Pre Survey

Nostalgic carry-on items from my 6 friends.

Gender	Country	Age	Item	Story
M	UK	22	A quarter	“I’ve always wanted to go to the USA, so it reminds me of that and makes me feel happy.”
M	Taiwan	27	An amulet	It was missing in Edinburgh one time then he found it eventually. So he cherishes his amulet more.
F	UK	23	Colour pencils	She always liked to draw in her childhood.
M	Taiwan	25	A watch	It was a birthday present from his mum 6 years ago.
M	France	33	No	They carry functional items.
F	Taiwan	22

Project Concept/Development

Please click the three pictures below to read the full details.

Travel Diary

“Travel Diary is a 2D animation using digital collage, video, photography, stop motion, composting and traditional illustration skills. Being alone in New York pushed Keng-Ming Liu into a dark corner and he released his anxiety by communicating with my friends throughout world. He condensed his thoughts and feelings into travel diaries, attempting to illustrate the stark differences between countries and cultures in various ways and awaken everyone's desire to travel. The beauty of art is revealed with the words we write down, the sketches we draw, the stickers people put on our luggage and every piece of life we experience.” (From YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eGTsWTSNOs)

JR Projects

“JR owns the biggest art gallery in the world. He exhibits freely in the streets of the world, catching the attention of people who are not the museum visitors. His work mixes Art and Act, talks about commitment, freedom, identity and limit.”

A series of 28mm projects:

1. Face 2 Face Project(2007): JR posted huge portraits of Israelis and Palestinians face to face in eight Palestinian and Israeli cities, and on the both sides of the Security fence / Separation wall.
2. Women Are Heroes Project(2008~2009): He embarked for a long international trip for "Women", a project in which he underlines the dignity of women who are often the targets of conflicts.
3. Inside Out Project: INSIDE OUT is a large-scale participatory art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. (http://www.insideoutproject.net/)

References:

1. JR’s Website: http://www.jr-art.net/
2. Inside Out Project Website: http://www.insideoutproject.net/

Inspiration:

1. Making friends with people from different parts of the world and listening to unique stories.
2. Art can influence the world; art can change the world.
3. Palestinian VS Israeli (2 people with the same occupation)

Persona Project

“The twenty-eight-year-old photographer came up with the idea because he was ""interested in what people take with them on a daily basis."" He also wanted to study what we have in common, and see if our individual possessions would show communal similarities. The items captured range from M&Ms and avocados to Orbit gum and an actual gun. What do tiny ladies tote in those giant purses? Can the man-bag define the man? Here are twenty-five personas, their hidden trash and treasures revealed.”- Nicole Ankowski (From Jason Travis' Persona Album on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasontravis/sets/72157603258446753/)

The Burning House

"If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question." (From "The Burning House" Website:http://theburninghouse.com/ )

The website is built by photographer Foster Huntington. After browsing the cases on the website, I realised that most of people choose to take their treasured photos and precious objects from their families/friends. I am sure that every object carries a special memory/story and is worth to be shared.

Bird, Meat, Car, Confusion-27, May, 2011

1. “What do you see?” “Meat.”
2. “What do you hear?” “Birds and cars.”
3. “How do you feel?” “Confused.”

The Definition of Nostalgia

1. The term was coined in 1688 by Johannes Hofer (1669–1752) in his Basel dissertation.
2. Hofer introduced nostalgia as “homesickness”/ “Swiss illness”/ “Swiss homesickness”. (Swiss mercenaries who in the plains of lowlands of France or Italy were pining for their native mountain landscapes.)
3. The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound.
4. Nostalgia= γόστος (nostos: returning home) + άλγος (algos: pain/longing)
5. In the Early Modern period, it was described as a medical condition, a form of melancholy, and came to be an important topic in Romanticism.
6. Sometimes Nostalgia is brought on by a sudden image/remembrance of sth. from one’s childhood.
7. First use of it in a publication was in Sir Joseph Bank’s journal of first voyage. (Captain Cook in the Pacific)
8. 1850s: Nostalgia became a symptom/pathological process. (Not a particular disease)
9. Be used commonly in WWI/WWII. (American armed forces)
10. Feeling nostalgic: Commonly be used to describe pleasurable emotions.
11. A new meaning: Appreciation for the past. (Not yearning/longing to return to the past)
12. Yearning for the past: Remember beautiful memories; forget about terrible memories.
13. “Good old days”:

• Belle Époque(Late 19th~ Before WWI): Golden Age in France.
• Merry England(Mid Age~ Industrial Rev.): Utopian conception of English society/culture. Eg. Thatched cottage/ country inn/ a cup of tea/ Sunday roast/ fairytales with elves & pixies for children in the Victorian period.
• Neo-Victorian: Victorian + Edwardian (Modern principles w/ tech.). It is also strongly emerging genre of steampunk.

Reference: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostalgia)