Author: Steven Montinar

Final Project – Slime Language

Slime Language (2020)

Slime Language is an ongoing multi-part gestural performance and video series creating slang sign language from hip hop lyrics. These alternative signs are meant to visualize and decipher a spoken phrase and transform them into a signed idiom.

This idea began in 2019 while I was trying to create a photo series on the black fugitive image and coded languages by using poses influenced by sign language.

(3 out of 26 images from the original “Slime Language” series)

However, I did not consider this as the final rendition of the idea; since, I felt like I captured the fugitive image aspect but not the coded language concept. For the Person in Time assignment for this class, I chose to revisit this series to work on balancing out the coded language aspect. This resulted in a QWERTY like system for your hands using latex gloves based on finger phalanx sections and letter frequency in English.

The project became a speaking system using a cross of the English alphabet, sign language, a Ouija board, tattoos, and gang signs.

The phalanx sections of the fingers (proximal, middle, and distal) were used to plot the English alphabet on the hand. By pivoting and pointing with the thumb, words and sentences could be formed to create silent and performative communication between individuals. The placement of the letters were determined by its frequency in the language and accessibility on the hand.

Yet again, I was not content with the rendition of the concept. The movements were awkward and slow. I also tried to do machine learning with Google Teachable Machine but the movements were too small for it to detect changes. By using the Teachable Machine, I also realized that having your hands straight out in front of you for the messages you form to be read was an uncomfortable positioning in general. Most importantly, the execution felt as if the concept strayed from my body of work.

I then began looking into Christine Sun Kim and her work with sign language and music. By using the movements in signing, she created these drawings/diagrams and I knew this was more of the direction I wanted to go. My work as a whole deals with black culture and hip hop, and the most recent rendition of “Slime Language” just did not have those parts of my work. I then began looking into sign language slang and sign language translators for concerts. After this round of research, I decided to turn Slime Language into a series of movements creating slang/idioms signs based off of lines in songs. As of now the series has 30 installments.

(Full Video: 3 minutes 45 seconds, 30 segments)

(10/30 Segments)

Developing this project made me subconsciously develop a structure for the language that was based more than an exact gesture representation for each word. For instance, a clawed “heart pumping gesture” was used to indicate life and a rolling hand gesture indicate continuing time. Most gestures contained 3 parts: the main action, a disruption to the action, and an ending to the action. This 3 part “syntax” aided in creating a fluid movement as well as a shortened signed idiom.

Final Project – Work In Progress

I have not fully committed to one final project yet, and have been experimenting with multiple projects. Every time I had trouble proceeding with my main project (“Slime Language”), I started on an alternate project to keep myself creatively active and 3 works slowly evolved.

Slime Language

This idea began last year while I was trying to create a photo series on the black fugitive image and coded languages by using poses influenced by sign language.

However, I did not feel as if this was the final rendition of this idea; since, I felt like I captured the fugitive image aspect but not the coded language concept. For the Person in Time assignment for this class, I chose to revisit this series to work on balancing out the coded language part. This resulted in a QWERTY like system for your hands using latex gloves based on finger phalanx sections and letter frequency in English.

 

Again I was not content with the rendition of the concept. The movements were awkward and slow. I also tried to do machine learning with Google Teachable Machine but the movements were too small for it to detect changes. By using the Teachable Machine, I also realized that having your hands out in front of you for the messages you form to be read was an uncomfortable positioning in general. Most importantly, the execution felt as if the concept strayed from my body of work.

I then began looking into Christine Sun Kim and her work with sign language and music. By using the movements in signing, she created these drawings/diagrams and I knew this was more of the direction I wanted to go. My work as a whole deals with black culture and hip hop, and the recent rendition of “Slime Language” just did not have those parts of my work. I then began looking into sign language slang and sign language translators for concerts. After this round of research, I decided to turn Slime Language into a series of movements creating slang/idioms signs based off of lines in songs.

 

Medikaman Mayou La

“Medikaman Mayou La” is an alchemical booklet of translated Haitian home remedies and systems of medicine. All presented remedies are from my mom’s knowledge and the book covers various solutions for fevers to pink eye. The ingredients are all herbal and plant based.

The book combine universal and niche information. For instance, the illnesses are written in the universal medical term and the ingredients (if applicable) are referred to in their scientific name; the instructions are written in both Haitian Creole and English.

As of now I am still completing the written parts of the book, but I also want to add some diagrams or drawings.

After the book’s completion, I wanted to release it on Facebook or spread it through WhatsApp. News and the word of mouth spreading of medicine for ailments has been somewhat replaced by social platforms for non-American families and I wanted to see what feedback I would get from those communities.

 

Black PepperMint

Inspired by the short workshop we did with Nina Katchadourian, I wanted to continue working on a series using objects to physical impose images. Nina commented on the image I showed and mentioned how it felt like the hair became a shrub and I wanted to continue to push this concept.

I also looked into the material I was using and its symbolism and found out that mint is thought to heal, protect, and stimulate the conscious mind. Intrigued by this I began to focus on similar placements of the material within the images.

April Plan

I plan on refining and finishing the Slime Language piece I proposed earlier in the the semester (below I reposted the explantation of the project). I have already conducted the research I needed to but I have not found the proper execution for it yet. I will try to complete some offerings but I am struggling to find time to do them, due to required work in other classes.

I do want to make more work before the semester ends and I have an idea for a project dealing with medicine/remedies, but I don’t know if it entirely fits the scope of the assignment/class. I may tentatively begin working on that as well, yet I am not sure if I will complete it.

 

 

Slime Language:

A speaking system using a cross of the English alphabet, sign language, a Ouija board, tattoos, and gang signs.

Slime Language is a system that uses the phalanx sections of the fingers (proximal, middle, and distal) to plot the English alphabet on the hand. By pivoting and pointing with the thumb, words and sentences can be formed to create silent and performative communication between individuals. The placement of the letters is determined by its frequency in the language and accessibility on the hand.

Person in Time Project Proposal

Grillboard

A billboard on your teeth.

The Grillboard will be a set of customizable grillz that allow the wearer to interchange the caps of each tooth to create various statements and phrases. Using dental photogrammetry, a 3D model will be made of the mouth and will be used for the base grill. This grill will be all black. From that grill model, white caps will be made to be inserted over the black grill. On the facade of the caps will be a cut out letter; for each exposed tooth (~16) there will be 26 (A-Z) available letters to interchange.

Alternatively or in addition, multiple grillz will be made to create a scrolling text stop motion animation.

https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/head/article/42357/1/grills-maker-juanita-grillz

https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/head/article/44524/1/pinstripe-grillz-grill-maker-choice-new-wave-rappers

https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/22186/1/wear-rap-lyrics-on-your-teeth-with-these-3d-printed-grillz

https://www.wesa.fm/post/there-are-black-people-future-resident-artists-present-their-projects#stream/0

 

Slime Language

A speaking system using a cross of the English alphabet, sign language, a Ouija board, tattoos, and gang signs.

Slime Language is a system that uses the phalanx sections of the fingers (proximal, middle, and distal) to plot the English alphabet on the hand. By pivoting and pointing with the thumb, words and sentences can be formed to create silent and performative communication between individuals. The placement of the letters is determined by its frequency in the language and accessibility on the hand.

https://www.rypeapp.com/most-common-english-words/

https://www3.nd.edu/~busiforc/handouts/cryptography/letterfrequencies.html

https://www.britannica.com/topic/code-switching

 

Typology Project- Salivation of Salvation

Salivation of Salvation is an experimental capture of the amount of saliva produced while performing songs created during periods of black oppression to uplift or bring attention to wrongdoings. The 20 songs span from 1867 to 2018 through american slavery, the Jim Crow era, black power movements, the civil rights movement, and the black lives matter movement. The chosen songs include the genres of slave songs, gospel, jazz, pop, and hip hop. Inspired by Reynier Leyva Novo’s The Weight of History, Five Nights, “Salivation of Salvation” combines black DNA with black history.

Featured Songs:

      1. Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen (published 1867)                              – African American Spiritual originating from slavery
      2. Oh Let My People Go (published 1872)                                                                – Song of the Underground Railroad
      3. Wade In the Water (published 1901)                                                                     – Song of the Underground Railroad
      4. Swing Low Sweet Chariot (1909)                                                                           – Popularized as a Negro Spiritual by the Fisk Jubilee Singers
      5. When the Saints Go Marching In (1923)                                                             – Negro Spiritual
      6. Follow the Drinking Gourd (published 1928)                                                   – Song of the Underground Railroad
      7. Strange Fruit (1939)                                                                                                     – In response to lynching in Indiana
      8. This Little Light of Mine (written 1920/popularized 1950)                       – Popular Song of the Civil Rights Movement
      9. We Shall Overcome (1959)                                                                                        – Anthem of the Civil Rights Movement
      10. Oh Freedom (1963)                                                                                                       – Song of the American Civil Rights Movement
      11. Respect (1967)                                                                                                                – Civil Rights, Equal Rights, and Black Panthers movement anthem
      12. Say It Loud! I’m Black and I’m Proud (1968)                                                   – Unofficial anthem of the Black Power movement
      13. Black Is (1971)                                                                                                                 – Hip hop fore fathers popularizing modern pro black poetry as music
      14. Get Up Stand Up (1973)                                                                                               – About taking action oppression, written in observation of Haiti
      15. They Don’t Care About Us (1995)                                                                           – Protest song made by one of the biggest icons of black music
      16. 99 Problems (2003)                                                                                                      – Known for illustrating Stop and Frisk and driving while black incidents
      17. Be Free (2014)                                                                                                                 – Response to Michael Brown shooting
      18. Alright (2015)                                                                                                                  – Unifying soundtrack of the Black Lives Matter Movement
      19. Freedom (2016)                                                                                                              – Song of the Black Lives Matter Movement dedicated to black women
      20. This Is America (2018)                                                                                                – Chart topping song against gun violence, racism, and police brutality

Salivation of Salvation is based on the study of sialometry, the measure of saliva flow. Sialometry uses stimulated and unstimulated techniques to produce results from pooling, chewing, and spitting. Although the practice is more commonly used to investigate hypersalivation (which would be easier to measure due to the excess of non-absorbed liquid), I realized I would need a more sensitive system to record the normal rate of saliva production.

In the mouth there a three salivary glands: Sublingual, Submandivular, and Parotid. The Sublingual glands are the smallest glands and on the floor of the mouth; they constantly excrete. The Submandivular glands are at the triangle of the neck, below the floor of the mouth and also constantly produce saliva. The Parotid glands are largest glands located in front lower molars parallel to the front of the ear. These glands produce through stimulation.

A majority of saliva gets absorbed into the gums and tongue, the remaining fluid rolls back down your throat. Thus making the tongue the target area for my project since it is the pathway to the throat and makes contact with the gums.

The system developed was an artificial tongue that could be weighed dry then weighed wet, the difference in values would be the weight of the saliva collected. This process was simply and effectively produced by laying a strip of gauze the covered the entirety of the tongue (the foreign object also helped trigger the Parotid Glands). The gauze was weighed with a jewelry scale which can display weight to the milligram. The conversion from weight to volume was simple since 1 mg = 1 ml. The recorded weight difference was then transferred in 5 ml vials through drooling, which had to be produced after measurements were taken.

The purpose of Salivation of Salvation was to make a tangible representation of history. Saliva holds our genetic composition and by tying together this constantly self-producing liquid with a song that marked a specific moment, a general and personal “historical” object is developed. Collaterally, patterns of history became shown through the collected data, as well. Below is a list of observations:

      • The trend of black music went from gospel to jazz to pop to hip hop.
      • Songs with more words produced higher volumes of saliva, thus jazz songs with breaks produced way less than rapping.
      • Performances with the mouth mostly open did not enable the Parotid Gland as much.
      • Orientation of the tip of the tongue influenced the pooling of saliva; therefore words starting with “t” would cause saliva to roll back, while a “b” word would pool underneath the tongue.
      • The songs appear to become more direct and aggressive over time.

Reference:

https://www.hopkinssjogrens.org/disease-information/diagnosis-sjogrens-syndrome/sialometry/

Typology Machine Project Proposal

For the Typology Project, I plan on creating a system that collects the amount of saliva produced from a black body while performing black music. For the purpose of this project, black music refers to songs created by black artists, rather than black dominated genres. The song selections will range from the years of ~1840 to 2019. The pieces chosen will be songs (negro spirituals, gospels, popular music, etc.) created to uplift spirits during times of oppression. The intention of the project is to combine black DNA with black history and identity.

The capture system will include gauze, a digital scale, and vials. The gauze will act as an artificial tongue and will absorb the saliva created during each performance. If the gauze gets too damp, it will get switched out mid performance. The gauze will be weighed before and after being used; and, the same amount of saliva will go in a vial to “document” the data produced. Alternatively, a pipette and/or container will be on hand to capture excess saliva. This action may be performed 20 or more times.

Reading03 – Postphotography

Algorithmic photography “opens up questions and possibilities” by uncovering the hidden structures and invisible networks of the world around us. Human photography is limited to the multiple perspectives of the naked eye, however a lot of our surroundings cannot be readily seen. In an environment conducted by time and filled with patterns and energies, nonhuman photography is relied on to investigate the conditions surrounding us.

In the Postphotography reading, it is noted that laser imaging technology was used to discover an Angkor Wat temple complex and their sophisticated water management system underneath the floor of the Cambodian Jungle and I find that truly fascinating. Using nonhuman photography to “denaturalize nature” is something that could not be done through pure human intervention unless the earth “chose” to expose itself. This discovery is similar to the usage of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology to reveal ruins of the Mayan Civilization in the Guatemalan jungle. Even systems of highways, temples, and waterways made by prior human civilizations eventually morph back into the hidden structure of the Earth and non human intervention is needed to access human invention. Ironically, the increased activity of humans calls for more advanced nonhuman technology to understand the affect of people in nature.

Workshop – SEM

The Scanning Electron Microscope was an interesting experience to observe the minuscule world around us. I brought in an unknown white hair that I found on the floor of the Chroma Key Studio. I thought it was synthetic or from a coat, but I discovered that it was most likely a human hair due to its secretion structure. It was also determined it was not a “black” hair due to its composition (so it was not mine) and that it probably fell since it still had an intact bulbous base. I found it intriguing that this could also be decided from close evaluation of its physical form. Along with the required images, I also captured a spot with hair product potentially on it and a break in the middle of the hair.

Familiar View (millimeter scale)

Unfamiliar View (nanometer scale)

Stereo Pair

 

Additional Images:

 

Reading02 – Photography and Observation

The medium of capture can influence typology in terms of sample size. The capture system developed depends on the capture’s scope and limitations. The goal of typology is seemingly to collect all or find as many possibilities of a certain type and different modes of capture can restrict findings. For instance, a photographer taking photos inputs a personal perspective and arrangement while leaving an automated camera can limit data by having only one angle of view. Either way there is preference present in the systems set up, so it is rare that any data collection is completely impartial.

It’s also difficult to argue that contemporary captures are objective or scientifically reliable because it depends on the case in which the capture is made. However I do think captures can bring out patterns or enforce and detect predictabilities. No capture can be 100 percent reliable, but patterns captured in a larger sample size give a higher chance of reliability.