Melting Plot

a Statistical Sculpture

Self-narration and the Art of Asking (oneself) the (right) Question

 

 

Workshop in cooperation with the artist group and plastic recycling cooperative MINIPOGON, Belgrade, students of the Design School „Bogdan Šuput“, Novi Sad, New Media Center _kuda.org as part of MINIPOGON'S project (NON)WORKING HOURS – TUNING THE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY, part of Novi Sad – European Capital of Culture 2022.

When Novi Sad will be European Capital of Culture in 2022, it will be the first city in a candidate country to hold this title. This makes it particularly interesting to invite the students of the Design School in Novi Sad, in a very multicultural region of Serbia, to reflect on their identity within Europe. How do they think of themselves, how would they describe / define themselves, what parts of their identity matter to them and why.

This part of self-narration leads directly to the Art of asking (oneself) the right (or wrong) question – in other words: Statistics. So, I would like to invite the students to collect data & desiderata regarding different fields (e.g. languages spoken, living area + circumstances, socio-economic situation – e.g. part-time job after school or not, relatives abroad, holidays or visits in other countries, wish to live/work/study abroad, political interests, sexual orientation, gender, ...), depending on the students’ interests and priorities.

All these statistical self-narratives result in 4 Statistical Sculptures, that picture (selected aspects of) the participants' life realities, irrealities or wishes.

 

The Statistical Sculptures consist of 4 different frames:

 

Melting Plot I :

This sculpture offers the possibility to write 10 different identities ("what we are") onto the columns. The passers-by can add (e.g. 5) plastic slices from the lot to every column that they most identify with. When all columns are filled, the plates can be overwritten and new identities can be "opened".

 

 

 

Melting Plot II:

Each of these (three) statistical sculptures ("what we do" – "what we want" – "what we think" ) offers 10 thematic bars with 10 slices each, i.e. an ideal number for the representation of percentages. It is thus possible to display the results of different (preconducted) thematic surveys or to use the structure for instant surveys with 5-10 participants on site. For this tool, topics should be chosen that are suitable for graduated answers between two extreme points, within a spectrum (examples see sketches down).

 

 

This sculpture would be a tangible result of the work process and could be the starting point or a tool for different exercises in self-narration by the students and act as a "Statistical Mirror". It could further on serve as a tool for democratic self-organization and accompany collective decision-making processes by the students.

In order to work as a Statistical multi-purpose tool, the topic plates (as visualized in the sketches above, left and right of the bars) should be exchangeable and adaptable. There could be a set of prepared plates in different categories together with a number of empty, unlabeled plates that can be inscribed according to specific needs.

Writing together a MELTING PLOT reminds of course of one of the main activities in plastic recycling: collecting, sorting, shredding & melting, hence: shredded and melted identities, shredded facts, melted figures.

 

Part 1:

During three days, from 16-18 May 2022, we worked together in a small park in front of _kuda.org in the Detelinara district of Novi Sad. Students of the Design School Bogdan Šuput presented posters inviting the neighbourhood to join the plastic recycling in newly made collectors. Neighbours kept passing by, bringing material along, radio and local tv was also present, etc. In a collective effort, everybody joined the plastic recycling process, i.e. bringing along, cleaning, washing, drying, sorting by type (HDPE = type 2 vs. PP = type 5 vs. "suspicious ones"), sorting by colours, shredding and finally melting it to new shapes.

Minipogon has left the product line "birds" (too exhausting, cf. Štiglić Šiber, 2020)* and moved on to bars and sticks, made with iron profiles:

 

 

Two of these bars have been brought to Vienna by _kuda.org for test slicing, to produce quantity of single slices:

slice size: 25 x 55 x 9 mm

 

 

approximately 150 slices on a heap

The plastic slices are riding in a framework made from aluminium H-profiles ...

... fixed in a easily dismountable wooden frame:

the slices can be added deliberately from a box underneath the frame.

 

Part 2:

 

MELTING PLOT on Novi Sad ŠTRAND, between 25th and 31st of July 2022, daily between 2 and 6 pm:

27.7.

27.7.

27.7.

29.7.

29.7.

30.7.

29.7.

29.7.

28.7.

28.7.

 

In a remote corner of the Pavilion, the slice cutting was going on – hidden marvels appeared:

Foto: Aleksandar Caric

 

During the (NON)WORKING HOURS, the Minipogon crew went on with the production process of plastic recycling, i.e. sorting by type & colours – shredding – melting:

The production process involved not only Minipogon members, but also students from Bogdan Šuput Design school joined the production week during their holiday time as well as interested passer-bys on STRAND, aged 2 – 88, in beach outfit and holiday mood.

Some stayed also for the 3 discussions revolving around waste, work, and the 4 E: EKOLOGIJA, EDUKACIJA, EKONOMIJA, ESTETIKA.

On the last day, Alexander Carić (Portugal) conducted an improvised KAOKONCERT involving plastic bowls, lids, etc. as well as the two newly produced plastikofons, made from Minipogon's plastic recycling bars.

 

Update September 2022:

The 4 Melting Plots have travelled north ... to the Southern part of Carinthia, Ferlach, where they integrated the terrace of Christopher and Susanne Kremer as part of hAUSSTELLUNG # 5: >>> http://heterotypia.net/hausstellung.html

 

Update November 2022:

On 8th November, a final event took place in Bogdan Šuput Design School in Novi Sad, involving all the student as well as two of the Melting Plots:

One MP ("KO SMO MI") remains in the school for further students' use & play, the other one ("ŠTA ŽELIMO") travelled on to the Secretariat of ULUS , the Serbian Artists' Association in Kneza Mihaila 37, 11000 Belgrade and can serve there as a playful statistical tool for the members of the association – thanks to all the ULUS team!

Foto: Danilo Prnjat

One day later, there already seems to be some movement: it looks like a huge majority (12:0) of passer-by members (?) opted for a rise in the wages of ULUS employees (last line) ... then the wish for a "Members' Club" (line 2) seems also popular with 6:0 votes ... Another question (line 5) asks about the national pension, whether it should be limited to self-employed artists or open for employed as well as self-employed artist alike – some preference so far is given to the first option (4:1). What will the next weeks bring?

 

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

 

* PS 1: an initial concept, still revolving around birds and taking use of the already existing mould, gave rise to these first sketches, providing examples for potential topics:

Still, the idea to have a Statistical sculpture with 2 layers (identities + attitudes/wishes/actions) in one, proved to be too unflexible, given the rather hop-on-hop-off-nature of the project.

 

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

PS 2: During the first visit in May, I discovered a few examples of antique abacuses in the Educational Museum of Belgrade:

 

The journey to and stay in Novi Sad was supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum in Belgrade.