The piece Chronos XXI (2017) by Joachim Sauter depicts the God of Time, Chronos, in a time interactive piece.  A pendulum swings in front of a monitor which then creates the image of Chronos from Renaissance art; with each pass of the pendulum, a different portrayal of Chronos appears.  This piece exemplifies the slow design principles “participate” and “reflect” through its utilization and theme of time. Chronos XXI conveys the principle “participate” because the pendulum measures units of time as it exists on display.  Although it is not interactive in a tactile manner, those that view the piece interact with it regardless, as they both exist in the same plane of time.  “Reflect” is shown through the idea of Chronos and his symbolism historically in mythology; as Chronos represents time, the audience is prompted to consider mythology, ancient Greek civilization, and how the piece conveys time physically both in the form of Chronos the God of Time and as time passes while viewing the piece.

In a similar way the The National Memorial for Peace and Justice exhibits the slow design principles “participate” and “reflect;” however, it it also presents “reveal.”  The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is an outdoor memorial instillation to remember those throughout history in the United States who were victims of lynchings. It includes hanging rust-colored steel columns with the names and stories of people who were known to be lynched.  The memorial shows “participate” and “reflect” by presenting viewers with information and insight into the lives of those murdered; furthermore, the intention was that people in the U.S. would stop ignoring its past of violence and the consequences of it in modern day. “Reveal” is shown through the material and color of the steel columns.  After some exposure to the elements, the columns will begin to rust and drip the rust-color onto the ground beneath it, symbolizing the bloodshed.

My first piece inspired by the six principles of slow design is a dome that produces an external environment within itself.  Ideally it would be a solid white dome, large enough to fit about two average height adult men, with multiple projectors inside that align with each other and project various landscapes along the inside of the dome.  It would have an opening at the top with a bladeless fan to control wind and cool temperature, and heat sources along the base of the Dome to control warm temperature. The person or people inside could download an app which controls the dome’s settings and allows them to choose different environments; for example, they could project a cityscape at night with the temperature set to 70 degrees Fahrenheit and the fan turned on to imitate wind.

The Dome was primarily inspired by the slow principles of design, “participate” and “evolve.”  As was described, The Dome is interactive, and therefore shows “participate,” because the viewer of the installation within it can control most aspects of it.  It is highly tactile in the way it is an environmental recreation; therefore, the viewer can experience variables such as heating, cooling, wind, and visuals. As for “evolve,” The Dome can be more than a simply fabricated environment.  U.S. culture is becoming increasingly more aware of and sensitive to people with mental illness who can benefit greatly from a controlled space such as The Dome; therefore, it can be used as a place comfort for people with mental illness as well as those experiencing stress and/or sadness.

The  second piece inspired by the slow design principles relies entirely on the principles “engage” and “evolve,” as there is no possible way for it to work with the information science currently has.  It is an anit-gravitational device for the purpose of making school backpacks lighter. Ideally, the backpack would be made of some material with the ability to confine the anti-gravitational waves within the backpack.  However, the inside material would allow gravitational waves to pass through it in order for objects in all the backpack’s pockets to become lighter. The ani-gravitational device would also ideally not interfere with electrical devices in any way nor with the health of the person wearing the backpack, as I am going to assume that a device which interferes with standard Earth gravity has the potential to be harmful in some way.

The slow principles of design “engage” and “evolve” are crucial to this idea because I have very limited knowledge about gravity and physics, and, to my knowledge, modern science has not figured out how to reverse gravity.  Therefore, “engage” is necessary because scientist would need to collaborate and share any new knowledge in order to create an anti-gravitational device. “Evolve” works hand in hand with “engage” because science must evolve in order to create an anti-gravitational device and, therefore, allow artists to be able to create the Anti-Gravitational Backpack.  Furthermore, “evolve” is exhibited in the way that the Anti-Gravitational Backpack would be used as an effective solution to scoliosis in student, since heavy backpacks have still been an issue even with more digitized education.