Name
Peter J Naus
Subject
Which Book?
Postcode
3132
Visit Time
24/09/2004 1:11 PM

Remark
As a motorcycle rider for 20+ years, I used to carry “Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance” around with me in a ratty old canvas bag worn slung over my leathers. It didn’t help with bike maintenance, but I learned a lot about quality of life!
I’ve been an insane reader since I learned to read. In fact I read so much that I failed maths for the last 9 years of school – I used to read a book on the seat beside me (even though the prettiest girl in the school sat beside me for 2 years) during maths classes.
35 years later, I am reading maths books to learn fractions and geometry (Euclid), trigonometry, and calculus! Talk about the worm turning…
By my estimates, I’ve read at least 2500 books to date, of which I’ve kept around 1200. That makes it so hard to pick a favourite!
I eventually voted for JRR Tolkien’s “The Lord Of The Rings” – I must like it, I’ve read it 36 times and counting – but I also love many of our “cultural” books – “I Can Jump Puddles”, “Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance”, The Qur’an, and Billy Shakespeare.
It’s kind of funny – I can read for hours at over 600 words per minute (my fastest speed is 1350 WPM at 75% retention level); but I can’t divide two simple numbers without a pen and paper. And even then I get it wrong…
But am I worried? Naaaah.

Peter Naus is obviously a well read intelligent person.

He is in his late 50’s.

He is part of the baby boomer generation and is quite wealthy.

He is exposed to high end media and engages with newspapers and politics often.

He lives in Mitcham in Melbourne’s Eastern Suburbs.

He rides his motorcycle to his Job in the inner city.

Peter works as a Organisation Psychologist.

Sustainability does not directly concern him, but media and polotics do.

Peter will vote for local members and state members who support systematic change in their policies (regarding sustainability)

Kerry Burns
Subject
Tim Winton
Postcode
3190
Visit Time
20/10/2004 1:57 PM

Remark
For years I have loved every Tim Winton book and wait with anticipation for the next one. When he was nominated for the Booker Prize and didn’t win I wrote to him and told him that Dirt Music was far superior to Life of Pi and how much pleasure he has given me over the years etc, and he wrote back to me and I fell in love with him the second time for that and while reading his new novel The Turning there is a character called Kerry which I am claiming as my own and hence I fell in love with him for the third time

Kerry Burns lives in Highett in Melbournes South East.

She is a single professional 47 year old Nurse

She has no children

Kerry is romantic.

Kerry rents her 1 bedroom.

Kerry is a devout Catholic after being brought up in a catholic primary school in Brighton.

Kerry is has an elderly mother and is concerned aging population issues, for both her and her mother.

Kerry is not politically active but supports popular sentiments of sustainability.

Name
Matt Gibbs
Subject
How to avoid the nuthouse
Postcode
3218
Visit Time
27/09/2004 12:11 AM

Remark
I’d just finished reading Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye” as a class text. I understood Holden Caulfield’s despair. Could we ever fix all the wrongs in the world without going mad?
Then Camus’ “The Outsider” fell into my hands. Immediate enlightenment. Camus had the answer. The world is absurd. Accept it.

Matt Gibbs – the young professional.

Matt lives in Box Hill South, in Victoria’s inner Eastern Suburbs. A suburb predominately populated by married couples (53.7%), with a large proportion of citizens are aged between 25-54 (40.8%)

Presuming Matt uses public transport he would use the Lilydale and Belgrave lines.

Matt is a 39 year old motivated professional who is married and plans to raise a family. He has attended a public school and moved to Box Hill after completing his computer science degree and beginning work as a profession IT consultant. He reads the newspaper, and watches TV. He is concerned with finance and the economy because of impact on his mortgage and accumulated debt.

Matt’s house is a 3 bedroom Victorian style house with little to no sustainable resources. While Matt is concerned about global warming – he has been exposed to it in minimal increments and worries about the financial implications of political action on the subject.

Matt liked ‘Catcher in the Rye’ but was thrown by the worlds wrongs – a sense of helplessness overcame him. But after reading ‘the outsider’ he is resigned to the worlds wrongs. To this end, he feels helpless and is unfaithful that his behaviour can change the world. While he respects sustainability he cannot see the possibility of action.

Matt is educated and tries to avoid using plastic bags. In future – when sustainability becomes more of an issue – Matt will take mild action in changing his life style – but will be forced to change certain things because of price hikes and taxes on wasteful products.

Before

• Unaware.
• Wastful.
• Sinical.
• Unused.
• Enviro Porn Addicted.
• Green Washed

After.

• Understands the power of the all mighty dollar
• See’s ways of survival.
• Imagining of the future enlighted.
• Politacally empoweed.
• Ready for Battle.

During our group discussion we discussed ‘Adbusters’.  Adbusters is a collective that describes themselves as “a global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators and entrepreneurs who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age.”

They have an anarchic motif to their work and magazine. It strives against global commercialism by forming it’s own alternative community.

http://adbusters.org

Check out their website and see what their about. Adds some relevant perspectives about the global community and how smaller communities attitudes can change the future.

In our discussion surrounding community I’ve taken a particular intrest in the concept of the anarchist. The modern day anarchist encompasses much more than you’re average anti-globalization anti-government protester - it can be viewed as a way of life. To live seperatly from the greater community is in some ways a sustainable practice. Looking at self reliant small communities that reject large scale systems of production and governace already exists - and has for hundreds of years. The thought that sparked my my interest in this subject is all creative revolution has, in part, been born out of ‘Creative Anarchism’. While the status quo follows an excepted method of visual communication or thought – often the historically significant designer/artist/acedemic has broken away from the large body of excepted thought and created a whole new one; Impressionists, modernism, da da, push pin, post modernism all broke from the group. Is creative anarchism the rout of all new creative though?      Community can only last to a certain threshold. Often the smaller groups with the larger collective develop a tighter bond.  How as designers do we develop community?Do we have similare thresholds?Do designers appreciate community or do we strive to be individuals?Or is it that rebelion against the norm is were creativity exists – only in destruction of community do we have creation? Um – don’t know  

Here is an interesting image I came across when completing a visual audit on “Community”.

As a stand alone art piece it’s compelling and quite funny. But also I thought it was relevant because it talks about the concept of belonging, of ownership. Perhaps we are all a product of our community? Driven and packaged by the shared values or common needs, Moulded by mass communication, Packaged by the need to fit in?

This particular piece was done by UK outfit – US Studio. http://www.usdesignstudio.co.uk/

There work is really thought provoking. Check out the “Detergent T-Shirt”

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