Culture: Experimental Research Methodologies

AKI COMMENT: I have been collecting interesting approaches that Planners may consider with regard to documenting (and imaging) the pulse of the people, beyond our customary street poll, focus group and omnibus surveys. Here are some great, natural and organic methods to explore what's going on in people's lives (see the PUBLIC SPEAKS links on the sidelines to the right, too, for ongoing sites, and suggest more if you know any).


Kids With Cameras
http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/
Photography taken by impoverished kids from Haiti, Jerusalem, Cairo, and Calcutta show us the realities of their daily worlds, from their POV. Also check for an HBO film called "Born From Brothels" which documents the initial project which started in India (available on Netflix). They sell the book on this link, too.

Suggestion
http://www.illegalart.org/
SUGGESTION is conducted by a collective of artists called ILLEGAL ART who placed a box marked 'suggestions' with a clipboard, paper and pen in various locations around NYC. A compendium book (available on Amazon) collects the suggestions made by the public.

Post Secret
http://www.postsecret.com/
POST SECRET is an ongoing community art project where people mail-in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard (*I believe some of these have made it to a current pop music video called "Dirty Little Secret" by All-American Rejects).

One Free Minute
http://www.onefreeminute.net/
This art project allows random, anonymous callers to use ONE FREE MINUTE of phone time to speak their minds. These soap boxes are broadcast live in random public spaces via a loudspeaker kiosk that is bicycled about. As well as, the Minutes are archived and made available online.

1000 Journals
http://www.1000journals.com/
1000 JOURNALS are travelling from hand-to-hand throughout the world. Those who find them will add their drawings, and then pass the journal along in an ongoing collaborative art form.

Book
http://www.lookatbook.com/
BOOK furthers the chain-mail expression notion as a single sketchbook was sent in random order between 4 artists in Brooklyn and Belfast. The collected work is being exhibited in art shows and a reproduction book edition for sale.

Place
http://www.placeproject.org/
Vasava, the design studio from Barcelona, has devised the project PLACE, a blank travel book with 350 pages that went around the world, becoming impregnated with the experiences and creative and artistic thoughts of 36 participating designers all over the world. A box with a book, a "blank" T-shirt and a video camera were the documentary tools dispatched to each one of the two monthly destinations. PLACE ended up being a book, a web page, a film and an exhibition, all made from the materials provided by every PLACE's co-creators in the places visited during the project.