarily learn from books how and when to
-feel surprised, that is why it’s a surprise; we live it, experience it and it leaves and impression with us.
-
-In my opinion, what drives everyone as a common denominator is amazement; because it takes
-us to our childhoods or distant memories where we fi rst felt that feeling of awe. This is the main
-purpose behind any kind of interactive design and I think books can be an amazing medium to
-experiment this with. Specifi cally because this ancient device can take us to numerous worlds.
-For me as a millennial, books give me enough amazement as it is. But as I worked in publishing
-through the years and observed, I think kids today need something more to ignite their interest.
-There are so many factors in a picture book such as the image, the text and sound which can be
-played with to create an experience that is more surprising. This is the main purpose behind my
-research and protoype. Today’s world being visually stimulating and serving very short attention
-spans with social media, it is a tough task to insert a story or reading experience that requires full
-attention and patience. There are examples of Tiktok stories, Instagram reels, audio books and
-games that try to tell stories worth listening with attention. Wink is also an attempt to do this and
-I believe the key is to make an already engaging story enriched with interactive elements that
-appear to you through a click if you choose to. I think this is also the key to nourishing a new way
-of storytelling.
    -

    ### Loop 9 Interactivity in reading and writing in history. What -changed?

    -
    Interactivity has always been an experimental area in literature from inscriptions to narrative
-games then to playable stories and artifi cial intelligence. I will expand some of these examples
-from the rich history of interactive fi ction. When I dig a little bit into the media archaeology there
-are three still relevant aspects that strike me and change/improve my approach to Wink. The fi rst
-is the need to connect that remains untouched through centuries of human communication, the
-second is how there were multiple projects concerning interactive media especially for kids that
-later turned into narrative games or remained as prototypes and lastly how the integration of media
-and literature has been such a grand topic even before information and technology era. Some
-examples to this is music, masks, puppets, props used in storytelling.
-
-Ancient texts with annotations such as The Odyssey, The Mahabharata are maybe the earliest
-written interactive experiences in a historical context. They are published with notes and explanations, clarifi cations which make the text inhabit diff erent opinions and approaches in an engaging way where the reader can choose to hop on and off from the annotation and margin texts.
-From the 70s to the present there have been many examples but I will be focusing on a few here.
-One of them is, Choose your own adventure books which allowed the reader to participate in
-the plot. These still exist as picture books where you are directed to certain pages according to
-the choices you make throughout the story. Along with this were also board games and cards that
-required interactive inputs. Some examples to this is exploding kittens or cards against humanity
-where the player has the autonomy to be creative and fi ll in the blanks to win the game. Simultaneously, text-based adventure games such as Zork and Adventure were popular. Early days of
-computing off ered a wide space for exploring virtual worlds. In the early 80s, hypertext fi ction
-contributed to electronic literature. Hyperlinks were used as a tool to navigate a text and choose
-paths of reading. This inspired me to write this thesis with diff erent modes of reading as well.
-After the 80’s, Interactive fi ction gained popularity as a genre of interacting with text based input.
-Dynabook by Alan Kay was prototyped during this time as a promising reading and writing device
-designed for children.
-
-The 21st century off ers a combination of text and illustrations in augmented reality books that
-have animations, sound and external interactions. These are followed by digital storytelling platforms
-like Wattpad and Storybird and interactive e-book apps such as Pibocco, Bookr and Tiny
-Minies. Most of these apps are dedicated to education however and not solely to creativity. Their
-aim is to use creative elements to foster education for kids.
-
-With Wink, I want to use a mainly educational tool (a book) to foster creativity and expression. So
-I believe it is the opposite purpose as to these examples in certain ways. I am trying to combine
-the delicacy of a narrative where you can only be a reader and the excitement of autonomous
-writing and experiencing.
-
-This is because I think the understanding and usage of media changed in the last years. Some
-tools that created the awe eff ect for users faded and left their place to more compact designs.
-Although audio books were very welcome at some point, younger users nowadays prefer book
-summary apps or podcasts to them. Of course they are still used and not outdated but there is
-certainly a visible change to where media is heading.
    +

    What does the joy of destruction and the awe eff ect have to do with +interactivity? Indeed, why did we ever start playing games? The most +important aspect of a game for me is that it surprises you and leaves +you in awe towards something you weren’t expecting happened. I feel like +every reaction I give when I’m surprised, is a mirror of what I felt +when I was playing freeze and had to stop moving at any given time or +when I found the last friend hiding somewhere in hide and seek. This +feeling of appreciation and unexpectedness is why most people remember +certain games, movies from their childhoods very vividly. Its an +introduction to a feeling we experience maybe for the first time because +we don’t necessarily learn from books how and when to feel surprised, +that is why it’s a surprise; we live it, experience it and it leaves and +impression with us.

    +

    In my opinion, what drives everyone as a common denominator is +amazement; because it takes us to our childhoods or distant memories +where we first felt that feeling of awe. This is the main purpose behind +any kind of interactive design and I think books can be an amazing +medium to experiment this with. Specifically because this ancient device +can take us to numerous worlds. For me as a millennial, books give me +enough amazement as it is. But as I worked in publishing through the +years and observed, I think kids today need something more to ignite +their interest. There are so many factors in a picture book such as the +image, the text and sound which can be played with to create an +experience that is more surprising. This is the main purpose behind my +research and protoype. Today’s world being visually stimulating and +serving very short attention spans with social media, it is a tough task +to insert a story or reading experience that requires full attention and +patience. There are examples of Tiktok stories, Instagram reels, audio +books and games that try to tell stories worth listening with attention. +Wink is also an attempt to do this and I believe the key is to make an +already engaging story enriched with interactive elements that appear to +you through a click if you choose to. I think this is also the key to +nourishing a new way of storytelling.

    +

    Loop 9

    +

    Interactivity in reading and writing in history. What changed?

    +

    Interactivity has always been an experimental area in literature from +inscriptions to narrative games then to playable stories and artificial +intelligence. I will expand some of these examples from the rich history +of interactive fiction. When I dig a little bit into the media +archaeology there are three still relevant aspects that strike me and +change/improve my approach to Wink. The first is the need to connect +that remains untouched through centuries of human communication, the +second is how there were multiple projects concerning interactive media +especially for kids that later turned into narrative games or remained +as prototypes and lastly how the integration of media and literature has +been such a grand topic even before information and technology era. Some +examples to this is music, masks, puppets, props used in +storytelling.

    +

    Ancient texts with annotations such as The Odyssey, The Mahabharata +are maybe the earliest written interactive experiences in a historical +context. They are published with notes and explanations, clarifications +which make the text inhabit diff erent opinions and approaches in an +engaging way where the reader can choose to hop on and off from the +annotation and margin texts. From the 70s to the present there have been +many examples but I will be focusing on a few here. One of them is, +Choose your own adventure books which allowed the reader to participate +in the plot. These still exist as picture books where you are directed +to certain pages according to the choices you make throughout the story. +Along with this were also board games and cards that required +interactive inputs. Some examples to this is exploding kittens or cards +against humanity where the player has the autonomy to be creative and +fill in the blanks to win the game. Simultaneously, text-based adventure +games such as Zork and Adventure were popular. Early days of computing +off ered a wide space for exploring virtual worlds. In the early 80s, +hypertext fiction contributed to electronic literature. Hyperlinks were +used as a tool to navigate a text and choose paths of reading. This +inspired me to write this thesis with diff erent modes of reading as +well. After the 80’s, Interactive fiction gained popularity as a genre +of interacting with text based input. Dynabook by Alan Kay was +prototyped during this time as a promising reading and writing device +designed for children.

    +

    The 21st century off ers a combination of text and illustrations in +augmented reality books that have animations, sound and external +interactions. These are followed by digital storytelling platforms like +Wattpad and Storybird and interactive e-book apps such as Pibocco, Bookr +and Tiny Minies. Most of these apps are dedicated to education however +and not solely to creativity. Their aim is to use creative elements to +foster education for kids.

    +

    With Wink, I want to use a mainly educational tool (a book) to foster +creativity and expression. So I believe it is the opposite purpose as to +these examples in certain ways. I am trying to combine the delicacy of a +narrative where you can only be a reader and the excitement of +autonomous writing and experiencing.

    +

    This is because I think the understanding and usage of media changed +in the last years. Some tools that created the awe eff ect for users +faded and left their place to more compact designs. Although audio books +were very welcome at some point, younger users nowadays prefer book +summary apps or podcasts to them. Of course they are still used and not +outdated but there is certainly a visible change to where media is +heading.

    Loop 10

    -
    Experimentation of creative exercises to be used in WINK. Exercises of storytelling
-with words, images, drawing, sound and gestures.
-
-Before I completed the prototype of Wink, I reached out to an international school in Rotterdam
-to make a 20 minute workshop with kids between ages 6-8. The aim here was to grasp the
-interactive elements in the picture book to implement in the digital framework. I wanted to see
-which parts of the story the children found exiting and which ones are not so thrilling for them.
-It also helped me draw the pictures for the book accordingly and edit the text with their reactions
-in mind. Due to a privacy agreement, I couldn’t record or use any data from the workshop but I
-made some helpful observations from my time there.
-
-The fi rst workshop I planned consisted of two main parts that made up 20 minutes. The fi rst 10
-minutes we read Bee Within (attached in the appendix) together in a circle and the last 10 minutes
-we played little improvisation games, focused on the three main characters in the story (the bee,
-the kid and the tree). I made three groups and gave these groups the three characters. I asked
-them to embody a character throughout the workshop and be loyal to it. Each group of three had
-1 minute on the stage to silently improvise their characters. They were to use one sentence if they
-wanted to speak.
-
-During the fi rst part, I couldn’t observe as I was busy reading but their teacher kindly took notes
-during this time, regarding the children’ reactions to parts of the story. I inserted the bees and
-trees narrative to the reading by tossing the paper I had in my hand and picking up a new one as I
-kept reading the bees and trees story. This was crucial because I wanted to see if this multiple stories in one concept would be confusing for kids. The teacher told me that they were excited about
-my gesture of juggling papers as I seemingly read one story. They were intrigued and confused
-at fi rst but they did keep up with the storyline and understood all. Her notes basically said they
-were very focused and less interested in the kids journey. They really liked the bee and were a bit
-confused with the tree.
-
-There were 12 international kids and 3 of them didn’t want to join the workshop, they wanted to
-observe. I told them that they could paint and draw what they see. The drawings they made were
-of their classmates acting as trees or bees. They drew their classmate with a stinger and the other
-was of a classmate as a tree with his hands wide open as he was performing.
-
-What struck me most on the second part of the workshop was how these kids used the room
-so freely and in relation to their characters. Because we read the story before the improvisation
-games, some of their characters were infl uenced by how it is in the story we read. Next workshop,
-I am planning to not tell the story but to talk about it before and give context. This is because I
-want to see how their understanding changes without a limitation of a story.
-
-Bees in the classroom that day were all very active and they used chairs, tables and windows to
-position themselves in a higher perspective. Children who played the kid were usually standing
-closer to the trees and looked very calm. Trees were all very diff erent. One of the kids used postits
-as leaves. Some of them didn’t have leaves because it is winter. Trees didn’t move at all and
-the bees were buzzing all around. “The kid” usually sat near the tree, on the tree (as in the other
-performers’ lap or hugged them).
-
-Overall only 2 groups used the option to say a sentence which were,
-“I want to go on an adventure”
-“I don’t wanna leave Gray(the tree)”
-
-This was a good feedback for me because I realized they are very perceptive of actions and facial
-expressions rather than words.
-The workshop we did in the studio with XPUB 2 students was harder than the session with the
-kids because everyone felt so restricted to obligations and were not comfortable to let go of bodily
-control. No one actually attempted in using objects from the room which is a huge diff erence with
-the kids because they drew on their faces, used plastic bags as wings for the bee and made sounds
-with their mouths as trees.
-
-The next workshop was to discover how improv would work without reading the story fi rst. This
-workshop was fruitful because it helped me realize how much information or guidance I have to
-off er for children in order for them to be comfortable to participate and interact without confusion.
-We made a circle and I summarized the story to the kids, acting in the middle of the circle. This
-broke the ice completely because I was a part of the workshop and they thought I was funny. For
-the next part, I divided the group in three and assigned a character to them. After this, I asked
-them to decide on an attitude, pop in the middle and tell or act out their character. I went fi rst
-and they followed easily. They were not under the infl uence of the story so the performances were
-diff erent but they still got infl uenced by each other, which in my opinion is inevitable. Some of the
-kids were buzzing/running around, the “kids” were walking around, acting like they are playing
-which I found very interesting. Some trees were small some were mighty and old. It was helpful to
-see the diff erent attributions they gave to the characters.
-
-After the circle session, they separated in three groups: the kids, the bees and the trees. I asked
-each group to come up, walk around randomly, embodying the character they chose. Then as I
-rang the bell, I asked them to change the character. I asked them to be a busy, tired, injured, happy
-and scared bee one by one. They kept walking randomly and acted these feelings out. For the
-“kids”, I asked them to be angry, sad, scared, and curious. For the trees I asked them to be wise,
-mad, funny and happy. The results were amazing. They adapted very quickly to the changing of
-emotions which showed me that this age gap was good to work with. The trees stopped walking
-as I changed the emotions and this was an affi rmation to not animate the tree with movement but
-more with changing of color and tiny animations. They mostly used arms and face expressions
-to show the emotions, some of them ducked or made sounds. As I said mad, one of the kids ran
-and put her red jacket on. This made me think about using color to show emotions for the tree. It
-was good to see that they weren’t scared or discouraged by negative emotions as well. We ended
-the workshop by drawing our characters. It was nice to see them own their imaginary characters
-enough to draw them with joy.
-
-The last workshop was dedicated to discovering the sound aspect. The tree in the story speaks
-in verses so I chose one verse and read/performed it in a circle to begin with. Then I gave them
-some instruments: a drum, a bell, aluminum folio, a balloon and a bubble wrap. I asked for a few
-volunteers and they made sound eff ects as I read the verse very slowly. This went good and I saw
-that they like to dramatize the sounds and make them funny or unexpected. They used the bubble
-wrap to make sounds for snowing or aluminum folio for the volcano. They had great fun but I
-think I made a mistake by making a few kids do foley at the same time because they didn’t know
-how to take turns and were hesitant at fi rst. Then quite impressively, they made their own system
-where they took turns to make eff ects for each sentence.
-
-Then I made four groups of three. 3 kids as actors and 3 kids as foley actors. They buddied up
-and made short scenes where one group made sounds eff ects to the others acting on stage. This
-was the best part of this workshop because they could lead the actors with the sounds they made
-or vice versa. This I think is very important because it shows that they like to be a part of or be
-eff ective to the story itself. They were very creative in using the objects in the room and turning
-them into a tool for sound. They enjoyed to foley the bee and the other characters not so much.
-Which showed me that I should focus on the sound of the bee in the prototype.
-
-Overall, the workshops were very helpful for me to understand where to focus on as I develop. I
-realized that some of the sound, color and movement animations I planned were too complicated
-and I decided to make them more simplistic. I decided to animate the tree with only color because
-I was eff ected by this one participant who took the red jacket to represent the tree was mad.
-For the bee I decided to focus on sound more. For the kid I decided to use more visual animations
-to make it more interesting.
-
-One other thing the workshops helped me with is the multiple stories I am planning to tell in one
-narrative. The book I have has two side quest/stories so it nice to see that kids weren’t confused
-with these narratives. I decided to make the story of the tree as a click game where the lines
-appear by clicking and the bee’s story through a text based game. I wanted to use click game with
-the tree because it seemed like they needed more stimulation to be interested in that story and I
-though a ‘reveal the story’ click game could keep them interested. For the bee, knowing they like
-the character, I wanted to make it more like a game to give the kids a chance and autonomy to be
-a part of the story itself.
    +

    Experimentation of creative exercises to be used in WINK. Exercises +of storytelling with words, images, drawing, sound and gestures.

    +

    Before I completed the prototype of Wink, I reached out to an +international school in Rotterdam to make a 20 minute workshop with kids +between ages 6-8. The aim here was to grasp the interactive elements in +the picture book to implement in the digital framework. I wanted to see +which parts of the story the children found exiting and which ones are +not so thrilling for them. It also helped me draw the pictures for the +book accordingly and edit the text with their reactions in mind. Due to +a privacy agreement, I couldn’t record or use any data from the workshop +but I made some helpful observations from my time there.

    +

    The first workshop I planned consisted of two main parts that made up +20 minutes. The first 10 minutes we read Bee Within (attached in the +appendix) together in a circle and the last 10 minutes we played little +improvisation games, focused on the three main characters in the story +(the bee, the kid and the tree). I made three groups and gave these +groups the three characters. I asked them to embody a character +throughout the workshop and be loyal to it. Each group of three had 1 +minute on the stage to silently improvise their characters. They were to +use one sentence if they wanted to speak.

    +

    During the first part, I couldn’t observe as I was busy reading but +their teacher kindly took notes during this time, regarding the +children’ reactions to parts of the story. I inserted the bees and trees +narrative to the reading by tossing the paper I had in my hand and +picking up a new one as I kept reading the bees and trees story. This +was crucial because I wanted to see if this multiple stories in one +concept would be confusing for kids. The teacher told me that they were +excited about my gesture of juggling papers as I seemingly read one +story. They were intrigued and confused at first but they did keep up +with the storyline and understood all. Her notes basically said they +were very focused and less interested in the kids journey. They really +liked the bee and were a bit confused with the tree.

    +

    There were 12 international kids and 3 of them didn’t want to join +the workshop, they wanted to observe. I told them that they could paint +and draw what they see. The drawings they made were of their classmates +acting as trees or bees. They drew their classmate with a stinger and +the other was of a classmate as a tree with his hands wide open as he +was performing.

    +

    What struck me most on the second part of the workshop was how these +kids used the room so freely and in relation to their characters. +Because we read the story before the improvisation games, some of their +characters were influenced by how it is in the story we read. Next +workshop, I am planning to not tell the story but to talk about it +before and give context. This is because I want to see how their +understanding changes without a limitation of a story.

    +

    Bees in the classroom that day were all very active and they used +chairs, tables and windows to position themselves in a higher +perspective. Children who played the kid were usually standing closer to +the trees and looked very calm. Trees were all very diff erent. One of +the kids used postits as leaves. Some of them didn’t have leaves because +it is winter. Trees didn’t move at all and the bees were buzzing all +around. “The kid” usually sat near the tree, on the tree (as in the +other performers’ lap or hugged them).

    +

    Overall only 2 groups used the option to say a sentence which were, +“I want to go on an adventure” “I don’t wanna leave Gray(the tree)”

    +

    This was a good feedback for me because I realized they are very +perceptive of actions and facial expressions rather than words. The +workshop we did in the studio with XPUB 2 students was harder than the +session with the kids because everyone felt so restricted to obligations +and were not comfortable to let go of bodily control. No one actually +attempted in using objects from the room which is a huge diff erence +with the kids because they drew on their faces, used plastic bags as +wings for the bee and made sounds with their mouths as trees.

    +

    The next workshop was to discover how improv would work without +reading the story first. This workshop was fruitful because it helped me +realize how much information or guidance I have to off er for children +in order for them to be comfortable to participate and interact without +confusion. We made a circle and I summarized the story to the kids, +acting in the middle of the circle. This broke the ice completely +because I was a part of the workshop and they thought I was funny. For +the next part, I divided the group in three and assigned a character to +them. After this, I asked them to decide on an attitude, pop in the +middle and tell or act out their character. I went first and they +followed easily. They were not under the influence of the story so the +performances were diff erent but they still got influenced by each +other, which in my opinion is inevitable. Some of the kids were +buzzing/running around, the “kids” were walking around, acting like they +are playing which I found very interesting. Some trees were small some +were mighty and old. It was helpful to see the diff erent attributions +they gave to the characters.

    +

    After the circle session, they separated in three groups: the kids, +the bees and the trees. I asked each group to come up, walk around +randomly, embodying the character they chose. Then as I rang the bell, I +asked them to change the character. I asked them to be a busy, tired, +injured, happy and scared bee one by one. They kept walking randomly and +acted these feelings out. For the “kids”, I asked them to be angry, sad, +scared, and curious. For the trees I asked them to be wise, mad, funny +and happy. The results were amazing. They adapted very quickly to the +changing of emotions which showed me that this age gap was good to work +with. The trees stopped walking as I changed the emotions and this was +an affirmation to not animate the tree with movement but more with +changing of color and tiny animations. They mostly used arms and face +expressions to show the emotions, some of them ducked or made sounds. As +I said mad, one of the kids ran and put her red jacket on. This made me +think about using color to show emotions for the tree. It was good to +see that they weren’t scared or discouraged by negative emotions as +well. We ended the workshop by drawing our characters. It was nice to +see them own their imaginary characters enough to draw them with +joy.

    +

    The last workshop was dedicated to discovering the sound aspect. The +tree in the story speaks in verses so I chose one verse and +read/performed it in a circle to begin with. Then I gave them some +instruments: a drum, a bell, aluminum folio, a balloon and a bubble +wrap. I asked for a few volunteers and they made sound eff ects as I +read the verse very slowly. This went good and I saw that they like to +dramatize the sounds and make them funny or unexpected. They used the +bubble wrap to make sounds for snowing or aluminum folio for the +volcano. They had great fun but I think I made a mistake by making a few +kids do foley at the same time because they didn’t know how to take +turns and were hesitant at first. Then quite impressively, they made +their own system where they took turns to make eff ects for each +sentence.

    +

    Then I made four groups of three. 3 kids as actors and 3 kids as +foley actors. They buddied up and made short scenes where one group made +sounds eff ects to the others acting on stage. This was the best part of +this workshop because they could lead the actors with the sounds they +made or vice versa. This I think is very important because it shows that +they like to be a part of or be eff ective to the story itself. They +were very creative in using the objects in the room and turning them +into a tool for sound. They enjoyed to foley the bee and the other +characters not so much. Which showed me that I should focus on the sound +of the bee in the prototype.

    +

    Overall, the workshops were very helpful for me to understand where +to focus on as I develop. I realized that some of the sound, color and +movement animations I planned were too complicated and I decided to make +them more simplistic. I decided to animate the tree with only color +because I was eff ected by this one participant who took the red jacket +to represent the tree was mad. For the bee I decided to focus on sound +more. For the kid I decided to use more visual animations to make it +more interesting.

    +

    One other thing the workshops helped me with is the multiple stories +I am planning to tell in one narrative. The book I have has two side +quest/stories so it nice to see that kids weren’t confused with these +narratives. I decided to make the story of the tree as a click game +where the lines appear by clicking and the bee’s story through a text +based game. I wanted to use click game with the tree because it seemed +like they needed more stimulation to be interested in that story and I +though a ‘reveal the story’ click game could keep them interested. For +the bee, knowing they like the character, I wanted to make it more like +a game to give the kids a chance and autonomy to be a part of the story +itself.

    Loop 11

    -
    The diff erences of these exercises in WINK than the already existing interactive
-e-book platforms
-The interactive e-book apps existing today, made especially for children, are quite similar in both
-format and purpose. If we take a look at Bookr, Piboco, and Kotobee, we can see they seek a new
-way to tell a story but have one mode of reading. The stories are linear and can be read once,
-without side quests. This is the main diff erence with what I am trying to design.
-Wink acts as a tool to play with and choose paths. The story isn’t linear in the traditional way
-where you interact with the pictures and fi nish the book but there are side stories to the main
-story that they can discover or choose not to. I think this is a solid diff erence. This makes it a playable narrative, diff erent from a book.
-
-This prototype is a good start to see how far I can get with the interactive elements and side
-stories without confusing or discouraging the children. There are many other aspects that can be
-implemented to this design such as writing elements and drawing but for the meantime, also in
-correspondence with the workshops, I choose to test the sound and image along with one main
-and two small narratives.
-
-For future prototypes, I envision space to draw and write as a contribution to the story and maybe
-turning Wink into a hybrid format with more autonomous features. For me, at this point, it’s valuable
-and essential to see if my technique of combining narratives is working or not.
    +

    The diff erences of these exercises in WINK than the already existing +interactive e-book platforms The interactive e-book apps existing today, +made especially for children, are quite similar in both format and +purpose. If we take a look at Bookr, Piboco, and Kotobee, we can see +they seek a new way to tell a story but have one mode of reading. The +stories are linear and can be read once, without side quests. This is +the main diff erence with what I am trying to design. Wink acts as a +tool to play with and choose paths. The story isn’t linear in the +traditional way where you interact with the pictures and finish the book +but there are side stories to the main story that they can discover or +choose not to. I think this is a solid diff erence. This makes it a +playable narrative, diff erent from a book.

    +

    This prototype is a good start to see how far I can get with the +interactive elements and side stories without confusing or discouraging +the children. There are many other aspects that can be implemented to +this design such as writing elements and drawing but for the meantime, +also in correspondence with the workshops, I choose to test the sound +and image along with one main and two small narratives.

    +

    For future prototypes, I envision space to draw and write as a +contribution to the story and maybe turning Wink into a hybrid format +with more autonomous features. For me, at this point, it’s valuable and +essential to see if my technique of combining narratives is working or +not.

    Loop 12

    Standing End

    -
    After many loops of thought, we are here at the standing end of the thesis. There is room for
-more loops and knots in the future to secure this string of thought but for now, we have come to
-the dock and rest ashore.
-
-Reading this thesis with a string, using concrete thinking as a technique to go through a research
-and text was a helpful exercise for me and helped me mark my thoughts and ideas. The overarching
-theme of knots and experimental approach to modes of reading was valuable for me to share
-and try as an enthusiastic young writer. I like that I asked the reader to interact with the thesis and
-follow paths accordingly.
-
-It was enlightening to see the results of working with kids and be able to see from their point of
-view and alter everything according to these encounters. Using CCI and Multiliteracy theory as
-a guide to approach the design and prototype was helpful in understanding how to approach and
-tackle the desire of making something for children.
-
-Now from where I stand, I feel more rooted and have a clearer idea of what works and doesn’t
-work. Some features that I think would work very well like the choice of writing didn’t go as
-planned because multiple narratives is already too much. I realized I underestimated the eff ect of
-introducing a new media to children. This is why I decided to take it step by step with the interactivity.
-
-Taking a step to make Wink and using the story I wrote and feel is important in my personal history
-as a prototype was a breakthrough. I feel like my interest and desire to discover new ways of
-writing, reading and experiencing literature is ongoing and it was a beautiful journey so far. I am
-looking forward to making more knots on this long and mysterious string at hand.
-
-Bibliography:
-Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (2009) ‘“multiliteracies”: New Literacies, new learning’, Pedagogies: An International
-Journal, 4(3), pp. 164–195. doi:10.1080/15544800903076044.
-Dettore, E. (2002) “Children’s emotional GrowthAdults’ role as emotional archaeologists,” Childhood education,
-78(5), pp. 278–281. doi: 10.1080/00094056.2002.10522741.
-Ingold, T. (2015) The life of lines. London, England: Routledge.
-Lawrence, R. L. and Paige, D. S. (2016) “What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning through storytelling: What
-our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning through storytelling,” New directions for adult and continuing education,
-2016(149), pp. 63–72. doi: 10.1002/ace.20177.
-Papert, S. and Papert, S. A. (2020) Mindstorms (revised): Children, computers, and powerful ideas. London, England:
-Basic Books.
-Ryan, M.-L. (2009) “From narrative games to playable stories: Toward a poetics of interactive narrative,” StoryWorlds
-A Journal of Narrative Studies, 1(1), pp. 43–59. doi: 10.1353/stw.0.0003.
-Smeets, D. and Bus, A. (2013) “Picture Storybooks Go Digital: Pros and Cons,” in Quality Reading Instruction in the
-Age of Common Core Standards. International Reading Association, pp. 176–189.
-Strohecker, C. (ed.) (1978) Why knot? MIT.
-The Effect of Multimodality in Increasing Motivation and Collaboration among 4th CSE EFL Students (no date).
-Turkle, S. (ed.) (2014) Evocative objects: Things we think with. MIT Press.
-Urton, M. M. &. (2018) The khipu code: the knotty mystery of the Inkas’ 3D records, aeon. Available at: https://
+
    After many loops of thought, we are here at the standing end of the
+thesis. There is room for more loops and knots in the future to secure
+this string of thought but for now, we have come to the dock and rest
+ashore.
    
+
    Reading this thesis with a string, using concrete thinking as a
+technique to go through a research and text was a helpful exercise for
+me and helped me mark my thoughts and ideas. The overarching theme of
+knots and experimental approach to modes of reading was valuable for me
+to share and try as an enthusiastic young writer. I like that I asked
+the reader to interact with the thesis and follow paths accordingly.
    
+
    It was enlightening to see the results of working with kids and be
+able to see from their point of view and alter everything according to
+these encounters. Using CCI and Multiliteracy theory as a guide to
+approach the design and prototype was helpful in understanding how to
+approach and tackle the desire of making something for children.
    
+
    Now from where I stand, I feel more rooted and have a clearer idea of
+what works and doesn’t work. Some features that I think would work very
+well like the choice of writing didn’t go as planned because multiple
+narratives is already too much. I realized I underestimated the eff ect
+of introducing a new media to children. This is why I decided to take it
+step by step with the interactivity.
    
+
    Taking a step to make Wink and using the story I wrote and feel is
+important in my personal history as a prototype was a breakthrough. I
+feel like my interest and desire to discover new ways of writing,
+reading and experiencing literature is ongoing and it was a beautiful
+journey so far. I am looking forward to making more knots on this long
+and mysterious string at hand.
    
+
    Bibliography: Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (2009) ‘“multiliteracies”:
+New Literacies, new learning’, Pedagogies: An International Journal,
+4(3), pp. 164–195. doi:10.1080/15544800903076044. Dettore, E. (2002)
+“Children’s emotional GrowthAdults’ role as emotional archaeologists,”
+Childhood education, 78(5), pp. 278–281. doi:
+10.1080/00094056.2002.10522741. Ingold, T. (2015) The life of lines.
+London, England: Routledge. Lawrence, R. L. and Paige, D. S. (2016)
+“What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning through storytelling:
+What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning through storytelling,”
+New directions for adult and continuing education, 2016(149), pp. 63–72.
+doi: 10.1002/ace.20177. Papert, S. and Papert, S. A. (2020) Mindstorms
+(revised): Children, computers, and powerful ideas. London, England:
+Basic Books. Ryan, M.-L. (2009) “From narrative games to playable
+stories: Toward a poetics of interactive narrative,” StoryWorlds A
+Journal of Narrative Studies, 1(1), pp. 43–59. doi: 10.1353/stw.0.0003.
+Smeets, D. and Bus, A. (2013) “Picture Storybooks Go Digital: Pros and
+Cons,” in Quality Reading Instruction in the Age of Common Core
+Standards. International Reading Association, pp. 176–189. Strohecker,
+C. (ed.) (1978) Why knot? MIT. The Effect of Multimodality in Increasing
+Motivation and Collaboration among 4th CSE EFL Students (no date).
+Turkle, S. (ed.) (2014) Evocative objects: Things we think with. MIT
+Press. Urton, M. M. &. (2018) The khipu code: the knotty mystery of
+the Inkas’ 3D records, aeon. Available at: https://
 aeon.co/ideas/the-khipu-code-the-knotty-mystery-of-the-inkas-3d-records.
-Vega, N. (2022) Codes in Knots. Sensing Digital Memories, The Whole Life. Available at: https://wholelife.hkw.de/
-codes-in-knots-sensing-digital-memories/.
    +Vega, N. (2022) Codes in Knots. Sensing Digital Memories, The Whole +Life. Available at: https://wholelife.hkw.de/ +codes-in-knots-sensing-digital-memories/.

    -

    @@ -2558,7 +2709,7 @@ I was thinking about you and I was in the same place as a friend of mine and I was in the studio and we were in the studio and we were in the studio and we were in the studio and we were in the

    -Keylogging research. I recorded the buttons a graphic designer (me) presses while working, as an autoethnographic research method into what exactly it is that designers do. To celebrate this labour, I then used a pen plotter to make a series of posters. Three minutes of the designers keypresses took about eight hours to plot. October 24th 2023. +
    +
    +The final book produced that evening, the cover was made from hand-stiched covers of discarded books. -The final book produced that evening, the +cover was made from hand-stiched covers of discarded books. +
    +
    +Page of the final book containing scans of the edited book, an instruction card, a pen-plotted bookmark with a quote from the book and a sprig of mint. -Page of the final book containing scans +of the edited book, an instruction card, a pen-plotted bookmark with a +quote from the book and a sprig of mint. +
    +
    +Page of the final book containing scans of a drawn on book, an instruction card and a pen-plotted bookmark with a quote from the book. -Page of the final book containing scans +of a drawn on book, an instruction card and a pen-plotted bookmark with +a quote from the book. +
    +
    +Page of the final book containing scans of edited books, a hand and coins. -Page of the final book containing scans +of edited books, a hand and coins. +
    +
    +Page of the second edition, containing scans of edited books and instruction cards. - Page of the second edition, containing +scans of edited books and instruction cards. +
    +
    + + +
    +
    +People choosing books from the discarded books bins, behind the instructions cards cloud. - Bin of discarded books from Leeszal.

    + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    +Bin of discarded books from Leeszal. + +
    +
    + + +

    - -
    -

    Console: Special Issue XX

    +
    +

    Console

    +

    Special Issue XX

    Console is an oracle; an emotional first aid kit that helps you help yourself. Console invites you to open the box and discover ways of healing. Console provides shelter for your dreams, memories and worries. @@ -4094,7 +4325,7 @@ Face the past and encounter your fortune. Console gives you a new vantage point; a set of rituals and practices that help you cope and care. Console asks everyday questions that give magical answers.

    Special Issue XX was co-published by xpub and Page Not Found, Den -Haag. With guest editors Lídia Pereira ♈︎and Artemis Gryllaki ♐ we +Haag. With guest editors Lídia Pereira ♈︎ and Artemis Gryllaki ♐ we unraveled games and rituals, mapping the common characteristics and the differences between games and rituals in relation to ideology and counter-hegemony. We practiced, performed and annotated rituals, @@ -4108,37 +4339,87 @@ the role of ideology and social reproduction. We reinterpreted bits of the world and created stories from it (modding, fiction, narrative) focusing on community, interaction, relationships, grief and healing.

    -

    Holographic Oracle Deck Reading with the Oracolotto cards. Worry Dolls +Holographic Oracle Deck +

    + +
    +Reading with the Oracolotto cards. + +
    +
    +Worry Dolls + +
    +
    +Screenprinted book cover of the Console Booklet, from The Upside Down Oracolotto card. - Screenprinted book cover of the Console +Booklet, from The Upside Down Oracolotto card. +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    +Laser engraved quote from Silvia Federici, Love is the great magician, the demon that unites earth and sky and makes humans so round, so whole in their being, that once united they cannot be defeated. -Laser engraved quote from Silvia +Federici, Love is the great magician, the demon that unites earth and +sky and makes humans so round, so whole in their being, that once united +they cannot be defeated. +
    +
    +Console box with Fiction Friction, Oracolotto, the Wheel of Fortune, a Worry Doll, tea and a tealight. - Console box with Fiction Friction, +Oracolotto, the Wheel of Fortune, a Worry Doll, tea and a +tealight. +
    +
    + + +
    +
    +SIXX Licence reading ceremony at Page Not Found. The copyleft licence for this object included (in additional permission 4b) a term specifying the ritual absorption of intellectual property. -SIXX Licence reading ceremony at Page Not +Found. The copyleft licence for this object included (in additional +permission 4b) a term specifying the ritual absorption of intellectual +property. +
    +
    +Fiction Friction gameplay during the launch at Page Not Found. -Modified tetris fantasies

    + +
    +
    +Modified tetris fantasies + +
    - -
    -

    z— title: tty special issue 21 author: Stephen

    -
    -

    TTY: Special Issue 21

    +
    +

    TTY

    +

    Special Issue 21

    why shd it only make use of the tips of the fingers as contact points of flowing multi directional creativity. If I invented a word placing machine, an “expression-scriber,” if you will, then I would have a kind @@ -4199,40 +4480,103 @@ otherwise technical progress and computational genealogies.

    editor Martino Morandi, and contributors Andrea di Serego Alighieri, Femke Snelting, Isabelle Sully, Jara Rocha, Roel Roscam Abbing, and Zoumana Meïté.

    -

    +An inscription performance using the TeleType Model 33 and a 40m stairwell. -An inscription performance using the +TeleType Model 33 and a 40m stairwell. + +

    +punchtape read-writer of Teletype Machine + +
    +
    +A reading and writing of poetry using pedestrians and vinyl quotes. - -It would have been better to fuck. -maybe an image at the telecom museum -A reading and writing of poetry using +pedestrians and vinyl quotes. +
    +
    + + +
    +
    +Wiki strike screenshot: embedding hidden comments in a wiki to highlight the invisible labour, to provide comprehensive details about our intentions and the underlying ideas while maintaining the wiki’s regular functionality. -Wiki strike screenshot: embedding hidden +comments in a wiki to highlight the invisible labour, to provide +comprehensive details about our intentions and the underlying ideas +while maintaining the wiki’s regular functionality. +
    +
    +Hey Babe arduino based telephone experience. Callers can listen to love stories, excerpts from conversations at the Houweling Telecom Museum, Rotterdam, parts from the documentary The Phantom of the Operator and a collective reading experience on binary systems, time, worms and pebbles. -Hey Babe arduino based telephone +experience. Callers can listen to love stories, excerpts from +conversations at the Houweling Telecom Museum, Rotterdam, parts from the +documentary The Phantom of the Operator and a collective reading +experience on binary systems, time, worms and pebbles. +
    +
    +I’ve fallen in love with you and I have no idea what to do about it. Phone cards inviting participation in “Hey Babe”. Someone holding it in the street? -

    -

    -I’ve fallen in love with you and I have +no idea what to do about it. Phone cards inviting participation in “Hey +Babe”. Someone holding it in the street? +

    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    +Hexalogue booklet. A conversation for six voices is encoded and documented in a script. - The brick.

    -

    Ada’s switchboard wiki edit inscriptions

    + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    -
    +

    Colophon

    Vulnerable Interfaces is a catalogue of work producted within the context of the Master of Arts in Fine art and Design: Experimental diff --git a/print/print_style.css b/print/print_style.css index 3d15fd9..631e767 100644 --- a/print/print_style.css +++ b/print/print_style.css @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ :root { /* --spot-color-1: #53018e; */ - --spot-color-1: #000; + --spot-color-1: #00f; --baseline: 4mm; --margin-left: 10mm; } @@ -11,17 +11,27 @@ @font-face { font-family: 'Platypi'; src: url('../fonts/webfonts/Platypi-Regular.woff2'); - font-weight: normal; + font-style: normal; } @font-face { font-family: 'Platypi'; src: url('../fonts/webfonts/Platypi-Italic.woff2'); +<<<<<<< HEAD font-weight: italic; } @media print { @page { +======= + font-style: italic; +} +notes{ + position: note(sidenotes); +} +@media print{ + @page{ +>>>>>>> 55ed7a48c770886295d8b817569fea3813c769ed size: 130mm 180mm; marks: crop; /* can also add cross */ bleed: 3mm; @@ -35,6 +45,7 @@ position: relative; text-align: left; font-size: 7pt; +<<<<<<< HEAD } @left-top { @@ -49,6 +60,9 @@ width: 42mm; margin-right: -30mm; } +======= + } +>>>>>>> 55ed7a48c770886295d8b817569fea3813c769ed } @page:left { @@ -83,6 +97,7 @@ a { text-decoration: none; color: #000; } +<<<<<<< HEAD .sidenote { position: note(sidenote); @@ -91,11 +106,32 @@ a { } .margin-note { +======= +.margin-note{ +>>>>>>> 55ed7a48c770886295d8b817569fea3813c769ed font-size: 7pt; line-height: 3mm; text-align: left; - width: 35mm; display: inline-block; + text-align-last: initial; + box-sizing: border-box; + float: left; + margin: 5mm 5mm 5mm -15mm; + color: var(--spot-color-1); +} +body .pagedjs_left_page .margin-note{ + width: 35mm; +} +body .pagedjs_right_page .margin-note{ + width: 35mm; + float:right; + margin: 5mm -15mm 5mm 5mm; +} +body .margin-note{ + /* This is overriding position absolute in the plugin, + it breaks side notes that are too close to the bottom + of the page which is sad */ + position: static; } .code pre { @@ -103,9 +139,14 @@ a { line-height: 1.1; white-space: pre-wrap; } +<<<<<<< HEAD #contenteo { font-family: 'Platypi-Regular', 'platypi'; +======= +body{ + font-family: 'Platypi-Regular','platypi' ; +>>>>>>> 55ed7a48c770886295d8b817569fea3813c769ed line-height: 1.3; font-size: 9pt; letter-spacing: -0.1px; @@ -173,13 +214,28 @@ section { padding: 0; margin: 0; } +<<<<<<< HEAD .toc-title { break-before: none; break-after: none; +======= +.toc-title{ + font-size: 24pt; + font-weight: medium; + line-height: 8mm; + display: inline; +>>>>>>> 55ed7a48c770886295d8b817569fea3813c769ed } .toc-title a::after { content: target-counter(attr(href url), page); +<<<<<<< HEAD float: right; } +======= + font-size: 9pt; + color: var(--spot-color-1); + padding: 0 1rem; +} +>>>>>>> 55ed7a48c770886295d8b817569fea3813c769ed diff --git a/print/section-order.txt b/print/section-order.txt index 300af2b..63b1e1d 100644 --- a/print/section-order.txt +++ b/print/section-order.txt @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ ada aglaia irmak stephen -SINTRO +specialissuesintro specialissue19 specialissue20 specialissue21 diff --git a/specialissue19/index.html b/specialissue19/index.html index 1826584..a2991d7 100644 --- a/specialissue19/index.html +++ b/specialissue19/index.html @@ -10,14 +10,15 @@

    -

    Garden Leeszaal: Special -Issue XIX

    +

    Garden Leeszaal

    +

    Special Issue XIX

    Public libraries are more than just access points to knowledge. They are social sites where readers cross over while reading together, annotating, organising and structuring. A book could be bound at the @@ -49,31 +50,85 @@ and an archive. We asked everyone to think of the library as a garden. For us, being a gardener means caring; caring for the people and books that form this space.

    During the collective moment in Leeszaal people started diving into -recycle bins, grab books, tear pages apart, drawing, pen plotting, -weaving words together, cutting words, removing words, overwriting, -printing, scanning. It was magical having an object in the end. A whole -book made by all of us in that evening. Stations, machines, a cloud of -cards, a sleeve that warms up THE BOOK.

    -

    - - Book recycle bins description -inside page of the final book Photo of the book - cover and sleeve - map of leeszaal also can be there

    +recycle bins, grabbing books, tearing pages apart, drawing, pen +plotting, weaving words together, cutting words, removing words, +overwriting, printing, and scanning. It was magical having an object in +the end. A whole book was made by all of us that evening. Stations, +machines, a cloud of cards, a sleeve that warms up THE BOOK.

    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    +Bin of discarded books from Leeszal. + +
    +
    + + +
    \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/specialissue19/index.md b/specialissue19/index.md index de49c85..2ab7c9e 100644 --- a/specialissue19/index.md +++ b/specialissue19/index.md @@ -4,7 +4,9 @@ author: --- -# Garden Leeszaal: Special Issue XIX +# Garden Leeszaal + +### Special Issue XIX Public libraries are more than just access points to knowledge. They are social sites where readers cross over while reading together, annotating, organising and structuring. A book could be bound at the spine, or an electronic file gathered together with digital binding. A library could be an accumulated stack of printed books, a modular collection of software packages, a method of distributing e-books, a writing machine. @@ -19,16 +21,27 @@ During the collective moment in Leeszaal people started diving into recycle bins ![Irmak's and Aglaia's Pruning station, where people edited punctuation and text, scanned it then printed it with a dot matrix.](pruning.jpg) + ![Cloud of cards with instructions to be performed on the books](card-cloud-leeszaal.jpg) + ![The final book produced that evening, the cover was made from hand-stiched covers of discarded books. ](final-book.jpg) + ![Page of the final book containing scans of the edited book, an instruction card, a pen-plotted bookmark with a quote from the book and a sprig of mint.](mint-scan.jpg) -![Page of the final book containing scans of a drawn on book, an instruction card and a pen-plotted bookmark with a quote from the book.](drawn-book.jpg) + +![Page of the final book containing scans of a drawn on book, an instruction card and a pen-plotted bookmark with a quote from the book.](drawn-scan.jpg) + ![Page of the final book containing scans of edited books, a hand and coins.](hand-scan.jpg) + ![Page of the second edition, containing scans of edited books and instruction cards.](second-edition-open.jpg) + ![The second edition of the final book from the event.](second-edition.jpg) + ![People choosing books from the discarded books bins, behind the instructions cards cloud.](people-bins.jpg) + ![Part of the Pruning process, the editing of a book page.](editing.jpg) + ![Bin of discarded books from Leeszal.](open-bin.jpg) + ![The binding of the scans into the final book at the end of the evening.](binding.jpg) diff --git a/specialissue20/index.html b/specialissue20/index.html index ee44a8e..d0405b1 100644 --- a/specialissue20/index.html +++ b/specialissue20/index.html @@ -10,13 +10,15 @@ -

    Console: Special Issue XX

    +

    Console

    +

    Special Issue XX

    Console is an oracle; an emotional first aid kit that helps you help yourself. Console invites you to open the box and discover ways of healing. Console provides shelter for your dreams, memories and worries. @@ -24,7 +26,7 @@ Face the past and encounter your fortune. Console gives you a new vantage point; a set of rituals and practices that help you cope and care. Console asks everyday questions that give magical answers.

    Special Issue XX was co-published by xpub and Page Not Found, Den -Haag. With guest editors Lídia Pereira ♈︎and Artemis Gryllaki ♐ we +Haag. With guest editors Lídia Pereira ♈︎ and Artemis Gryllaki ♐ we unraveled games and rituals, mapping the common characteristics and the differences between games and rituals in relation to ideology and counter-hegemony. We practiced, performed and annotated rituals, @@ -38,25 +40,76 @@ the role of ideology and social reproduction. We reinterpreted bits of the world and created stories from it (modding, fiction, narrative) focusing on community, interaction, relationships, grief and healing.

    -

    - +Holographic Oracle Deck +

    + +
    +Reading with the Oracolotto cards. + +
    +
    +Worry Dolls + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    +SIXX Licence reading ceremony at Page Not Found. The copyleft licence for this object included (in additional permission 4b) a term specifying the ritual absorption of intellectual property. - -

    -

    Holographic Oracle Deck

    -

    Worry Doll

    + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    +Modified tetris fantasies + +
    \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/specialissue20/index.md b/specialissue20/index.md index be76bf1..c3d74e4 100644 --- a/specialissue20/index.md +++ b/specialissue20/index.md @@ -1,25 +1,38 @@ --- -title: Console Special Issue XX +title: Console author: Stephen --- -# Console: Special Issue XX +# Console + +### Special Issue XX Console is an oracle; an emotional first aid kit that helps you help yourself. Console invites you to open the box and discover ways of healing. Console provides shelter for your dreams, memories and worries. Face the past and encounter your fortune. Console gives you a new vantage point; a set of rituals and practices that help you cope and care. Console asks everyday questions that give magical answers. -Special Issue XX was co-published by xpub and Page Not Found, Den Haag. With guest editors Lídia Pereira ♈︎and Artemis Gryllaki ♐ we unraveled games and rituals, mapping the common characteristics and the differences between games and rituals in relation to ideology and counter-hegemony. We practiced, performed and annotated rituals, connected (or not) with our cultural backgrounds while we questioned the magic circle. We dived into the worlds of text adventure games and clicking games while drinking coffee. We talked about class, base, superstructure, (counter)hegemony, ideology and materialism. We discussed how games and rituals can function as reproductive technologies of the culture industries. We annotated games, focusing on the role of ideology and social reproduction. We reinterpreted bits of the world and created stories from it (modding, fiction, narrative) focusing on community, interaction, relationships, grief and healing. +Special Issue XX was co-published by xpub and Page Not Found, Den Haag. With guest editors Lídia Pereira ♈︎ and Artemis Gryllaki ♐ we unraveled games and rituals, mapping the common characteristics and the differences between games and rituals in relation to ideology and counter-hegemony. We practiced, performed and annotated rituals, connected (or not) with our cultural backgrounds while we questioned the magic circle. We dived into the worlds of text adventure games and clicking games while drinking coffee. We talked about class, base, superstructure, (counter)hegemony, ideology and materialism. We discussed how games and rituals can function as reproductive technologies of the culture industries. We annotated games, focusing on the role of ideology and social reproduction. We reinterpreted bits of the world and created stories from it (modding, fiction, narrative) focusing on community, interaction, relationships, grief and healing. ![Holographic Oracle Deck](holographic.jpg) + ![Reading with the Oracolotto cards.](oracolotto.jpg) + ![Worry Dolls](worrydolls.jpg) + ![Screenprinted book cover of the Console Booklet, from The Upside Down Oracolotto card.](console-book.jpg) + ![Nighttime Ritual: Guided meditation from cardboardlamb](cara-ritual.jpg) + ![Imagined tarot cards based on YouTube comments](youtube-tarot.jpg) + ![Laser engraved quote from Silvia Federici, Love is the great magician, the demon that unites earth and sky and makes humans so round, so whole in their being, that once united they cannot be defeated.](federici.jpg) + ![Console box with Fiction Friction, Oracolotto, the Wheel of Fortune, a Worry Doll, tea and a tealight.](console-open.jpg) + ![Screenprinted cover of the Console box.](console-front.jpg) + ![SIXX Licence reading ceremony at Page Not Found. The copyleft licence for this object included (in additional permission 4b) a term specifying the ritual absorption of intellectual property. ](license-reading.jpg) + ![Fiction Friction gameplay during the launch at Page Not Found.](fiction-friction.jpg) + ![Modified tetris fantasies](tetris.jpg) diff --git a/specialissue21/index.html b/specialissue21/index.html index 4a4511a..6265e69 100644 --- a/specialissue21/index.html +++ b/specialissue21/index.html @@ -10,15 +10,15 @@ -

    z— title: tty special issue 21 author: Stephen

    -
    -

    TTY: Special Issue 21

    +

    TTY

    +

    Special Issue 21

    why shd it only make use of the tips of the fingers as contact points of flowing multi directional creativity. If I invented a word placing machine, an “expression-scriber,” if you will, then I would have a kind @@ -79,31 +79,94 @@ otherwise technical progress and computational genealogies.

    editor Martino Morandi, and contributors Andrea di Serego Alighieri, Femke Snelting, Isabelle Sully, Jara Rocha, Roel Roscam Abbing, and Zoumana Meïté.

    -

    +An inscription performance using the TeleType Model 33 and a 40m stairwell. -An inscription performance using the +TeleType Model 33 and a 40m stairwell. + +

    +punchtape read-writer of Teletype Machine + +
    +
    +A reading and writing of poetry using pedestrians and vinyl quotes. - -It would have been better to fuck. -maybe an image at the telecom museum -A reading and writing of poetry using +pedestrians and vinyl quotes. +
    +
    + + +
    +
    +Wiki strike screenshot: embedding hidden comments in a wiki to highlight the invisible labour, to provide comprehensive details about our intentions and the underlying ideas while maintaining the wiki’s regular functionality. -Wiki strike screenshot: embedding hidden +comments in a wiki to highlight the invisible labour, to provide +comprehensive details about our intentions and the underlying ideas +while maintaining the wiki’s regular functionality. +
    +
    +Hey Babe arduino based telephone experience. Callers can listen to love stories, excerpts from conversations at the Houweling Telecom Museum, Rotterdam, parts from the documentary The Phantom of the Operator and a collective reading experience on binary systems, time, worms and pebbles. -Hey Babe arduino based telephone +experience. Callers can listen to love stories, excerpts from +conversations at the Houweling Telecom Museum, Rotterdam, parts from the +documentary The Phantom of the Operator and a collective reading +experience on binary systems, time, worms and pebbles. +
    +
    +I’ve fallen in love with you and I have no idea what to do about it. Phone cards inviting participation in “Hey Babe”. Someone holding it in the street? -

    -

    -I’ve fallen in love with you and I have +no idea what to do about it. Phone cards inviting participation in “Hey +Babe”. Someone holding it in the street? +

    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    +Hexalogue booklet. A conversation for six voices is encoded and documented in a script. - The brick.

    -

    Ada’s switchboard wiki edit inscriptions

    + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    +
    + + +
    \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/specialissue21/index.md b/specialissue21/index.md index de42d02..3226734 100644 --- a/specialissue21/index.md +++ b/specialissue21/index.md @@ -1,10 +1,12 @@ -z--- -title: tty special issue 21 +--- +title: TTY author: Stephen --- -# TTY: Special Issue 21 +# TTY + +### Special Issue 21 why shd it only make use of the tips of the fingers as contact points of flowing multi directional creativity. If I invented a word placing machine, an “expression-scriber,” if you will, then I would have a kind of instrument into which I could step & sit or sprawl or hang & use not only my fingers to make words express feelings but elbows, feet, head, behind, and all the sounds I wanted, screams, grunts, taps, itches, I'd have magnetically recorded, at the same time, & translated into word or perhaps even the final xpressed thought/feeling wd not be merely word or sheet, but itself, the xpression, three dimensional-able to be touched, or tasted or felt, or entered, or heard or carried like a speaking singing constantly communicating charm. A typewriter is corny!! @@ -20,21 +22,28 @@ Teletypewriters ushered in a new mode of inscription of writing: if the typewrit TTY was produced in april-june 2023 as special issue 21 with guest editor Martino Morandi, and contributors Andrea di Serego Alighieri, Femke Snelting, Isabelle Sully, Jara Rocha, Roel Roscam Abbing, and Zoumana Meïté. -![An inscription performance using the TeleType Model 33 and a 40m stairwell.](imagename.png) -![A reading and writing of poetry using pedestrians and vinyl quotes.](imagename.png) -![Gesture Glossary (screenshot or gif? maybe several): how a body language is documented, how it expands, how it is capable of creating or enhancing identities.](imagename.png) -![It would have been better to fuck.](imagename.png) -![maybe an image at the telecom museum](imagename.png) -![Wiki strike screenshot: embedding hidden comments in a wiki to highlight the invisible labour, to provide comprehensive details about our intentions and the underlying ideas while maintaining the wiki's regular functionality. ](imagename.png) -![Hey Babe arduino based telephone experience. Callers can listen to love stories, excerpts from conversations at the Houweling Telecom Museum, Rotterdam, parts from the documentary The Phantom of the Operator and a collective reading experience on binary systems, time, worms and pebbles. ](imagename.png) -![I've fallen in love with you and I have no idea what to do about it. Phone cards inviting participation in "Hey Babe". Someone holding it in the street?](imagename.png) -![Encoding Convertor: the wacky world of character en-coding.](imagename.png) +![An inscription performance using the TeleType Model 33 and a 40m stairwell.](TTY.jpg) + +![punchtape read-writer of Teletype Machine](tape.jpg) + +![A reading and writing of poetry using pedestrians and vinyl quotes.](stairs_concrete.jpg) + +![Gesture Glossary : how a body language is documented, how it expands, how it is capable of creating or enhancing identities.](gesture.png) + +![Wiki strike screenshot: embedding hidden comments in a wiki to highlight the invisible labour, to provide comprehensive details about our intentions and the underlying ideas while maintaining the wiki's regular functionality. ](strike.jpg) + +![Hey Babe arduino based telephone experience. Callers can listen to love stories, excerpts from conversations at the Houweling Telecom Museum, Rotterdam, parts from the documentary The Phantom of the Operator and a collective reading experience on binary systems, time, worms and pebbles. ](callme_window.jpg) + +![I've fallen in love with you and I have no idea what to do about it. Phone cards inviting participation in "Hey Babe". Someone holding it in the street?](callme_bike.jpeg) + +![Encoding Convertor: the wacky world of character en-coding.](encoding.png) + +![We have a bag full of planets, stars, our favorite moments, darkest fears, best intentions and worst feelings. Our bag is now in the middle, its ready for you to discover and see the networks of our minds, make knots in the middle or intervene with what we call is a collective memory of few xpubbers.](overlap.png) + +![Hexalogue booklet. A conversation for six voices is encoded and documented in a script.](hexalogue.jpg) -![Overlap screenshot (or is there an image from when we were working on it in the MD room?) We have a bag full of planets, stars, our favorite moments, darkest fears, best intentions and worst feelings. Our bag is now in the middle, its ready for you to discover and see the networks of our minds, make knots in the middle or intervene with what we call is a collective memory of few xpubbers.](imagename.png) -![Hexalogue booklet. A conversation for six voices is encoded and documented in a script.](imagename.png) -![Hexalogue reading in Constant, Brussels.](imagename.png) -![The brick.](imagename.png) +![Publications holding tiny sub-releases during SI21](publication.jpg) -![Ada's switchboard](imagename.png) -![wiki edit inscriptions](imagename.png) +![Ada's switchboard - a call between New York and Brussels](calling.jpeg) +![This A6 zine is a sub-release created by three women sitting on the teletype machine thinking and performing](zine.jpg) diff --git a/specialissuesintro/index.html b/specialissuesintro/index.html index d1c1cc4..0abd67d 100644 --- a/specialissuesintro/index.html +++ b/specialissuesintro/index.html @@ -10,13 +10,15 @@ -

    Special Issues are publications thrice released by first-year XPUB +

    Special Issues

    +

    Special Issues are publications thrice released by first-year XPUB Master’s students. Each edition focuses on a specific theme or issue. The themes tie to external events and collaborations. Students and staff work together to explore these themes, rethinking what a publication can @@ -24,31 +26,32 @@ be. Each edition culminates in a celebratory release party.The structure, tools, and workflows are reset every trimester. This reset allows roles to rotate among participants and fosters an adapting learning environment. It provides a space to experiment beyond -traditional collaborative methods. Our inaugural Special Issue was -number 19, in collaboration with Simon Browne. Garden Leeszaal was a -snapshot of Leeszaal Library through the metaphor of gardening. During -the release, we invited participants to engage with the library’s -discarded books. We pruned, gleaned, and grafted the books using pens, -pen-plotters, scissors, and glue. Then we harvested a book of our -collective work. Garden Leeszaal was an open dialogue. It was a tool for -collective writing, a group-made collage, and an archive. For us, being -a gardener meant caring for the people and books that formed the -library. The following Special Issue was number 20, assisted by Lìdia -Pereira and Artemis Gryllaki. Console was 20 hand-made wooden boxes. It -was an oracle and an emotional first aid kit to help you help yourself. -It invites you to delve into its contents to discover healing methods. +traditional collaborative methods.

    +

    Our inaugural Special Issue was number 19, in collaboration with +Simon Browne. Garden Leeszaal was a snapshot of Leeszaal Library through +the metaphor of gardening. During the release, we invited participants +to engage with the library’s discarded books. We pruned, gleaned, and +grafted the books using pens, pen-plotters, scissors, and glue. Then we +harvested a book of our collective work. Garden Leeszaal was an open +dialogue. It was a tool for collective writing, a group-made collage, +and an archive. For us, being a gardener meant caring for the people and +books that formed the library.

    +

    The following Special Issue was number 20, assisted by Lìdia Pereira +and Artemis Gryllaki. Console was 20 hand-made wooden boxes. It was an +oracle and an emotional first aid kit to help you help yourself. It +invites you to delve into its contents to discover healing methods. Console offers refuge for dreams, memories, and worries. It guides you to face the past. You will then meet your fortune and gain a new view through rituals and practices. It prompts everyday questions with -magical answers, asking: Are you ready to play? Our last special issue -was number 21. TTY was guided by kubernētēs Martino Morandi and weekly -guest collaborators. We started with a Model 33 Teletype machine, the -bridge between typewriters and computer interfaces. Through guest -contributions, we explored the intersection of historical and -contemporary computing. The Special Issue evolved into an ever-changing -“Exquisite Corpse Network” chasing weekly publications. Along the way, -we created gestures, concrete vinyl poetry, phone stories, and much -more.

    +magical answers, asking: Are you ready to play?

    +

    Our last special issue was number 21. TTY was guided by kubernētēs +Martino Morandi and weekly guest collaborators. We started with a Model +33 Teletype machine, the bridge between typewriters and computer +interfaces. Through guest contributions, we explored the intersection of +historical and contemporary computing. The Special Issue evolved into an +ever-changing “Exquisite Corpse Network” chasing weekly publications. +Along the way, we created gestures, concrete vinyl poetry, phone +stories, and much more.

    \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/specialissuesintro/index.md b/specialissuesintro/index.md index da1ae70..e70914d 100644 --- a/specialissuesintro/index.md +++ b/specialissuesintro/index.md @@ -1,4 +1,14 @@ +--- +title: Special Issues +author: + +--- +# Special Issues + Special Issues are publications thrice released by first-year XPUB Master's students. Each edition focuses on a specific theme or issue. The themes tie to external events and collaborations. Students and staff work together to explore these themes, rethinking what a publication can be. Each edition culminates in a celebratory release party.The structure, tools, and workflows are reset every trimester. This reset allows roles to rotate among participants and fosters an adapting learning environment. It provides a space to experiment beyond traditional collaborative methods. + Our inaugural Special Issue was number 19, in collaboration with Simon Browne. Garden Leeszaal was a snapshot of Leeszaal Library through the metaphor of gardening. During the release, we invited participants to engage with the library's discarded books. We pruned, gleaned, and grafted the books using pens, pen-plotters, scissors, and glue. Then we harvested a book of our collective work. Garden Leeszaal was an open dialogue. It was a tool for collective writing, a group-made collage, and an archive. For us, being a gardener meant caring for the people and books that formed the library. + The following Special Issue was number 20, assisted by Lìdia Pereira and Artemis Gryllaki. Console was 20 hand-made wooden boxes. It was an oracle and an emotional first aid kit to help you help yourself. It invites you to delve into its contents to discover healing methods. Console offers refuge for dreams, memories, and worries. It guides you to face the past. You will then meet your fortune and gain a new view through rituals and practices. It prompts everyday questions with magical answers, asking: Are you ready to play? + Our last special issue was number 21. TTY was guided by kubernētēs Martino Morandi and weekly guest collaborators. We started with a Model 33 Teletype machine, the bridge between typewriters and computer interfaces. Through guest contributions, we explored the intersection of historical and contemporary computing. The Special Issue evolved into an ever-changing "Exquisite Corpse Network" chasing weekly publications. Along the way, we created gestures, concrete vinyl poetry, phone stories, and much more. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/stephen/index.html b/stephen/index.html index 0d74fde..897ba7c 100644 --- a/stephen/index.html +++ b/stephen/index.html @@ -10,10 +10,11 @@

    ⊞

    @@ -36,51 +37,49 @@ of a belief system involving order, structure, and rationality and I want to break it. Removing the label is part of loosening the object, making it avilable to transition (Berlant, 2022).

    -The Cadaster of Orange, unknown ⊞er, c. 100 CE. +The Cadaster of Orange, unknown ⊞er, c. 100 CE.
    -Grid Systems in Graphic ⊞, Josef Muller-Brockmann, 1981. +Grid Systems in Graphic ⊞, Josef Muller-Brockmann, 1981.
    -Shams al-Ma’arif, Ahmad al-Buni Almalki, circa 1200.
    -Cartesian Geometry, Rene Descartes, 1637.
    -Homage to the Square, Josef Albers, 1954.
    -Counter Composition VI, Theo Van Doesburg, 1925.
    -The Po Valley, The Roman Empire, 268 BCE. +The Po Valley, The Roman Empire, 268 BCE.
    - +Monogram, Piet Zwart, c. 1968.
    @@ -969,20 +968,6 @@ Goblet, Sixteen Essays on Typography, London: The Sylvan Press.

    Weber, M., (1905) “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, Archiv für Sozialwissenschaften 20, no. 1 (1904), pp. 1–54; 21, no. 1 (1905), pp. 1–110.

    -

    Colophon

    -

    Written manically and edited in vexation in Etherpad. Composed -excitedly using paged.js. Typeset confidently in Work Sans by Wei Huang. -Digitally printed nervously at Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam on -Schoellershammer 75gsm and Clairefontaine Maya 270gsm.

    -

    Copyright held reluctantly by Stephen Kerr, 2024 under the SIXX -Licence, a free, copyleft license for rituals, games, books and -consolations in any medium, both software and hardware. For the purposes -of this paper, licensing is understood as a responsibility towards an -audience, towards each other and towards other people who might want to -contribute to, use or amplify any work. The precise terms can be found -at issue.xpub.nl/20/license

    -

    If you like this colophon you should really read the rest of the -thesis, its written specifically for you.

    \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/stephen/thesis.md b/stephen/thesis.md index 03c6aa8..10c1c5e 100644 --- a/stephen/thesis.md +++ b/stephen/thesis.md @@ -1,3 +1,8 @@ +--- +title: ⊞ +author: Stephen + +--- # ⊞ @@ -53,32 +58,32 @@ want to break it. Removing the label is part of loosening the object, making it avilable to transition (Berlant, 2022).
    -The Cadaster of Orange, unknown ⊞er, c. 100 CE.
    -Grid Systems in Graphic ⊞, Josef Muller-Brockmann, 1981. +Grid Systems in Graphic ⊞, Josef Muller-Brockmann, 1981.
    ![Shams al-Ma'arif, Ahmad al-Buni Almalki, circa -1200.](./images/albuni2.jpg) +1200.](albuni2.jpg) ![Cartesian Geometry, Rene Descartes, -1637.](./images/Simple_carthesian_coordinate_system.svg) +1637.](Simple_carthesian_coordinate_system.svg) ![Homage to the Square, Josef Albers, -1954.](./images/art-josef-albers-study-for-homage-to-the-square-69.1917.jpg) +1954.](art-josef-albers-study-for-homage-to-the-square-69.1917.jpg) ![Counter Composition VI, Theo Van Doesburg, -1925.](./images/TheoVAnDoesburgCounterCompositionVI.jpg) +1925.](TheoVAnDoesburgCounterCompositionVI.jpg)
    -The Po Valley, The Roman Empire, 268 BCE. +The Po Valley, The Roman Empire, 268 BCE.
    -![Monogram, Piet Zwart, c. 1968.](./images/pietzwart.jpg) +![Monogram, Piet Zwart, c. 1968.](pietzwart.jpg) ### empty title @@ -1265,25 +1270,4 @@ Sixteen Essays on Typography,* London: The Sylvan Press. Weber, M., (1905) "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism", *Archiv für Sozialwissenschaften* 20, no. 1 (1904), pp. 1–54; 21, no. 1 -(1905), pp. 1–110. - - - -#### Colophon - - -Written manically and edited in vexation in Etherpad. Composed excitedly -using paged.js. Typeset confidently in Work Sans by Wei Huang. Digitally -printed nervously at Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam on -Schoellershammer 75gsm and Clairefontaine Maya 270gsm. - -Copyright held reluctantly by Stephen Kerr, 2024 under the SIXX Licence, -a free, copyleft license for rituals, games, books and consolations in -any medium, both software and hardware. For the purposes of this paper, -licensing is understood as a responsibility towards an audience, towards -each other and towards other people who might want to contribute to, use -or amplify any work. The precise terms can be found at -issue.xpub.nl/20/license - -If you like this colophon you should really read the rest of the thesis, -its written specifically for you. +(1905), pp. 1–110. \ No newline at end of file