2013.05.26 01:00 - Photoshopped aliens

Wol Euler was guardian for this session.

Hana Furlough's current display-name is "Hana".
Wol Euler: good morning, hana
Wol Euler: sorry I'm late, I got caught up in e-mails
Hana Furlough: greetings wol!
Hana Furlough: not to worry
Hana Furlough: happy sunday!
Wol Euler smiles.
Wol Euler: thank you, happy sunday to you too
Wol Euler: have you moved yet?
Hana Furlough: i have!
Hana Furlough: i'm coming to you live from kyoto station
Wol Euler: wow :)
Hana Furlough: it's a cool place, just very small
Hana Furlough: and i'm realizing i have too many things
Wol Euler smiles.
Hana Furlough: or, too many things to achieve the minimalist look i seek
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: the empty rooms of houses in architectural magazines always make me feel over-burdened by stuff
Wol Euler: which in truth I am :)
Wol Euler: but those photos of minimal residential units don't actually show how or where people *live*
Hana Furlough: right
Wol Euler: where are the books? where's the art?
Hana Furlough: exactly!
Hana Furlough: it's deceptive
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: so while we probably all do have far too much stuff, the image is every bit as false and meretricious as the photoshopped "women" in style mags
Hana Furlough: interesting comparison
Wol Euler: it just occurred to me :)
Hana Furlough: : )
Wol Euler: there is just as much photoshop in architectural magazines, by the way :)
Hana Furlough: oh really...
Wol Euler: mmhmm
Wol Euler: shots of our pool complex were edited by the photographer to remove emergency lighting and the "exit this way" signs
Hana Furlough: ahh
Wol Euler: everyone knows this, and nobody comments on it
Wol Euler: everyone = all architects and most other readers of such magazines
Hana Furlough: right
Wol Euler: and in a way it does us all a disservice, just as the photoshopped aliens in Vogue do real women

--BELL--

Hana Furlough: agreed
Hana Furlough: the photoshopped vogue aliens (hehe) are scary
Hana Furlough: my parents were hippies, so i saw some nudity when i was little
Hana Furlough: but not really as i got older
Hana Furlough: it wasn't until i went to the public baths here that i saw what ordinary women actually look like
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: they look great, don't they? :)
Hana Furlough: yes! they do!
Wol Euler smiles.
Hana Furlough: they are all ages
Hana Furlough: and they have scars and all kinds of different shapes
Hana Furlough: it's really great
Wol Euler nods.
Hana Furlough: i imagine that men also don't have a clear idea of the diversity of male bodies
Wol Euler nods.
Hana Furlough: since they are fed photoshop as well
Wol Euler: yes, that is true. And the models are every bit as unrealistic
Hana Furlough: for sure
Wol Euler: the difference is that men aren't told to equate body shape with moral worth
Wol Euler: a guy with a huge great gut is still *permitted* to consider himself a fine fellow
Hana Furlough: haha yes
Hana Furlough: it really is different
Wol Euler nods.
Hana Furlough: i think in some ways, ladies who want not to be wrecked by society have to adopt an unapologetic attitude
Wol Euler: agreed
Wol Euler: and society fights back by calling them bitches
Hana Furlough: right
Wol Euler: which is odd because "society" is 52% female. Males are actually a minority in most human populations
Hana Furlough: well, there is the problem of women turning on women
Wol Euler: the phrase "Stockholm syndrome" comes to mind
Hana Furlough: yes
Wol Euler: exactly
Hana Furlough: which is why we ladies need to stick toether
Wol Euler nods.
Hana Furlough: anyway, yes, photoshop is variously deceptive
Wol Euler: right :) back on theme
Hana Furlough: :)
Wol Euler: in both cases, the excisions that are made remove *truths* from the world that we could benefit from seeing
Wol Euler: because there *will be* emergency lighting, there will be "exit this way" signs
Wol Euler: pretending they aren't going to exist means we don't plan for them
Wol Euler: it's funny, architects will spend minutes criticizing the curve of a handrail, while standing under a huge green exit sign which is objectively just as ugly and far more intrusive
Wol Euler: but we train our eyes not to notice them
Hana Furlough: do you think there would be a way to make an aesthetically pleasing and effective exit sign?
Wol Euler: aesthetically pleasing no, because the form and shape and colour are all exactly dictated by law
Hana Furlough: ahh
Wol Euler: but we could at least position them better
Hana Furlough: so the laws would need to change
Hana Furlough: hmm
Hana Furlough: how could we position them better?
Wol Euler: well, we spend time thinking about light switches and wall sockets, how they line up vertically, but people usually don't think "so I will put the emergency systems on this same line"
Wol Euler: they would still be intrusive, but at least in an orderly stack :)

--BELL--

Hana Furlough: ahh the lines
Hana Furlough: interesting
Wol Euler smiles.
Wol Euler: architects like lines
Wol Euler: even ones that can only be seen on floor plans, not in reality, because they continue beyond solid walls
Hana Furlough: haha of course
Hana Furlough: masters of lines
Wol Euler: it's not just the emergency services, though. The photographer also excised the air conditioning and the loudspeakers and most of the lighting
Hana Furlough: wow
Wol Euler: the ceilings look as smooth and featureless as the water surface of the pool
Hana Furlough: what about handicapped signs?
Hana Furlough: were those gone too?
Wol Euler: everyone knows that this is not true, but we all look at that photo and say "wow, what a lovely ceiling"
Wol Euler: mmhmm
Hana Furlough: oh dear
Wol Euler: every bit as deceptive and dysfunctional as Vogue
Hana Furlough: yes
Hana Furlough: fantasy land
Wol Euler: mmhmm
Wol Euler: I understand why it's done. These things are easy to ignore in reality, but almost impossible to overlook in a photo
Wol Euler: itself a phenomenon worthy of investigation, by the way :)
Hana Furlough: : ) indeed
Wol Euler: if there were emergency lights and HVAC grilles in the ceiling, nobody would look at the pretty curved tile walls
Hana Furlough: too bad
Wol Euler: It would be a useful corrective measure to publish photos of these places as tehy really look, side by side with the "official" photos
Hana Furlough: ooh interesting ideas
Hana Furlough: i bet after awhile people could get used to just seeing it how it is
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: and be less unhappy with their own ceilings :)
Hana Furlough: yes!
Hana Furlough: this is key!
Wol Euler: "man, why don't my walls and ceilings look as good as Peter Zumthor's?"
Wol Euler: because his don't look like that either!
Wol Euler: heheheh
Hana Furlough: hehe
Hana Furlough: yes

--BELL--

Hana Furlough: well, i should let you get some breakfast
Wol Euler: and you should get some dinner :)
Hana Furlough: yes!
Wol Euler smiles.
Hana Furlough: it is that time
Wol Euler: take care, hana, and I hope you enjoy your new apartment
Hana Furlough: thank you!
Hana Furlough: i will, smoke detectors and all
Hana Furlough: have a nice day!
Wol Euler: heheheh
Hana Furlough: until next time!
Wol Euler: indeed <3