Final Project Ideation

     Unfortunately my inspirational videos aren't available for download so I've just linked them here.
     I'm interested in working with time lapse photography for this project whether exclusively in photographs or with video. Going off of the last project where the subject was the body after death, I'm interested in recording the decomposition of birds. Earlier I found a small dead bird and have been wanting to work with the bones, but would have to let it decompose first before being able to use it.
      I think this project is a good opportunity to get started on that while also using the process of decay to my advantage. I'm thinking of comparing it to the decomposition of another object, maybe a leaf or food item since as we consume we also destroy.

Earth

 I absolutely loved this video. It's obviously not something I can really strive to do for this project since it uses footage shot by NASA, but I love how intriguing it was. I kept wanting to find out more, to have the planet keep turning, and show what auroras and thunderstorms look like from a distance. It's interesting because it's something we know happens and have seen from one angle, but the change in perspective and distance makes a huge impact.

Melancholia

This video mostly focuses on environments, but the periodic panning of the camera is intriguing and well handled. Although I know special equipment is needed to move the camera that way while still maintaining a steady image, I'm interested in the process nonetheless since it may be possible to improvise using makeshift gear.




Requiem

Manipulation of time and music are useful to reference in this video since I've previously had issues with joining sound and visuals cohesively. I think for this project I really need to sit down and explore my options in terms of audio and end on a strong note.

Final Project Ideas - "And the Countdown Begins"

For my project I want the audience to feel slightly overwhelmed so I want to use the multi screen effect similar to Doug Aitken's "Altered Earth" piece. For the theme with my piece I want to show the passing of time. I want to use my personal photos from the past couple of years but I also may include a recent time lapse video of a rose withering.

I want to use images to show the passing of time. If you have ever transferred images from your phone to iPhone you see a quick glimpse of each photo as it loads. I was transferring about a years worth of images and it's just amazing how you could see and understand the passing of time.

Christoph Rehage does this with his project when he was traveling he took images along the way and you could just feel the passing of time. My video will be like a countdown timer but instead of number counting down you see images.

My computer is always slow and lagging so when I transfer photos to iPhoto the images all pass at the same duration but then it would just pause because the program would freeze. This inspired. I want to pause the video on important images. I also want to have a portion when everything gets dark and flashes and is just extra overwhelming. ICE-ROD uses this quick overwhelming feeling in his "Epilepsy Collage."

A similar project that uses images to show someone's personal life with the passing of time is Angelo Merendino's work "My Wife's Fight with Breast Cancer" images are below. It's a mans story that is shown through blogs and photography, but you can get the understanding just by looking at the photography. It show time passing and it is also very personal. Some of the images I have include something similar with images of my grandmother and her battle with cancer this past spring. I'm thinking about the title being "And the Countdown Begins."

Project 4 Ideas

YOKO ONO CUT PIECE by TECHNOLOGOS

For my experiment video I am most inspired by Yoko Ono. Specifically her performance art. Above is a simple performance piece that she did where she let random people in the audience cut her clothes off.  She said that "if half the people didn't get up and leave during the performance than she was not doing it right." This is because she wanted to create some type of emotion in the audience. She wanted them to react even if it was in a simple way. I'm also intrigued by her personal life with her daughter going missing and than of course her and John Lennon, she was a very interesting person to learn about.

Of course I'm not going to let people cut off my clothes but I'm thinking about doing a very short performance that will somehow make people react. I'm quiet sure what the performance will be. I'm still questioning and brainstorming. Like all familiar things can be abnormal and surreal, but how?

Fluxus movement started around the 1960s and had a dadaist attitude. I also have a big interest in the artist who use mixed-media and humor in their work. This movement was the anti-art. Fluxus encouraged a "'do-it-yourself' aesthetic, and valued simplicity over complexity." This is the route I want to go with my work.

I had ideas right now both involving self degradation or self degrading thoughts and screaming them out loud in a public place. But Su help inspire me to simplify it into just screams. Me with help from my friends will go into public places like the grocery store, bus, turlington, etc. and just simply scream. These are everyday places that I go to and I will try to experience then in a new light. I am really interested in peoples reaction. Yes, I know people might think I'm crazy but I'm really excited to make this project. I will also explore how each crowds reactions are different. I will use multiple cameras and people to help me bring this project to life.

Fluxus and Video Experiment

Fluxus was a movement of artists that sought to blend different artistic mediums and approaches to make art for "everyone." The movement served as a rebellion that desegragated art, making it available to those artistically "non-educated" individuals.

As far as the direction of my project, I'm not sure where I am headed. This will be determined by more research. Depicting everyday things can be a broad subject, and truly honing in on one of the aspects is something that I continue to explore.

Project 4: Experimental Video

After I read a little bit about Fluxus movement I could think more about my project 4 idea.

Starting from the principle that "everyday can become art, and art become everyday"I imagine two options for my project 4. 

The first is about emotion. What people feel and what the good feelings they have when they do what they like. For this idea I can work with a friend of mine, she sings and acts, and I can take many shots of her.

The second idea is talk about the different beauties in everyday life. I was imagining that some shots for different types of beauty, and what is beautiful for one person, can't be for another one. The main idea is to capture many personal expressions, like: laughing, singing, crying...!

I am not 100% about this ideas and I have to talk with Su.

Project 4: Fluxus and Ideation

The Fluxus movement is an "anti-art" movement dealing in areas from literature to urban planning that created an international network of artists from various fields and combined their disciplines in order to open up the definition of art. It combined the work of the revolutionaries from culture to politics.

     "Under the leadership of George Maciunas. Fluxus staged a series of festivals in Paris, Copenhagen,
     Amsterdam, London and New York, with avant-garde performances often spilling out into the street."

Fluxus came about through a series of concepts explored by John Cage, a composer of experimental music in the 50s. It was also hugely influenced by French artist, Marcel Duchamp, who had previously been active in the Dada movement. With his work made of found objects, he eliminated the need for artistic ability in order to create what we qualify as art.

For this project I'm interested in working on the idea of shoes and how we dress for the weather. Recently forecast will say there's a chance of rain, so you'll wear boots (like me today!), but the day is entirely clear and cloudless. The same thing goes for the opposite where it will appear sunny but then you have to slosh through puddles and walk through wet grass. The idea is entirely relatable but can also be comical as the Fluxus video was today, especially if it includes some audio of the subject protesting about the weather. So I'll most likely take shots of someone walking in wet shoes, walking in shoes with dirt in them, etc.

Project 3: Sound Ideas

For my sound project I would like to explore the idea of overlapping sounds. I'm not 100% about what sounds I want to overlap but I was thinking about showing different clips and pieces of the sounds that I hear and make throughout the day. It would be kind of like a montage/time lapse sort of video because it would be everything I heard throughout the day except it is shortened into one video. I would try to show more than one video at the same time, including all the sounds from each video playing at the same time also. You will see up to 4 scenes being shown at once and you will also here those sounds that relate to the scenes. I'm hoping it will turn out to be like a collage of sounds/clips that combine and flow together. I'm also hoping the viewer can relate to some of the average sounds. These normal sounds when combined create rhythm and are turned into one extraordinary piece of work. Above is an example of the split screen effect I plan to use to create the overlapping of video. Except it will have all the sound of the videos you are watching playing at the same time and overlapping. At some point I want all the videos to stop and just have the overlapping sounds. I will also be playing the single sounds with a blank screen so the viewer can know how to relate the sound with a visual.

Project Idea

     For this project I was considering videotaping a variety of things such as eggs cracking, objects dropping, tires squeaking, and replacing their traditional sounds with opposite sounds. For example if something soft falls, the sound would be replaced by something heavy. I'm not 100% sure that this is the project I want to go with, but so far that's the idea that I like most. I'm definitely open to suggestions, so if you guys have anything to add, drop a comment :)