Carlo-Liquido – Interface Aesthetics S16

Carlo Liquido

Fierce Dynamic
black
red
sharp
spinning
cut
injury
heart
spit
crush
heat

Whimsical Delicate:
Blue
White
Cloud
Round
Soft
Toilet Paper
Sky
Flow
Light

Safe Efficient:
Box
Straight
Center
Inside
Constant
Equilibrium
Ground
Steel
Grey
Math

Carlo Liquido

Beer Bottle (specifically 90 Minute IPA Dogfish Brewery)

Dogfish, arguably my favorite brewery; 90 Minute IPA, arguably my favorite beer (no coincidence that the best beer is brewed by the best brewery). When I look at that empty bottle of beer, I reminisce of the taste of the liquid it once contained—smooth and malty. There’s a high enough alcohol content that it gets a single koala a bit tipsy. It’s wide cylindrical base flowing thinner to the mouth has perfect function. The function adds to its elegance.

So what did I do to test my associations? An empty bottle is an empty bottle. It has no more value for me now that the liquid is gone. What once existed was what gave it value. Now that it’s empty, it’s hard to make further associations apart from its history. Logically, if what gave it value was the function of extracting something, then a new association would be to create the function of putting something back in. To further test my working associations, I chose to attempt to shovel and pack my dog’s poop into that bottle.

Disclaimer: I didn’t actually go through with the action. However, standing outside with shovel and empty bottle with the intention of packing poop was sufficient to make new associations. The slender, elegant mouth no longer seemed so elegant. Possibly for the reason that it misses that perfect function. I want a large, malleable mouth for the impending poop. The once was smooth and malty is now mixed with stink and mush. Function is gone. Elegance effectively is gone. Tasteful has been murdered.

Carlo Liquido

Part 1:

What does the Koala mean to me? I’ve gone through an assortment of favorite animals: skunk, pig, back to skunk, koala. I think it was around 6th grade that I made this connection with koalas. I was sitting at a desk (I feel as if doing homework) and decided to join AIM like the rest of the cool kids. Tacked onto the wall, right above my head, was a framed picture of koalas sitting in a tree. It said: “Koala, Koala, where art thou Koala?” I made an inappropriate AIM name (and by inappropriate I mean really inappropriate) in recognition of the Koala. When I think of koalas now, I think of childhood. I think of silly times. It reminds me of what it felt like to not know the difference between being serious and not serious.

Part 3:

The world would take on a somewhat different meaning if we looked at everything this way. For one, I would take four times as long to process everything. It takes a considerable amount of mental capacity and energy to really break apart each object into its four forms. Whether scientific or formal, we make very discrete associations with the object. From what I could tell, there is one association that informs the rest. The representative form is strongest—a cross between what you see at face value and what it’s most basic form is.

We would need to break down the world in this way if we were to want to understand what that object means to us and why. It would mean that time is on our hands.

In this exercise, the meaning of the object has not changed. I would say it has more so surfaced for me. I knew the formal form of the koala was never the core of the connection. But it took some digging and separating to figure out how essential my childhood memories were to my current associations.

Carlo Liquido

Lemon
Before: Biting, Sour, Cringe, Mixed
After: Malty, Smooth, I’m confused, Still a bit biting

Chips
Before: Salty, Crunchy, Dry, Need more than one, Sticky
After: Bland, still crunchy, still wanted more, still stuck

Grapefruit
Before: Hatred, Bitter (why do people ingest this stuff), Purpley sick, Veiny
After: Surpringly manageable, discovery, Warm

I’ve done this food activity once before. It was just as surprising as the time prior. The two most acidic fruits (lemons and grapefruits) were the most surprising. Lemons are sour to the point of being non-digestable alone… to the point where it’s almost universal. The anticipation before trying the lemon a second time was nerveracking. I cringed before it touched my mouth. I was pleasantly surprised with the malty taste, by the fact that I enjoyed the experience. My associations with grapefruit are a strong distaste to say the least. Its color reminds me of sickly veins. So my perception of choosing to put that thing into my mouth was a bit offputting. My reaction was similar to that of lemons—pleasantly surprised. I went from total hatred to acceptance.