The image shows how diverse Georgia Tech is in terms of its student organizations, which included interest and sports clubs of various cultures from around the world. The image is placed along the walkway towards the fountain, where many visitors would walk past. Therefore, the image aims to send the message to visitors, especially prospective students, that Tech is not only an excellent school for its strength in the STEM but also its diversity.
The banner aims to notify Tech students the opportunity to obtain discounted professional working apparels from the advertiser. The banner is placed outside the second floor of the student center – a very conspicuous position – which makes it clear to anyone reading it that it is an advertisement that aims to persuade the audience to act (in this case purchase the apparels). Any student who walks into the student center for lunch will definitely notice it, and thus its message reaches a wide base of audience.
The image/text on this wall is an art piece of a sort. The message “I have never been about anger, I have always been about love. Sincerely, red” suggests that the image/text wants to offer another perspective about the color red instead of the usual connotations of anger, rage, and aggression, that we give it. The images offer evidences of “red” in our daily lives where we enjoy deeply their presence and allure. In addition, the image/text is intentionally pasted on a red-brick wall to further exemplify the beauty of color red even on something as ordinary as a wall.
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One of the arguments mentioned in the reading is that artificially established public or communal spaces in a neighborhood are ineffective in aiding interactions among the community at best, problematic at worst. He suggests the reason for this is public spaces has never truly welcomed everyone – features are usually enacted in these spaces to keep out the unwanted – which then causes a gap between people within the same community. While the observation in the argument is true, it is somewhat a skewed view of the impact of public spaces.
Public spaces are mostly intended for a specific group of audience, big or small. They were never intended to cater to everyone’s needs. Kid’s playgrounds usually prohibit teenagers from entering because the purpose of the playground is for the young children to have fun in a safe environment, and not for the teenagers to play there and cause danger to the younger kids. Similarly, places in Georgia Tech, such as the Garden on the Roof of the Clough, and Fountain area in the Quad, are constructed for students to socialize and wind down after a long day of school work. In these places, there are many features intentionally built to allow students to relax and have a nice hangout with friends. Students could go in a group and just chit-chat by the Fountain while enjoying the whole scenery. Student couples could go to the Roof garden have a nice evening date. However, if these communal places were occupied by working professionals tirelessly working on proposals and presentations on their laptops, wouldn’t it destroy the calm and relax atmosphere in these spaces and defeat the entire purpose them?
On the other hand, places like the Olympic Flame Statue and Rosa Parks Statue are more of symbols of grand ideals than spaces for everyday interactions. They are a three-dimensional form of writing, where the message and meaning of the ‘writing’ are rooted in their histories and stories, instead of being shown literally in words. In the readings, Murphy contends that the main reason writing technologies developed is to better facilitate thought and expression by the people. In essence, writing technologies have always been about a means to an end – to better send a message to an audience.
In this sense, it would be myopic to view writing solely as written words in its most literal form. Writing should be viewed as a large umbrella that covers different forms of human expression, and in this case – statues. These statues are deeply rooted in history, for instance, the Olympic Statue can be found in any place in the world where the Olympic games were once held. It symbolizes the long history of the modern Olympic movement and its celebrations of solidarity, friendship, and sportsmanship. Any passer-by only needs to look at the statue to be told of these grand ideals without reading any written text about them. And this, in effect, encourages them to inculcate more of such spirits in their everyday life.
Moreover, the Rosa Parks Statue depicts Rosa Parks sitting calmly on a bench in a park-like environment at Georgia Tech, symbolizing her famous refusal to give up her seats in 1955. The image this statue creates, through its body language and its interaction with the environment, speaks of a powerful message to students the need to stand firm and with resolve in facing discrimination and unfair treatments, which almost etches onto one’s mind. Hence, the utilization of a statue to express this message is extremely effective. It creates a constant reminder in the students’ minds – to and cultivate the characteristics of inner strength, dignity, resolve and determination themselves.
Wong Kin
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