thesis again
yamani hernandez
so.........after some blood, sweat and tears (not neccessarily in that order) i actually did submit my thesis intentions on friday. Its official Dr. Sharon E. Sutton is my chair, and my other mentor/committee member is Dr. Jeff Hou.
my preliminary title is:
Intersections of architecture, art and activism:
an investigation of hybrid typologies of resistance in the built environment ( i realize this is a bit wordy)
with this thesis i hope to investigate/challenge the mainstream separation between architecture, art and activism. i will analyze how architecture and art have combined in contemporary contexts to oppose or support a given issue or cause through three-dimensional interventions in the built environment. i will utilize comparative analytical study of hybrid architecture and art projects, which resist normative social values. through this study, i hope to create an evaluative framework for categorically understanding their transgressive relationship and relevance in the discourse of architecture and activism. i'll try to do this, by establishing an initial typology of activist hybrid architecture and art based on review of the literature and then refine the model by interviewing a selection of community activists, (activist) architects, and (activist) artists. i initially wanted to have another step of producing some of this "hybrid" in response to an issue...to help "test" its validity (e.g. do people see it as an activist act? did it affect anything or anybody?) but...that's nixed. that maybe something i do on my own as just me, working in a hybrid activist way...but this sets a foundation for why and how i do that. and i'm fine with that.
its a start. but boy. i see this is going to be a serious feat. i've got a long way to go...i'm excited about it but also worried. while i'm way passionate about this topic, i haven't much experience in research. this program is geared toward design...not research. we have the option of a design thesis or research thesis (there is some overlap in either option in some cases). i feel like up until now, i've had practice and been prepared to design but not so much research . so i'm going to have to jump some major hurdles on the learning curve to really be able to be as productive as i need to be. i realize that's partially why i have a year...and the support of my mentors. i'm super excited!