WRITER BLOCK BLOCK PARTY PARSONSSCHOOLOFDESIGN S U M M E R S C H O O L C I T Y F U N ! J U S T J U N E 2 0 1 0

WRITER BLOCK BLOCK PARTY is a critical reading and writing course (read:

obstacle course) for first-year students across the disciplines at the Parsons School of Design in New York City. The goals of the course are to activate the city as a laboratory for reading and writing by

analyzing the ways that food, fashion and consumer lifestyles are produced, marketed, and manifested in the built environment. Each class introduces a

different method for students to trace the micro and meta structures that define these lifestyle flows and that help formulate images of the City as machine,

muse, and fantasyland. At each site, students learn new ways to document, map, and analyze the layers of spatial, ecomonic, political and cultural forces at play. These site-specific exercises include: drawing

a 360° map of 13th Street, composing a sound portrait of Jackson Heights, selecting swatches at Mood Fabric to represent the urban fabric,

lunching at a hidden Peruvian restaurant in a service elevator to sample the history and transformation of the Garment District, conducting a comparative

investigation of Pinkberry and Red Mango, and designing a fashion line for the High Line. The course culminates in a party! Students work collaboratively

to launch their own version of a block party as a way of disseminating their writings on the city back into the city. Throughout the course, students stave off writer’s block by using city blocks as their starting sentences and writing as a crosswalk to critical, celebratory analysis. Overall, the class remained

mindful of our fortune: “Every city is a volume if you know how to read and write it.” Enjoy our book and maybe you will want to try out some of our

homework assignments too!

CORI HAYstudies Fashion and Psychology. She is not allergic

to anything.

RAISHA ASNANIstudies Design Management.

She is allergic to pineapples.

THEO LEE studies

Communication Design. He is

allergic to kiwis, apples and pears.

ANDREW MCCAUSLAND studies Product Design. He can’t eat bananas, nuts

strawberries or eggs.

STELLA IM studies Design

and Technology. She is allergic to

dust.

MALCOLM HALLstudies Design Management. He is allergic to bananas, oatmeal, milk, seeds and nuts.

ERIK BURKE makes work

everywhere he goes. Allergies

unknown.

LUTHER CHERRY makes work about fashion and style

in pop-up formats. He has no allergies.

CHRISTINA KRAL makes work that

instantly shifts reality. She once thought she was allergic to nuts, but really she’s

not.

ADRIANA VALDEZ YOUNG makes work about shopping malls as global cities. She is extremely allergic to peanuts

and she taught this class.

5/25/10SITES: 12th + 13th Streets btwn 5th Avenue and University.

“I get situated and plug into an album that meshed with the sun and the rushing stream that flowed past me. I begin to map the different types of characters

who were also plugged into their music boxes.”- THEO

‘People tend to not display their current state of mind whilst walking from one mundane daily activity to

another.’ - ANDREW

‘This chair was not here. It was on 12th Street. But I thought of it nonetheless.’

- ADRIANA

‘I stood on the corner, leaning on a beam of the structure that is the previously prominent Japonica

and typed in shorthand a list of everyone who passed by me without looking down on my screen so that I

didn’t miss anything.’ - MALCOLM

‘My thoughts lingered on my different conceptions of each building— the new student center going up across the street, the deli I frequented at lunch hour,

and the buildings in which I needed to do various errands. I started mentally mapping out the errands I

would have to do after class ended.’ - CORI

‘I decided to create doodles of whatever ‘smells’ I’d catch. The stench of sewage water was the

underlying tone, like the bass of this band of scents. Then occasionally I’d get the whiff of cigarette smoke from the man enjoying some Camel Lights behind me. A man walked by carrying a bouquet of orchids (lucky

woman) and their delightful fragrance trailed him.’ - RAISHA

‘For the record, there were 103 people wearing watches who passed 12th Street and 5th Avenue

between 4:30-5PM.’ - STELLA

5/27/10SITES: 73rd Street and 37th Road in Jackson Heights, Queens. With East German video artist Christina Kral.

‘Every area of the city holds a community different in ethnicity and lifestyle than the other, as if the five

boroughs were a miniature planet Earth.’- ANDREW

‘Every day I pass through tons of different neighborhoods but don’t always think of what makes

them independent or unique areas.’- CORI

‘Most blocks in the neighborhood, 82nd street in particular, have outlawed horn honking and instated a fine of $500 for abusers; so the lack of car noise really helped us to take notice of other subtle sounds played

throughout the neighborhood.’- MALCOLM

‘It was so hot that day; I couldn’t smell anything but the hotness. There wasn’t even a food stand on the

street.’- STELLA

‘It is as if they have created a little piece of India in these few blocks; a district they can call their own.’

- THEO

‘Eating pan is to embark on time-space travel. People have been eating pan for thousands of years and the

taste is like 3-D incense.’ - ADRIANA

‘I use anything available in a given time and space for friendly, temporary take-overs.’

- CHRISTINA

6/1/10SITES: Mood Fabric, El Sabroso Res-taurant and Made in Manhattan Pop-Up Exhibit by the Design Trust for Public Space - all in the Garment District.

‘To the fashion designer’s surprise, these shelved rolls they are sampling are made of our own freshly baked breads and cookies covered in intricate hand-made

patterns of every deliciously sweet topping you could possibly crave.’

- ANDREW

‘The sharing of food and time while eating with someone is a very intimate experience that many of

us take for granted. Because our body absorbs what we eat and it literally becomes a part of our beings, so whom we choose to eat with should be taken

seriously.’- MALCOLM

‘This is one of the last areas to survive the everyday revolution we call New York. It’s an army of suppliers, manufactures and designers all struggling together

and fighting overseas parties using their lethal weapons - proximity and reliance. It’s a place where

creativity and production harmonize.’- RAISHA

‘A production of an entire piece from start to finish can be manufactured here in the Garment District from the design, to production, to marketing. These few cluster of streets make it possible since it consists

of an array of stores that all involve clothing in every aspect. You can find anything from zippers, to

buttons, to needles, or any other material or device you can imagine. It can be viewed as the mega store

for the fashion world.’- THEO

6/3/10SITES: Pinkberry on 6th Avenue, between 13th and 14th and Red Mango on 14th Street near the corner of 6th Ave. They are neighbors and rivals.

‘Red Mango dominates the entire food market, meaning all food consumption that happens on the

planet Earth is controlled by Red Mango.’ - ANDREW

‘With 1,000 solar panels installed on the roofs, you can sleep easy in your 300-count Egyptian cotton sheets knowing you are doing everything you can to be a world activist . . . If you have to live, live

Pinkberry.’- CORI

‘June 2nd was the day. Julie and I shopped for almost a month to choose what we are going to wear in Pink Berry. The staff in the airplane examined our body, size

and proportion before we got onto the plane. I saw a girl crying because she was 2lbs heavier than what she was suppose to be. She was shouting: “It’s just because I had Red Mango for breakfast.” I felt really

bad for her but no one cared about her at all.’- STELLA

‘Pinkberry had its own fleet of planes. They wanted to create the Pink Berry experience right from the

start for their vacationers . . . It was a colorful jungle consisting of screaming neon green futuristic seats,

seats with bright yellow and white striped cloth backings . . .’

- THEO

RED MANGOOriginal All Natural Ingredients: Purified Water,

Pasteurized and Cultured Skim Milk, Natural Sugar, Nonfat Dry Milk, Natural Flavors, Sodium Citrate, Potassium Citrate, Citric Acid, Guar Gum, Food

Starch, Carrageenan, Pectin.

PINKBERRYOriginaL Ingredients

Nonfat milk, sugar, cultured pasteurized nonfat milk with live and active cultures, contains less than 2%:

cultured nonfat milk powder, fructose, dextrose, natural and artificial flavors, citric acid, guar gum,

maltodextrin, mono-and diglycerides, lactoglycerides, propylene glycol esters, rice starch, silicon dioxide

(anticaking)

Image Courtesy of Annie Kwon!

6/8/10SITES: The Standard Hotel, The High Line, Limelight Marketplace, Andrew’s Auto Repair Shop, and The Printed Matter all in Chelsea/the Meatpacking District.

‘The way organisms bloom from between the crevices of the rusted, abandoned industrial

decay is similar to the infamous whiff of sexual deviance and voyeurism protruding from behind

the reflections of the seemingly glamorous Standard Hotel.’

- ANDREW

‘The High Line, which once served as a source of abandoned fun for children of the area, has been restructured to become an everyday catwalk for

the fashion conscious . . . My fashion spread conveys one’s inability to manage expectations;

with my younger sister Makeda portraying herself, simulating actual scenarios she has been in because she always finds herself overdressed

for EVERYTHING, which only leads to her disappointment.’

-MALCOLM

‘Fashion changes everyday. From skinny jeans to leggings to high-waist pants to harem pants to cargo. Even though fashion changes constantly it still feels nostalgic for a past and tries to brings

back its memory.’- STELLA

‘This neighborhood used to smell like cold meat. Now it smells like Armani.’

- ANDREW, Lifelong Chelsea resident & small business owner

6/10/10SITES: A bamboo installation on the roof and the American Woman exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a grassy hill in Central Park.

MEATPACKING MUST BE PACKED AWAY‘Elaborately dire is the final insult; a warning as

well and a call for action. This is dire. The women perpetuate it and are taken in by the elaborate scene and sparkle and effects of champagne. They love the party but hate to be a product.’

- STELLACONSIDERING OUR FUTURE

‘People are more complicated than a fungus because humans have the ability to question

their existence. In order for a civilization to survive, people must have a purpose for survival. Because human interaction is our greatest output of knowledge and entertainment, communication

has grown to give people a certain level of meaning to existence: happiness. In order for

people in New York City to achieve metaphysical satisfaction, we must embrace the wonders of

our nature through art.’- ANDREW

NEW YORK 2.0‘New York is the melting pot of the world, the

evolving child of industrialization. This delinquent, which has now grown up, faces the reality of the

consequences of its youth. Lack of finances, space, order, nature, and a list of concerns that could go on for miles, has arisen as a bi-product

of the City’s existence without proportional adaptation over time. This struggle is to balance the demand of the population’s needs with the services of an ever outdated system. New York

must reinvent itself completely . . .’- CORI

WOMANIFESTO ‘Don’t stare at the sidewalk garbage: The city is a congested wasteland of corporate and artsy gar-baaage (said foreign), why let this pungency seep into our minds. Keep our perspectives fresh and sights set on 5th Avenue, pre the time we take out the trash . . . Every roof must encompass

some form of a garden: Le Corbusier’s modern fifth point of architecture could potentially save the world. As you sow you shall reap, so let’s

sow emotionally and mentally into our lives, take fundamental moral beliefs and place them firmly

above our heads.- RAISHA

FASHION-STUDENTA-FESTO‘Many Parsons students have daydreamed about hand-painted, white jersey Halston dresses and nylon Comme de Garcons

backpacks in their childhood. But most have not. Most of the students truly have no interest

in really working in fashion or in attending college in general, but rather are attracted to the glamorous facade of the business and the City, disregarding the hard work needed to maintain

any position in the industry.’-MALCOLM

MANIFESTO SUGGESTION BOX1. Ban fashion advertisements

Advertisement has gotten to the point where it is being shoved down out throats. Eliminating most of the

advertisements will create independent thinking and many more individual identities will be created. We also don’t have the companies telling us that we are not sexy or fit enough. We could replace these ads

such with works from various artists to enrich the city.2. Promote Loitering

A couple of benches, seats, lounge chairs, or tables scattered on various sidewalks (maybe against

buildings to save space). This will utilize public space in attempts to slow the high-speed traffic a little. People will be able to sit, chat (time card out the

window), work outdoors, chill, meet other people, have coffee, etc. We do not have to designate areas such

as parks specifically for people to take a break.3. Eliminate Zoos

Animals are not meant to be confined to cages for our entertainment.

4. Eliminate PoliticsCitizens will be more encouraged to get involved.

5. Solar panel sidewalksWe should create solar panels that are durable enough to withstand street traffic. Besides the space solution,

we will have sleek sidewalks like the one Michael Jackson danced on in Thriller.

6. Music on public transportationCertain busses and train cars should have music

for people to enjoy while they take the train. People don’t have to be staring blankly or trying to avoid eye

contact at all costs on train rides.7. Underground system for cars

Private cars and trucks will have their own underground arena of roads to navigate the city.

- THEO

6/15/10SITES: Kyochoon Fried Chicken in Korea Town and Erik B’s guided tour through forgotten alleys of Reno and wild-dog-stalked lands and roadways along his bike ride from Lisbon and Copenhagen.

‘In World Cup City, the government is a complete and utter democracy, although naturally, there’s a hierarchy built around the cultures with the most

skilled players.’- ANDREW

‘It is important for every member of Ravnell to feel connected to someone somehow because

the nation is so massive that it is easy to feel alone and lost in the crowd.’

- MALCOLM

‘I am of the Football species and Adidas race. I reach out to you in desperation, please help our civilization. I’m sure you are very familiar with the operation ‘Clean ^ Da CT’ (Clean up the City) in 2078. This operation was carried out in order to remove the garbage that had accumulated in the City of New York and to annihilate the new realm of diseases and consequent deaths that the City

had suddenly faced.’- RAISHA

‘The main trade of Libre is the culture. The city is going to sell the memories . . . The city itself is going to be like a book. Every block has a

different story..’- STELLA

‘Due to the fact that the city’s citizens, teams, conglomerates, and mannequins are such natural

politicians, they are superstars on the world stage. The city is one big façade and citizens

play their cards. But this is all acceptable, every bit of it since its for the well being of soccer, isn’t

it?’- THEO

6/17+22/10TO DO: Edit, Edit, Edit manifestos. Watch two documentaries about interventions: ‘Inside Outside’ and ‘The Yes Men Save the World.’

“Why don’t we wear dresses with the craftsmanship of buildings or hairstyles with the

integrity of sculptures?”

6/24/10 - BLOCK PARTYSITES: Insert essays into baloons. Wear masks, blow bubbles and give away ballons and thumbtacks on 16th Street and 5th Avenue, the outdoor reading room of Bryant Park, and the Standard Hotel. With pop-up artist Luther Cherry.