Social Norms be Damned

                                                   The Idea of Rebellion
      An artist or artist have many ways to view the world. By expressing this view, they are intending on changing a certain error found in society or in ourselves. The artist gathered within this piece intend to show the world how society needs to break free of the idea that contentment and inaction are key to survival. Five artist are key to proving this point and they are N55, Alex Villar, Institute for Applied Autonomy (IAA), The Surveillance Camera Players (SCP), and Yomango. The interacting goal between them is to break free of conformity. These five have the needs of the people in mind and are trying to liberate the self from social norms. The IAA is centered on individual and self-determination, Alex Villar is focused on re configuring public space, N55 is about expanding outside what is a home, Yomango is focusing on breaking free of the corporation, and SCP is focused on demanding privacy.

        Each artist or group has its own way of breaking free from the shell of normality. The first example is N55. They consist of four members whose goal is to "liberate land across the globe" (59). They wish to liberate people from the constraints of normal houses and apartments and to allow people the opportunity to just be free. In terms of practicality, it would be easy to move this mobile home from place to place. It would break down the idea of the home being set in one place and just by thinking up this theoretical idea people can see a home as actually traveling alongside them. There would be absolutely no limitations.

        Looking at the idea of physical presence, the IAA would be the opposite. The Institute of Applied Autonomy is an anonymous organization consisting of artist, engineers, and researchers. Their "mission is to study the forces and structures that affect technologies that serve social and human needs" (75). Their goal is not only to liberate social thinking but to liberate the human needs. These specific needs fall into the category of social protest and protecting the human in volatile environments. By involving themselves, the IAA is changing the rules to protest to make it safer to make powerful impacts in the world.

        Society is very big on social space, making up words such as trespassing and ownership to keep people away from private property. Alex Villar, an artist, directly puts himself at odds with the concept of trespassing, willingly heading straight into it. His intervention consists of "positioning [his body] in situations where the codes that regulate everyday activity can be made explicit" (65). Villar is not trying to invade private property but rather to call attention to the idea of it. People instinctively stay out of lawns and private spaces but it is because society has conditioned this mindset. Villar does the opposite to enforce the notion that our social mentality keeps us from doing as he does.

       Connecting to the idea of trespassing as a form of social awareness, one might look at Yomango next. They are focused on stealing/ shoplifting " as a form of social disobedience and direct action against multinational corporations" (107). Yomango is not keenly engaged in the notion of thievery but rather on the concept of taking matters into your own hands. By stealing from the corporations, they are inciting an act of rebellion by committing the crime. Stealing, to them, is their act of resistance.

      While Yomango is about stealth before cameras, another group is in it for the performance aspect of it. The Surveillance Camera Players (SCP) are a group which " protests the use of surveillance cameras in public spaces in the belief that cameras violate a constitutionality protected right of privacy and free movement" (83). In terms of the visual performance aspect, SCP uses news and the Big Brother image to focus the camera on them. It is not about the attention per say but rather reversing the roles on the camera and in truth, becoming the camera that watches. They are in turn forcing the camera into the role of observer. They are practically saying we are watching you watch us so watch this.

         In end, these five groups of artist use art to force people out of the narrow mindset society has forced them to take. Be it through a mobile home, a protest, thievery, trespassing, or being pro-privacy, these forms of activism call attention to the self. It is forcing people to look at the self as a form of resistance. No one said anyone had to get hurt, just do something that takes you outside the box because outside the box are more possibilities than were previously anticipated. Society has made a wall. It is our job as individuals to simply get over it.

This is link connecting to Alex Villar.
https://medium.com/breaking-into-business
This is a link connecting to N55
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/n55-walking-house/
This is a link connecting to Surveillance Camera Players
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RILTl8mxEnE
This is a link connecting to Institute of Applied Autonomy
http://theinfluencers.org/en/institute-applied-autonomy
This is a link connecting to Yomango
http://beautifultrouble.org/case/yomango/