Psychology of the Home

Molly Coyne
Stephanie Kozick
April 1, 2013
Picturing Domestic Space
Spring Quarter

 Spring Quarter Proposal

For this quarters work in Picturing Domestic Space it is my intention to explore the psychology of the domestic living space and the reasons behind the choices people make about where and how they live. For this project I will use the mediums of digital photography and video recording. I desire to identify the main living areas different people choose to spend most of their time in and why: what are the favorite objects they have in their house and why; what items in their homes are used the most, and more importantly what are the differences in the way people choose to live depending on individual personality, life style, social and economic status, and family make-up. The overall project is a psychological inquiry about the human mind by the way a person chooses where and how to live and why.

My objectives for learning in this project also include improving my skills in digital photography and videography. By developing my abilities in the areas of lighting, shutter speed, clarity, and especially different affect and cinematography techniques through sound work, lighting, tracking, and angles, I plan to accomplish this goal. I also endeavor to learn more about my fellow humans; about who we are and what motivates us and how we find joy and peace.  The project will include going to my subject’s homes and taking pictures of where they live; to reveal the outside surroundings and interior space. I aim to find out if the geographical place a person lives and/or the way their house or home is structured and looks changes who they are. I will look at changes mainly in personality but also in mood, work status, if they are happy or depressed, family dynamics and lifestyle. I want to learn and observe the living space to see the actual diversity in a person dependent on where one lives. I want to explore the questions of how people would adjust to domestic surroundings if they were to move somewhere different; would it be hard for someone to live somewhere else or would they prefer to live somewhere else, or if they could never live somewhere else.

One book I plan to read this quarter is The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton, published in 2006. This book is about the architecture of a home and why people choose to live where they live according to how it is built and decorated. This will help to cultivate my psychology portion of the project.

Another book utilized for the accomplishment of this endeavor will be the Film 125 textbook by Lynne Lerych, published in 2012. This book focuses directly on the video portion of my project and will serve as a vital reference for how to make my film better in achieving my vision.

The third book I will read is Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone by Eric Klinenberg, published in 2012. This book will also help with more of the psychology of the living space. I am using this book because I have a few subjects who are single and live alone, and this book will help me to specify why is it they live alone, why it might be easier at this point in their life and why it could even be peaceful to come home to a quite empty home where you can do whatever you please without worry of those watching.

I believe digital photography will be the best way to reveal the psychology of the domestic living space because it provides visual evidence of how different people live, rather than simply explaining it. It will take the audience into each home and show the person that lives there. The audience will get to know the owner a little and get more of an understanding as to why a person would live the way they do. This will be a best way for audience to really see into the subjects home and see the real reasons behind choices in living and maybe even find out something about themselves they didn’t know before.

For this project I will visit the Capital Museum and attend a lecture on domestic architecture by Michael Houser. The lecture’s purpose is to broaden the knowledge of the heritage of the architecture in Olympia and will be about Olympia’s great architects including the man who designed the Capital Museum, Joseph Wohleb. For this trip I will be using photography inside and outside of the museum to show all aspects of the structure and design and to develop my skills in still film technique.

Each week I hope to show a new home and person to explain the home. Some weeks it may be work still in progress but each week I will at least be showing those works in progress. This will help to allow feedback for my complete end of the quarter project. So that is what I’ll be studying -the psychological study of the domestic living space and the people who choose to live there.