1- Eva Cohen: Personal Statement

The idea of human networks is something that I would like to explore in the context of this class. In the contemporary moment, when many people in this country and around the world engage in online social-networking, the networks of social ties (familial, affective/affectional, etc.) that connect people are made almost more evident/visually manifest and so seem to invite study. But there is also a long pre-internet history of this kind of study in the social sciences, spurred on by the sense that modern life and its attendant increases in human movement, technological interconnection, et cetera had brought about an increase in the sheer number/density of human relationships. Many sociologists have conducted experiments to test the so-called 'six degrees of separation' principle, aiming to determine whether such a small degree of social distance really separates most people on earth. How people form, maintain, and mark their ties to each other, both in the real and virtual modern worlds, has come to interest me a great deal.

Along with this, I'm interested in exploring how human social networks help perpetuate inequality/social disparity. While modern society theoretically distributes rewards (employment in the public and private sector, school admissions, et cetera) on the basis of merit, both popular and scholarly sources attest that most positions of priviledge are secured on the basis of personal/social connections. Theorists like Pierre Bourdieu, writing about the role of elite schools in consecrating a 'state nobility,' highlight how institutions seek to consolidate social ties within classes and so ensure that individuals' allegiances remain with those of their own class.

I think that a lot of interesting art could be made about this--flow charts and maps of social networks (realized as quilts, sculptures, dance?), depictions of different kinds of human social presentation, et cetera. Get at me!

Also--an interesting example of hybrid art-- Walker Art Center Artist-Designed Mini-Golf