Final Project Brainstorming Session

I've had numerous underdeveloped ideas for this project swimming through my head.  I still think the depiction of the visual experience of unconsciousness would be really interesting and I may end up trying both that idea and the following either for the final project in this class or otherwise.  In my last project I mentioned wanting to expand on it and after meeting with my super awesome instructor who happened to bring it up without my initiation, I feel even more excited to do so.  This time I want to focus more on the narration of the process rather than the final product.  I'm essentially going to do the same exact process (with a little adjustment in the painting technique, based on newfound experience) but this time I want to document it a little differently.  I still plan on using a canvas because I really enjoyed the first one, but this time I'm going to take one (or more) long exposure photographs to capture the movement and process as it's happening.  

If I end up doing the sleeping idea as well, I'm not sure if I'll have it finished for class but I think I would use paint.  I think a really large depiction of the colors and light a person sees with eyes closed could be really stunning.  

Blah, blah, blah idk.

"Cathedral" by Raymond Carver

Sight, and the distinction between 'seeing' and 'looking,' were of major importance in this short story.  The narrator initially feels superior to Robert because of his blindness, reasoning that because he cannot see, he therefore cannot live a normal life (i.e. a satisfactory marriage.)  As the text goes on, however, we begin to understand that Robert actually 'sees' on an far deeper level because, having no sight, he truly listens.  The interactions between Robert and his wife are far more meaningful than the narrator and his wife, whose interactions are short and irritable.  I thought it was a more interesting way of communicating the message, which I think can often be a bit cheesy.

Micro Project 5: Identity at Play

My action words were 'to mix' and 'nature.'
Here is what I produced:

40" x 60"

At first I had a hard time picking an 'object.' Mostly because I couldn't think of a good reason to pick any certain thing and I didn't want to just randomly use the first thing I saw at my house.  I started thinking about different definitions of 'object' and the idea of the body being seen as an 'object' really started to stick in my mind.

I don't think of my body as an object (but what is an 'object?'), but it many ways I do sort of forget it's there.  It's always there and always has been, end of story.  Through this thought process I started thinking about the stereotype of women being sex objects, which I really despise.  Sexuality is something I like to study through my artwork, especially when it comes to the female form and empowerment.
I decided to play with the notion of 'object' in my project.  The word could be interpreted differently.

So, I have my 'object.'


The word 'nature' sort of automatically went with my idea of using the body and what I was doing with it, but I was more interested in 'to mix.'  Specifically, the mixing of bodies.  My boyfriend and I painted ourselves from head to toe--him, blue and me, red; traditional male/female colors.  The mixing of the paint represents the physical mixing of our bodies.  It sort of takes the notion of the female body as an object and fights against it, while also embracing the beauty of what it can do.  The male and female forms come together, connect, mix.  Red and blue make purple.

I would like to make a series of these.  I like the spontaneity and absence of control.  There wasn't a thought about composition or aesthetic.  The product is only that--a product of the process, a documentation of an act.

Micro Project 4

This is a depiction of my transformation to invisibility.  I chose this 'power' because social anxiety and stress are things I've struggled with my entire life and I often feel like disappearing for a while.  I kept my eyes because I still like to know what's going on from a distance, a 'fly on the wall' sort of effect.  I chose a brick wall as a neutral background but also because when I think about feeling anxious, I usually picture myself at some kind of outdoor party or bonfire with a lot of people I don't know.  I often find myself posted on a wall in those sort of situations.  Not sure why that's the scene that pops in my mind, but no matter the reason, it just felt right to put myself there so I went with it.  I really like the way the bricks look in the second picture.  I'm pretty happy with my cutting/pasting in this piece, I'm usually not so great at that but a friend let me borrow a mouse to use.  I think that helped a lot.  I also experimented with a lot of different filters and applying them to different parts of the picture.  At first I felt like it was too subtle but then I realized, if my power is becoming invisible, why would I want it to be anything more than subtle?  So I think it works well.  As far as things I don't like about it, I wanted to figure out a way to make the transformation all in one image, but I couldn't think of a good way to do it.  I tried a couple of different ways of pasting them together but it looked sloppy to me.  I think the three separate images are okay though too.  I wish I had more dramatic lighting in the photographs but Ohio winters don't really provide.  In general, I like this piece.  I feel like at first it looks like a simple, whimsical, silly sort of "Look at me I can become invisible!!!! OMGLOL!!11!"  But it also has depth and underlying emotions.  I think I've already mentioned that this theme often pops up in my work, usually unintentionally.  I really like when I'm making something and not trying to take it in that direction at all, then realizing I've done it again.  My sub-conscience seems pretty determined.

Micro Project 3

Here are my images for micro project 3:

I chose to use the stadium as 'my place' because I am there more than any other spot on campus.  Mostly because the art ed department is there but also because that's where I park even when I'm going to a class that is not in the stadium.  I've always loved the architecture of the stadium entrance.  I chose to use my hammock as my 'sculpture' for this piece because, for me, it represents security and relaxation.  I used a couple of different versions of the hammock, because I couldn't decide if I wanted it to be empty or have a 'person' in it.  Although I think it would be really sweet to actually be able to go up there and hang out, this sculpture would be more of a symbolic piece than a functional one; I want to be up there, but I can't.  I think it would really instill a sense of longing to the viewer, something I feel pretty regularly.  I am *pretty* happy with how they turned out.  I tried to experiment with puppet transform in photoshop but wasn't really able to get the hang of it, resulting in some iffy perspectives but I tried really hard to get the saturation pretty balanced to make it look real.  I love the third image.