Week 1

Sol Lewitt expresses that the idea is the machine that makes the art by using instructions for others to follow. The idea drives the artist to make the idea into reality. Motivation becomes a machine to make the art. The only way that the other artists are able to create the art is from the idea of Sol Lewitt. Sol Lewitt’s hand has very little to do with the final work because he uses other artists as his hands.

I do not generally draw boundaries in artworks because I think there is no limit to what art can be. The artworks are the instructions she’s reading out. Ono gives out specific and easy instructions that can be replicated by others. She uses encouraging sentiments like “this is good for your health” to persuade people to complete the instructions. A lot of the tools mentioned in her work is about using yourself to create the piece. I like a lot of her works like standing outside barefoot and feeling the energy through you. Along with the listening to breathing concept where you listen to yourself breathe, listen to others, then listen to the city breathe. I found most of her concepts connect to being helpful activities for mental well being. It is helpful to ‘ground’ yourself in everyday life so it becomes easier to use the skill in stressful states.

The first piece is a performance of him walking back and forth along the square lines. The second piece Nauman dances/exercises around the square guidelines again creating a mundane experience into artwork. He’s incorporating himself doing an everyday action into artwork. It becomes framed as art because he identifies it as art with the self validation of his title as an artist. As we see validation from him and other that it is art it can change our perception on what the meaning is. Either the audience can overthink what each movement mean or the entire concept behind the piece becomes dissected faster than if it was not classified as art.

Kilometer

The aftermath of walking 1km outside and re-entering the house. Foggy glasses used as a measurement.

Stillness (week 2)

This performance piece was very interesting to accomplish. Although I look in good spirits here it was not long till I began to regret picking an outside location. At times it was lack luster but surprisingly entertaining when people would walk or drive by. People seemed to really enjoy a disruption in their day. I wonder if their reactions would have been the same if it was not a pandemic and lockdown. I felt a connectedness to my neighborhood that I have not felt before. Usually I just get in the car and leave or immediately walk away from the house. But this gave me the chance to take in the surroundings and feel the breathing of the city (referencing Yoko Ono).

Week 3

“Making Changes” by Lee Walton- reposition a diverse group of objects while walking around a city

“Sitting” by Lee Walton- sit directly beside a stranger when other seats are open

“Ladder Climb” by Jon Sasaki- climb a ladder without leaning it against something

“Dead End” by Jon Sasaki- drive a van down a dead end alleyway and make a u-turn

“The distance I can be from my son- Back Alley” by Lenka Clayton- measure the length you can personally allow for a young child to walk alone down an alley way

Yuula Benevolski- not available

Defenestration

Sadly all my windows have screens on them so I used the top of stairs instead. I chose to use 4 knives in this piece and I made sure that this was completely safe for me to execute. I was exploring the idea of dropping something inherently dangerous. Kind of like the idea of Russian roulette where people play a “game” of chance that can lead to death or injury. Example: a group of friends stand in a circle and throw a heavy rock in the air above them and whoever does not move “wins”. (I do not recommend this game). It also exaggerated the idea of losing control and power. When holding a knife you are in control of where it moves but mid air there is no control and a sense of danger.

Week 4

Adad creates compositions of subjects very tight to the borders and creates a sense of closeness. I tried to crop it similarly but it would not upload.

“Socialization”

Timber is the dog shown in the video and was adopted during the covid pandemic. He has had trouble being scared of people and objects because he does not get the same exposure as dogs not raised in covid. Because Timber lives in a house full of women he gets scared when seeing men, children and dogs on walks because he has limited socialization with them.

Week 6

In the new era of wearing masks where half of people’s faces are covered. Humans are visual learners and understanding emotions requires visual cues. In public it has become harder to read someone’s facial visuals to be able to read their emotions. Whether sad or angry or happy we lose being able to express ourselves and perceive others. Sometimes it is necessary to overuse other ways to communicate yourself like using an over enthusiastic voice. If someone happens to be sarcastic in a situation it is easier to misconstrued people intentions.

My main interest of faces they mentioned in the article was the medical masks face. It is very emotional evoking to think about all those who are hospitalized and cannot see their family and friends when they are struggling. It can make it very hard for those who have to go into a surgery alone and never see a full face of even the nurses and doctors. Even those who are dying of coronavirus and other illness they have to process the end of their lives alone which in itself is heartbreaking. These faces are so powerful with their drive and willpower to undergo long work hours, traumatizing deaths, and more.

Without my face I lose a sense of myself because people, especially women, are taught to prioritize how we look and present ourselves. I also love to do my makeup even when wearing a mask which is funny to prove you don’t wear makeup for others. Along with becoming more comfortable in no makeup. It also a way to focus more on other ways of expressing myself. Like relying on fashion more as a way to represent my personality.

1. I was looking to directly distort my face with physical force. Using the measurement tape coincides with the idea of always measuring beauty, attractiveness, structure, etc.
2. The second I was inspired by ‘fun house’ mirrors that distort your reflection of yourself.
3. The third was my attempt of an juxtaposing face mask. In which, my roommates hands were my mask which defeats the whole purpose of having a mask.

Week 7

Kelly Mark “I Really Should…” (2002)

The conceptual idea for this piece was about a list of things that run through the artists head in what they should complete. These can be seen as goals that the artist wants to achieve. It is unconventional to listen to someone’s personal list of goals especially when the goals are mundane or personal to the person. For example, if you don’t have student loans to pay back, they it is unconventional to listen to an audio clip of someone’s goal to pay back theirs. The artist says 1000 different goals all in the same tone of voice. The artist maintains interest by having different goals that other people may relate to. While she makes every goal different, she repeats “I really should” before every sentence. This effect of listening to this piece is thinking of your own personal goals and relating it to how everyone’s brain has a constant repetition of them. Giving the exhausting effect that can come with this anxious thought process.

Lee Walton and Laurent Estoppey “Listening to the C” (2018)

The artist plays a “C” note on multiple different pianos and although it is the same note it shows how different they all sound. Conceptually it can relate to celebrating how many people have similarities and are still different within that. Along with how even though they all sound different they can all still sound good. Conventional music would want all the tuning of the pianos to be the exact same to keep unity and harmony. Instead the artists chose to embrace having different tuning and timbre. The repetition of the same note kept attention and the changes in the sound keeps interest. The effect of this piece on me is wanting to think of more things that are the same theoretically but in fact are completely different in practice.

Christian Marclay “Guitar Drag” (1999)

The artist drags a musical instrument, guitar, along a road to create a new form of making sound with it. Although a guitar can create multiple musical sounds for its intended purpose it can also create sounds with unintended purpose. This plays into the conventional use of a guitar is to pluck the strings so unconventionally the artist drags the guitar. The piece has repetition in a sense that the audio/video continue for an extended period of time. Keeping the audience wondering how long the guitar will be dragged for. Listening to this piece peaked my interest in repurposing a conventional item to unconventional. Reminding me of dada “readymades”.

Audio Proposal

I was thinking of referencing using audio of the same sound but they sound different. How crying between people sounds different even if its for the same emotion. Then I began thinking of the similarities and differences between crying and laughing sounds. How sometimes even though laughing is a completely different emotion sometimes crying sounds very similar. Along with the concept of happy crying is interesting that it is the same physical reaction but not the same fundamentally.

Audio –

I completed the audio using clips switching between people laughing and crying. Often it is hard to tell when the change between emotions happens. The repetition of the two different emotions causes for confusion in what the brain wants to empathize with. This piece makes reference to Lee Walton and Laurent Estoppey “Listening to the C” because of the focus on how different our similarities can be.

Week 10

notes:

on Kawara- Self observation of post cards, maps, lists. All represent ways of recording himself and measuring time. Studio is wherever the artist is not a stagnant place. Kawara “I met” lists was lists of everyone he met. Kawara uses unconventional functions of recording time.

John Baldessari- made a repetition list saying “I will not make anymore boring art”. In a kind of chalkboard punishment fashion like in old movies children who in trouble would write out a sentence saying they would not make the mistake again. Also a sense of manifesting in repeated sayings in hopes that you will follow it even unconsciously.

Katie Patterson- used glaciers from Iceland that were pressed into a record which were then played on a record speaker until completely melted. She also did mapping all the dead stars. This made an unconventional way of recording time and life and death.

Adrian Piper- in the mythic being they explored the superficial factors of masculine. In the calling card they create a sort of business card to pass out to people as a preemptive way of identifying racism and social issues.

Sophie Calle- get multiple people to interpret a breakup email. Analyze how people analyze differently.

Spring Hurlbut-memorial portraits of ash

Felix Gonzalez-Torres- creates representations of people that died from aids.

Conceptual Portrait

proposal for conceptual portrait: ask people for picture of their collections. Compile photos for a collection of collections.

This is a combination of my collections and friends collections. Some collections have been lifelong and some collections have been found in quarantine. All document time from an accumulation of finding items for the collection.

KILOMETRE WEEK 1

For this exercise I decided to record a car horn from 1 kilometre away. I was not optimistic in the horn picking up on my phone voice memos, but it worked! Coming up with this idea was quite a challenge for me, but hopefully it get easier with time. 🙂

WEEK 1 NOTES

STILLNESS- WEEK 2

Before I explain my hour of stillness, I just want to say I have so much respect for Marina Abramovic, that was so difficult for me. To be fair I did not consider the consequences of my itchy sweater beforehand, but even disregarding those annoying unanswered itches, being still for an hour was very taxing and boring. I chose to be under my bed for this exercise because it was the most constricted space in my room, and I wanted to communicate how confined I am within these four walls due to COVID and online school. I spend my morning, evenings, and nights in this space, and at times it can get a little unbearable, although I do love my room. I related this gesture to Abramovic’s works in the expression of my concept through a grueling task that highlights sensation and endurance. Throughout the hour I became increasingly distressed, restless, and anxious. I was surprised how similar the feeling was to my cabin fever at it’s worst. Maybe it was due to the fact that I am a little claustrophobic, but I was not expecting an hour to be that painful, and it wasn’t in the beginning. It was more boredom that bothered me. As I was lying there, I thought about how I was going to describe it in this paragraph, and then thought that I would write that I was thinking about how I was going to write this, and then I thought about how I was going to write that I was thinking about including the thought of thinking about that thought. As you can tell my mind was reaching for topics to explore other than my to do list (which almost made me give up a surprising number of times). I also tried to meditate, but then I was almost sleeping and thought that was not the point of this. Overall, it was unbearable, and I will not be doing it again.

WEEK 3: Defenestration

DESCRIPTION:
The task of throwing an object out a window seems deceptively easy. However, coming up with said object was rather difficult. At first my mind went to common subjects that are not usually airborne, like those in still lives. Then I thought that was rather boring, but a good way to practice framing a photograph (and that it could possibly communicate something about wasted food). My real interest was to break something- as one would anticipate an object to react when being thrown out a second story window. Since I felt as if I was owed this experience, I thought of this fairy figurine that was missing one of her wings, who would surely give me the performance I was seeking. She had a great last flight, then shattered into at least 5 pieces. It was satisfying.

ARTIST INSTRUCTIONS
1. Move objects to a different position, make sure it’s an improvement, leave.
2. If someone is sitting alone, go sit directly next to them. Enjoy the city and the closeness.
3. Find stability at the top of an unsupported ladder.
4. Find an alleyway with no exit that is only slightly larger than the van you are driving in. Drive to the end then turn around to go back where you came from.
5. Examine the distance you can be from your child in an empty path.

WEEK 5

Social Distancing Video Portrait 01 (sanity edition).
—
Sam and me
—
“It’s affected me just like everyone else, school is harder and life is more pessimistic. Hopefully with the vaccine coming out things will start to go back to normal, but honestly I think it will still be a while. I’m just glad I met you before quarantine or else I think I would have gone crazy.” -Sam
—
Taken from at least 5 m away.

Description: I really enjoyed exploring the works of Adad Hannah and creating this piece. Me and Sam don’t get to see each other that often due to the pandemic, so I wanted to capture a regular moment together and highlight the importance of connection in this crazy time. I think this idea is seen throughout Hannah’s social distancing portraits as well, as so many different people are united in the context of his overall art piece. You can see that everyone is struggling (and thriving) at times in response to the world around us. One of the most interesting qualities in his portraits is the recording of time and social events like the Black Lives Matter movement. There is a visible shift in the demeanour of the subjects as events such as that occur. Hannah is focusing on the everyday acts of everyday people and fortunately, his series will eventually come to an end. But while the pandemic trudges along, he making an important collection of still moments (that I’m happy to contribute to) that history will look back upon.

WEEK 6: Faces

Turn and Face the Strange: Darcey Steinke on Our New Life with Masks

This article was interesting to read, however I don’t agree with her point of view on masks. I consider myself skilled at reading facial expressions, and recently have found that I can still do this with people’s eyes and forehead alone. Even in the article Stienke describes her husband’s expression as “bewildered and irritated” when he is wearing a mask, I think this proves most of our feelings are communicated from our eyes. I have not experienced any misunderstanding, confusion, or grief within the past year regarding masks (from not being able to see whole faces at least, masks do muffle sound quite a bit). Maybe it is because I usually Face time people that are not within my small circle, allowing myself to make that entire connection without putting either of us in danger, but honestly, I love wearing masks. It makes me feel safe and allows me to not wear my previous mask of make-up. I used to put on make-up every day because it made me feel more attractive in a patriarchal society. I am now realizing that I prefer my bare face which helps me analyze and break down my own internalized male gaze. Within the article, Stienke’s discussion of prosopagnosia is particularly interesting to me. I struggle with relatively constant disassociation, leaving me feeling that my own reflection is not actually me. I look at others sometimes and only see the concepts of what a human is, so masks help me not focus on features, they distract me from my thoughts about faces. I will probably wear masks at times for the rest of my life after Covid-19, especially because pandemics are inevitable.

MY TRANSFORMED FACES

WEEK 7, 8, 9: conceptual audio piece

AUDIO WORKS RESEARCH

Janet Cardiff ‘The Forty Part Motet’
This work from the Canadian artist Janet Cardiff consists of 40 speakers arranged in a circle (pointing inward), each projecting a single member of a choir. They perform “Spem in Alium” from the 16th Century, a polyphonic piece that includes soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass voices, originally composed by Thomas Tallis. He conceived the music for a chapel with eight alcoves (for 8 choirs of these five parts), inspiring and relating to Cardiff’s emphasis on the sculptural quality of the sound. She reworked this 16th century song with contemporary means, as she captured each singer individually in a complex recording process. She captured children’s voices for the soprano parts, and even included the sounds of the singers having a break, highlighting a humanity within the piece. One usually does not experience music in this way anymore, leaving great impact on the listeners who are surrounded by the sounds as if they take up space. I also think the replacement of human presence with recordings is strangely prophetic and speaks to the move to digital landscapes within the last 20 years.

Kelly Mark I Really Should…
Kelly Mark is another Canadian artist that created the work “I Really Should….” This conceptual audio piece is of Mark’s (and mostly all of our) to do list, which goes on for 49 minutes and 16 seconds, including phrases like “I really should clean out my wallet, I really should pay back my student loans, I really should try to get my credit rating back,” etc. It uses a stream of consciousness type text that highlight her almost obsessive qualities when it comes to making art. Mark usually utilizes repetition and process in her works to frame daily habits as if they are worthy subjects in fine art. She maintains interest in this work in the fact that it’s so relatable, you are waiting for hear her to reveal a point on your own to do list. Although monotonous, she never repeats a line, with the work changing while standing still over 1000 intentions. I love this work because it fills me with so much anxiety while comforting me at the same time. I am very glad to hear that others are as unproductive or negligent as I am when it comes to tasks of a similar nature.

John Cage 4’33”
John Cage’s 4’33” is one of his most controversial pieces, containing three movements of set duration (33 seconds, 2 minutes 40 seconds, and 1 minute 20 seconds), each section containing no music from the musician(s). The piece highlights the ambient sounds from real life, forcing listeners to confront the impossibility of silence. The work is different than music and scores in the way it showcases this idea of what the absence of sound can sound like. By performing this piece live, many of the ambient notes are strung from the audience whenever anyone leaves in frustration, talks, or sneezes. I love this work because it really highlights anticipation for me, as well as Cage’s intended meaning. I find myself aching for any music at all, making even the smallest accidental noises hit my ear drum with importance.

NOTES and BRAINSTORMING

FINAL IDEA PROPOSAL
For my audio piece I am inspired by John Cage’s Roaratorio, an Irish Circus on Finnegans Wake, specifically in his interpretation of another’s piece in sound. The work is a 60 minute score, composed of sounds directed from James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, all captured in the places where they took place in the book. Instead of literature however, I am going to make an attempt at transmuting this painting by the Swiss artist Hans Emmenegger into noise from the 21st century. One of the things I love about Emmenegger’s work is that his pieces hold a timeless quality, I often forget these paintings were born in the 19th and 20th centuries when I view them. Due to this, I thought it would be interesting to create my interpretation of this ominous street corner in today’s society, and contribute to an important conversation revolving around the continuous, unjust treatment of women. In thinking of how I could conduct some sort of common narrative in my audio that would occur in a place like this, one of the first things I thought of was someone getting catcalled. The statistic has recently come out that 97% of women in the United Kingdom, aged 18 to 24, have been victims of sexual harassment in public spaces. This started an obviously important conversation and I feel it is important for as much light to be shed on this issue as possible, so I would like to highlight how common experiencing sexual harassment, more specifically in this work- cat calling is, for all women. In addition, just to make it a challenge and keep it in reality, I will record all of the noises myself.

final piece, “corner”

DESCRIPTION:
This piece contains layers of muffled music, distant cars, footsteps, and the buzzing of a light to capture the atmosphere of a street corner just away from the downtown of a city. It is my attempt to translate my feelings/ thoughts about this painted scene by Hans Emmeneger into an audio that could have been recorded in it (if it was in the 21st century). I captured all of the sounds from the streets near me, my backyard, and my boyfriend’s apartment. I used these sounds to form an active scene from the perspective of the light within the painting. I placed a party within the lit room, cars driving to and from events, and a disgusting cat-call within the 37 seconds – all things that I have observed and experienced when walking in Toronto at night. My inspiration was John Cage’s Roaratorio in how he translated a book to audio and Kira’s “A Walk in the Forest” with how she used sounds in her immediate surroundings to create an imagined atmosphere.

WEEK 10 + 11: A CONCEPTUAL PORTRAIT

NOTES

PROPOSAL “Ashley Being Herself”

When thinking about how to approach making a self portrait non-literally, I was confronted with the fact that I am still figuring out who I am. Only within the past three years have I been discovering myself, most importantly my sexuality and gender, which I am still working out. I have ignored myself for so long that I have become quite apt at copying the personalities of others to fit in. I know that I am not alone in this, and think it’s interesting how we can overlook the relationship we have with ourselves to survive socially in today’s society. My vision of myself is a collection of other people, so to demonstrate this I will literally copy those that I see in public. I will go to the park by the river in downtown Guelph at its peak popularity, and mimic people’s every move.

FINAL CONCEPTUAL PORTRAIT:

In this work I wanted to create a portrait of myself that captured the way I view my personality. Throughout many years of my life I did not consider who I was or wanted to be. I relied on copying others’ personalities to survive socially, overlooking myself completely. It has only been a few years since I have questioned and challenged this, sending me into internal debates about my true sexuality and gender. I often view myself and how I act as a collection of other peoples’ imprints on me, even despite my goal to become authentic. To express this concept, I chose to represent it literally and took to the trails of Guelph and mimicked those I saw around me. One of the most interesting things that came to me in this experiment was how uncomfortable doing this made me, it’s refreshing that I can no longer blindly follow others and be okay with it.

WEEK 1-Walking a km with Atlas

on January 15, 2021, I walked a kilometer of trails with my dog Atlas and filmed (most) of the walk with my phone. (The trail was icy so I needed to watch my footing in a few places!) In order to measure the one kilometer, I relied on my Fitbit kilometer tracker. I also attached an old Fitbit to my dog’s collar to measure his distance covered during my 1km walk. To walk 1km I took 1,536 steps and it took 15 minutes. During my 1 km, Atlas covered 10% more ground (1.1km) not to mention how productive he was undertaking all the other doggy activities during the 1.1km (e.g. chasing squirrels and birds, picking up sticks, leaving p-mails and sniffing the whole way). Similar to Yoko Ono’s Grapefruit book and undertaking the activities suggested by her, I found the activity of walking this km and contemplating how I experienced the km differently than Atlas broke down some boundaries of my understanding of what a km is and what it could be. It also made me contemplate time and how time units are man-made. For instance, on average, a dog’s life is significantly shorter than a human’s in terms of man’s definition of time, however, how much they “live” in the time they are alive cannot be measured by the same measurements that we typically place on a person’s life. It was also interesting to re-watch the video that I took of the walk: I noticed things that I hadn’t noticed while experiencing it live: how windy it was; the regular “crunch” beat my feet made walking through the snow (sounds almost like a heartbeat throughout much of the video), my dog’s ears flapping in the wind when he stands still. The video, while evidence of the walk, has also become a meditative work in itself for me. Similar to my comments on Sol LeWitt’s work, there are 3 pieces created from my work: 1) the concept of comparing one being’s km to another’s; 2) the act or performance of the walk; and 3) the resulting video as evidence or product which has its own substance and value.

To provide evidence of the distance travelled I have attached the beginning and ending kilometer readings on both Fitbits and the beginning and ending steps on my Fitbit. I have also attached the link to the video documenting most of the walk.

Homework Week 1

Sol LeWitt discussion notes based on viewing of video and reading of materials under the Artists section on WordPress:

How does Sol LeWitt express the notion that “the idea is the machine that makes the art” in his work? What does the artist’s actual hand have to do with the final work in a conceptual art context?

Sol LeWitt expresses the notion that “the idea is the machine that makes the art” through his conceptual art where the ideas and execution blueprints (e.g. the machine) are prepared in advance for others to execute (e.g. the individuals and supplies used are the inputs into the machine).  Personally, I would argue that there are different artworks produced out of the work that we view in the video For All to See: 1) there is the conceptual piece, or the idea, that Lewitt produces, in terms of the diagram and instructions; 2) there is a performance piece that is created with the execution of the instructions by the team gathered; 3) and finally, there is the final physical artwork that is the documentation or evidence of the first two artworks converging.  Although LeWitt’s actual hand was only applied to the original concept and instructions, without the birth and documentation of this first conceptual piece, the other two artworks would not be possible and would not exist.  The video compares LeWitt’s art to composing music, which I agree with.  His blueprints and concepts are the sheet music, but the artists require skills to execute (as would musicians reading the musical score), to interpret and adapt the performance according to their situation at time of performance.

The video also made me think of the saying “what is old is new again”.  It was very normal throughout art history for established artists to employ a team of individuals in their workshop to execute artwork. This was a method to create more art than one person could create on their own and also was a training ground for young artists.  It is only in more recent years that the norm is the concept of the celebrity artist.  I see Sol Lewitt perhaps trying to rejuvenate this practice as part of his conceptual art.  It is interesting how the video focuses on the artistry skill of Lewitt only, when only people of at least some skill would be required to execute the blueprint as intended.

Yoko Ono discussion notes based on reading from Grapefruit book and reading of materials under the Artists section on WordPress.

Where do you draw the boundaries around artworks in this video? What are the artworks? What strategies and tools does Ono use to challenge the viewer? Do you like any of these concept works? Discuss.

The conceptual art presented by Yoko Ono is both the book and the video of her reading excerpts from the book. My interpretation of this work is that her concept is to eliminate boundaries of what is considered art. Similar to the work we viewed from Sol Lewitt, the short instructions provided by Ono are the blueprints or concepts of art for others to interpret and perform, or not, as their own art based on her concept.  It goes further than Lewitt’s concept as the instructions are less defined and sometimes not even able to be performed, if taken literally from the instructions.  By including the absurd, the impossible and the humorous in the instructions, it challenges the viewer to think about art, things and living differently, and blurs the line between what we consider being art/not art.  It also changes how you think in terms of problem solving.  For instance, those instructions that are impossible from a literal sense make you think “well, how could I interpret this differently and perform the essence of what she is getting at”. I like the concept of this book and the variety of instructions.  Different concept works appeal to me on different days or in different moods.  On some days, listening to my heart beat may be exactly what is needed and all the energy I have, whereas on other days, the more difficult or mindful activities may result in something more profound.  In this sense I find the concept of the art very forgiving, kind and gentle.  The book actually says to burn it after reading it. To Ono, her artwork is complete by putting the concepts out there.  If one chooses to expand on the art by performing any of the instructions, that is up t o the next artist in the chain and is independent of her.

Bruce Nauman discussion notes based on video The True Artist Helps the World and reading of materials under the Artists section on WordPress..

Describe two works by Bruce Nauman (include images) where he frames every day actions (non-heroic, banal) as art. How are they “framed” as art, and what does the framing do to our understanding and experience of the actions?

Conceptually, Bruce Nauman frames everything he does as art because he is an artist and logically concludes (somewhat tongue-in cheek, but also a challenge to viewers) that what he produces must be art  (similar to Fountain by Marcel Duchamp and Dadaism).  I particularly like his neon light work and chose Double Poke in the Eye (showing two neon heads poking each other in the eye with fingers) and Seven Figures (showing seven figures having sex). Both these works challenge what we think of as sculpture in terms of the material the sculptures are made with and the movement of the sculptures, but the topics that are being represented in the sculptures also challenge our understanding of the work. At first look, there is no mystery to what exactly is being represented (two figures poking each other in the eye and seven figures having sex) but the viewer’s mind then races to what the possible meaning could be. His artwork can be quite shocking (either the topic being represented or the manner in which it is represented) in its lack of subtlety, which forces the viewer to contemplate. It is hard to look away.

Week 2

For this week’s assignment I chose to stand outside blindfolded standing on a small stool on my backyard deck. I had my daughter take pictures of me at the start and every ten minutes afterwards, up to 60 minutes (seven pictures in total). I wanted to challenge myself in terms of taking away one sense (sight) and limiting any movement (if I shuffled, or took a step I would fall off the stool) and also experiencing the cold of outside. I have attended several meditation and mindfulness experiences, so I knew that control of the breath was essential to the experience. The first 10 minutes were the hardest (as always) as the body fights the stillness until the mind and breath takes control. As Marina Abromovic states in the film, it is all about a state of mind that allows you to push your body physically to stay still. Similar to Abromovic, I fed on the “audience”. I found myself creating a system to know when my daughter would come outside to take a picture. I regulated the rhythm of my breath to the sound of the filter on the hot-tub (which was close by) and I soon discovered that 360-370 breaths was 10 minutes. I needed to understand the progress to feel good about carrying on. During the 60 minutes, I noticed several different sensations or changes. I noticed dogs barking in the neighbourhood, not just the ones close by, but those barking farther in the distance. My dog was in the backyard while I performed and at first was whining at my feet, not understanding why I was not interacting with him. I could hear him running, playing and chewing on ice and my mind would make mental images of what he was doing. I heard two planes go overhead and could tell that they were small engine planes (maybe private?) and thought about how COVID has drastically changed travel and the airline industry. I remarked on how many birds were active in the backyard at 3:30-4:30 pm. And by about the 30 minute mark, I started noticing the sound of the 10-minute timer alarm coming from inside the house, notifying my daughter that she should take the picture. The 10 minute-40 minute marks were the easiest, I could feel myself getting into the rhythm of breathing and slowing down. I had a few pain points during this time (cold fingers, pain in the arch of one foot, numbness settling into one foot) but the breathing made them manageable as I breathed into the pain. The 40-50 minute section was the most trying. My muscles in my legs were getting a bit tired from supporting myself in one position on the stool (I was essentially in Mountain Position for 40-50 minutes at this point with muscles engaged) and the combination with blindfolding was making me a bit dizzy or off balance. I had to be very present to stay on the stool. Once I hit 50 minutes, I found it easy as I knew there was an endpoint (360 slow breaths) and I counted down. I was a bit stiff at the end and had to take a second or two once the blindfold was off to re-orient my senses before coming down off the stool. It did make me think though what torture it would be to be in solitary confinement, not knowing when the end of the ordeal was near. You can visually see the stress built up over the one hour in the two pictures (Left-beginning and Right-end) below in the difference of expression in my face and the rigidity of my hands by the end.

I have respect for Marina Abromovic and her practice in terms of the messaging and the innovation of the art at the time. I do feel her authenticity has changed over the years, and this is touched on in the film The Artist is Present, where a friend states that she is always performing. I personally feel that her art is also her therapy for her unhappy childhood and the masochistic tendencies of her art, while making strong and significant statements about the art world, relationships and treatment of women, were also cathartic in her own coming to terms with the lack of love she received from her own parents. The meaning of the art to her may be different to the meaning of the art to the viewers of her art.

While watching The Artist is Present, I couldn’t help but think of her as similar to a cult leader. She is physically attractive, highly charismatic, unpredictable, seemingly beyond human in the physical demands her body can endure. I found the speech she gave in Italy very interesting, as she specifically says not to see artists as idols, and yet that seems to be what happens with much of the audience during The Artist is Present; many seem to idolize her. I also found it interesting with one of her earlier works being “Art must be beautiful, Artist must be Beautiful”, that she chose all young and beautiful artists to re-enact her earlier works during The Artist is Present (not one body that might be considered overweight or unfit to be found as part of the team). The music choice in the film also often provided an “exotic” flavour to the scenes. I couldn’t help but wonder throughout the film how much influence she had in the story told and the approaches taken. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, but also felt throughout that the documentary was another of her “performances” geared to creating the image she has worked so hard to attain.

Week 3 post-One sentence instructions

1. Lee Walton/Making changes: Modify the position of random things found while walking in the city.
2. Lee Walton/Sitting: Sit on a park bench close to a stranger.
3. Jon Sasaki/Ladder Climb: Climb on an unsupported ladder as high as you can and repeat each time you fall.
4. Jon Sasaki/Dead End, Eastern Market, Detroit: Drive a van into a narrow alleyway and do a U-turn.
5. Lenka Clayton/The Distance I Can Be From My Son (Back Alley): Film your toddler wandering away from you until you feel it is unsafe and measure the distance reached.
6. Yuula Benivolski: Not available.

Week 3-Defenestration

I thought carefully about what to defenestrate for this week’s assignment as I was sure there would be some emotional attachment to the item I was throwing out the window. Travelling alone and with my children is normally an important part of my life. Given, the latest travel restrictions the government is putting in place this week, I determined that the likelihood of needing my suitcase for a vacation anytime soon was slim-to-none. (That idea is out the window!) I packed up a small suitcase with a sun dress, flip-flops, bathing suit, sunscreen and a beach towel and threw it out the window. The emptied contents on my deck in the snow do look pretty sad, but no point stressing over it! When the time is right, I will pick up the pieces and travel once again.

Week 4-Adad Hannah and Social Distancing Portraits

Adad Hannah’s work is very interesting to me. In his work, including the Social Distancing Portraits, there is a strong sense of recognizing something everyday and common, but there is something “off” or different (sometimes slightly, as in the social distancing portraits, and sometimes boldly, as in the The Screen) that makes you stop and think about human behaviours and humanity itself.

In the Social Distancing Portrait series, Adad Hannah has observed everyday people; people we would expect to see in our own neighbourhoods. They include people of different genders, age groups, ethnicities and backgrounds. It is difficult to pinpoint how these people are different from or similar to each other and I believe that is the point. Every one of the individuals is unique, and yet we are all unified by dealing with the global pandemic. The approach of having the subjects in each portrait stand still during a time-elapsed video is powerful in a few ways. If the portraits of the subjects were captured in a photograph, it makes it too easy for the viewer to look quickly and move on. With the viewer seeing a “live” performance in each portrait, it is difficult to look away and it lengthens and intensifies the gaze by the viewer. By giving more time, you start to build a relationship with each of the subjects, and watch them more intently. The short quotes also provide a link between the individuals portrayed. Each is different and unique, however, the themes of the quotes are similar, expressing their insecurity about the impact on their life, their mental and physical health, financial security, and the uncertainty of the future. Using a combination of live film and photographic portraiture also reflects on the state of most people during the pandemic; we are living our lives and time is going by, but we are restricted in our movements and everything is on hold. There is not much going on in the time elapsed. The people portrayed in each portrait are centered in the frame (both horizontally and vertically) and are shown full body and in-focus. The posture tends to be relaxed, doing something that the subject would likely be doing as part of their regular day. The shot is taken from a distance and usually outside, as would be expected during a pandemic, and in many cases the subjects portrayed look at the camera.

For my one-minute video, I chose to film my two children on their way to school on their first day back since the Christmas lock-down. This is a significant milestone during the pandemic, back to some semblance of normality, even though they need to wear masks all day. Similar to Adad Hannah, I filmed them from at least 5 metres away and centered them in the middle of the shot.

Quote from Anika: I think COVID really affected me because of online school. My teacher couldn’t teach everything she was planning and now for the rest of the year she is going to have to rush. Online school has also made it hard to see friends because at recess they are not in the schoolyard to play with. You can’t just talk to them during class because it would overpower the teacher and everyone would hear you. I think COVID will always be here, even if it is not as strong. Some stores are always going to make you wear a mask.

Quote from Shayne: I don’t like COVID because I can’t see all my friends. We also can’t do my favourite sports because everything is closed. I wish that we were still doing online school because online school is easier.

WEEK 6

Turn and face the Strange: Darcey Steinke on Our New Life with Masks notes:

While I found Steinke’s article quite interesting to hear her point of view on masks and the face, and some background on masks, there is quite a few of her opinions I disagree with as well. As it relates to COVID masks, I always find it amazing what a wide range of emotional reactions there are. It is quite obvious Steinke has a visceral negative reaction to masks. Personally they do not bother me. There have been a few instances where I have run into people at stores that did not recognize me at first, but once you say who you are the moment is over…not a big deal. I have had it happen in the past when someone has not seen me in a while or since my last haircut, etc. While the masks do muffle speech a bit, from the standpoint of reading people’s emotions I haven’t had issues either. Maybe I have always relied on the eyes to smile and overall body language, rather than the lips.

I do think the difference between seeing live faces and those on communication screens such as Zoom is very different. I have been fortunate not to have had a funeral to attend during COVID, as the inability to see loved ones live during a time of mourning is very difficult.

I also think the link between the different masks and interaction with faces she describes have a tenuous link at best with our current COVID situation. Many of the masks she discusses, such as ritual masks, have a long history of meaning and symbolism. Other masks, such as the KKK and terrorist masks serve the purpose of making the identity of the people performing shameful tasks anonymous. I just cannot associate that sort of emotion with a piece of fabric which, in our society today, has a functional purpose to medically protect the vulnerable for a temporary period of time. I have tried, but I can’t understand the viewpoint that the COVID mask is an infringement on human rights. It is just something to get used to for a short term and necessary purpose.

I also disagree with her comment of the aging face being an anti-face and a woman’s face becoming less interesting as she ages. As a 50 year old woman, I can honestly say I have never been more comfortable with my face. While 20 year old men may no longer find it attractive (which I am perfectly ok with!), I also find I am listened to and get more respect than my 20-year-old face did, even though I may be speaking the same words. Older faces tell a story to me and are beautiful in a different way.

Of most interest to me was the part describing John Howard Griffin’s experience of living both as a black man and a white man. How people related to the same person differently depending on which “mask” he was wearing is fascinating. I plan on reading the book. I also wonder if this impacted his behaviour and personality depending on which mask he wore.

While part of my face is covered while I am outside these days, I think more people have actually looked at my face during COVID with all the Zoom calls. On Zoom classes all the other students see is your face. In many live classes, I think students only really look at the teacher. To be honest though, to not be seen by a lot of people over a period of time is not particularly concerning to me as others viewing me does not define who I am.

Of the different artworks we viewed in class, my favourites are Erwin Wurm One-Minute-Sculpture Series and Nina Katchadourian. Both series are full of wit, are “in the moment” and I appreciate the humour.

My Different Faces

This last image describes sometimes how I feel as a mom (similar to the two-faced good-cop/bad-cop from The Lego Movie). I used one bag with the Mean/Naggy Mom and Fun Mom on opposite sides. (note: I revised these photos based on feedback in class to have better lighting, focus and plain background).

Week 7 Notes

1. 40 Part Motet by Janet Cardiff
   Conceptual prompts: Takes (beautiful) sound created by 40 parts to create a whole and allows it to be deconstructed into its smaller pieces again if desired or listened to in different combinations. The sound becomes physical, more like a sculpture that you can walk around and examine from different angles/speakers.
   This is different than listening to the same music sung by the same individuals in a concert setting or on speakers/headphones as it allows the listener to focus on specific elements and consider how it fits into the whole. I would imagine the experience is also different depending on the room that it is in, given different acoustics, and also the visuals available as you listen, as well as how close or far apart the speakers are from each other. The type of music chosen is also spiritual and can be quite transcendental given all these factors. The musical “sculpture” might not be as successful with a less spiritual song. Interest is maintained through the ability to hear the song very differently depending where you stand. Given there are 40 different speakers emitting different sounds you could spend quite a lot of time listening to and experiencing the piece differently.
   Hearing the piece on my computer is probably quite different than hearing it “live” with the speakers in the room, but it is a beautiful piece and I can imagine from watching the video that is is quite a captivating experience.
   
2. Kelly Mark’s I Really Should. I really appreciate this piece in that it is words that many of us say to ourselves and others (“you really should”), often as advice, as a scolding, as a change agent or just out of habit. By hearing the same words expressed over and over, the repetition changed how I heard and understood the words throughout the piece. At first the words just ran over me, they are familiar words that don’t hold a lot of weight because they are so familiar. Then they became a bit more sinister and I started to feel annoyed or berated by all the things she was telling herself she should be doing (many of which I tell myself to do all the time), and then I felt like she was being too hard on herself and I was exhausted by the long list of “to-do’s” she had set herself up to do. It would be impossible to achieve everything and many of the items may have been important in the moment, but many of these were not essential to living a happy life and were setting her up for feelings of inadequacy. The only thing holding these different sentences together was the words “I really should”. Otherwise the thoughts were random, with some being important to daily life and others being mundane.
   
3. Pipes in C by Anna Ripmeester: I quite liked this piece in that she took a found noise and turned it into music. It was a constructive, playful and positive way to turn an annoying situation into something positive (if you can’t beat it, join it). This differed from conventional music in that one part of it was not controllable, the pipe sound was the dominant and the guitar music the accompaniment.

Week 7 – audio piece proposals

Proposal 1: Similar to One Minute Apology by Laurel Woodcock and a Day in the Life (24 hour version) by Dave Dyment, I thought it would be interesting to take existing pre-recorded songs and reconfigure them with a different message and sound. I am proposing to do a piece about time and sound by piecing together 60 versions of the word “second” sung by 60 different artists in 60 different songs. They will be arranged chronologically (based on release date of the song) and I will also have an overlay of a clock ticking seconds over the top as it will last exactly one minute. The piece will be called “60 Seconds in a Minute”. I have already experimented with 20 songs and the effect is interesting in how the same word sounds so different depending on the voice, how the word is stretched out, or said shorter in more of a staccato, the ticking clock in between ties it together. Some “seconds” are longer than others; some take more than a second to say and others less than a second.

Proposal 2: We have several digital devices in the house that have alarms that go off for several reasons (waking up, reminders, meeting notices, etc.). The other day several went off at the same time. I thought it would be interesting to hear how they all sound together as a symphony (or cacophony) of sounds that are supposed to alert and awaken. This piece is reminiscent of Dot Matrix Symphony, The User where found sounds from an automated source are combined to make new sound/music.

Proposal 3: Proposal 3 is of a more serious nature, I thought about having 2 voices (1 male and 1 female) reading from a script. The script goes through the typical words said to each other from the time one of the persons discovers they have a terminal illness to the time they die and shows how the relationship changes from partners/loved-one to care-giver/care-receiver. In the beginning the script covers shock, dismay, expressions of love for each other, as the script evolves, the two people talk over each other (one discusses doctor appts, medicine schedules; the other discusses things they want to do before they die, home remedies, philosophies around death) and in the end they converge and say goodbye. Having known several people who have lived through this (including myself), it is a relationship that changes “in a minute” (no matter how long the person is ill) but is also one that is common for caregivers/those in palliative care. In terms of artists that we reviewed, it would most relate to I Really Should by Kelly Mark. This piece is also a spoken piece, that when you hear all the “I really should’s” together gives a different perspective on what these words, that you use everyday really mean when taken all together. (Note: based on feedback from Diane I did not pursue this piece as she felt it did not fit into description of the assignment.)

Week 8 -Completed Audio Pieces

I chose to complete both Proposal 1 and Proposal 2 above.

For Proposal 1, I completed a mix of clips from 60 songs recorded by various artists, arranged chronologically from the 1950’s-2020, singing the word “Second”. The result is 60 “Seconds” in Under a Minute. The variety of voices and styles (I chose a variety of crooners, rap artists, reggae, pop, rock, alternative, jazz, heavy metal and show tunes) and manner of singing the word is interesting, with some taking longer than a second but most taking less time. I also thought it was fun that 60 “seconds” can be executed in less than 60 seconds. What struck me most was how certain famous voices could easily be distinguished, as they have such unique voices and how memories flooded back to me for certain sounds just hearing that one word (Many of these songs were popular during my teens and early twenties). As discussed in the proposal, this piece is reminiscent of One Minute Apology by Laurel Woodcock and a Day in the Life (24 hour version) by Dave Dyment where found pre-recorded songs are reconfigured for a new purpose.

For Proposal 2, Eight Alarm Symphony I combined and mixed 8 different common alarm sounds from devices in the house (cell phones, ipods) into a symphony. The sound is a bit jarring at its apex, which is interesting as these sounds are supposed to alert you to important events or wake you in a pleasant way. As discussed in the proposal, this piece is reminiscent of Dot Matrix Symphony, The User, using found sound created by an automated device and remixing it.

Week 9 and 10

I am proposing to create documentation of the books I have read for pleasure in my life.  I know in advance that I won’t be able to make a complete list as I am quite a prolific reader and have also read many children’s books in my own childhood, babysitting family members and raising my own children that I won’t be able to remember all of them. There are some books I have read several times in my life and have understood different messages throughout the years as I matured and based on what was important in my life.  I have not decided exactly how I will document yet.  One way could be a list based on my memory and the most memorable books in my life would be documented first.  Another way could be a list based on my memory of approximate year/age of when I read them.  I could do a word bubble where certain books that I have read many times would be larger type, with those I read only once would be small type.  I could also do a collection of the front-page image of the books in a catalogue format. I strongly believe that you can tell a lot about a person based on the books they read (and whether they read for pleasure or not). I also believe that what you read can shape the person to a certain degree.  This work would be similar to Douglas Gordon’s List of Names from 1990 to ongoing.  Gaps can also be filled in as I go. For instance I forgot how much I enjoyed Judy Blume books as a youth.  My daughter picked up one of her books the other day and a flood of memories of how much I enjoyed them came back.

Week 11 and 12

I decided to document my life’s reading with a series of doodles and words representing the books that have deep memory for me. This project is a larger undertaking than what can be documented in one week, but the process is an enjoyable one and I will continue it as a conceptual portrait. I found the act of documenting and doodling.kept producing additional memories and images that I associated with the books. I managed to document about 100 books to date and they are loosely grouped on the four pages between books I remember enjoying as a child, books I remember enjoying reading to and with children in my life (mine and others), classic books that I have read several times, and books that I read during my teens/twenties that I have deep memories from. There are many, many more books to document as I dig deeper into my memories!

WEEK 11 ASSIGNMENT

Final Conceptual Portrait

For the conceptual portrait assignment, I wanted to capture what items mean the most to the people I know and those in my life. I myself am somewhat of a maximalist, I collect random items that have personal meaning to me. I often wonder which things from my house are most important to me, and so the idea for this project was born. I asked myself and several others, “If your house was on fire, what three items would you grab?”. I gave each participant these guidelines: 1. Set a timer for 3 minutes, this is how long you have to accumulate your 3 items. 2. Leave your laptops, phones and financial documents aside (assume those have been salvaged). And 3. Lay them out on the floor, take a photo, and tell me what each item is and why they are so important to you.

It was super interesting to see the outcome of this prompt. There were many patterns and overlaps between the items chosen. Despite who these people were… childhood friends, new friends, classmates, family members… there were obvious repeats. One recurring theme illustrated that the monetary value of the items chosen often took the back seat. Old stuffed animals and photographs were common… things that didn’t cost a lot but mean the most. This taught me that in times of desperation, we seek comfort and see the most importance in memories and intangible moments, rather than our most “valuable” possessions.

WEEK 10 NOTES

Conceptual Portrait Proposal

A concept I enjoy exploring is the way in which specific items can hold so much meaning to a person. Personally, I am a maximalist through and through, I collect items that stand out to me, and over time I grow attached to them. I connect sentimental meanings to everyday items and feel as though parting with them would be as if I were leaving a piece of me behind.

For the conceptual portrait, I wish to explore these attachments we form to tangible items. I plan on asking a group of diverse individuals which items mean the most to them and why. In the age of over-consumption and capitalism, I want to see just a few items that people couldn’t fathom parting with.

For this project I was very much inspired and moved by the art piece “Everything in my Father’s wallet” by Sara Angelucci. I would imagine that these found items, untouched from her father’s wallet ten years after his passing, hold whirlwinds of emotion for Sara herself. And yet to the common person, there is a sense of mystery. Why were these items important to him? Why did they hold a place in his wallet which he carried everywhere? What are the stories being told through these photographs, cards and notes? How do they formulate a portrait of a person? These were all questions running through my mind upon studying this art piece, and questions I want to address in my own conceptual portrait.

I also enjoyed On Kawara’s work in which he takes a more logical, mathemetical approach to portraiture. Through framing lists, places visited, people met and postcards sent as portraits of himself and of others, Kawara explores the concept that portraits are not restrained to a visual depiction of a person’s face or outward identity. Rather, these mundane everyday depictions of our actions display a much more realistic and accurate depiction of who we are.

WEEK 9 ASSIGNMENT

My Final Audio File – “A Walk In The Forest”

• I made some changes to this final draft to make the ending fade out more organically.

WEEK 8 ASSIGNMENT

My Audio File Draft – “A Walk In The Forest”

My audio piece was a personal experiment more than anything. Without worrying about the authenticity of the final file, but rather, focusing on my limits personally, I approached this project with a conceptual mindset. I brainstormed ways that I could create convincing outdoor noises within the boundaries of my bedroom. Listen closely, and you will hear the whistles of various birds (me whistling), my footsteps on the crunchy forest floor (me walking in one place on a pile of plastic wrap), the wind sighing through the trees (my breathing), the rustling of bushes and greenery (me shaking around the spider plant in my room), and more. I wanted this project to be immersive for the viewer, a testament to their ability to dismantle an audio file and better understand all that went into it.

During this week I also participated in Alannah’s audio piece. She took a much different approach to her composition, an emotional and sentimental recollection of motherly figures. I enjoyed answering Alannah’s prompts for her piece and through speaking for her, I really felt the diversity of conceptual art. There are truly no limits with experimental and conceptual art, and the meaning behind the pieces we produce mean so much more than the refinement of the finished project. Whether these final pieces be humorous, emotional, or beautiful, they mean so much to the creator and can cause a viewer (or listener) to look inwards and find personal context and symbolism.

WEEK 7 NOTES

John Cage – 4’33” (For Orchestra and Soloist)

• Silent orchestra: the composer and musicians act as though the stage is engulfed in sound.  All visual behaviours assume noise, but the listener is only met with silence. Only the noise of sheet music turning, arms lifting, and the general breathing of performer and person within the crowd can be heard. 

Marla Hlady – Basement Bass

• A bass speaker is recorded in this audio, taking form as a rotating circle on the floor. It feels as though the sound radiates through you as you listen, becoming a symphony with the additional white noise of the air vents and droning fans, etc. It is said that “when a viewer stands on the floor, they feel the sound as much as they hear it”.

Daniel Olson – Thumbrolley

• This artist manipulates toy musical instruments, finding art and music in an unlikely place. This is different from conventional music or the scoring of films for many reasons. In commercial music, expensive equipment is expected. Olson shows that music can be made no matter the material or instrument, it all depends on the creativity and vision of the artist. Olson keeps the listener interested through a dynamic composition of nostalgic noises; I found I was reminded of my own childhood upon listening to Thumbtrolley. 

My 1st Audio Proposal – A Quiet Morning in 60 Seconds

• My mornings are quiet on principle, but when more attention is directed to the sounds and noises I make as I toast my raisin bread and scoop out orange marmalade, or open and close the fridge while swaying on that one creaky floorboard in my kitchen, I realize this silence has many sounds. I developed this idea through John Cage’s work, as he emphasizes the beauty of silence, stating that sound is acting: it gets higher and lower, louder and quieter, inevitably morphing into a sculpture of sorts. 

My Updated Audio Proposal – A Walk in the Forest

• In an attempt to dig deeper and create an audio art piece that has a “catch” per se, I decided I would attempt to make all the natural and organic noises of a pleasant walk in the forest, entirely with my mouth or with the help of objects around my room. I would then adjust specific noises as needed in GarageBand, changing pitch, adding reverb, altering volume… whatever felt necessary. This proposal went in a separate direction from my original idea (recording my morning), and was largely inspired by the audio “Piss Record” by Matthew Sawyer, because like Sawyer, I documented and embellished human noises in order to create something of a much different meaning.

WEEK 6 ASSIGNMENTS

Notes on the article “Turn and Face the Strange” by Darcey Steinke

            Not seeing faces in daily life has obviously been a struggle for all. Whether it be misunderstandings or outright confusion and miscommunication, the most expressive half of the human face being shielded for the entire world certainly has its difficulties. One specific example that I have felt the pressure in, is in part-time jobs. It can be extremely difficult to understand what a customer needs and what kind of mood they are in.        

I found the plague mask worn by a man in Hellerdon, England especially intriguing. Like something out of a sci-fi horror movie, these masks were worn during the 17^th century to protect against the plague. I found this specific anecdote interesting because of the public reactions such an apparatus or protective gear can inspire. The concept of these current times of strife, sickness and loss being framed as a post-apocalyptic dystopia honestly doesn’t feel that far off the mark. Creepy and unsettling masks that can instill a sense of fear in the viewer is intriguing; it creates a parallel in the unsettling times we are enduring.

Without my face in this current age, I feel stripped of an identity at times, but also comforted.  In the past, I often felt as though I didn’t wish to show my face to the world. Hiding behind hair and shrinking into myself, there have been times when I’ve wanted to disappear and go unnoticed. While my self-confidence has improved tenfold in recent years, and I’ve become more appreciative of the person I show the world, I still desire that feeling of sinking into the shadows. Masks have become a shield to many people, allowing for an increased sense of anonymity and safety in the untrodden territories of the current day. Facing the public in the midst of a global pandemic is much less social than before, it’s harder to connect and it’s harder to communicate. But sometimes that’s what we want. Less sociable connections with passerby, and more safety – both physically and mentally. 

Transformation 1: “Go Clean Your Room”

• 

Progress Photos of This Transformation

Transformation 2: “Pill Mask”

Progress Photos and Brainstormings of This Transformation

Transformation 3: Silenced Screams

Progress Photos of This Transformation

WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENTS

Social Distancing Video Portrait

I was inspired by Adad Hannah’s ability to depict how art can connect people, no matter the physical distance or circumstance. I took this video portrait project in a slightly different direction, as social distancing and quarantine has meant something different for me. For me personally, the act of social distancing, or quarantine rather, has meant a whole lot of FaceTime to stay connected with my friends. Not being able to see those who mean the most to me in person has been extremely difficult, but at least these moments through screens and technology allow some relief. I’ve spent hours upon hours chatting with my friend Jenna on FaceTime the past year, so I felt this format of video footage was perfect. Even a video taken with kilometres of distance between us, offers the same energy and mood captured by Adad Hannah’s social distance video portraits.

WEEK 3 ASSIGNMENTS

Defenestration Project

Description

For the Defenestration project, I wanted to take my origami swan outside so she could see the light of day. During the pandemic I’ve been doing a lot of crafts, one of them being learning origami. I’ve hung all sorts of swans from the ceiling in my bedroom, and something about looking at them swaying above me is very peaceful. I decided one of my swans deserved to feel the outdoors on her wings, and so I brought her outside and let her fly. I didn’t have any windows without screens to throw her out of, but was inspired by John Baldessari’s Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line, and instead threw the swan into the air in different locations. I played with different framing techniques as well as shadow and light to create some pretty dynamic photos that I’m proud of! I especially love that if you blur your eyes, the origami swan almost appears lifelike, like a real bird flying up into the air towards the tops of the trees.

Artist Instructions

Making Changes – Lee Walton – “Rearrange items and objects in the city silently, then walk away.”

Sitting – Lee Walton – “Sit uncomfortably close to strangers on benches… don’t say anything.”

Ladder Climb – Jon Sasaki – “Try to climb an unsupported ladder.”

Dead End – Jon Sasaki – “Drive a van down a tight dead end, do a 3 (… or 6.. or 8… or 12) point turn to exit.”

The distance I can be from my son – Lenka Clayton – “Allow your child to roam free and record how long they make it before you feel you must catch up to them.”

WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENTS

Be Still for One Hour Exercise

For this weeks assignment, I decided to take a humorous route while also staying true to the characteristics of Abramovic’s work. I thought it would be funny if I sat on the toilet for an hour. The first 15 minutes of the hour passed without struggle, but I started to feel bored and restless as time went on. I counted the tiles in the shower in front of me, considered what the proper way to put the toilet paper on is.. (I still don’t know? Should the paper be under or over?) and became more and more aware of the hard porcelain I was sitting on. At one point (maybe 40 minutes in?) my mom knocked on the door and asked if I was okay, to which I responded “yes, just sitting on the toilet!” I listened to the sounds of my house, the whirring of the filter on my fish tank echoing through the hall, the swooshing cycle of the dishwasher, creaks and groans of the house… Things I normally wouldn’t pay any mind to. Overall, this exercise was physically taxing at times, but also relaxing. Upon being still for one hour, I have a newfound appreciation for Marina Abramovic’s work, and all performance artists for that matter.

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WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENTS

Sol Lewitt – Notes

Sol Lewitt expresses the premise that “the idea is the machine that makes the art” by emphasizing that without the planning and preparatory stages of creating a work, the art would cease to exist. In fact, Lewitt stresses that the true work of art lies in it’s written instructions, diagrams, and planning phases, not in it’s finished product and aesthetics. The artist’s “loving hand” seems to be a tool that allows for Lewitt’s ideas to come alive. The collaboration of the hands of many artists coming together to create works such as the mural shown in this video, displays the importance and value of collaboration in contemporary art. This collaboration takes stress off of the artist’s craftsmanship and instead emphasizes their ideas and concepts.

Yoko Ono – Notes

I believe the boundaries between the artworks that Yoko Ono describes lie in the different performative experiences possible from each idea. A “painting to be stepped on”, a “painting to shake hands”, and a “painting for the wind” all define different contemporary art experiences that Ono introduces. To me, I feel that the artworks are not the paintings, materials, nor visual elements involved, but rather, are the different ways the public digest these experiences. The art lies in the idea, the process, and the performance of the work.   Yoko Ono challenges the viewer in many ways through these concepts. She takes emphasis off of finished product, or aesthetic appeal, and instead invites you to destroy your work… place it on the ground and let people walk on it, cut holes in it, etc. By doing so, Ono challenges the viewpoint that importance lies in finished products, which is often times what we as artists fall victim to. I like all of these concepts. I think it’s refreshing to hear a different perspective on creating, how to produce works, and simply, what art is.

Bruce Nauman – Notes

Bruce Nauman’s works were especially interesting to me. In many of his works, he is the subject and “sculpture”. One particular piece that frames an every-day, insignificant action as art, are his “Wall/Floor Positions”. These are black and white stills and videos where Nauman puts himself in different contortions and positions on the floor. By framing these positions as such, Bruce challenges the viewer’s perception of what art is.

Nauman also possesses an interest in sounds, whether they be monotonous, everyday sounds, or cutting, jarring exclamations. An example of a work in which Nauman puts these everyday actions to use is through his sound corridors at the Tate Modern. The viewer walks through hallways that fade from silence to sound, and back again. It challenges the viewer, or rather, listener, to pay mind to sounds that may be ignored or tuned out in daily life, instead, establishing them as art.

Kilometre Exercise Brainstorming

For the kilometre concept exercise, I had a few different ideas. I first thought of going for a 1km walk in which I gathered the strangest objects I could find. I wanted to delve deeper, so I considered going for the same walk and instead photographing directly below me every 50 metres. I thought it would be interesting to digest different terrains, and how they change, paying mind to something I otherwise wouldn’t on an everyday walk. I was excited about this idea, but my procrastination came back to bite me, because by Monday (the day before this exercise was due, and when I was planning on taking my photographs!) the ground was covered in a thick layer of snow. Any diversity in the terrain on a 1km walk was no longer visible. Defeated, I decided to walk nonetheless, staring at the ground and waiting for an idea to come to me. I began noticing different tracks and prints in the snow that I would usually trod over and ignore completely, and so my idea was born! On a kilometre walk, I took photos of all the interesting prints in the snow I could find.

Prints in the Snow on a 1km Walk