Death Clock

I have given a lot of thought to the final project. I came up with a dozen ideas on incorporating food into art, such as creating a landscape in a diorama that resembled a landscape painting or layering parts of a cake to imitate a painting. I also considered sculpture made from different types of food, and even considered making a Dahli clock styled pizza (partly because I fear everyone will bring in desert type work). During the last class before finals, the topic of death came up and I started thinking a lot about it. Time and death have some pretty obvious links, so I chose to make a giant cookie to represent these two themes. It was too large to shape traditionally, but I managed to keep it together on my second try. I will update this blog with more details after it has been presented (I don't want to spoil the surprise.)

Update
The big reveal: A Giant Fortune Cookie. Inside is a running stopwatch and the fortune "When men speak of the future, the God's laugh."

I named this piece Death Clock. Generally, a death clock "predicts" when the user will die. This of course is  nonsense as no one knows when their "time is up". It is still amusing for people to imagine that their future can be told. I think it is fascinating that people can be entertained by the concept of death, even their own. I chose to make a fortune cookie as the first layer to my edible metaphor, since it is a playful way for people to imagine the future. It was a double batch of batter (made mostly of egg whites, sugar, and flour) spread on a pizza pan. After it was baked, I placed the running stopwatch and the fortune inside. The clock started when the cookie was "born". It resets every 60 minutes, so there is no way to know how long the clock has been running. Ultimately, the message of this piece is that death is simultaneously serious and funny, and that no one knows when it will come.

People tend to overlook the unpredictability of life and constantly plan for tomorrow. When men speak of the future, the God's laugh.

Boyden Gallery Opens

New exhibits were installed in the Boyden Gallery. The largest exhibit looked like an arranged collage of white paper with curving black stripes. The rhythm created by this arrangement was confusing. There was also a collection of concrete slabs on display with strange foot prints within. One slab represented an adult, and another represented a baby of some imaginary creature. The texture distracted from the impressions of feet a little, and I noticed that the edges were already crumbling. The exhibits that I looked at the most was the collection called Aggregates, and Tactile Aggregates,  by Garret Zopfi. Tactile Aggregates was intended to be handled by viewers. The collection that was brightly colored easily drew me in. Each piece was molded from plaster and sported a coat of neon spray paint. There were several molds used, but like-shapes were displayed together so that the arrangement very much resembled work by Andy Warhol, who was a source of inspiration for the artist. The shapes of the pieces seemed organic, and my first impression was that they looked like some non-human organs. It may be representative of, or inspired by, other organic forms such as root vegetables. The collection conveyed energy in the forms and the colors, and rhythm in repeated patterns. I thought it was the most interesting exhibit in the gallery. 

Seeing vs. Vision

The reading from The Object Stares Back was really interesting, mostly because I had never thought about how I see things. I started looking around, and to be honest I had a hard time noticing the things I don't see - which is a strange statement but Elkins did talk about our vision being filled with what we don't see. Some things limit our vision, some things divert out attention, and so on. I did have some success with a little experiment though. He talked about the distortions of out peripheral vision, so I created the scenarios he described to see if I would see things the way he claimed. I went into a hallway with a doorway at my side, and when I looked straight ahead the doorway did seem to be higher. I think that may have been caused by my inability to see the top of the door frame, which made it seem like the top was way over my head. I also tested the motion sensitivity of my peripheral vision with my hand at my side, which did play out the way he described. I also have been thinking about other things that change my vision. After he discussed the view though his window and a telescope, I recalled an illusion I often see with my glasses. I see points of light cast out from street lamps and cars at night, as if they were twinkling stars. I also see it during the day sometimes. I never gave it thought beyond wiping my lens clean (which helps, but doesn't remove the illusion). Now it seems to be one more filter in a list of things that impact my ability to see. It joins other physical filters like the amount of light available and the limitations of my eyes, as well as social filters which change the attention I give to certain images. It was a very though provoking reading, but I would have liked to see the pictures better.

This theme of "seeing" can be linked to some of the recent activities in class. We watched a short documentary in class on an artist that removes elements from videos to create his art, essentially making the things that we can't see become the focus of the word. One such video was an athlete in his moment of triumph, except that he had been removed from the moment and a ghostly void was left in his place. The things we can't see in his work make it very interesting, and a little uncomfortable (because we want to see what we know or think should be there).

We also created videos using shared recordings. Even though clips were reused, the end product of each persons video was really different, which demonstrates that we all see different meanings in the same image. The focus of this project may have been more about time, but our individual visions are clearly demonstrated in this project.

Most recently, we all studied and responded to a selected piece of art or an artist. I chose to study the work of Edvard Munch, whose most famous work is an expressionist painting call The Scream. It uses strong color and line to visually represent dark and ominous emotions, with the central figure seeming to warp under the pressure of so much emotional agony. It was a moment that Munch actually experienced, and managed to create visually even though feelings can't be seen.

Exhuming the Present - The Photograph as Site (Event Response)

Prof. Caldwell gave an insightful lecture on his work over the years. He discussed his use of various tools in the production of his work, as well as his artistic process and sources of inspiration.

The tools included cameras, of course, but not exclusively. He does not shy away from exploring new ways to use available technology. For example, he used a scanner to produce the series Spent, which turned out remarkably well. Also of note, the tools used were not exclusively for capturing images. Old hunting videos of his grandfather were used as a source for his work, not by capturing new images but by using images that had already been made and cycling the footage on different channels. From this source also came How to Survive Your Own Death, produced by corrupted data when transferring footage. These are examples of how compelling works of art may be produced when the medium is approached in new, creative ways.

An important element that was discussed about his work was the sense of place. In some ways, the use of space defined the "place". In another way, I thought the "place" was more of a place in time or in memory. The nostalgia of the past was an element that recurred in his work, which started with hunting videos of his grandfather. So much of the work presented during the lecture seemed to echo the element “past”, of hunting, or both.  

I found the timeline of his work interesting. From the work he discussed, it began with super 8 film of his grandfather hunting. Then he made portraits, with the land and the composition calling back to the films. Next, he focused on the land itself. This led to hunting structures, and shot gun shells as subject matter. When the series are viewed individually, it may not be noticed; but, as a whole it suggests something about the artist. To me, it suggests a fixation on the past and on the ritual of the hunt, which is very much linked to his Grandfather. 

 

Video: Nature Calls

It's All About Perception

There's a lot of activity to discuss. Over the last few classes there have been a variety of art projects, readings, and videos. The theme that ties it all together is the exploration of perception.
The movie Memento was interesting, but also surprising. The main character's perception of reality was very confusing due to his memory problems, but was also possibly fictional. I had previously considered the twisted relationship between reality and memory in my last post, and this movie expressed theatrically the very issue that I was questioning.
The in-class assignments explored perception in a few ways that were very engaging. I have used a viewfinder in the past, so I was familiar with limited perspectives of objects as well as viewing negative spaces. The chair/stool project was a new approach to representing an isolated part of a scene, and I was really pleased with the results. In another project using non-representational art with limited shapes and colors, we attempted to effectively express an emotion in our art work. Perception was key for the artist and the viewer to communicate, and interpretations were not always accurate. The most interesting project was the most recent. I have seen paintings that reminds me of jazz music, but nothing visual has ever expressed other types of music to me. Listening to different music in class and trying to represent what I heard in a visual way was surprisingly difficult. I have doubts that it successfully expressed what I heard, but it was a great exploration of synesthesia. I found a great short film about this disorder that I want to share.

From the reading by John Berger I was surprised by myself in that I had never considered how I think of old art. The chart that listed different places posed the question as to what location I thought was most like a museum...I did think of a church. That was the point in the reading were I understood the "mysticism" surrounding art that is brought up so many times. There is a sense of reverence in a church. No where else in the world do I feel the same level of awareness (being self conscious of behavior for example) and mystery (the mysteries of God, heaven, & many other aspects of religious belief). I also consider some churches to include art in sculpture, in windows, and in paintings; all of which I view with the same respect that I would give to art in a museum or gallery.

The podcast wasn't my favorite since I prefer visual over auditory, but it was still interesting. I had never heard about the role the railroads played in standardizing time, nor had I heard of scent calendars and spice timers... Apparently Yankee Candle sold a scented wall calendar in 2010, and I found a so-called scented calendar here (http://www.ahalife.com/product/119/scent-calendar/) but it's a wall calendar with scented candles. I found nothing regarding spice timers. I would love to see such things marketed simply for the novelty of it! Also from this podcast came a rousing group discussion on relativity and time, which is still a difficult concept for me. Somehow, time flows at different rates depending on the movement of the person/object/etc in relation to the surrounding environment?? I have perceived time moving faster or slower, but it isn't something I grasp as a physical sensation. I don't feel as though time actually has moved faster or slower, only that I lost my sense of it.

We also looked at some abstracted paintings where movement over time was expressed. On the left is a painting by Duchamp shown in the class which I thought best represented this idea. (The woman walking the dog was also a great selection, but I didn't like it as much.) The subject of time in abstract art reminded me of the work on the left by a digital photographer (Benedetti) which I came across due to my interest in the field of digital photography.

                       

Memory, Time, Reality

The second reading from Time and Ourselves by G.J. Whitrow explored how memory and time are connected. While the printing is old, and some of the ideas are outdated, I did find some of it interesting. 

The reliability of memories:
This was explored in various points of the reading. It seems fair to say that memories, or at most memories including mine, are not all that reliable. The older the memory is, the more the details become fuzzy. Some "memories" from my early childhood are so vague that I'm not entirely sure if it's a dream that I recall or a real moment from my past. If my memory is that distorted, even real events that I recall may have invented details and almost certainly missing details. So, what affect does this have on my reality? On pages 20-21, it is noted that it is sometimes hard to distinguish between the act of memory recall and an act of imagination. An example was given of a man who imagined an event so often that he later believed it to be a real memory. Is this possibly insanity, or an illness from old age? Is it truly possible to invent a memory? Perhaps I already have. I tried to investigate what areas of the brain handle dreams and which areas handle imagination and I haven't found a straightforward answer. I assume the two actions (dreaming and imagining) are closely related, and I take it for granted that some of my memories have a fictional component to them.

Time and memories:
According to the reading, we perceive time through memory and our awareness of past/present/future. Like many others, my earliest memories are the hardest to order by a timeline. It could be a possibility that our sense of time is strengthened as we collect memories with which we can define time; or, that the concept of time is learned and memories before that concept is established are naturally without order.
If we do perceive time through our memories, what is the cause of deja vu? This mysterious sensation that a moment in the present has occurred in the past which, we can almost recall from our memory... Maybe this is an act from our imagination. Maybe we have momentarily lost our grasp on the concept of time, causing us to confuse the past and the present. Does my sense of time affect my reality?

The sense of self:
"The concept of self is based on our recollection of experiences..." (P. 28) What defines my identity is the starting point of my reality. I learn from my experiences, and create my sense of self from the accumulation of my knowledge. What I deem important, how I prioritize, how I respond to various situations, how I view the world... these are the results of my experiences in life. What if I didn't remember my life? Would that change my choices? If I had learned to voice my opinions, would I become reserved? Would I even have an opinion?

I feel as though I might have a tenuous grasp on my reality. If my identity comes from my experiences in life, and my experiences are memories that are unreliable (or even fictional), then my identity may be uncertain. If my reality is tied to my identity, is my reality fictional? Or, if my dreams and imagination manipulate or create the memories that define my identity, do I invent reality?

TIME and ART

Time is a difficult concept to define, and the perception of time is more varied than I was previously aware of.  The music videos shown in class by Kylie Minogue (Come Into My World) and Cibo Matto (Sugar Water) both present the concept of time in interesting ways. After the reading assignment, I was able to make a few connections. 

The Kylie Minogue video gave me the sense that time was passing in a cyclical manner with time and dimensional space both overlapping. As the singer walked around and around, we could easily see the events of the past repeating in the present, in generally the same place. I quickly made a connection from this video to the cyclical concept of time from past civilizations described by G.J. Whitrow. For example, the Mayans perceived time as a cycle with recurring events every 260 years. This idea that events repeat themselves as time moves in a circular pattern offers predictability to the world that must have given a sense of security to people in the past. Even though I’ve heard the expressions “history repeats itself” & “if you don’t know/learn from the past you are doomed to repeat it”, I’ve never had the sense that the world is that predictable. My sense of time has always been linear, with no expectations of what the future holds beyond personal planning. 

The Cibo Matto video is a little harder to grasp. I imagine it best as time expressed in the shape of a V. From a single point (the car accident), time moved both forward and backward. There is also a sense of “history repeating itself” as time moved in both directions, while past and present events were synchronized.  But, as you watch the video, you can also see that time was moving forward between the lives of the two women which happened to intersect at that point. From this central point, one woman’s life is the past and the other woman’s life is the present/future.  The concept in this video reminds me more of the concept of time introduced with Christianity. AD and BC mark the passage of time from a single point in history, but remains linear. 

From the reading, I am familiar with everything Whitrow discussed but I can only relate my concept of time with the current ideals in this society. I do feel a sense of urgency in day to day life because of the idea that time is passing by. Like everyone else, I often feel like there is not enough time in the day. Sometimes, I also feel that the years have passed by faster than I expected. I can’t count the number of times I have asked myself “Where did the time go?”  

Other presented topics included a good review of some of the qualities that can be evaluated in a piece of artwork. I am particularly drawn to color because it can easily offer emotional overtones to a piece of art. Implied lines are also very interesting to me, but I often overlook it in my own art work. If it is present in any of my previous work it wasn’t intentional, but I want to practice including that element more in my future works. My favorite pieces for these elements are from Baroque period paintings, like that by my favorite painter of the period: Artemisia Gentileschi.

Art is creative human expression in a wide range of mediums, which is usually (but not exclusively) man-made. Just like beauty, art is in the eye of the beholder.