Daydreaming Devices

Abstract

Daydreaming Devices is a project on aspects of daydream and the design of convertible furniture within the context of art. This thesis addresses the concepts and the design of two daydreaming devices developed during my studies at MIT, the Dreaming Lounge and the Working Unit. Both works create a place for contemplation and generate what I call "ambiguous forms of knowledge." These art works cultivate relations between personal and collective agency while demystifying implicit aspects of socialization. They were designed as utilitarian and emotional artifacts; existing in public or semipublic spaces, they reach their maximum potential when activated within a group of people. Their aim is to affect an understanding of the waking life, sometimes uselessly and strictly relegated to the obscurity of intimacy.