My work examines how independent music culture permeates identity and interpersonal
interactions. I am informed by direct participation in the local culture that I am studying, rather
than viewing it as an observer. Subjects I am focused on include performers and crowd members
as individuals characterized by the experience of being active artists or social conductors, as well
as objects that act as vehicles for these interactions, such as musical instruments, locations such
as venues or factories that provide space for these interactions to occur, and media storage units
and transmission devices such as mono transcoders for independent radios and cassettes
produced with a “do it yourself” or D.I.Y. ethos. Focusing on independent and D.I.Y. approaches
to music promote a bottom up culture of support and willful choosing of identity, as opposed to a
bottom down approach of consumerism and manufactured identity created through marketing.
interactions. I am informed by direct participation in the local culture that I am studying, rather
than viewing it as an observer. Subjects I am focused on include performers and crowd members
as individuals characterized by the experience of being active artists or social conductors, as well
as objects that act as vehicles for these interactions, such as musical instruments, locations such
as venues or factories that provide space for these interactions to occur, and media storage units
and transmission devices such as mono transcoders for independent radios and cassettes
produced with a “do it yourself” or D.I.Y. ethos. Focusing on independent and D.I.Y. approaches
to music promote a bottom up culture of support and willful choosing of identity, as opposed to a
bottom down approach of consumerism and manufactured identity created through marketing.
