The aim of this project is to create a space where students and faculty are encouraged to take part in the act of authorship and publishing — in a way not often accounted for within the monitored, white walls of the institution — where things can be produced without seeking validation, satisfying a brief, or providing justification for their existence.

It is here that unforeseen opportunities for teaching and learning can take place. The message of this liminal space is that publishing thoughts and formal experiments can create unknown publics, that designing for oneself can be a powerful act, that all voices and designed works are valid and should be put on display, and that a more authentic sense of communication can come into focus when it exists in a space that relinquishes control.

The space created by the shelves is the project with all of the content found upon the shelves serving as one way in which the space can take shape. As such, I encouraged anyone to take what they need from the space and replace it with a course, reading, or any other sort of self-motivated project. The objects found on the shelf included course and assignment publications, cited texts, and other printed ephemera. Courses and assignments were provided by various design educators with publications being produced by Josh. All objects can be found within this portfolio site.

My thesis statement can be read here and the digital archive can be found here.