Experiment 2: Language Barrier?

Jessie and I got our thoughts together and re-evaluated what our goals were, and what questions we wanted to answer. It was a good time to collectively figure out the kind of experiments we wanted to conduct. After a brief discussion on how we felt as cultural minorities, we determined that our primary question at this point is: While languages looks very different, at the heart of it, are they very different? How can we get people to appreciate the beauty of form? Is this typographic form of varying languages arbitrary or did it stem from the same common ideas that we all have? Jessie and I built our experiments physically, working analog. We tested 3 ways. 1. We asked students to write a series of words that resembled the Chinese language based strictly from what they perceive it as, without outside reference. 2. As a follow-up to the first part of the experiment, we cut out these words in chinese and mixed up the strokes, asking students to rearrange the strokes as they thought the word should look. 3. We created a cube with multiple transparencies of different symbols and characters of several languages. By stacking them one behind another, we could simultaneously see the forms crossing over, a formal exploration on literally collaging language. This direction focuses primarily on the appreciation of form through play.

TEST 02:

TEST 03: 

looks like a smily face

Class Feedback/Questions

+ Record the process of play as they explain their reasoning behind what they are doing.
+ Move into more complex ideas such as (Love, Hate, Confusion, etc.)
+ Experiment with a different language
+ Give less/more direction or information about the task
+ Gather results in a singular document for comparison
+ In a game you win or lose, but play has no restrictions