Project Proposal

Working Title:

A reflexion about the producer-consumer (Prosumer)

Prosumer a brief definition:

1. A consumer who is an amateur in a particular field, but who is knowledgeable enough to require equipment that has some professional features ("professional" + "consumer").

2. A person who helps to design or customize the products they purchase ("producer" + "consumer").

3. A person who creates goods for their own use and also possibly to sell ("producing" + "consumer").

4. A person who takes steps to correct difficulties with consumer companies or markets and to anticipate future problems ("proactive" + "consumer").

Aims + Objectives:

To start, my objective is to produce work based on this character of the contemporary society, the prosumer. Also do a reflexion about how to combine mass/medium production and personalization/customization. Nonetheless, try to produce pieces that the design is not completely finished, a piece that provides a intervention from the consumer.

Context

Until this moment, the theoretical backbone of my research is based on the writings Marshall Macluham, Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich, Jean Baudrillard, Toffler, Alvin. The concept of Hypermodern times presented by Lipovetsky is key to my work, for one of it's main ideas of the contemporary men. In addition there are some artist that I am studing at the present moment: Antoni Gaudí, Alessandro Medini, Mia Cullin, 5.5 designers and Sam Buxton. I am also studing geometric forms, patterns, origami and some islamic art.

Methodology:

I have divided my studies in four sections:

Section 1 Theoretical research about the prosumer;

Section 2 Research what was produced to this kind of consumer, what artists would be related with this behavoiur.

Section 3 Create pieces related with the prosumer.

Section 4 Execute the pieces to the final presentation.

Outcomes:

Until the moment I want to present my final work as a 3d real size pieces, that will be probably made by wood and ceramics.

Work Plan:

I am planing to use the ceramics workshop and the tutor’s orientation, the 3d workshop to work with wood and use laser cut to help do mokups and the final pieces.

Bibliography:

Baudrillard, Jean- The consumer society : myths and structures, London : Sage, 1998.

McLuhan , Marshall - Take Today, 1972

Gombrich, Ernst Hans Josef - The Story of Art. London. Phaidon, 2006

Lipovetsky, Gilles com Charles, Sébastien - Os Tempos Hipermodernos. São Paulo. Editora Barcarolla, 2004

Lyotard, Jean-François - The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Minneapolis. University of Minnesota, 1984

Tapscot, Don - The Digital Economy, 1995

Toffler, Alvin - The Third Wave, 1980