The Clinic

The Tower

Sometimes,

frustration can be a source of motivation.

I have been extremely upset with the way this project was going, and now, stuck between a rock and a hard place, I find some opportunity, albeit slim.

A small pinpoint of light, of hope.

Through the constant battle of my ambition and indecision, I often work myself into spots where I produce less than desirable results.  On the bright side, I am now in a position to finally take on a technique I have long been wanting to try.

*sigh*

here we go :/

The Shark

shirt from CreativeCommoners

So, after watching Rip: A Remix Manifesto, I have to admit, I was inspired and reenergized.  


Seeing how technology has advanced, and the impact it has made on our culture, in such a succinct and interesting way was quite refreshing.  Sure, I knew of how just a few groups own practically all the media we see and hear - but Rip also gave some historical background, and showed why this oligarchy feels threatened.  The impact of the internet, our growing digital culture, is given even more depth in this film. 


It was very interesting to see how and why copyrights came about in the first place, and how they have changed and been abused over the years.  One of the interviewees in the film made a point that I never knew about, and really align with: when America was starting out, the country would not honor copyrights of previous, foreign literature. The money that publishers made from selling various Charles Dickens novels, for example, was then put to good use by protecting and fostering domestic authors (e.g.: Mark Twain).  Nowadays, though, America is forcing other countries to take a reverse stance - our foreign counterparts have to honor our policies if they want to play ball, and that means that their own national artists, the next Chinese Mark Twain, will not have the same opportunities that ours have had.  As one Brazilian interviewee had stressed, sharing is essential for a culture - for survival, even - and I can definitely appreciate his stance.  


Aside from spurning me to go home and DJ for a bit, Rip also gave me some ideas as to how I might format some future projects.  Especially the bit about sharing...I really can see myself creating something that requires interactivity, where sharing is necessary, for the piece to be truly successful.  It might work aesthetically on its own, but I would like to challenge myself by enticing viewers to interact with my piece.  


One comparison I found interesting was when this new wave of consumer/creators making YouTube videos, musical mashups, etc., had been compared to quilting and other "folk arts" of the past.  It is kind of interesting to think of this stuff as such, as the folk art and hand-me-down techniques of our day and age. 
















meh.


who knows what the future holds.  
we'll see. 

Rip!

OKAY!

So, I went drifting off through the web, and came across this^ - I just *had* to post it, thought you guys might be interested ;)

More to come soon!

Back to data mining (>^.^)>

The Attic

Of all the things I've been tossing about in my head, there are a couple of themes that have caught my interest recently.  


One of the first things that jumped out at me - a motif I noticed a couple weeks ago, and immediately knew I could work with - was to investigate what happens to people in a crisis situation.  When the chips are down, the heat is on, and failure is breathing down your neck, what do you do?  I cannot say that I really thought about this as a project theme before, but it does interest me.  How do people react, what are their relationships and how do they change at critical moments?  When death is a clear and possible outcome, what goes through a person's mind? When does instinct take over, and what gets left behind?  I definitely feel like the relationships between people would be interesting to explore when pushed to their limits.  


Another theme I might take up, is the question of "what will the end of our world be like?"  I view this not so much as an apocalyptic, extravagant, and disastrous end, but an eventual and significant change in our cultures.  How will moral standards change, where do we cross the line, what traditions might we throw away? This theme has been more of a side-note, though, and can be tied into the aforementioned one.  


I am not sure how I will tackle these thoughts, but I do feel like an installation or sculpture/structure of some kind will be my method.  Actually, I also want to hone my skills in digital illustration - it is one medium that I have really wanted to use, but never got around to practicing during my time at UTSA. 
 :/

Truly, though, I may leave the installation/big pieces for Luminaria and the BFA show, and focus on Video Art, digital illustration, or some sort of interactive website/program.  
I think to help me focus, I may create a fictional storyline, world, and/or characters to weave throughout my work this semester. Examining the relationship between two characters will give me a starting point for each piece, whether it is an installation, video, digital painting, etc.  I can see myself taking pairs of characters like this, finding out how they respond to each other, and create an exaggerated manifestation of this dynamic.  

**EDIT**

 

I thought I'd post some examples of artists/pieces that have inspired me (Ernesto Neto, Tara Donovan, Elisabeth Higgins, et al.)
;)

"I Hate the Rain, I Hate the Snow..."

Having seen Ray Johnson create art and spread it through the postal system, it was kind of neat for us to do something similar.

Taking time in class to just let loose and collage together whatever we felt was enjoyable and, to an extent, necessary.  It was quite nice not to worry so much about this creation we are making.  The idea of putting things together and then sending them off on their way is quite interesting, actually.  What if we chose a random name from a phone book?  What if we chose a random name for our return address?  How might our piece that we mail out affect the person that gets it?  All of these questions and more were being tossed about in my mind during this exercise.

I think this was also a great chance to just play - which can be very helpful at times.  It allows one to just see what happens when one medium/element/technique meets another, and hopefully find something useful (or entertaining, at least).  As far as I am concerned, more of this playful exercise needs to happen in my art, in my life.

Hit The Lights!...

The best things in life are free.  

Really, though, I feel like the best things in life are improvised.  

Our performance at the Radius Center was not completely off the cuff, though - we had gone through a few dry runs beforehand.  The true beauty of the show, in my opinion, is when we all come together and play our various parts.  We run around backstage, toss light switches back and forth, bring random props onto and off of our makeshift stage.  When all is said and done, our show had gone well - plenty of people have shown up to watch, and several participate in our shenanigans, too!

Personally, I thrive off of situations like this.  No one can discount the benefits of some prior planning, but the uncertainty of what will happen, the mistakes we make, the happy accidents that help us out, and the thrill of seeing everything come together is what really makes me love performing.  

I must take some time to thank Ken Little, for pushing me to do my first Performance Art piece a while back, and Leslie Raymond for increasing my exposure to and knowledge of Fluxus artists, happenings, and the like.  Because of them, I am now confident in my live performance ability - whether it is in the realm of music, theater, or art, I am ready and willing.  

Red Rocks, Parking Blocks, and Dead Crows...

 

As many times I have been downtown, it never ceases to amaze me to find something different.

We split up into groups, grab our cameras, and head out.  With no destination in mind, we set off to follow wherever our feet will take us.  Along the journey, I am constantly snapping photos, capturing any little thing that catches my interest.  Not too far from the campus, my group suddenly slows down; they have stumbled across a dead crow.  We are not too sure how or why he ended up on the sidewalk, but there he is - reposed and complete with a platoon of ants marching away with his remains.  Carrying on, we come to a crossroads,"...rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Straight ahead it is, and onward we trek.

Amongst the various pieces of trash and metal structures with character, there are moments where the landscape opens up and indulges us with an interesting vista.  Storm drains, alleyways, and abandoned buildings are all unanimously surveyed with our cameras.  We also linger on instances of graffiti, odd street signs, and moments of flora overtaking man-made objects.

After traversing several blocks, the fates (and our stomachs) decide that it is time for lunch.  With a fresh round of Bill Miller's on our plates, we relax in the reverie of our journey.


(more pice here!)