https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4 en-us 2023-01-25 14:23:51 UTC 2026-01-07 18:45:06 UTC hello@padlet.com baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456209486 Thinking about life cycles in relation to demography, there are many items that exist in cycles. 
First of all, it is the life-cycle of a person from the birth till the death. 
Conception of a child is subject to the menstrual cycle. 
There might be cycles for different aspects during the course of life of a human being that have been researched and defined by social artists.  
Then there are life-cycles on a more macro level: societal, political and maybe economic. I have been thinking of what happens to a nation that goes distinct - what is the minimum number of population that would make that happen, what happens to the physical land, how does a nation get dismantled, who takes it over? I could find a few articles about Latvia being on the road to becoming extinct as well as articles about countries that have disappeared. However, there do not have to be precedents for countries disappearing because of too low population numbers. While searching I did find a theory about the life cycle of democracy. It is the theory by the Scotish scientist Alexander Tyler and it originates from 1787. I have always found that democracy is not the guarantee of ''happily ever after" and this theory explains the why.  It is not a theory relevant to my demography issue, but it is definitely one to come back to. I did try to research how it is viewed nowadays to prevent me using some contentious or politically polarized theory, but so far I have no results.  I think if I was really to do a work on art on this subject, I would consult a scientist/researcher at a public university. ]]> 2023-01-25 14:26:10 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456209486 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456209665 In terms of systems, the demographic situation of a country certainly has links to its welfare system, tax system. 
There are certain links between generations, such as pension payments that are generated by the younger generation to the preceding one. The welfare of a country is believed to depend on the number of inhabitants, however, I found sources stating that the less people live in a country, the higher the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) which is a good indicator. However, in that case the production should be highly automatized which does not require a lot of workers. (I have lost the reference of this idea....) And again, if I ever were to create work on this topic for pubic, I would do research including talking to a demography scientist. There could be some interesting links discovered between woman's body and the GDP. ]]> 2023-01-25 14:26:17 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456209665 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456209875 A narrative as I understand it is a text telling an experience which in a certain context includes a message. 
The fertility messages we have been fed in Latvian media often include case studies. Each interview with a woman includes a message. Sometimes there is even a moderator who adds his or her comment to the message to make it more clear to you if you did not get what it was intended for. On the national TV the messages are usually about encouragement of large families and making childless women (and definitely if she has a dog!!) sound silly.  A lot of emotional pressure is added regarding care for elderly (which makes sense in Latvia since the elderly care is the problem of their children; there is no reasonable elderly care offered by the state, only by pricey private institutions). ]]> 2023-01-25 14:26:25 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456209875 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456215215 2023-01-25 14:30:00 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456215215 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456218834 https://www.la.lv/ka-latviesiem-gribet-vairak-bernu-pardomas-dalas-imants-paradnieks

The most visible fertility advocate in Latvia, author of a plan promoting big traditional (so, mom and dad, and kids) families for the coming years. ]]> 2023-01-25 14:32:07 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456218834 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456239419 2023-01-25 14:45:12 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456239419 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456240511 2023-01-25 14:45:53 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456240511 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456242589

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]]> 2023-01-25 15:11:09 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456281602 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456284322 2023-01-25 15:12:17 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2456284322 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2477718470 2023-02-12 09:34:41 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2477718470 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2477722266 https://youtu.be/nmLML7fm4SI]]> 2023-02-12 09:45:57 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2477722266 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2477729541 the law from 30 years ago on childless tax. This concept got revived by a minister who mention this tax as one of the ideas to encourage people to have children. ]]> 2023-02-12 10:05:12 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2477729541 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2477729768 This table comed from a law that existed in Latvia until 1990. It is a tax for childless people. One can see how much of your salary had to go to the state if you did not have children. I am not sure if one child was enough; I have heard people say that at least 2 children were necessary to escape this tax. I would need to research more to find out. ]]> 2023-02-12 10:05:46 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2477729768 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2485390571 2023-02-16 18:21:49 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2485390571 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2487612935 For this project I am choosing three topics to analyze further: Life Cycles, System, Narratives.
The idea for this project has emerged from a recent demography discussion in Latvia. This discussion has been going on for years because of the dramatic decrease in the  population  size in Latvia, but our new government has apparently made it a priority again given the wide publicity the last few weeks. The idea came suddenly because listening to and reading all those birth-giving and fertility messages I could not help thinking about the right to choose, being the owner of your body and life, about the privacy of the baby matter, about cows in the stall being observed and evaluated on productivity, about the life cycle of a country, about the minimum population a country needs to prosper, about what happens when a nation deceases. 
I chose three of the concepts: Life Cycle, System, and Narratives. In other blocks on this Padlet I am explaining how I see my demography-related thoughts in the light of these concepts. ]]> 2023-02-19 15:40:15 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2487612935 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2487693251 2023-02-19 18:21:11 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2487693251 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2487701161 I have an idea for an art work that could make one look at this issue from a different perspective. Or, at least make one realize that this issue is probably communicated in a certain way that might not be pleasant to some parts of the society. I would add a new perspective into an existing discourse.
When I hear the decision maker (usually) men talking about the demography in Latvia, about fertility, about how many children women should get and at which age, I can't help thinking of a cattle farmer. As far as I know there it is very important to know when which cow should be made pregnant so that it has the healthiest calf and the most milk production at the right time. I am sure that is not what those decision makers and communicators have in mind in their discourse platform.
I was thinking this could be a video clip in combination with a dozen of nude women textile sculptures - some pregnant, some not. 
On the screen there would be news headlines about fertility. There headlines would come from real news media. I have posted a few here on Padlet. Those are the topics and messages we are fed through media.  In the middle of the screen there would be a promotion film for a cow management software. I found one on Youtube which is just perfect! There is a man walking around the cow stall, evaluating his cows and helping out those who should become pregnant according to the algorithm of the app.  
This idea juxtaposes two different worlds - animals and humans - and shows how thin the line is between the methods applied to both. Here one could talk about the control that cattle owner has over his cows and compare that to a politician/decision maker who is trying his best to make clear what women should do. He does not approach his ''cattle'' with a rubber glove, but there is this media pressure that is being carried out and is supposed to call certain groups to action. I am actually wondering if it could be an idea to silence the words "cow" in the video to make the human mind fill in those spaces with the words of what they see - the naked women on the floor. Maybe it could even be just the text of the video and not the picture.

I haven't made the video, but I have put the material gathered on this Padlet for the idea what I mean. I am not going to make the film. Instead, I am making this sketch which in my opinion illustrates how I am combining the life-cycle (human life cycle, fertility cycle (of the cows)), system (the government with it's fertility plans and analysis, involvement of the media) and narrative (the individual stories). This is a sketch and I am aware that there could be many more ways to play with the material. ]]> 2023-02-19 18:39:44 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2487701161 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2488805086 2023-02-20 19:06:51 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2488805086 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489754150 2023-02-21 14:04:42 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489754150 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489755386 2023-02-21 14:05:35 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489755386 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489755582 2023-02-21 14:05:42 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489755582 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489759144 2023-02-21 14:08:15 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489759144 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489759629 2023-02-21 14:08:37 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489759629 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489760405 2023-02-21 14:09:13 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489760405 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489761241 2023-02-21 14:09:50 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489761241 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489762789 2023-02-21 14:10:51 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489762789 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489766051 2023-02-21 14:13:09 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489766051 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489768215 2023-02-21 14:14:43 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489768215 baiba521421_2 https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489770576 2023-02-21 14:16:30 UTC https://padlet.com/baiba521421_2/3hmkox75dsowtio4/wish/2489770576