Exploring Pillow Fight Zone

The idea of the Pillow Fight Zone was very similar to the DIY Balloon Dogs, that we can draw attention to the lack of joy people experience in the built environment by allowing people the opportunity to experience a joyful moment.  However, when we workshoped this concept, people responded to it with the thesis of "Society has too many prohibitions and too few invitiations".  In reflection the group do es accept that this thesis is probably the more applicable - although either is an option.

To explain what the concept is - if the name of it didn't give enough of a clue - it is a zone in which there are pillows with which people can attach each other.

Arturo, who is the one who came up with the concept, originally invisioned that people would have regular pillows to attack each other with.  However, when I was a kid and learning to sew I would make these little cusions about 10cm sqaure which I would throw at my brother.  They are fun and hurt even less than a normal sized pillow can.  So, for the workshop I spent an afternoon with a friend making a few dozen little pillows.  They were a lot of fun in the workshop - especially as I had lots of bright coloured fabric from which to make them.

Anyway, back to the thoery.  I think that this one was a really good exploration of the prohibitions and invitations thesis, but again, like the DIY Balloon Dogs I worry about the thesis not being in-your-face enough for the general public to get.  I personally think that this one is more likely to be something which people would go away and talk to their friends about - it is a bigger more significant event, more of a deviation from regular routines.  Because of this I think that this installation could have worked, however it was pointed out in the workshop that it was a little unfeasible ebcause you'd end p with pillows on the ground that no one would want to pick up and throw at people.

Exploring DIY Balloon Dogs

The idea behind the DIY Balloon Dogs (or just Balloon Dogs for short) is that the modern built environment drains joy from our lives.  The thesis seems - to me at least - a little tangential to the concept, but on a deeper, or perhaps only different, interpretation is it is attempting to draw attension to the lack of fun and joy in the modern world by providing an opportunity for people to have some fun and experience joy.

The act of creating something - even if it is not done well, is an activity that humans often find brings a sence of pride and accomplishment - these are happy, possitive - oh, let's just say the buss word:  joyful - feelings.  These positive feelings highlight how few opportunites there are to create and be expressive in the modern environment.

Architects‎ make an attempt to create beautiful environments, but however this is only part of the way to creating a modern built environment in which people can be happy.  The other part is what this installation is trying to show - the way in which people need to have fun activities which also bring them joy.

Personally I worry that the concept it a little tangential to the thesis and that people who don't know what the thesis is will not be steared in that direction of thought, but perhaps I am giving the public too little creadit.  Perhaps by thinking about this one fun thing they will think or talk to others about the fun and joyful things that there are in the modern built environment.