Opposite Upcycle Aesthetic: Artificiality and the Supernaturalism

Currently, parts of the world is growing like an onion, adding more manmade layers to spots deeply rooted in man’s creations. What was once a few acres of trees, or desert, or grassy plains could now be the site of an Amazon fulfillment center, or a Walmart supercenter. As the artificial intelligence renaissance continues to permeate into life, it has become a staple in manufacturing centers and other areas where it can be highly utilized. This increase has compounded the level of human creation and history that goes into daily life. As the AI movement continues it has become increasingly important to follow the wake and learn how to harness the potential. Those who are worried that an AI reckoning will come from this growth may pray to God, Buddha, or to some other higher power that will grant them salvation should the day come.

For context, my upcycle aesthetic is naturalism. Inherently rooted in nature and artfully depicting accurate represenations of it. After some thinking I decided that there were two apparent “opposite aesthetics”.  Supernaturalism and artificial.

The first is supernaturalism, the belief in a higher power that explains the natural universe and it’s creation. Religions fall into this category and could make for an interesting commentary if it were used for my product. If I were to use this for my project I would make slots in my hangboard that have cross patterns to represent Christianity and also as a nod to the religion I was raised on. I would turn the hangboard into a mosaic like piece by painting murals in colors that resemble stained glass that can be found in churches.

This or I would look for other religions that I agree with more like Buddhism. However the approach would be the same, I would paint depictions of respective religious notions onto the hangboard. Specifically, deities or supernatural members of the religion such as Devis.

I also thought of a more relaxed approach that does not provide commentary between the aesthetic and some part of my life. Magic and other sci-fi related powers are also considered supernatural. So I thought of bringing in sorcerer mickey from Fantasia and to honor him would make the hangboard in the shape of his hat with the brim having the large ledges for the hangboard.

If we recall my introduction to this post it was largely focused on AI and the manmade areas of society. Artifical was the other counter aesthetic that I mentioned and I feel it is very relevant given technological advancements that have happened recently. If I were to use this aesthetic I would keep the construction of the hangboard very simple. It would look very regular. However, I would add pressure sensors on the 20mm ledge that automatically times my hang and what part of the sensor is receiving the most pressure. This inclusion could inform which of my fingers are taking most of the load when hanging and also would make it easier for me to do targeted timed hangs. I am not sure how I would incoporate upcycling for this part but I think it would be a cool addition to a traditionally mechanical piece of equipment.

Sources

Figure 1: AI

https://emarsys.com/learn/blog/real-ai/

Figure 2: Moses

https://verboscitech.wordpress.com/tag/supernaturalism/

Figure 3: Devis

https://www.booksie.com/664908-what-are-devas-and-devis

Figure 4: Magic Mickey

https://comics.ha.com/itm/animation-art/limited-edition-cel/fantasia-making-magic-mickey-mouse-limited-edition-cel-10-295-walt-disney-2009-total-2-/a/7196-97024.s

Figure 5; Pressure Sensor

https://www.tekscan.com/blog/flexiforce/how-create-pressure-sensor-pad