September 2024
For my thesis it will be on the subject of perception through the exploration of tone with a focus on plants and fungi, specifically those of which can be poisonous. I think things that are poisonous can still be beautiful/interesting despite the danger and so I would like to play with perception to make people think that these things are either much worse than they are or are actually not dangerous at all. I want to work with more common, possibly household, plants to make it something easier to understand/closer to the heart.
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Beauty and Poison
August 2024
I would like to explore the topic, ideas, and philosophy on why people can find things that are dangerous but completely disregard it because of the way it looks. I plan to use poisonous flowers and plants as a jumping off point and explore whether or not we should really allow something dangerous in our homes and gardens. Should they be put in cages with a fence around them or be proudly displayed for beauty’s sake despite the potential danger they hold. I am one of those people who find dangerous things beautiful and just because they are dangerous doesn’t necessarily mean that they are terrible. People love flowers like lilies of the valley, calla lilies, hydrangeas, etc. and they all happen to be poisonous yet beautiful. This concept can go off into different directions like the exact opposite. When something’s ugly, let's say a mushroom, we’ll instinctively think it’s bad even though it can have important nutrients or even medicinal properties. To do this thesis I will need to research common household plants that are poisonous. I will also need to research how people treat things that are bad and things that are good. I’m pursuing this idea because the idea of that conflicting nature of something possibly bad being seen as something good interests me. I also just find it interesting that we just accept the dangers just to make something look good which is, quite honestly, a very non-compelling reason to me. I have ideas to do things like display the flowers in cages, vials marked poison, and a book showing off the flowers similar to a field guide.
I would like to explore the topic, ideas, and philosophy on why people can find things that are dangerous but completely disregard it because of the way it looks. I plan to use poisonous flowers and plants as a jumping off point and explore whether or not we should really allow something dangerous in our homes and gardens. Should they be put in cages with a fence around them or be proudly displayed for beauty’s sake despite the potential danger they hold. I am one of those people who find dangerous things beautiful and just because they are dangerous doesn’t necessarily mean that they are terrible. People love flowers like lilies of the valley, calla lilies, hydrangeas, etc. and they all happen to be poisonous yet beautiful. This concept can go off into different directions like the exact opposite. When something’s ugly, let's say a mushroom, we’ll instinctively think it’s bad even though it can have important nutrients or even medicinal properties. To do this thesis I will need to research common household plants that are poisonous. I will also need to research how people treat things that are bad and things that are good. I’m pursuing this idea because the idea of that conflicting nature of something possibly bad being seen as something good interests me. I also just find it interesting that we just accept the dangers just to make something look good which is, quite honestly, a very non-compelling reason to me. I have ideas to do things like display the flowers in cages, vials marked poison, and a book showing off the flowers similar to a field guide.
something that is poisonous without preparation, might be not poisonous and even beneficial if prepared in various ways. and something that is poisonous in some dosage, might not be in others. and then there is the question of immunization with a small dose (of a poison-like susbtance), to alert/strengthen the immune system... nuts etc are poison to some. etc etc.
ReplyDeleteit might be that any substance might be good and bad, depending. random thinking here apologies.
can there be "good" design, for a "bad" purpose? or good design, having a bad result? and bad design, having a good result?
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