Tell me something I dont know

Time to find an answer to a question I posted awhile back: autonomy from what or whom?

Autonomy means literally “to give oneself his or her own law.” For the time being, I am addressing autonomy rooted in psychology, ethics, and philosophy, or even metaphysical philosophy. There is much more to address in terms of politics, but lets start with the mind and the soul! (An aside: In economics, autonomous consumption is consumption expenditure when income levels are zero, making spending autonomous to income. This made me laugh aloud in light of my impending lack of income).

Thank you Wikipedia for the following info, much of which Ive cut and pasted below:

Psychology
Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality that focuses on the degree to which an individual’s behavior is self-motivated and self-determined. According to several key studies, three psychological needs motivate the self to initiate behavior and specify nutriments that are essential for psychological health and well-being of an individual, and are said to be universal, innate and psychological. They are as follows:

• Competence – effectiveness in dealing with the environment a person finds themselves.

• Autonomy - universal urge to be causal agents of our own life and act in harmony with our integrated self. However, psychologists Deci and Vansteenkiste note this doesn’t mean to be independent of others.

• Relatedness - the universal want to interact, be connected to and experience caring for others.

Two researchers, White and deCharms, proposed that the competence and autonomy needs are the basis for intrinsic motivation’s and behavior. This is a link between peoples basic needs and their motivations.

The following related experiments are from 1971:

EXPERIMENT I
“This experiment tested the hypothesis that if an individual is intrinsically motivated to perform an activity, introduction of an extrinsic reward decreases the degree of intrinsic motivation to perform the task.

Twenty-four undergraduate psychology students participated in the first laboratory experiment and were assigned to experimental (N=12) and control group (N = 12). Each group participated in three sessions conducted on three different days. During the sessions the participants were engaged in working on a puzzle which was assumed to be an activity that college students would be intrinsically motivated to do. The puzzle could be put together to form numerous different configurations. In each session, the participants were shown four different configurations drawn on a piece of paper and were asked to use the puzzle to reproduce the configurations while they were being timed.

The first and third session of the experimental condition were identical to control, but in the second session the participants in the experimental condition were given a dollar for completing each puzzle within time. During the middle of each session, the experimenter left the room for eight minutes and the participants were told that they were free to do whatever they wanted during that time, while the experimenter observed during that period. The amount of time spent working on the puzzle during the free choice period was used to measure motivation.

As Deci expected, when external reward was introduced during session two, the participants spent more time working on the puzzles during the free choice period in comparison to session 1 and when the external reward was removed in the third session, the time spent working on the puzzle dropped lower than the first session. All subjects reported finding the task interesting and enjoyable at the end of each session, providing evidence for the experimenter’s assumption that the task was intrinsically motivating for the college students. The study showed some support of the experimenter’s hypothesis and a trend towards decrease in intrinsic motivation was seen after money was provided to the participants as external reward.”

(EXPERIMENT II wasnt all that interesting, so Ive left it out. Instead, here is a photo break courtesy of Nina Elder).

EXPERIMENT III
“Experiment III was also conducted in the laboratory and was identical to Experiment I in all respects except for the kind of external reward provided to the students in experimental condition during Session 2.

In this experiment, verbal praise was used as an extrinsic reward.

The experimenter hypothesized that a different type of reward, i.e. social approval in form of verbal reinforcement and positive feedback for performing the task that a person is intrinsically motivated to perform, will enhance the degree of internal motivation even after the extrinsic reward is removed.

The results of the experiment III confirmed the hypothesis and the students’ performance increased significantly during the third session in comparison to session one, showing that verbal praise and positive feedback enhances performance in tasks that a person is initially intrinsically motivated to perform. This provides evidence that verbal praise as external reward increases intrinsic motivation.

The author explained differences between the two types of external rewards as having different effects on intrinsic motivation. When a person is intrinsically motivated to perform a task and money is introduced to work on the task, the individual cognitively re-evaluates the importance of the task and the intrinsic motivation to perform the task (because the individual finds it interesting) shifts to extrinsic motivation and the primary focus changes from enjoying the task to gaining financial reward. However, when verbal praise is provided in a similar situation increases intrinsic motivation as it is not evaluated to be controlled by external factors and the person sees the task as an enjoyable task that is performed autonomously. The increase in intrinsic motivation is explained by positive reinforcement and an increase in perceived locus of control to perform the task.”

More recent studies have focused on topics such as SDT and awareness, vitality, and self-regulation.

From their experiments, the authors/researchers of these studies concluded that “when individuals act mindfully, their actions are consistent with their values and interest. Also, there is a possibility that being autonomous and performing an action because it is enjoyable to oneself increases mindful attention to one’s actions.”

All of this is to say that I aim to be more articulate about my desires (intrinsic motivations) to be in New Mexico, or more generally, to be more intentional about my life (behaviors). I recognize an overall awareness of why I make certain changes and decisions – whether they be to relocate, to end/begin relationships, or even to implement certain regimens. But Ive always attributed them to either fate, serendipity, or just a feeling that its “something Im supposed to do” (as in called to do, not forced to do). Prrreeeety much the definition of “intrinsic motivations and behaviors.” But when my neurotic side gets the better of me, I fixate on wanting to know the reasons “why” I do things. Studies like these teach me and help maintain a healthy perspective.

The Necessarian endeavors are self-regulated (autonomy), yet rooted in wanting to feel connected to something bigger than myself (relatedness), and proving to myself that I can do it (competence). To some people, this may sound like a “finding myself” conundrum but for me it feels more involved than that – and certainly less self-centered. Im learning that autonomy is more about our relationships with people and positioning in situations, more so than it is ’bout goin’ it alone. I continue to keep all of this in mind as I begin to identify the correlations amongst self-determination (and therefore succession), position (physical location and mental attitude), and territory (land ownership and nomadic pursuits).

The Idea Fund is Funding Our Idea!

PLAND is one of ten 2010 Idea Fund grant recipients!

“Through the Warhol Foundation Initiative, Aurora Picture Show, DiverseWorks and Project Row Houses have come together to support art at its source by providing direct grants to artists. The Idea Fund provides cash awards to artist-generated or artist-centered projects that exemplify the unconventional, interventionist, conceptual, entrepreneurial, participatory, or guerrilla artistic practices that occur outside of the traditional frameworks of support.”

As a reminder, PLAND (Practice Liberating Art through Necessary Dislocation) is an off-the-grid residency program that supports the development of experimental and research-based projects in the context of the Taos mesa. See the October 30, 2009 post for more info.

Excerpts from the PLAND vision and mission:

PLAND focuses on open-ended projects that facilitate collaboration, experimentation, and hyper-local engagement. We do not hold expectations about prescribed outcomes. We privilege process over product. We believe artists can do amazing things when supported and encouraged in new contexts. We believe that no context exists like that of the Taos mesa.

PLAND is initiating project-based residencies to transform our parcel of land into a more inhabitable outpost while challenging artists to create, experiment, and produce their own work within this unique context. Inaugural PLAND residents are encouraged to marry survival-based goals with big ideas, aesthetic decisions, social engagement, and experimental methods.

We are proud and excited to be supported by such a progressive funding source and are extremely appreciative that this year’s jurors have faith in what we aim to establish and accomplish. We are eager to put the grant to good use, engaging extended communities and histories in a re-framing of an alternative embrace of the American Dream.

Go team PLAND!

Possum and Pioneer Living

Autonomy continued.

Last week I secured my move to New Mexico, more than a bit ahead of my anticipated schedule! I plan go to work on a WWOOF host farm in Anton Chico, beginning May 1 for approximately two months, after which I plan to move closer to Taos.

Having already given notice at my job, I have begun to look very seriously at my financial situation. Every so often a WWOOF host can offer a monthly stipend of a couple hundred dollars but the recent economic situation has made that nearly impossible. So, beginning in April my monthly income is…non-existent.

Enter Miss Dolly Freed:

While anxiously prioritizing my expenses, applying for part-time jobs, and hunting for new ways to save, I came across Dolly and her book Possum Living: How to Live Well Without A Job and (Almost) No Money (thanks Granny Miller for the photo above). I watched this short documentary and, though there is a bit of controversy around Dolly and the legitimacy of her story, it offered some much needed inspiration – taken with a grain of salt of course. Some more info on Dolly can be found here.

Additionally, the poem below speaks for itself. Yip yip!

Pioneers! O Pioneers!
by Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

Come my tan-faced children,
Follow well in order, get your weapons ready,
Have you your pistols? have you your sharp-edged axes?
Pioneers! O pioneers!

For we cannot tarry here,
We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

O you youths, Western youths,
So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship,
Plain I see you Western youths, see you tramping with the foremost,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Have the elder races halted?
Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied over there beyond the seas?
We take up the task eternal, and the burden and the lesson,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

All the past we leave behind,
We debouch upon a newer mightier world, varied world,
Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the march,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

We detachments steady throwing,
Down the edges, through the passes, up the mountains steep,
Conquering, holding, daring, venturing as we go the unknown ways,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

We primeval forests felling,
We the rivers stemming, vexing we and piercing deep the mines within,
We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Colorado men are we,
From the peaks gigantic, from the great sierras and the high plateaus,
From the mine and from the gully, from the hunting trail we come,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

From Nebraska, from Arkansas,
Central inland race are we, from Missouri, with the continental
blood intervein’d,
All the hands of comrades clasping, all the Southern, all the Northern,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

O resistless restless race!
O beloved race in all! O my breast aches with tender love for all!
O I mourn and yet exult, I am rapt with love for all,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Raise the mighty mother mistress,
Waving high the delicate mistress, over all the starry mistress,
(bend your heads all,)
Raise the fang’d and warlike mistress, stern, impassive, weapon’d mistress,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

See my children, resolute children,
By those swarms upon our rear we must never yield or falter,
Ages back in ghostly millions frowning there behind us urging,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

On and on the compact ranks,
With accessions ever waiting, with the places of the dead quickly fill’d,
Through the battle, through defeat, moving yet and never stopping,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

O to die advancing on!
Are there some of us to droop and die? has the hour come?
Then upon the march we fittest die, soon and sure the gap is fill’d.
Pioneers! O pioneers!

All the pulses of the world,
Falling in they beat for us, with the Western movement beat,
Holding single or together, steady moving to the front, all for us,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Life’s involv’d and varied pageants,
All the forms and shows, all the workmen at their work,
All the seamen and the landsmen, all the masters with their slaves,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

All the hapless silent lovers,
All the prisoners in the prisons, all the righteous and the wicked,
All the joyous, all the sorrowing, all the living, all the dying,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

I too with my soul and body,
We, a curious trio, picking, wandering on our way,
Through these shores amid the shadows, with the apparitions pressing,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Lo, the darting bowling orb!
Lo, the brother orbs around, all the clustering suns and planets,
All the dazzling days, all the mystic nights with dreams,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

These are of us, they are with us,
All for primal needed work, while the followers there in embryo wait behind,
We to-day’s procession heading, we the route for travel clearing,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

O you daughters of the West!
O you young and elder daughters! O you mothers and you wives!
Never must you be divided, in our ranks you move united,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Minstrels latent on the prairies!
(Shrouded bards of other lands, you may rest, you have done your work,)
Soon I hear you coming warbling, soon you rise and tramp amid us,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Not for delectations sweet,
Not the cushion and the slipper, not the peaceful and the studious,
Not the riches safe and palling, not for us the tame enjoyment,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Do the feasters gluttonous feast?
Do the corpulent sleepers sleep? have they lock’d and bolted doors?
Still be ours the diet hard, and the blanket on the ground,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Has the night descended?
Was the road of late so toilsome? did we stop discouraged nodding
on our way?
Yet a passing hour I yield you in your tracks to pause oblivious,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Till with sound of trumpet,
Far, far off the daybreak call–hark! how loud and clear I hear it wind,
Swift! to the head of the army!–swift! spring to your places,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Written on the West

Today a single phrase has made multiple appearances: self-determined.  It is defined as “the free choice of one’s own acts without external compulsion; and especially as the freedom of the people of a given territory to determine their own political status. It can also be defined as the ability or power to make decisions for one’s self, especially the power of a nation to decide how it will be governed. In other words, it is the right of the people of a nation to decide how they want to be governed without the influence of any other country.”

One step further: “Self-determination is most often exercised through secession, which occurs when persons in a country or state declare their independence (read: autonomy) from the ruling government. When a dissatisfied group secedes, it creates its own form of government in place of the former ruling government. Secessions are serious maneuvers that lead to, or arise from, military conflict.”

As PLAND gains momentum, Im thinking more and more about intentionality and specificity; add self-determination and I feel the rumblings of a perfect storm.

Keeping in mind that autonomy is the driving force behind self-determination (and therefore succession) my primary interests are the distinct correlations between self-determination, position (physical location and mental attitude), and territory (land ownership and nomadic pursuits).  

Recognizing the distinction between greater autonomy or self-determination for a geographic region and that of personal autonomy, for the moment I will focus on the personal. The next few posts will address the primary interests listed above, starting with:

Autonomy

Im currently re-reading a book that is now about 10 years old, Space Site Intervention, yet newly absorbing some rather poignant writing, as often happens with re-reading.  Author Erika Suderburg identifies a set of desires that is made apparent in the space of deserts – the desire to be alone and a desire never to be alone again (pg. 135, writing specifically in reference to the desert dwellings of John Divola’s photography series Isolated Houses, pictured above).  Keeping Suderburg’s sentiment in mind, I wonder how this dual desire for autonomy is revealed as acts of self-determination are carried out.

The first question to answer is: Autonomy from what or whom? Currently, I consider aspects of PLAND to be actively seeking multiple answers, as well as providing resources to form or identify alternative allegiances (personally yes, but the personal is political).

Logo-a-Go-Go

Thanks to Nina Elder, amazing artist and PLAND co-founder, we have a logo!

Aint PLAND grand?

PLAND is an off-the-grid residency program that supports the development of experimental and research-based projects in the context of the New Mexico Taos mesa.

Cob house building

So.  When someone asked me today, “Do you know how to build a cob house?” I really, truly thought they meant with corn cobs.  Thank you Marcella from Last Organic Outpost, and Google, for informing me that cob is actually an incredibly strong and sustainable building material made of straw, clay/sand, and water – similar to adobe.  Check the SHELTER page for lots of related links. YouTube also has an array of How To videos.

The walls of a cob house are generally about 24 inches thick and provide excellent thermal mass keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer (fairly certain this is an example of passive solar heating). Plus, it seems pretty easy to build with and allows for individualistic styles – everything from Danish modern-esque to Smurf-like.  Cob can withstand the elements too, including heaving wind and rain.  You can even re-shape your house if you want a change or need to make a repair.  Im looking forward to learning how to build a cob structure during one of Last Organic Outpost’s upcoming work events. More on that in future posts. 
  Cob house built in Devon County, England, 1539.

 Cob house, Mayne Island, approx 2002.

Check out Ziggy, a 25 year old who documented his entire cob house building process – at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Missouri! And check out his Flickr pages.  Unreal.  His site also has some great resources and links.

Some examples are a bit too stylized and even garish for what I envision wanting or needing in the desert.  However, cob offers yet another very realistic and energy efficient way to use inexpensive (basically free) natural materials to build shelter, with super cool style as a bonus.  Here is a slideshow of cob and other earthen buildings in New Mexico.  The photos below are maybe more what I have in mind.  

 Notice the cob ovens in the foreground.

PLAND

During a productive weekend in New Mexico, my collaborators and I have named what it is that we are “doing.”  As we made plans for our land, we were able to articulate a mandate:
 

PLAND 
Practice liberating art through necessary dislocation
 

The name is inseparable from our activities, and we are of the opinion that it strongly communicates our intentions.

I was reminded once again that my collaborators are such amazing women.  They are strong willed yet flexible, focused yet open-minded; therefore the ideas and planning came easily.  I am so lucky to have the benefit of their practical experience building, working, and planning. And the level of mutual respect, admiration, and consideration we have for one another is priceless.  Best of all?  All of this is really, really challenging and really, really fun.

The three of us seem to share a common vision that PLAND will adopt an artist residency model as an integral way to engage and realize our concept. We each have personal ideas about how this model will take shape. One strong idea that we discussed briefly was the “project-based” residency as a communal approach to meeting the most pressing needs and attainable short term goals while creating an opportunity for the resident(s) to create, experiment, and produce – for example, one such need/goal is shelter.  Meeting this need also helps us to maintain a presence on the land as well as allowing for visitors and projects/works in process.  These attributes will become more and more important as we work to gain the trust of others on the mesa.  Other projects might address such needs and goals as water, power, and food. 

We are making plans to have activity on the land this summer.  Additional plans for creative fundraising and resourcing are also in the works.  

(Below is a photo taken from the porch of the cabin where we stayed in Pecos. Its gorgeous and just what I needed to re-charge and re-focus.  How could I NOT be inspired and productive with a view like this?) 

Home again, home again, jiggety-jig.

I moved, again (and no, the photo below is not a photo of my new place). In an effort to save money and slowly adapt to a more communal lifestyle,  Im living with a roommate.  So, here I am, home.  Again.

In thinking about home, Im also thinking about homesteading and its contemporary variations. Homesteading means to settle and farm land, especially under the Homestead Act of 1862 - “an act passed by Congress (signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862) promising ownership of a 160-acre tract of public land to a citizen or head of a family who had resided on and cultivated the land for five years after the initial claim.”  The new law required filing an application, improving the land, and filing for deed of title. Anyone who had never taken up arms against the U.S. Government, including freed slaves, could file an application and improvements to a local land office.

Interesting side note: 1862 was a big year for agricultural and land ownership, having both positive and negative effects. Some highlights:

• May 15, 1862 – Lincoln signed a bill creating the United States Department of Agriculture.
• June 19, 1862 – Lincoln signed a bill outlawing slavery in U.S. territories, ending the specter of the spread of slavery into areas likely to be settled by Northern-sympathizing homesteaders.
• July 1, 1862 – Lincoln approved the creation of a transcontinental railroad by signing the Pacific Railway Act.
• July 2, 1862 – Lincoln approved of the Morrill Act which created a national land-grant college system.

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ended homesteading. A brief introduction to the Homestead Act, including criticisms, can be found here.

So, what does homesteading mean today?  Everything from composting in your apartment kitchen to digging your own well.  I admit it can be a bit annoying to hear urban gardening discussed ad nauseam by hipsters.  But I cant help but be impressed when I meet people who have found ways to incorporate homesteading methods into their daily lives.

So lets start simply with this video by Erik Knutzen, his book, and his partner’s blog.  I have great respect for this pair of urban homesteaders and am enjoying learning from their experiences.

Recent findings

First: Thanks to some great friends Ive learned about Leisure Learning, “a Texas corporation designed to enhance Houstonians’ lifelong learning opportunities.” This seems like a very appropriate place (for me especially) to start learning about things like basic construction, generating my own power, plumbing, and more.  Ive signed up for several classes and will be posting my findings on the pages of this blog.

Second: Currently reading The Urban Survivalist. This blog caught my attention because I was looking into this affordable shelter option and the blog includes a post and informative comments about it.

Third: Visiting the land in mid October to begin strategizing with my cohorts.

Foxfire

…still listening to Calexico – music that is fitting for desert thinking, wrestling with spirits, etc.  Speaking of spirits, you might want to read about moonshining and faith healing recently posted on the SPIRITS page.

The spirit today is restless and eager for what lies ahead – but what lies ahead depends on what happens today.  So Im setting out to acquire new skills, learning mostly by reading books as I slowly find opportunities to put these skills to work.  Additionally Im learning to balance life as I know it know with the life to which I am transitioning  - taking care of my daily responsibilities and obligations while looking for ways to overlap actual current experiences with anticipated future scenarios.

A challenge at the moment is not knowing quite where to start – Basic construction?  Gardening?  Making my own electricity?  Right now we have land with no shelter, no plumbing, and no electricity.  But who knows what we will be able to accomplish in the next couple of years and how can I help with that? What Ive resolved myself to do is gain a wide range of skills to be self-reliant, drawing from wilderness survival and urban disaster, complimented with basic homesteading skills such as gardening, simple repairs, etc. This learning will be posted in the pages of this blog.  And since I will need some way to make money while living out there, I will need to make sure Im clean, healthy, and somewhat presentable for employment!  

Questions Im currently trying to sort out, so that I have a better idea of where to begin and how to prepare: What is the weather like? What elements will I contend with?  What resources are nearby? Who is my nearest neighbor?  

As Im gathering these answers, Im beginning with The Foxfire Book(s) for initial “how to” instruction and living off the land, “and other affairs of plain living.”  Even though these books are based on Appalachia mountain living, which is of course different from the area I will be living, the stories and instructions are still very worthwhile.