My year at the No academy has started with self-research. By constructing a personal framework of principles i researched the way in which I design my daily life. My way of living is right now being dominated by trying to find practical means to act according to these principles.
By using the personal set of rules ©, I have stept out of the safe domain of the (ironic) spectator and am experiencing the consequences of living out these principles. The devotion to this is radical and forces me to think how man and society are makeable. In this way I am trying to find an answer to the question what is the ideal civilian and what we have to set into motion to become one.
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I have tried translate to the principles of my personal set of rules © through text and images to a numer of golden rules for MY ideal citizen: -being a hero (being capable of being the shining example for your environment and helping others in need) -being courageous (facing your fears) -being empowered (sharing your opinions with the world) -being healthy (by physical fitness and healthy food) -working hard and being devoted to what you do – zelfbewust zijn (in staat om de eigen mogelijkheden en kansen in te zien) -self awareness (being capable to see your own possibilities and chances) -having a hunger for knowledge -a constant will to self development – anderen beschermen (tegen calamiteiten, onderdrukking door fysiek of mentaal geweld, armoede, et cetera) -protecting others (against calamities, physical or mental represssion, poverty etc.) -placing the common good above personal gain -stimulating a sense of humor (as the ultimate device to question the status quo) Examples of a possible translation into action: working on self awareness by self study; protecting others against physical repression by a self-defense course; Stimulating health by keeping a close watch on oneselves consumtion patterns and physical fitness; knowledge by a weekly visit to the library; becoming a hero by volunteering for the fire brigade. Those are the first steps to pay heed to these ideals, there are many things that can be added to this list. The research has still to become more risky by trying to find the outer limits to where you can go. Mijn uitgangspunt is deze regels na te leven als ultieme doelen. Daarbij wil ik onderzoeken in hoeverre deze idealen haalbaar en wenselijk zijn. Ik zet mijzelf in als metafoor voor wat er gebeurt als je zelf de maat bent voor hetgeen je stelt. Dit houdt in dat mijn persoonlijke set of rules de leidraad vormt voor acties die zowel invloed hebben op mijzelf als op mijn omgeving. Hierin wens ik zo ver te gaan als nodig is. My starting point is making these rules my ultimate goals. Furthermore I want to research untill what point these ideals are feasable and desirable. I am putting myself forward as a metafor for what happens if you become the measuring device for your own desirable society. I shall shape and trian myself in such a way that I can offer the self-proposed qualities; untill I’m able to have courage, am able to self-develop, be self aware, be humoristic, work hard, protect against violence and poverty, be self empowered, face my fears and am a hero. In this case it is not about translating the subjective to a isolated object or image, as is a common artistic strategy. It is about translating the subjective to daily life. The process of identification with the starting points of the goals of my work. The visual aspect depicts and communicates the process of identification. Design is used as a tool to broaden the creative and formative aspect and make it more widely applicable. For the SRE (the partnership of the municipalities in the region of Eindhoven and the Utrecht Chamber of Commerce I am trying to use this strategy to create sets of rules for all the different entitied that are part of a incoherent whole. For the SRE those are the mayors of the municipalites, for the chamber of commerce those are the different users of Utrecht’s city centre. The purpose is to create action perspectives through sets of rules to wich all parties can actively commit. By setting a goal for oneself civilianship can be activated.