What If...My Classmates Were Helpful and Vann and William Were Gross

My Advanced Graphic Design 2 class (for which this blog is a requirement) did an exercise called "What If" for which we all signed onto AIM and joined a chat room to pose ridiculous questions to one another. As you can see, it was pretty interesting, and even helpful! Mariah volunteered me to talk, so I gave a brief verbal explanation of my project, a link to this blog, and away we went!

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Monday, February 15, 2010, 11:00-11:10 AM
Mariah Tarvainen: cara wants to go
Alex Glaeser: Thanks
William O'Connell: I like this system, fyi.
Cara Lichtenstein: http://transparentbooks.blogspot.com/
Jessica White: archerr
Mariah Tarvainen: archer is the neue helvetica neue
Alex Glaeser: Din is the new Helvetica
Dave Colson: david carson is not coherent and neither are his spreads
Vanian Roy: What if your book made people feel bad about themselves?
Tracy Kroop: What if your book was made into an audiobook?
Mariah Tarvainen: what if your book melted to the touch
Vanian Roy: What if your book could be used to catch a killer?
William O'Connell: what if your books left fingerprints in different colors?

William O'Connell: what if your books were etched to the point you could no longer see through them?

Mariah Tarvainen: what if everyone who interacted with your book altered it permanently

Vanian Roy: What if your book left it's fingerprints on your hand?

Ece Ciper: what if you used mirrors

Dave Colson: What if you had to alter the book with moisture, heat or finerprint to see the content

William O'Connell: what if touching the book destroyed the type?

Bryan East: what if your book could become a liquid then back to a solid
Vanian Roy: What if your book killed people?
Bryan East: like the terminator
Alex Glaeser: What if your book had moving images LIKE IN HARRY POTTER
Tracy Kroop: what if your book was 'written' as others read it?

Jessica White: what if your book wasnt clear?

Vanian Roy: What if your book were poisonous?
Ece Ciper: what if it changed colors when frozen

Mariah Tarvainen: what if your book was made from glass

Cecilia Oh: What if the book had pockets

Alex Glaeser: What if your book changed it's content

Tracy Kroop: what if your book was transparent in a metaphorical sense?

Jessica White: what if your book was a diary?

Alex Glaeser: on its own
Bryan East: What if your book was make out of ice
Bryan East: ?
Bryan East: made*
Alex Glaeser: What if your book was it's own diary
Alex Glaeser: and you checked it's entries
Alex Glaeser: often

Ece Ciper: what if you had more books inside of the book

Vanian Roy: What if your book smelled like strawberries but tasted like burnt rubber?
Cara Lichtenstein: One will be a sketcbook 
Cara Lichtenstein: Vann, please don't eat my book.
Alex Glaeser: What if your sketchbook belonged to an accountant
Vanian Roy: What if your cover were on the inside?
William O'Connell: what if your books had a sign next to them that said "do not touch"
Tracy Kroop: what if that was the title?
Tracy Kroop: (vann please don't eat my book)
William O'Connell: what if you MUST NOT READ FROM THE BOOK
Bryan East: What if your book your book could travel through time
Vanian Roy: What if your book belonged to someone who couldn't read?

Jasmine Sarp: what if the book was so sharp it cut you if you touched it

William O'Connell: what if your book caused blindness?
Jessica White: what if your book was binded with something disgusting?
Alex Glaeser: what if your book was mean
Vanian Roy: What if your book was too heavy to hold?
Bryan East: What if your book was sent to kill another book from the future
Ece Ciper: what if it could fly
Vanian Roy: throw it
William O'Connell: what if your book could be made into a soup

Tracy Kroop: what if your book was of found objects?

William O'Connell: what if your book contained soup?

Tracy Kroop: what if you couldn't control the materials?

Vanian Roy: What if your book reflected sunlight and blinded people?
Alex Glaeser: What if your 3 books didn't get along (sketchbook, checkbook, text book)
Dave Colson: What if your book was sold at Ok Natural?
Cara Lichtenstein: Do you think my book has to be transparent?
Ece Ciper: seriously, what if it could be transformed into a kite
Bryan East: What if your book could magnetically attract its pages
William O'Connell: what if your book absorbed light?
Tracy Kroop: what if your book your book was a prescription lens?
Cecilia Oh: what if your book controlled the world
Vanian Roy: What if your book emitted darkness?
William O'Connell: what if your book told this tour to go away?
Vanian Roy: LOL
Bryan East: What if your book could give tours of to other books
Jessica White: what is your book killed freshmen?
Vanian Roy: What if your book ate tour groups?
Alex Glaeser: Perfect TIMING
William O'Connell: what if your book was a horror film?
Vanian Roy: What if you had to rub the book on your face to see the text?
Bryan East: What if your book was a package of a horror film?
William O'Connell: what if your book was a house? or someone elses thesis? what if your book stole thesis(es?)
Vanian Roy: What if your book were moist?
Cara Lichtenstein: What if  you had to hold the book up to the light?
Jasmine Sarp: what if the books were barely existant
Mariah Tarvainen: what if your book was in braille
Cara Lichtenstein: VANN IS A PERPETRATOR OF MEMES
Cecilia Oh: what if your book was attractively good looking
Vanian Roy: What if your book was made before plastic existed?
Jasmine Sarp: what if the books were projected into smoke
Ece Ciper: what if your book was projected
Ece Ciper: whoa
Jasmine Sarp: hah
Mariah Tarvainen: twinz
Vanian Roy: What if your book were worth killing for
Vanian Roy: or dying for?
Cara Lichtenstein: it will be!
William O'Connell: what if your book wasn't worth dying for?
Alex Glaeser: What if your book could astral project

Vanian Roy: What if no body wanted your book?

Cara Lichtenstein: :'(
Bryan East: aw
William O'Connell: what if your book was bad?
Bryan East: Like Michael Jackson
Alex Glaeser: What if you met your book on a dating website like match.com
Vanian Roy: What if your book was actually an audio recording?
AM Jessica White: whoasaaaa
Soo Kim: what if your book was made of diamonds
Jessica White: no talk of MJ!!
Vanian Roy: What if your book was made of coal?
Vanian Roy: What if it left your hands smelling bad?
Alex Glaeser: Am I your book?
Jasmine Sarp: what if your book was made of gelatin
William O'Connell: What if your book was made of oil painting?
Mariah Tarvainen: what if your book was the rubens vase http://charmcitycurrent.com/culturecomment/2010/02/15/monday-art-object-of-the-week-2/
Tracy Kroop: what if your book wrote its own autobiography?
Bryan East: What if your book was thinking about going to MICA
Vanian Roy: What if your book screamed at people?
William O'Connell: what if your book was thinking of going to RISD?
Tracy Kroop: what if your book was a really scared potential student right now, with parents thinking wtf?
Alex Glaeser: What if your book was made of melting wax (hot wax, it would hurt)
William O'Connell: what if your book was laughing at other people?
William O'Connell: out loud.
Mariah Tarvainen: which artist would your book like to spend a day with
Vanian Roy: What if your book could only be read under water?
Jessica White: what if your book was about how i'm laughing too much, and i need to reserve myself.
Alex Glaeser: What if your book threw temper tantrums alot
Cara Lichtenstein: What if my book laughed
Tracy Kroop: what if your book was on backorder?
William O'Connell: what if your book made your eyes water like onions
Cecilia Oh: what if the book made you cry
Tracy Kroop: what if your book started at the end?
Ece Ciper: what if each book represented someone famous that you love
Vanian Roy: What if your book secreted a mysterious fluid?

Jessica White: what if the book was empty

Cara Lichtenstein: What if thyey were displayed in a dark room?
Cara Lichtenstein: they*
Bryan East: What if your book ....could book a job...
Bryan East: corny
Cecilia Oh: what if your book didn't have  cover
William O'Connell: what if your book started in the middle, and had no begining, no end, and no hope?
Vanian Roy: What if your book was already finished?

Jessica White: what if the book was a bible?

Tracy Kroop: what if your book was the spoiler for alex's movie?
Jasmine Sarp: what if the book only made sense when all the pages were looked at at once
Jessica White: like a super bible
Alex Glaeser: What if the book only opened for certain people?
Cara Lichtenstein: SUPERBIBLE
Tracy Kroop: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
William O'Connell: what if we filled the new potholes with dead hookers?
Vanian Roy: We could open a necropheliac brothel
William O'Connell: shag 'em and bag 'em?
Vanian Roy: haha
Cara Lichtenstein: OH GOD GUYS
Vanian Roy: What if our brothel became #1 in the world?
Vanian Roy: What if our brothel was also a grocery store?

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The "What If..." exercise was a very helpful thought experiment for me; I was a bit stuck in my thinking, and this allowed me to open up and relinquish some control of the process. Highlighted in blue are things that are applicable to my "What If..." project or potentially applicable to my thesis (ideas with which I'm interested in playing). The italicized statements are those applicable to my "What If..." project specifically and off of whom I based my "What If..." book.