Chris Burden

Wow, Burden's work was pretty interesting to say the least.  When the movie first started I didn't want to give the guy much credit.  I first learned about him with his shot in the arm stunt and didn't think much of him.  The college art world (at least to me) if filled way too much with "shock value art" and artists trying to stand out so they do whatever they think hasn't been done yet or would really shake viewers.  To me your first thought in art making shouldn't be, what hasn't been done yet?  Or I'm going to make an art piece that shocks everyone!  It should be more of what you feel or about a message you want to portray... but then again, thats all my opinion.

But as the movie progressed past calling Chris Burden a genius scientist (which I thought was ridiculous) and actually showed and explained more of his work, he slowly grew on me.  I understood more of the scientist comment after seeing him do problem solving type activities associated with his artwork.  How he explained his piece with the nickles with the matches on top was a cheap way to make it work but then quickly assuring the camera man that wasn't the main reason why he used them made me giggle.  Definitely an interesting character.

Red String

 While trying to think of how to go about my project I decided to just get out into Reedy Creek park and do some walking.  I brought my video camera and some red string with an idea in mind, but honestly what I ended up with is not what I expected.

Professor Rothrock left a few questions and comments on my last post.  She pointed out that the topics were heavy and questioned how I'd touch upon them.  Suggesting symbolism and sounds. 

As I arrived to the park I immediately noticed the sound of leaves and gravel crunching underneath my car.  The wind was also very active assisting that sound.

I drove around for a while looking for a good spot to start.  I found one near the Nature Center with a large rock marking the entrance to a trail.

I took my roll of red string and left a piece in my car and just started walking towards the trail.  My idea was kind of like Hansel and Gretel and how they left a trail so they could find their way back.  The story touches upon child abduction and not trusting strangers so I thought it would be a good touch point.

 After leaving a trail of string throughout the park I ended up finding a spot where I wanted to weave my main installation.  I started with a simple weave with spaces inbetween.  (The photo to the left was after I walked back to the car and retraced my steps the second time, collecting all of the string and finally hanging it up in the tree.  The simple weave will be seen in the film.)

My idea with the path of string points to the Hansel and Gretel story, our connection to disconnection, and for me memory.  I will expand upon these ideas the more I work.

Pre-Environmental Project

I'm not entirely clear on what I will do for my project.  I know for tomorrow I will bring my video camera and SLR along with a roll of red and black string.  In the beginning I wanted to do something with people.  Maybe gathering as many friends and participants as possible and bring them out to demonstrate numbers.  But now I'm changing my mind.  I also had the idea of touching upon the idea of missing persons.  Since the finding of my friend's remains in a wooded area I've had a bit of a fear of woods.  Or rather a fear of what I might find there.  Paired up with you can't walk through heavily wooded areas anymore without the risk of being abducted or bothered, its something I want to talk about.  I don't want the project to be depressing in any way, maybe just a comment on the fact that this happens or why as humans we allow it.


Below are stats taken off of MissingKids.com

The U.S. Department of Justice reports

-  797,500 children (younger than 18) were reported missing in a one-year period of time studied resulting in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing each day.
-  203,900 children were the victims of family abductions.
-  58,200 children were the victims of non-family abductions.
-  115 children were the victims of “stereotypical” kidnapping. (These crimes involve someone the child does not know or someone of slight acquaintance, who holds the child overnight, transports the child 50 miles or more, kills the child, demands ransom, or intends to keep the child permanently.)

Its disturbing in many ways.  I also wanted to use this in relation to the park and a nature area because I somewhat feel like we need to get back to nature to heal us of this perverse problem.  Purely my opinion, but I feel that we've become so detached, so disensitized while living in a society ruled by images, that its no wonder some of us have lost touch and gone bonkers enough to abduct a child or commit a vicious crime.  Of course its not entirely that easy to chalk it up to that, but I do feel like its a contributing factor.  If we could get back to nature, notice while walking the sound of the rustling grass or crunching leaves rather than the music we are blasting on our Ipods, cherish the fact that we can still feel the cool biting breeze rather than ignore it and hurry to the heated building.  Enjoy digging in the dirt again like we did when we were kids.  I think it would help heal many of our problems.

Even if I don't address the missing persons issue, maybe I'll address the disconnection problem I think we all face or have faced at one time...

Christo and Jeanne Claude

Hm, what to say about the umbrellas.  The idea was definitely a visionary one.  Aesthetically they were beautiful in a way, definitely making the landscapes they graced something to take a double look at, but I have to question if they were worth it.  Two lives were lost, many teams of hard workers had to put them up, take them down, try to put them back up in storms, take them back down, etc, and many on the team were treated horrible by Cristo and Jeanne.  Now I will acknowledge that everyone volunteered for it and probably had an idea for what they were getting into, but it was a lot of trouble it seemed.

I really would like to know if the documentary just made Jeanne seem that self centered and maniac like.  A lot of moments he was captured in was not a good light for him.  But I've never met him so what kind of judgement can I pass...

The project just took so much time, energy and even lives.  I would like to know if the artists felt it was worth it.  If the viewers thought it was worth it....

Andy Goldsworthy film

To me Goldsworthy is a type of crazy genius.  But when I say crazy, I literally mean he's a bit off.  But thats not a bad thing to me.  I think he thinks in a way most of us don't, and the creations he comes up with because of it are fantastic.  The way he made his ice sculptures from hand and didn't use gloves amazed me.  This is stating the obvious but ice is cold, it hurts terribly when you hold it for a while, so the fact that he would continuously touch it and mold it for his artistic vision, I have to give him props.  I think thats why when I read about Shuckman's work and saw how it was written intensely in his favor I was a bit turned off.  Comparing Shuckman to Goldsworthy put Shuckman in an odd light. 

Goldsworthy continuously goes out and makes artwork that many people see and critic, but he just does it because its his artistic vision.  (Or at least thats why I think he does it.)  Shuckman kind of shies away, catering to one person and only focusing on that person.  Feeding his one and only audience with the terms he wants them to use, almost brainwashing him with an idea of how great the work is.  Am I becoming too harsh on this one?  Let me back off and go research Shuckman so I'm not a complete jerk about him.

Skip Schuckman and Besty Damon

Skip Schuckman p. 34

Beginning Questions:
1.  Does he do all of these pieces by himself?  Does he have any help?
2.  Does all of his artwork take place outside in nature like Goldsworthy does?
3.  How did he get those stones to stay in the cave like piece?
4.  Are all of his materials from nature?

Ending Questions:
1.  What other projects has he done?
2.  Has his style/artistic vision changed at all with the ongoing years?
3.  Is he a bit self delusional?


Besty Damon p. 356

Beginning Questions:
1.  From the photos it looks like she does wide scale outside pieces.  Are they related to landscape in any way?
2.  What medium did she start out with?
3.  Does any of her projects touch upon addressing environmental issues?

Ending Questions:
1.  Is she somehow involved in all of Keepers of the Waters projects?
2.  I ask this a lot, but what has she been working on lately?  Has she made any advances in her artwork that she really likes?
3.  How does she fit into the U.S. art world?  (As in do many people know her in the art community and acknowledge her as an artist?)

Consumption: Project II

My project for consumption revolves around the idea that consumption can be positive and needed to live, or like a monster overtaking the consumer.

My idea stems from the idea that consumption can be like a monster.  Growing up I've seen a lot of friend's lives ruined with consumption.  Your classic alcohol or drugs, or even greed.  Four years into college I've met some new close friends and I'm still seeing how consumption can effect their lives.  Alcohol becomes a necessary tool to function in society.  (I've even seen this in myself within the past year.)  Street drugs help them feel a happiness they can't feel anywhere else.  Prescription drugs help them not struggle with chronic pain but destroys their inner organs.  Consumption for them is a monster.

However, I also see how consumption helps.  By the consumption of healthy foods, or really food in general, plenty of fluids, etc, a person can remain healthy.  Just for me consuming enough calories each day is hard but a necessary and rewarding task.  Something that I found when keeping track of the things I consume was how much paper I use each day.  I use it for assignments, printing out notes, test photos, jotting down useful notes, planner, working out thoughts, writing poems, etc.

I chose to make a type of constum for the project.  It will represent a type of Consumption "Monster".  Italicize monster because I want it to not be clear if it is a monster or not.  Just like no one can clearly define consumption as good or bad.  The base skirt type thing will be entirely of recycled magazines and papers representing how much I use daily.  It will also be made of ads that we see everyday.  Ads telling us what we need to consume.  The mask will compose of cardboard from item packaging I use daily, bottle caps from the drinks I've drunk, among other recycled items.