{"id":3446,"date":"2018-02-23T14:26:30","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T19:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/?p=3446"},"modified":"2018-02-23T14:26:30","modified_gmt":"2018-02-23T19:26:30","slug":"scary-to-some-extent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/scary-to-some-extent\/","title":{"rendered":"Scary, to Some Extent"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most interesting pieces covered in the lectures was Pilvi Takala, the woman who got a job as a trainee in the marketing department of a museum and began acting strangely, such as standing in an elevator for an entire day. \u00a0I think that the most interesting part of the exhibition was the varying reactions of those who stepped into the elevator. \u00a0Some of them acted confused, not understanding what was going on. \u00a0Others immediately caught on to what she was doing, and acted slightly bemused. \u00a0By \u201cmisusing\u201d or simply not using the elevator for its intended purpose, she was able to glean some very interesting reactions that reveal how people act when their sense of normalcy and routine is challenged. \u00a0I searched her name online and watched the entire\u00a0piece she produced, entitled \u201cThe Trainee.\u201d \u00a0Another thing she does to challenge her coworkers\u2019 sense of normalcy is asking to sit down at a table with a few other people, and simply staring into space for a long period of time. \u00a0At first, those around her try to ignore her, perhaps thinking she is simply resting. \u00a0However, as time goes on, they become more and more uncomfortable, and finally, the man sitting across the table from her asks, \u201cYou have to wait for something or\u2026\u201d \u00a0She simply brushes him off, telling him, \u201cI\u2019m doing a bit of thinking about what I should do\u2026 I\u2019m just doing some brainwork.\u201d \u00a0The man\u2019s sense of routine was challenged. \u00a0He was not used to people simply staring into space for extended periods of time. \u00a0However, for the first part of the video, this challenge to his routine was not jarring enough to warrant him speaking up. \u00a0This adds yet another layer to her performance piece: it not only shows how people react to a change in routine, but also how reluctant they are to question it. \u00a0The people around her try to ask questions to come up with a logical explanation for what she is doing, such as asking if she is waiting for something. \u00a0People try to understand the things they encounter through past experiences, and if they do not fit into any of their past experiences, they try to force them to fit. \u00a0Throughout the day, she continues to tell everyone that she is doing \u201cbrainwork,\u201d and they usually act confused, asking one or two follow up questions and then uncomfortably leaving her alone. \u00a0Even more interesting is the concerned note that was\u00a0written about her which is displayed in the video. \u00a0Not a single person truly confronted her about why she was simply sitting there because they were nervous and confused at this challenge to their routine. \u00a0They did, however, send an email with the importance marked as \u201cHigh,\u201d presumably to the boss or office manager, questioning what the woman was doing there and why no one needed her to work. \u00a0The final line of this note sums up the varying reactions to her piece perfectly: \u201cPeople at Tax not only thought this is weird and funny, but also scary to some extent.\u201d \u00a0Actions that don\u2019t fit into the <\/span>norm<\/span> or what we\u2019re used to are exactly that: scary, to some extent.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most interesting pieces covered in the lectures was Pilvi Takala, the woman who got a job as a trainee in the marketing department of a museum and began acting strangely, such as standing in an elevator for an entire day. \u00a0I think that the most interesting part of the exhibition was the … <\/p>\n

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