Music 256a Homework 1, Fall 2021
Reading Response + Design Etude + ChucK Exercise
Elena Stalnaker

~ Part 1 ~

Reading Response

Favorite quote:
"...aesthetics does not usurp or live apart from functionality; instead, it gives context, meaning, and essence to a thing, making it what it is." ~ Ch. 1, pg. 29

Main response:
"A thing without aesthetics is like food devoid of flavor." ~ Ch. 1, pg. 29
In otherwords, impossible, since even a supposed lack of aesthetics is an aesthetic choice, and even flavorless food has the flavor of flavorlessness. This reminds me of an ITALIC lecture from freshman year on a fashion piece, where 3 of the professors professed they didn't care about fashion, and the other 2 pointed out that their fashion choices were still making an intentional, aesthetic statement - that they didn't care about fashion.

This decision to "not care" about fashion is often gendered and political. For instance, Mark Zuckerberg proudly advertises his habit of wearing the same gray tshirt everyday - because if he's thinking about what to wear, he's not working hard enough. This is reflective of (among other things) a widely held belief in our culture (particularly among heterosexual men) that fashion is not important, and high fashion is not a serious art form. Given that the fashion industry is dominated by women and LGBTQ+ men, the belief that the entire art form is not "serious" seems rooted in sexism and homophobia.

Moreover, both Zuckerberg and the first 3 ITALIC professors assumed that there is some neutral baseline for fashion, some "normal" outfit that makes no statement about their personality or beliefs. And the aesthetics of their chosen "neutral" outfits were distinctly bland, utilitarian, and masculine. On pg. 37, Ge posits that "if form didn't matter, we'd all be content to live in warehouses, wear the same dull clothes, feed on the same tasteless food, have no preference for what's beautiful..." I think this dystopian image serves as a powerful and visceral defense of aesthetics and their value. However, I also think the idea that warehouses, dull clothes, and tasteless food are neutral and aesthetic-less risks implying that they are some kind of natural baseline and erasing the fact that they do have an aesthetic. Warehouses and dull clothes perform their functionality, they flaunt their utilitarianism - much like Zuckerberg and his endless closet of identical gray tshirts. If warehouses tried to be beautiful, they wouldn't be working hard enough. Someone, somewhere, invented the warehouse, and that person (probably a straight dude) chose the aesthetic of praying to the god of money over an aesthetic that might have made warehouses calming spaces of community collaboration, or at least not eye-sores upon the landscape. I know that the latter is exactly what Ge is arguing for, and I wholeheartedly agree with him. I just think it's important to ackowledge that there is no such thing as design without aesthetics, and that even design that seems purely functional is also making an aesthetic and political statement, just not one I or the Artful Design Manifesto would support.

One last thought: I think this same tension in values is reflected in the rhetoric of Artful Design. Throughout chapter 1, Ge is frequently defending the need for artfulness, aesthetics, play, and ends-in-themselves. However, I only saw one defense of the need for funcitonality.

Another last thought on this quote from page 55:
"Driven by curiosity, desire,.." *cough-greed-cough*, "...and aspiration, but unchecked by wisdom that we do not yet possess..."
- I think this narrative is sometimes true but other times we have wisdom and are conciously choosing to ignore it... i.e. climate change or "move fast, break things".

Also, this quote from page 55:
"Technology must be balanced by beauty, for it is in the sublime that we have hope of finding salvation from our ever restless selves..."
- I wholeheartedly agree with the first part, but I wonder about the generalization "ever restless selves." I don't think everyone is that restless. I am that restless, everyone at Stanford and, it seems, in the whole bay area is that restless, and I suspect it's similar at Stanford's ~pEeR iNstItUtiOnS~, but I don't remember it being like that back home. I'm pretty sure some people are down to just chill. Like, potentially most people? But it's hard to tell from over here. I miss those people sometimes.

Question:

Ge, have you met the makers of the zipper pencil bag? They say 'never meet your heroes,' but I'm curious how your narrative of its creation compares to theirs.


Design Etude - Parts 1 & 2:

Item 1: Alyk's wallet

Function:
The way it holds whatever you put in it securely despite having one open side. How you can put cash in it without folding the cash, but then fold the wallet into a size perfect for a small to medium sized hand or pocket (cUz itS 4 wOmN). Good structural integrity. Sturdy chain connecting to one's belt loop so that it can't be easily lost or stolen. Leather loop for securely storing a ring of keys, or anything else that could be hooked onto a loop.

Form:
The smooth, sturdy black leather, the flame ornamented silver snap buttons, the texture of the rough suede on the inside, the "hell babes" insignia stamped into the leather of the internal pockets, the jingle the chain makes when one walks. The heft of the chain itself is an aesthetic in its own right.

Means to an end: Supporting the all womxn motorcycle group The Litas, storing your money in all its forms, queer signaling

End in itself: the VIBES. Elegantly constructed for maximum level of motorcycle-butch. If one must live in a capitalist society, may as well do it in the gayest, most stylish way possible. (Or is that a means to an end? Unclear...)


Item 2: The song "omg" by Marian Hill

Function:
You can groove to it. You can play it at a party and people won't know what it is. You can trick your friends with it because they will not listen to the lyrics and won't know why you're laughing.

Form:
A snazzy, jazzy pop tune. Lyrics are stealthy, mostly they seem to allign with the overtly sexy vibes of the song, but if you listen carefully it's actually about the artist chilling out with her fish, putting off doing her chores. Boppin' yet comedic. I find it beautiful because of the way it sounds, but also because of its sneakiness and its play on the genre of highly sexualized pop music.

Means to an end: useful for dancing to, amusing oneself, and seeing who around you listens to the words of songs.

End in itself: It's a well crafted song, and it's funny.

Marian Hill - omg (Official Video)


Item 3: The picnic tables outside Columbae

Function:
Eating, gathering with friends and housemates, doing homework

Form:
3 old wooden and metal picnic tables, painted in vibrant colors by the community of Columbae. Picnic tables by nature encourage people to face eachother, and the tables are pushed together to form one long table, so there are no gaps between the benches and tables, and therefore no gaps between the people sitting there. I find them beautiful for the art on them that was created by people I know and love, but also for what they symbolize, and all the happy memories they remind me of.

Means to an end: a place where people can eat or study and the co-op community is formed.

End in itself: communal pieces of art, evokes feelings of nostalgia and belonging for me as a former Columbae resident.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Design Etude Part 3: Guerrilla Design

It is my belief that people don't use enough emojis. If we used more emojis, I think less miscommunication would happen over text. So, I spent a day using the appropriate amount of emojis. (6-7 per message, minimum, depending on the complexity of the emotion being displayed.) I would consider this infiltration of an intentionally emoji-heavy aesthetic into my texting habit a success, given that one contact noted my "emoji game" was "strong today."


~ Part 2: ~
Chuck code that makes sound (full disclosure I took this from a random 220A assignment, my mini-audicle actually quits everytime I try to open it which I didn't realize till a little late in the game to try and fix it)


Code