By Ruby Harkness
How to play:
- Option 1: Find a QR code poster around
- Scan it
- Option 2: Listen to me tell you to scan the QR code
- Scan it
- Answer the google form question linked to the QR code “How are you feeling? Answer with 1 song title.”
- Submit the Google form
Artist’s Statement:
“How Are You Feeling” is an intervention project based on taking a minute to ask yourself how you really feel. People live such busy lives and often don’t take the time to think about how they feel, this project is meant to intervene with that mindset and promote positive self care while people go about their day. I wanted this intervention to be simple, straight to the point, and meaningful for the people participating. Even the act of thinking about how you really feel is something people gloss over in today’s world. I think this is something that needs to be focused on.
Some inspiration from this project came from “Uncle Roy All Around You,” which combines the physical and digital world. I wanted to combine physical and digital as well for my intervention and I used QR codes and posters to achieve that. This intervention played out in two ways. Originally I was only going to put QR code posters up around campus. I did this and waited a few days and got like 4 responses. I learned that people don’t really take the time to scan a random QR code and usually end up going about their day. Although upsetting, I think this is completely normal. I tried to make the posters stand out to increase interest but that didn’t seem to work. The second phase was me intervening in people’s lives. I asked individual people in my classes and even presented the idea in front of the entire class to get everyone’s response. This was a lot more effective and helped me get the majority of my responses. I do think it’s interesting to think about how people don’t seem to take time out of their day to scan QR codes. This could even relate to the project, and provide evidence for how people are constantly on the move. Not only are people struggling to prioritize their feelings, but they also struggle to find curiosity in asking the question “How are you feeling”, which is written all over the posters.
The project ended with the creation of the playlist: How we are feeling. This playlist is a collection of all 67 responses to the question “How are you feeling” in real song form. I wanted to make a playlist for this project because I think music is definitely a way people connect with each other and themselves. Relating to a song is a great way to think about your own feelings. The cover art for the Spotify playlist was also designed by me, and features organic shapes and lines. I wanted to represent how feelings are fluid, and in constant motion with this design.
Playlist Link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4PRgmpObxHkkONEM7Pgpq5?si=97e04311329e4f1e
Documentation:
Posters:
Spotify cover art:
