New Project

Looking forward to the new project I'm excited and nervous.  I spent almost two hours on and off writing directions for the next project.  At the time I was set on a video.  Looking at identity once again.  Examining aspects of my identity.  Last time I feel like the painting I did had a lot of parts of who I am, but not going deep enough.  Something that I've realized during the past five months is my ability to use escapism for everything.  I use it for thoughts, relationships, friendships, family complications, medical, etc.  Instead of facing problems I find a way to escape it and I feel like my first project was just that.  Instead of showing me, I showed the wall I use to keep others out.  So I wanted to delve a bit further.

But delving further is straight up hard.  Literally I have pages of scenes and what I want to focus on for the film.  But when I went to record some, looking at the footage I didn't like it.  The ideas were very similar to what I used to do in high school with friends, but without another person to help film it doesn't feel right.  I was considering possibly going back to Fayetteville to shoot it and recruit some friends to do it, but then I realized almost everyone will be away until after the semester ends.

So I think that particular film idea is out.  Its okay because it was starting to depress me and that's a great way to ruin a project quick.  My next idea came to me in biology class today.  We've been studying installation and performance artists lately in Contemporary Art History lately.  (Which I have right before my biology class.)  I was listening to a lecture on pathogens when I started doodling a space.  I was thinking about what I would do for my senior exhibit for Digital Media.  (Even though its not til a year from now.)  And I was thinking what would be funny.  Then I thought what if I brought in a trunk like object that a human could fit into.  I could put two tapestries on either side of the trunk, hanging from the ceiling like curtains.  The tapestries would have digital images I've made printed on them, kind of like a hazy collage of photos of friends/digitally manipulated photos/artwork/etc.  (Much like the digital art printed tapestries Jeff Murphy uses.)

 The surrounding images are basically an example of photo manipulations I'd use.  They are all images of me because that's what I feel comfortable displaying at this point.  I'd also use plain photographs from my past, but I would blur these and probably gray them out depending. 

But yeah, my idea for this project is a proposal for this idea.  Something that I feel like our art department doesn't prep us for is leaving the university and what we will have to do once we leave.  I mean your last semester you finally make a business card and possibly a website.  You're supposed to all of a sudden become established artists in one semester?  But that gets onto a different rant.  My point is if any students are looking towards doing residencies after college they need to start researching them as soon as possible.  I still have a year and a half but I'm starting now.  And I'm trying to think of what I want my 'statement' to be.

For this project my statement would surround memory.  I don't want to give away too much, especially without illusrtations, but the trunk would be used in a performance piece opening night.  Once that night is over it would be used as a tool to expand and evolve the art piece.  Meanwhile in the gallery memories would be spread throughout it.