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Rhizome Experiment, Fall 2015

power group map

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Power Our group's node is power. As such, power is the backbone that supports all of our pages. So how exactly does power relate to our individual projects and to our node as a whole?

Zack tackles some of the overarching theorists such as Guattari, Marx, Williams, and Boellstorff and compares and contrasts their explorations of power dynamics. He then weaves power through an exploration of the rhizome, the transversing of time and space, and an explanation of the importance of social forces.

Anna analyzes how power impacts society's structures and behaviors, whether it is through gender, race, or opportunity (described in her social power page), by creating a form of social hierarchy with an nearly untouchable elite: males, whites, or prison guards, as seen my examples. By obtaining power, people take the opportunity to the extreme, creating distinct differences that are difficult and rare to overcome.

Kevin addresses the impact that power and social power has on the machine in context. Identical machines undergo vastly different functions when implemented in disparate contexts under different power dynamics. This illustrates the fluidity of the machine, and highlights the crucial role that power has in affecting machinic and social dynamics.

Broadly, power dynamics create the difference that is explored in the various theories and real life examples put forth in our project. Like a rhizome, our individual work, node, and class scalar project grow infinitely from within. While the image below is a rough map of the connections we made in our group, links, tags and paths sprout up and out from our pages and weave through our node and our classmates' work. It would be pointless to map out this growth because it is intended to be traveled in an infinite amount of ways.

Now compare the image above to the image below of a Rhizome. Matrices such as the one below exist externally in our broad layout and internally within each page. Most broadly, this matrix exists throughout the entire class project. These three layers of matrices lie on top of each other and connect to each other to form an infinite number of paths.

A snapshot does not do full justice to the malleability and free flowing nature of this project. However, it is useful in giving a rough image of the concept of layering discussed above. It would be much like taking a picture of the bird murmuration. An instant before and an instant after the picture is taken, the murmuration will look entirely different. Similarly, the snapshot below is how the project looked at one instant, but does not accurately reflect the project in its entirety. As indicated, the paths and links that proliferate from Power are extensive and infinite in their shape and reach.