Heike Sperling

"Ja ja ja ja ja, nee nee nee nee nee" by Joseph Beuys. Printed cover with integrated booklet, 1970.

The Authentic Self is the Self-Enhancing Self

"The true self, though, is positive."
April 12th, 2023

Via SAGE Publishing: "Authenticity refers to behaving in a manner that aligns with one’s true self. The true self, though, is positive. From a self-enhancement standpoint, people exaggerate their strengths and overlook their shortcomings, forming positively-distorted views of themselves. We propose a self-enhancement framework of authenticity, advocating a reciprocal relation between the two constructs. Trait self-enhancement was associated with higher trait authenticity (Study 1), and day-to-day fluctuations in self-enhancement predicted corresponding variations in state authenticity (Study 2). Furthermore, manipulating self-enhancement elevated state authenticity (Studies 3–4), which was associated with meaning in life (Study 4), and manipulating authenticity augmented self-enhancement, which was associated with meaning in life and thriving (Study 5). The authentic self is largely the self-enhancing self. [...]

Although our research represents the first direct test of the relation between self-enhancement and authenticity, the results are consistent with several literature streams. For instance, authenticity is linked more with moral than immoral behavior (Newman et al., 2014) and socially desirable than undesirable behavior (Jongman-Sereno & Leary, 2016). In addition, people believe their authentic selves to be positive and morally good and to be more positive than the authentic selves of others (Zhang & Alicke, 2021). Despite popular belief and previous conceptualizations, self-enhancement is an essential ingredient for eliciting perceptions that one is living life authentically. [...]

Coda
Contrary to historical conceptualizations and lay intuition, veridical self-insight may not light the path toward living life authentically. Instead, authenticity and self-enhancement go hand-in-hand. Authentic people think highly of themselves, and people who think highly of themselves feel authentic."

Listen to 1968: Ja ja ja ja ja, nee nee nee nee nee, Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (14.12.) by Joseph Beuys!

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I see dead people.

Now you can relive memories in VR
February 25th, 2023

From Creative Bloq: "With the release of PSVR 2, virtual reality is back in the headlines and app developers are using the new hardware, including Meta Quest 2, to find creative ways to usher in new experiences. But in this rekindled experimentation some ideas are just, well, a little creepy.

The app in question is Wist: Immersive Memories, in development for iOS and Meta Quest 2, and soon on Meta Quest Pro. This app brings old video to life inside a virtual reality headset. There's a buzz around the app, largely because virtual reality is all the rage again in 2023 due to the launch of PSVR 2 – read my PSVR 2 review to find out why everyone loves this headset. Also, rumours continue around a new Apple VR headset, which could really be something special.

Developed by Wist Labs, Wist: Immersive Memories is pitched as a way to relive old 'memories' inside VR and AR. This is the kind of thing we've seen in movies for decades, including the scene in Minority Report were Tom Cruise remembers is deceased wife and child, and now you can actually experience it for yourself. But is it unsettling?"

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Levon Biss: "I had the pleasure of shooting this image at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History recently, one of my favourite museums by far. My thanks goes to Robert Douglas for his assistance in creating this picture.⁠"

Values

My pyramid
January 6th, 2023

Humor
Optimism – Honesty – Intuition
Emotionality – Serenity – Music – Love – Freedom – Faith.

Take another step toward what matters.

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Public Projects by Michael Pederson.

End of 2022

To the power of ten
December 31st, 2022

Auld Lang Syne As I write this, New Year's is only a few hours away. Two days ago legend Vivienne Westwood passed on. Unfortunately, it remains a challenge to find older female role models for my process to become a female 'senior', as in beautiful, crazy, sexy Wise Old Woman. Westwood embodied everthing I hope for in aging, and beyond. What an incredible beautiful soul. Two other heroines of mine are Laurie Anderson and bell hooks – the list keeps growing faster every year. Let's do this, girls.

Films My favorite viewings this year were, 2021 drama film Drive my car directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, George Miller's fantasy romantic drama film Three Thousand Years of Longing, Werner Herzog's 1998 documentary Wings Of Hope, and Regina Schilling's documentary Igor Levit - No Fear. Thank you, fabulous editor and friend, Carina Mergens for bringing the big screen back into my life!

Nest Finally moved to a new apartment. Have been sharing my home for the last 16 years. It was an adventure as long as it lasted, and now I am so happy, joyous, and free with a nest all to myself where I can experience my love for wallpaper to full extend.

Rapport Not entirely sure but I think I got my first answering machine in 1986. From then on I used my phones less to talk, instead I got accustomed to recorded messages. In 1995 I started to write emails, and called even less. I have now reversed this development, and much to my own surprise I make at least one telephone call a day to check in with friends. My live has improved considerably by connecting to fellow travellers.

Studio In July I officially opened our new Studio Klang und Realität, built to serve the students in our master's degree program of the same name. With its specialized, high-quality recording studio technology, the studio offers an acoustically optimized and at the same time inspiring workspace. So grateful for the support from my colleagues Julian Rohrhuber, Marcus Schmickler, and Phillip Schulze in designing this studio with me.

Summer We had what is called a Jahrhundersommer. So I got to spent many days at a secret little beach on the short, super clean and pretty cold river Agger close to where I live. Sweet, sweet summer days. Sun, water, trees, fishes, dogs, horses, trees, flowers, and finally time to read.

Time Travel My parents took a day off to show me my father's childhood places in the former German Democratic Republic. My father told many stories from more than half a century ago. Too many to remember but I now have a much better idea and feeling for where he came from.

Travel I was super sad when my youngest friend left for a year to live with her parents at the infamous Villa Massimo in Rome. Got to visit her twice this year. We had long walks and deep conversations in the morning and afternoon to and from her kindergarten. Precious.

TV Invited my godson to see ZDF Magazin Royale, a successful German late night program by satirist, journalist, and TV host Jan Böhmermann, live. The show's TV band Rundfunk-Tanzorchester Ehrenfeld is lead by one of my former students, the ultra talented and charming Lorenz Rhode. I was impressed by his courtesy and modesty, and of course by the powerful sound of his band.

Quote Experienced a couple of unpleasant moments at work in 2022. After an especially crass meeting I had an one-on-one online session with a student who wore a cap with TRUST written on it – in uppercase letters. I will not forget the surprise and comfort it gave me.

So, here we are... And what is next?

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Cultural Mashups by Todd Alcott.

Feedback needed

Underestimating others' desire for constructive feedback
December 27th, 2022

Via National Library of Medicine: "People sometimes avoid giving feedback to others even when it would help fix others' problems. For example, only 2.6% of individuals in a pilot field study provided feedback to a survey administrator who had food or lipstick on their face. Five experiments (N = 1,984) identify a possible reason for the lack of feedback: People underestimate how much others want to receive constructive feedback. [...]

While we found evidence that people consider both types of consequences, people particularly underestimated how much receivers value their feedback, a mechanism not extensively tested in prior research. Specifically, in Experiment 4, two interventions-making feedback-givers consider receivers' perspectives (enhancing consideration of receivers' consequences) or imagine someone else providing feedback (reducing consideration of givers' consequences)-both improved givers' recognition of others' desire for feedback compared to no intervention, but the perspective-taking intervention was most effective.

Finally, Experiment 5 demonstrates the underestimation during a financially incentivized public-speaking contest and shows that giving less constructive feedback resulted in less improvement in feedback-receivers' performances.

Overall, people consistently underestimate others' desire for feedback, with potentially negative consequences for feedback-receivers' outcomes.

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Occlusion Grotesque is an experimental typeface that is carved into the bark of a tree.

Intuition

When is it right to trust your gut instincts?
August 23rd, 2022

Via BBC: "Vincent emphasises that people’s gut instincts should not replace analytical thought, and we should be aware of the fact that they can sometimes be swayed by unconscious biases. (If there is a chance that racism, ageism or sexism is clouding your judgement, you might be especially wary of what your gut is telling you.) In general, however, his research confirms that an expert’s intuitive feelings can be important sources of information and should play some role in the decision-making process." [...]

"While some studies have suggested we can go with our first impression immediately, there often does seem to be an advantage in delaying the decision as we focus on some other activity. According to Marlène Abadie, a cognitive psychologist at Aix-Marseille University in Southern France, the pause allows the unconscious mind to form an accurate gist from the complex information that had been presented, which will in turn increase the accuracy of our intuitive judgement." [...]

"According to the latest research, the quality of someone’s gut instincts may depend on their overall emotional intelligence (EI). And by learning to increase our EI, we may therefore strengthen our intuitive decision-making." [...]

"If you want to fine-tune your intuition, then, you might first try to get in touch with your emotions more generally – carefully interrogating what exactly you are feeling and the sources of that mood. Over time, you may find it easier discern when you are receiving a genuine and accurate signal. Your gut feelings will never be completely fool proof, but with practice they can become an important guide."

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Auditorium, Capitol cinema, Berlin 1926 by Albert Vennemann (1885-1965), Gelatin silver print© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek

The Beauty of the World

Quote by Tennessee Williams
July 10th, 2022

Via James Grissom's blog: "It is the pursuit of beauty in things and people that is the journey… the real journey. I was happiest when I sought beauty in words and music and images. I was happiest in movies or in the middle of a symphony… whatever allowed the mind to ponder all that was possible and glorious. The world, I suppose, is the result of actions taken by people possessed of an image or an idea, and the world I care most about is constructed from those images that reminded someone of the beauty and the nobility of people… I'm back on the job of looking for this beauty, and nothing is safe from my eyes and my ears. I want to find and host the beauty of the world."

Interview with Tennessee Williams conducted by James Grissom in 1982

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In 2022, fifty-two years after it was created, Robert Smithson’s "Spiral Jetty" (1970) is a barometer for the climate emergency.

You Think Failure Is Hard?

So is learning from it
July 4th, 2022

Via Perspectives on Psychological Science: "Society celebrates failure as a teachable moment. But do people actually learn from failure? Although lay wisdom suggests people should, a review of the research suggests that this is hard. We present a unifying framework that points to emotional and cognitive barriers that make learning from failure difficult.

Emotions undermine learning because people find failure ego-threatening. People tend to look away from failure and not pay attention to it to protect their egos. Cognitively, people also struggle because the information in failure is less direct than the information in success and thus harder to extract.

Beyond identifying barriers, this framework suggests inroads by which barriers might be addressed. Finally, we explore implications. We outline what, exactly, people miss out on when they overlook the information in failure. We find that the information in failure is often high-quality information that can be used to predict success."

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Satō Tokihiro, #330 Taiji, 1998

Values

My pyramid
January 21th, 2022

Humor
Honesty – Faith – Freedom
Creativity – Serenity – Joy – Love – Music – Presence.

Take another step toward what matters.

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Aline Smithson, Sun Setting on 2021.

End of 2021

Ten moments in time
December 31st, 2021

Artist Immensely enjoyed the visits to Sarah Szczesny's studio, and love conversing with her. Her energy, creativity, and knowledge are extraordinary and an inspiration for me. Am ultra delighted that she now joins us to teach in my Transmedia Forms concentration for the Klang und Realität master degree program at Institute for Music and Media.

Exhibition Due to the pandemic the students and I had to do our annual visit to the Julia Stoschek Collection one person at a time. What a privilege and concentration to be completely by myself in these chambers. This moment reaffirmed for me the immense relevance of art for our society.

Festival The 13th incarnation of the annual Ambient Festival in my hometown was a blast. Dietmar Saxler and his team put together a brilliant program. Gavin Bryars' Jesus blond never failed me yet played by The Ever Present Orchestra and conducted by Gregor Schwellenbach was a moment to drop to your knees for.

Film My favorite film experience this year was Sisters with Transistors by Lisa Rovner about the pioneering women of electronic music. It was moving and it gave me goosebumps to finally see so many distinguished female composers gathered in one documentary.

History Learned that the former name of the submarine Hai –that my father was supposed to serve on as a reservist of the marine– was U-2365. The numbers are day and year of my birthday. My father got really lucky that he was not allowed to board in September 1966 for the crossing from the base in Neustadt to Aberdeen in Scotland, because the submarine sank, and all but one of the crewmen drowned. I am grateful for the marine bureaucracy that had him stay on land for lack of insurance, and me have a father.

Mouse The Last Supper relief in St. Mary's Church, Lübeck includes a detail associated with Lübeck: a little mouse gnawing at the base of a rose bush. Touching it is supposed to mean that the person will have good luck. But the mouse is also a symbol that a great disaster can arise from small mishaps. Well, I touched it when still a kid, and again this summer when I revisited some of those memories.

Music I heard Kirtan: Turiya Sings by Alice Coltrane for the first time during a visit to the infamous a-Musik record store, had to have it immediately, and played it for weeks. "As Ravi Coltrane writes in a producer's note, this is functional music, meant to guide the practice of chanting: creating vibrations inside of oneself in order to transcend, like embodied meditations." (Pitchfork). My album of 2021.

Quote „Being resentful, they say, is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die." – Susan Cheever

Ritual The last day of 2021 provided two fire rituals for me. It was a warm day, almost as if spring had arrived. For the first ritual I fed all the things that I am not taking with me to 2022 to the flames. With the second, even bigger fire we acknowledged the strength and empowerment of our ancestors to deal with their traumas – on their own. Am so grateful for the company next to the fires.

Work NICA artist development assigned me to work with brilliant people like Heidi Bayer, Leif Berger, Elisabeth Coudoux, Pablo Giw, Tamara Lukasheva, Martel Ollerenshaw, and Philip Zoubek on their communication strategies. Thanks to Thomas Venker for bringing their flattering compliments in interviews for his Kaput - Magazin für Insolvenz & Pop to my attention.
Also, head of the NICA program, Kornelia Vossebein, and I took our meetings outside. She became my first client to do walking meetings only. Best idea ever.

So, here we are... And what is next?

 

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