Sign in or register
for additional privileges

MACHINE DREAMS

Alexei Taylor, Author

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

Feelings on Inflation

Watch these two videos before reading:


How did you feel while watching the video of the man blowing up the balloon? How about during the video of the pump inflating the balloon? Did you feel the same, or different while watching the two videos?

The air in the first video came from the lungs, straight from the body of a human. The body exerted effort to inflate the balloon. Sentimentality is instantly attached to the balloon blown up in the first frame, as it features a human, a doer with whom one can identify. The video may recall memories of blowing up balloons as a child – a very innocent connotation of the behavior shown.

Why may the emotions experienced differ when viewing the machine's inflation versus the human's? Your mind wanders, consciously or unconsciously, trying to understand what is facilitating the action happening in front of you.The pump is not a full body, it has a single function; it has no hidden depths or connections. The human, however, one can identify with, as he has lungs and muscles and blood, which work together to blow air and make the inflation possible. When viewing the video of the man blowing up the balloon, this knowledge is drawn upon. The pump, however, remains one-dimensional.
Comment on this page
 

Discussion of "Feelings on Inflation"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Previous page on path Harris' Jinking Jungle Jurisdiction, page 5 of 12 Next page on path

Related:  Effect on the viewerFirst Lamborghini Tractor Black and WhiteThe Devil SheepUSSR/CCCP Propaganda PosterNeelon, Caleb, Diederick Kraaijiveld, and Joshua Allen Harris. "Profile. Bora Baskan/Profile Diederick Kraaijiveld/Profile Joshua Allen Harris." Juxtapoz, 95 (2008): 22-24.EquivalenceRaceMarc Jacobs T-Shirt close upBear(Personalized) PropagandaAmber Case: We are all cyborgs nowThe Capitalist's Communist CommodityExit Through the Gift ShopBanksy vs. Bristol MuseumFinal Paper Proposal. Inflatable Street Art: Joshua Allen HarrisEffect on viewer (continued)Marc Jacobs StoreMarc Jacobs Store ClerkVideo: air giraffeEyad from Marc JacobsMan with Balloonfarmer's petSymbolicWalk continuedSubway BreathGhostcatching-BillTJonesCityWalking in New York CityBalloons vs. Inflatable Street ArtMarc Jacobs Store InteriorAndreotti, Libero. Theory of the Dérive and Other Situationist Writings on the City. Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, 1996. Print.Unsure AnswersMarc Jacobs T-ShirtBeirut - The Rip Tide (Official Video)AlterityVatican 3-DRed Gradient Background Marc JacobsOscar PistoriusTemporalityTractorsJoshua Allen Harris' Portfolio. Joshua Allen Harris, n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. .MetrocardLes nouvelles créatures de Joshua Allen HarrisSources so farSimulationSpectatorinflatable sculptureGray, Christopher, ed. "Essays from Leaving the 20th Century." What Is Situationism?: A Reader. Ed. Stewart Home. Edinburgh, Scotland: AK, 1996. N. pag. Print.Unitary UrbanismAir Bear, NYC Urban Art,BibliographyLamborghini TractorSubway InteriorThe TakeawaySociety of the SpectacleSubway DiagrambearsSigur Rós - Fjögur píanóGet ready to wanderReality Effectrunaway gargoyle in parisCyborgStore from the level aboveSculpture disguised as trashWhat makes an observer modern; Diana GluckLungsgiraffeCue the HipstersFeireiss, Lukas. "Larissa Fassler: The Body and the City." Deutsche Bank ArtMag. Trans. Wilhelm Werthern. Deutsche Bank AG, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.Bristol Museum vs. BanksyEyad holding T-Shirtair apeLungsHerculesJoshua Allen HarrisHot Chip - I Feel BetterAn Initial Confusion of NationalitiesThat's Not Trash; It's ArtVindexThrough the lens of Situationism and the DériveBackground Image Marc JacobsWhat is it about these sculptures?So what?Freud, Sigmund. "The Uncanny." MIT. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. .Sesame Street and Deep QuestionsWhat is this path? And how to maneuver itPrice (and Fact) CheckInflatable? How so?New York CitySituationist Map of ParisRace in Rome, 1960