Identity Project

Reaction to Emily's Final

Description of the work: Emily's video was aesthetically pleasing. The angle of the canvas she painted on was enjoyable because it was easy to view and it allowed for a view of the background which showed had peers entering in and out of the frame as she painted. I would've liked to have not seen her paintings prior to watching the video so I could have a sense of wonder before actually seeing the end product. Emily's choice of video was appropriate since she wanted us to see the evolution of the paintings. The editing was well done and the video had an overall lighthearted mood which I enjoyed.

What drew you to the work?: I enjoyed how Emily chose to bring us into her personal studio space. Her choice of space was one aspect that drew me into the work. The fact that she was energetic and honest in her presentation of the work also enguaged me. The clarity of her explanation in addition to her confidence made it easy for me to focus on what she was saying rather than how she was saying it. In other words good teaching peformance.

What distracted you? One thing that distracted me was the condition of the wall the video was projected on. A white cloth over that section would have made the video much cleaner to view. Another distraction was the confined space in which we were standing to view the piece. I understand a studio space is really difficult to set up for spectators. I'm wondering if it would have been easier for the class to view if it was projected onto a small screen in front of the window so everyone could stand just outside her specific space.

BIg Ideas: The concept of our reaction to our environment as a part of our identity. She focused on the relationship between our perception of our environment and how we deal with it.

My Interperetation of the work and presentation: I interpereted Emily's concept as a thoughtful and proactive approach to teaching art.

Did you connect with the work/presentation: I connected with it because I'm interested in art therapy and I also tend to force myself to do things I'm afraid of which I think is a great way to grow as a human.

Implications for teaching, learning or art making you draw from the work/presentation? Yes. Emily was thourough in her thoughts on applying this project to future lesson plans.

Fine Tuning the Identity project

I've been trying to channel all my thoughts into basic ideas and I think I'm closer now. I think I'm going to portray 3 different aspects of identity. I think I'm going to have a projection of my face inside the box or my whole body in the box's space. That will be me within myself. That will be the first section of the performance. My transition from that to coming out of the box will signify my adaptation to the outside world/ social survival. No one is truly themselves when others are around. We adapt to one another. For instance, if we are going through a personal hardship within ourselves we can't be completely forward with how we're feeling to the rest of the world. The last part of the performance will be how others see me. Originally I was going to portray how I think other's see me but I think it overlaps too much with how I perceive myself so.. I will basically leave the last part up to the audience to decide. These are the bones to my piece. It will continue to change and grow.

Throughlines on the Pedestrian piece

1) In what ways does scale affect perception?

2) How can the context of a piece make it sucessful or hinder it?

3) How much control do artist's choices have on the execution of the piece? For example if spectators choose to be interactive with a piece that isn't meant to be viewed in that way, can it still be considered interactive?

Final Performance "Adaptation"

Lots to think about.. I just fine tuned my idea and feel much better about it thanks to teacher's help. My piece will be performative. It will involve a box, myself, and a projection, possibly spoken word. My concept is adaptation. I think its amazing how humans and other life forms are able to adjust and survive through extreme situations emotionally as well as physically. Often times when one thinks they wouldn't be able to survive through a hardship like the loss of a loved one or an unexpected pregnancy, more often than not, they push through. I was thinking of portraying this idea by using a box just large enough to fit my body into. The box would be a symbol of my personal situation/environment. My being in the box will be my restriction to my environment. There may be a projection on the outside of the box as well as in it. I may enter this space, having the projection onto me showing I am emersed in a situation. I would chose movements/ activities to do within the boxes space. Although it may seem as I should be uncomfortable performing these tasks, I will perform it as though I am functioning normally. My normal seeming reaction to the space will signify how we have to perform a certain identity in every day life. We often put off as though we are more ok than we are in order to function socially. If we cried in public everytime we were upset, people would be really uncomfortable with that instability. And we would probably have no friends. I'm sure there will be changes to come with this proposal. This is the base I have to work off of for now. The next step is to search for imagry that will lead the form.

Presentation in the Rubric

The section of the rubric I would like to focus on is presentation (live/action) The presentation calls for the role of the producer. I consider this section the performative chain of events. This section should run smoothly. The artist should know where the spectators should be to view the piece with clarity. If the piece is interactive, spectators should be directed as what is expected of them so confusion doesn't interfere with the concept's delivery. Concept overlaps the live action of the piece. Effective presentation should help to clarify the concept of the piece.

Identity Project

The word adaptation comes to mind when I think of identity. I'm interested in how humans and living things adapt to situations in order to survive. I was thinking of portraying this in a performative medium. One idea I have specifically is acting out an every day activity such as writing for instance while contorted in a small space such as a box for example. The function of the box would be to shape a confined space. There would be no significance to the actual material of it. The confined space would symbolize the discomfort life has to offer from time to time. Sometimes the weight of life can cramp us but we still have to keep going and appear as comfortable as possible for social purposes. The new media aspect would be involved withe the documentation of it.

Identity comes in many forms. How we identify ourselves can be completely different and often times is than another's interpretation. I was thinking I could have a loop of a projection consisting of images reflecting my own interpretation of myself as well as how I think others percieve me. The images would be projected onto me. I was thinking of also adding spoken word to define the concept further.