Consuming Cut Flowers
Initial Questions -
Q1: Where do our flowers come from?
Q2: How do we create empathy towards other species?
Consuming Cut Flowers
Initial Questions -
Q1: Where do our flowers come from?
Q2: How do we create empathy towards other species?
A commodity is defined as a product that can be bought and sold. An object is “commodified” when it is transformed from something not considered a market good into a product that can go through the buy-and-sell process, essentially assigning it an economic value. This process can apply to physical goods, services, ideas, or even cultural practices.
Through this exploration, I would like to define a commodified product, better understand what it means to create a commodification of goods, and what we as consumers may potentially lose in that process as well as what we can gain.
To gain a full perspective on the product, I aim to discuss a double narrative. One story will be told from an industry standpoint, which maps the untold or unnoticed perspectives of a market good. The second narrative acts as an unravelment of our perception of the product, going back to its roots through memory and history.
The product I have chosen to explore is cut flowers. I have a personal connection in the sense that I have both grown flowers for my enjoyment and have also worked with flowers to create naturally dyed textiles. My connection to cut flowers has brought me closer to the product, and with that insight, I have my thoughts on issues with flowers as a consumer good. I believe there is a large disconnect between holding a finished item in one’s hand, versus being a part of the process of growing, creating, troubleshooting, etc etc.
Through a collection book, short film, and collective exhibit, I hope to deconstruct the cut flower industry using intervention mapping, as well as collaborate with a series of voices to tell a more cyclical as well as personal narrative. By the end of this project, I hope to spark curiosity in the viewer, both on the larger world of cut flowers, as well as the larger narrative of how consumer culture has pushed to simplify our knowledge of products.
Guiding Questions
Introduction
Why was the study undertaken? What was the research question, the
tested hypothesis or the purpose of the research?
Q1: Where do our flowers come from?
Q2: How do we create empathy towards other species?
Methods
When, where, and how was the study done? What materials were used or
who was included in the study groups (patients, etc.)?
Results
What answer was found to the research question; what did the study find?
Was the tested hypothesis true?
Discussion
What might the answer imply and why does it matter? How does it fit in
with what other researchers have found? What are the perspectives for
future research?
Potential Key Words:
1. Interconnectedness
2. Consumerism
3. Ecocentrism
4. Narration
5. Sustainable society
6. Accountability
7. Horticulture
8. Floral Industry
9. Empathy
10. Cut Flowers
Subtitle Examples:
Subtitle Examples:
1. Importance of Ecocentrism
2. Exploring Consumer Culture through the Cut Flower Industry
2. Exploring Consumer Culture through the Cut Flower Industry
3. Dual narration: The Cut Flower Industry and The Consumers Connection
4. Finding Empathy for the Ordinary
5. Finding Connectedness through missing narratives
Topics:
Topics:
Ecology, Sustainability, Wellness
Reframe, Reinterpret, Remake
Connection, Bridging
History, Memory, Archive
Community, Healing