Conversation with…

The person I chose to talk to about my project was our instructor Barbara Chira. I felt her experience with her work Table Talk Tuesday would be valuable to learn from when it came to my piece. I ultimately ended up communicating with her after I performed my piece, but I still value the feedback I got. One thing I really was interested in was how she felt about her piece looking back at it. I asked if her experience stood out in her mind as a valuable experience as an artist:
” I think only more time will tell. It seemed “important” during the intervention. Then when the Faculty Show, and thus the series, concluded, it faded out of my consciousness. Your questions, among some other people’s feedback and inquiries, have helped me to revisit it from time to time. A year from now, I will know more about the answer to this question.”

This gave me a really interesting perspective on my the value on the work I’m doing right now. An artist should always look back on their work.

Tell Me Something (Final Thesis)

My project will explore the idea of communication. The interaction between two human beings is vital to our personal growth as well as the growth of those around us. The concept for my project is not unlike the concept for the website PostSecret. PostSecret is a blog-based project where people confess things on artistically decorated postcards and send them off to the creator of the blog in hopes that he will post them. My project will be much more confrontational. I will be present the entire time I invite people to submit secrets. They will have to take the paper and pens, with which they will write their secrets, from my hands, and place the paper in a box directly in front of me, thereby acknowledging that they are trusting a human being with this information as opposed to just dropping it in a mailbox. One crucial point of this interaction is that I will be blindfolded. One thing I think is incredibly important in this project is anonymity. The people who participate need to feel that they are safe from their secret being divulged. There needs to be a trust. They are putting themselves in a vulnerable situation, so I will do the same, depriving myself of one of my senses. 

think[box]

I thought the think box was really cool. I think it’s going to be an amazing resource in the future. It needs better decoration.

Walking Confessional

With my project I will be exploring the concept of communication, particularly within the concept of trust. The idea of communication is vital to the development of self and others. When we communicate we learn about each other. Often, in our communication we are guarded because we fear what those who we are communicating with will think of us. Because of this we often feel uncomfortable or tense because we have no means with which to express our true feelings. My project is based on the idea that a person is more likely to open up about something as long as anonymity is guaranteed. Therefore, I intend to create a ‘walking confessional’. I will blindfold myself and place myself in an area of heavy walking traffic. I will be holding a tray with pens, paper, and a large box. I will invite people to come up and write a secret that they have on a piece of paper and place it in the box. I will explicitly demand and assure anonymity. Through this, I hope to evoke the experience of religious reconciliation, without the judgment and the obligatory penance. I merely want to give people an opportunity to get something off of their chests by placing it into a box across mine. I will most likely give my performance either on the Case campus or the CIA campus. I intend to do so multiple times in different locations. 

Project Ideas

image2.jpg

I chose to narrow my topics down to the idea of interaction between two or more people. I don’t want to deal directly with any topic too polarizing.

I Object

Jung Typology

I am an INTJ, or an introverted intuitive thinking judging, personality type. From what I read, it sounds like my type is pretty balanced between being a logical person and a creative person. It also makes me sound like a very critical person. I am all of these. I found it interesting that the description said that I expected people to ‘make sense’. I often find myself making assumptions about people’s character based on minimal interaction. To be fair, I’m usually right, but I still found it interesting that the article addressed it.

Social Practice Artists

-Judy Baca:

A mural artist who utilizes the community to help create her work.
http://www.judybaca.com/now/images/stories/Danza%20de%20la%20Tierra_final.jpg
-Sharon Kallis:
Installation artist with an environmental focus who also looks for help within the community.
http://brandford-elliott-award.com/images/kallis_barraca540.jpg
-Rick Lowe:
Involves the community in rehabilitating old houses and making them into art.
http://bombsite.com/images/attachments/0005/4098/WHP_2b_copy_body.jpg
-Banksy
A graffiti artist who works in snarky social commentary.
http://i4.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article862230.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Banksy%20graffiti%20artwork%20of%20a%20police%20marksman%20and%20child%20on%20the%20wall%20opposite%20the%20Bristol%20Royal%20Infirmary-862230
-Mark Jenkins
Social commentary through insertion of sculptural work into an urban environment.
http://blog.upandcoming-art.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/470085075_7efaf1f404_o.jpg
-Petra Collins
Curator of The Ardorous, and creates work relating to feminism.
http://25.media.tumblr.com/709d372e6f5b8eccd3a1bcebc8cf0b0d/tumblr_msvvr6OacC1r05jkho1_500.jpg
-Paul Chan
Reactionary work in response to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/12/02/arts/02cott-600.jpg
-Wayne White
Changing the modern art world through humor and playful works.
http://bumbumbum.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/3_tell-me-you-love-me-rd-2.jpg
– Richard Rinaldi
Asks strangers to get close to each other for portraits on the spot.
http://flakphoto.com/assets/photos/richard-renaldi-alfredo-and-jessica.jpg
-JR
Photo/graffiti artist with a social message who reaches people through street-art.
http://www.thesqualor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/jr-7.jpeg
-Brandon Stanton
Interviews and photographs the diverse citizens of New York.
http://media.vogue.com/files/filecheck/2013/04/12/img-humansofnewyork_095141232909.jpg_article_gallery_slideshow_v2.jpg
-Kusama Yayoi
Installation artist who likes really loves her dots.
http://companyofstrangers.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/YayoiKusama_p192-193.jpg
-Raising The Roof
Informational signs which raise awareness about homelessness.
http://fantastikate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/homeless-youth-awareness-896×617.jpg

Vik Muniz and Wasteland

Whose story is told in the documentary?
– the catadores of Jardim Gramacho and Vik Muniz, during the creation of a set of portraits made of garbage.
Whose is not told?
-a lot of people, but none that were necessary to the effectiveness of the documentary.
How do the people in the film identify with their community?
– Vik Muniz uses his ties to the Brazilian community as inspiration for his work, particularly in the work documented in this film. The catadores carry a pride in what they do for the community, but are consistently fighting for more attention in the political/social system.
What are the common bonds of the people in this film?
-all of the people whose stories we follow come from poorer parts of Brazil. The catadores have a sort of familial bond because they all share the same less-than-desirable job.
What challenges do they face in expressing their identity?
-the catadores live in pretty poor conditions. They have physically and mentally taxing jobs and often have to make sacrifices for the ones the love.
How is the transformed garbage portrait more powerful than the original photo?
-the garbage portrait is more powerful than the photo because it adds a much more powerful meaning, particularly for the subject. The garbage is what they work with everyday and they don’t see it as anything beautiful or special. They don’t see the potential of the materials until they are confronted with the finished product of their work. In a way, they see themselves, like the garbage, as unwanted and worthless. Seeing what they can create with garbage allows them to see the potential in their own lives and encourages them to do something with that potential.
Do you think Vik Muniz’s project did more damage or good to the catadores?
– I think it did much more good. His project improved the self-images of his subjects. He let them see themselves as something more than garbage, oddly enough, by making the out of garbage. He also drew national attention to the catador union, and international attention to the situation in Jardim Gramacho.