Conformity

With my powerful persuasive techniques I was able to cast a number of people to perform and obey my simple requests. These tasks included leading others, manual labour, snacking and pecking the floor.



Obey and Conform from amanda ford on Vimeo.

With my dancing and hand shake experiments, I have found that the social pressure has been extremely difficult for most people to overcome and furthermore, the unwillingness to do so. The way people are so influenced by the perception of others to behave in a 'appropriate' way is limiting and closing off any possible social interaction with strangers. 
For the hand shake experiments I intend to place an obstruction/ something to make people aware of my presence to hopefully shake them out of this compliance to not interact with strangers. 

For the dancing experiments I plan to start off with a group of people then see if that will encourage more people to dance, also perhaps incorporating my study of mapping.

Mapping/ Tracking

Developing on from my dancing experiments, I am interested in the idea of personal space, interaction and tracking.
As a test experiment I filmed myself with cloths soaked in paint and strapped to my feet, dancing on a sheet of paper. To expand on this experiment I want to involve more people each with a different colour paint, so I can map peoples dance moves and further understand the boundaries of personal space and interaction. Here are stills taken every 5 seconds.

'Paint dancing'

Paint Dance Test from amanda ford on Vimeo.

Shake, Hug or Wave?... or Nothing.

Developing on my preliminary research into social interaction by trying to physically interact with strangers through handshakes, hugs or high fives. I recorded myself at 4 different times in the day between 5-15 minutes, standing on one of the Golden Jubilee bridges offering passers by handshakes, hugs, high fives or even just a simple wave.


Shake, Hug or Wave? from amanda ford on Vimeo.

Results:

10.00 AM  (10 MINUTES)

• Number of people who walked passed = Men: 62 / Women: 41    Total: 103

• Handshake = Men: 7 / Women: 4       Total: 11
• High Five =  Men: 1 / Women: 0
• Hug = 0
• Wave = Men: 3 / Women: 4

12.00PM (10 MINUTES)

• Number of people who walked passed = Men: 171 / Women: 146    Total: 317
• Handshake = Men: 31 / Women: 20       Total: 51
• High Five =  Men: 1 / Women: 0
• Hug =  Men: 1 / Women: 1
• Wave = Men: 7 / Women: 2

4.30PM  (10 MINUTES) 

• Number of people who walked passed = Men: 127 / Women: 87    Total: 214
• Handshake = Men: 21 / Women: 6       Total: 27
• High Five =  Men: 2 / Women: 0
• Hug =  0
• Wave = Men: 9 / Women: 2

4.45PM (10 MINUTES)

• Number of people who walked passed = Men: 65 / Women: 79    Total: 144

• Handshake = Men: 6 / Women: 5       Total: 11
• High Five =  Men: 1 / Women: 0
• Hug =  Men: 0 / Women: 1
• Wave = Men: 6 / Women: 5

TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE: 778

This made my day. from amanda ford on Vimeo.
..and something a little unexpected made standing in the cold so much more worth it :)

Dance With Me?

Dance Series [clips] from amanda ford on Vimeo.

The samba band are regular buskers that play next to the Hungerford Bridge, and after several observations I found that people do stop to appreciate and listen to their music, but hardly ever get involved and start dancing even though in most cases it looks like they want to. I have noticed that especially in England people are generally very reluctant to interact with each other, whereas in Chile where I'm from it is socially acceptable to talk to or interact with strangers to a certain extent.
I wanted to see if I started dancing whether people would get involved and interact with me or still stick to their 'accepted' social behaviour.

Throughout the 45 minutes I spent dancing, 18 people came to dance with me. 12 men and 6 women.

I also wanted to see what the results were if; instead of me (a girl), a boy were dancing, how would the results differ. I conducted a preliminary test but in the short 10 minutes my friend Josh spent dancing no one was willing to dance, though further testing is needed.

Amstel Station, Amsterdam.

This is Amstel train station in Amsterdam, where Dutch designer Frank Tjepkema was commissioned to design furniture for the Central Hall that could initiate social interaction, but at the same time, provide opportunities for more private moments, creating a balance of privacy and openness.

"The playful composition of forms, based on a rigid (rather cubist) framework, was developed with a balance between privacy and openness in mind, inviting people to experience different levels of intimacy or interaction."

 Tjep 

Kissing Bench

The kissing bench, conceived from the idea of capturing the moment when two people meet, it encourages interaction between two individuals in a subtle and seductive way and perhaps will even lead to a kiss....

 

"Play me, I'm Yours"

In June 2010, British artist Luke Jerram presented his artwork "Play me, Im yours" in London and New York. It consisted of placing 21 pianos around central London for the public to interact and play with, he wanted it to be "a catalyst for strangers who regularly occupy the same space, to talk and connect with one another.. Disrupting people’s negotiation of their city, the pianos are also aimed to provoke people into engaging, activating and claiming ownership of their urban landscape."
The concept behind his artwork, of how he wanted people to interact with each other and their surroundings is what I want to achieve out of my project. The observation I made on the site through my research is that people seem so disconnected from their surroundings and so reluctant to participate in social interaction, but that hopefully artwork such as Luke Jerram's "Play me I'm Yours" and my final piece will provoke the public to interact and connect with their surroundings, and perhaps create a more relaxed and open society.