A path of research leading to project brief four; information gathered and ideas prompted by reading.
Katz, D & Kahn, R 2008, ‘Communication: the flow of information’, in Mortensen CD (ed), Communication Theory, 2nd edn, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ, pp. 382-389.
- If we increase and improve communication channels, will we really communicate better and solve so many problems in society? (Communication as education)
- Well, maybe not – communication can create as well as solve problems, eg. revealing a side of someone’s character previously unknown
- So is it better and more peaceful to live in the dark? Is ignorance really bliss? Is bliss a worthwhile goal?
- Image, smokescreens & spin – if you can communicate something attractively, you might not need to fundamentally change or improve it
- An organised social system implies the restriction of communication – a formal organisation includes a limited number of people (such as the social construct of a family) and therefore limits communication by limiting the channels
- Pure, unfiltered communication only possible through anarchy? Even then, society still exists – limited by human factors i.e. you can’t meet everyone
- But this is the only societal model where it’s hypothetically possible – goes hand in hand with the destruction of mass media
- But to unfiltered communication doesn’t mean good communication – needs structure to have meaning (even structure as basic as language)
- “Preaching to the choir”, then, to communicate effectively – is this frustrating? Limiting? As an artist?
- The coding process: we bring our own assumptions and pre-determined judgement to anything communicated to us – not to mention pack mentality, “us vs them”, in an organisation
- To move from pack to pack, communication must be translated as if these groups were speaking different languages