I’ve got to say, I’m pretty sad to see this class come to an end. It was such a great mix of people, I took a lot away from it, and I got to work on some of the most enjoyable projects I’ve ever done. It especially opened my eyes further to stop-motion and pixellation, which I definitely intend to continue doing–I’ve got several ideas and plan to use my Christmas break to work on a couple new pieces. With this final critique, it was great to really see the variety of everybody’s work, as there was no specific medium assigned. As ever, there were some pieces that really fell flat for me, but I did notice that some people really pushed themselves to create something awesome, and I could tell that a few folks really stepped outside of their comfort zone in order to make something they might not have made ordinarily. Overall, I was satisfied with my piece, but I do wish I could have made it a bit longer…Perhaps I shall edit it a bit over break…And I’m still kind of kicking myself for misspelling “fuel.” I mean, really? Fuel? Feul? But oh well. I think part of what I really enjoyed about class was there was enough freedom with the projects assigned to really put a piece of myself into each one. Each assignment felt not so much like homework, but rather was both a pleasure, a chance to delve deeper into myself, and a therapeutic release. That being said, I really hope I encounter more classes like this one in my future semesters.
I’m a dumbass who can’t spell the word “fuel.” But enough of a smartass to realize it and attempt to correct it a la the magic of Sharpie. And just plain an ass for blogging about it. But here’s my final stop-motion piece. I’ve thought a lot this year about hope–How there’s that Emily Dickinson poem that says it’s “the thing with feathers that perches in the soul,” but then Nietzche famously described it as being the thing that prolongs the agonies of man. I honestly can’t disagree with either. While hope can be a beautiful thing, it can also keep a person stuck in a rut and when these desires or illusions become so great and hope falls apart, it can really hurt. So that was the concept I decided to bring into this video. On of my mom’s friends recently said that sometimes when you stop hoping for something, you aren’t necessarily giving up, but rather, opening your mind to possibility, a sentiment that sums up what I was trying to convey with this video perfectly.
Critique Response 4
So far this year, the end products of these projects were definitely my favorites to watch. Though a couple fell kind of flat for me, it was really refreshing to see how everybody affably (I feel like I use that word a lot–I’m sorry, it’s just such a good word!) approached what had the potential to be an awkward situation with a good sense of humor that really showed through in the videos presented. It was possibly the first critique that had my attention the entire time–For the most part, the pieces that came out of this project were hilarious, interesting, and insightful.
With my piece, I learned first off, even if you don’t like your idea, don’t change it three days before the project is due. That is a dumbass move. As someone who takes awhile to warm up to people, I was reminded that it really isn’t all that difficult to approach people, nor is it hard to converse with them–something I realized when twice, this project lead to me sitting down and sharing coffee and chatting with a few people while they sketched. Another girl who contributed hugged me goodbye when I left.
I think perhaps what intimidated the most about conducting a social experiment that required getting the public to create a work of art is this: Even when I have a clear-cut vision and am the sole force behind an art project, things never go according to plan, and it is rare that the end result is what I had originally envisioned. So if art is so unpredictable in my own hands, what would it be like in the hands of several strangers?
While it might be awhile before I do something like this again, I wouldn’t mind embarking on a project like this somewhere down the line. This project made me think of one summer when my sister and two best friends got obsessed with going on capers, and makes me want to plan more.
It’s a tad late, but here it is–my public intervention project!
Critique Response 3
So. Critique response. I’d have to say that this was definitely my favorite project this semester. Hell, it could very well be my favorite project in my entire school career. I’ve always been intrigued by stop-motion and pixellation and had been wanting to try it for a long while, but being someone who seems to have recently lost her sense of self-motivation, it took having it as a school assignment to actually push me into starting and finishing such a task. But man…At the moment all I want to do is make more stop-motion. I’ve got loads of ideas, and have started story-boarding a few of them, so hopefully these will be projects that actually get finished.
But I’m off-topic. Sort of. Anyways, I felt that the critique went pretty well. I was pleased that some people actually felt something when they watched mine, and as always, it was very interesting to see everybody else’s different interpretations of this project. I really need to get better about speaking during critiques though…I feel like whenever I do, it’s right as someone else starts talking, or I’m just too zonked in the mornings to be able to make connections or put my opinions into words…
So here’s my finished stop-motion piece. While there’s a lot more that I wanted to do with it, this is my first project this semester where I’ve actually been relatively pleased with the outcome. My only qualm is that people will read it into being autobiographical…I kind of feel that people got the impression with my self-portrait that I’d been really crushed by some relationship, which was definitely not my aim. But whatever, here’s the video!
And this…is the horribly mis=matched pairing of my video portrait with my sound project. My sister was with me when I put it together, and we were pretty entertained…Definitely like the Arcade Fire/Radiohead version better. When I put the audio project over it, the sound just kind of hangs over it like some ominous dark cloud of what the future could hold…Brrrrrrr…
Critique Response 2
In the couple hours leading up to the reveal of my cat-lady track, I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty nervous. What had started out as “YEAH! This is disgusting! Perfect!” turned into “Oh no! This is disgusting! Damnit!” the more I heard those damn tarry-lunged coughs…I feel like “tarry-lunged” could probably be the Patty and Selma-ish older sister of “starry-eyed.” Seriously, that last sentence sounded way more Shakespearian than I intended.
But anyways, after watching everybody elses’ videos, which all felt so complex, precise, intricate, and sometimes downright terrifying, after shaking in my boots for those two hours, I finally just thought “Whatever. Let’s get this over with,” and got up to play the clip. And then while it was playing, I couldn’t help snickering. Maybe it was the nervous energy, or just those ridiculous meows, but either way, I was trying pretty hard to hide my amusement. I was even more amused…and surprised…and relieved when I ended up getting essentially the reaction I was hoping for–Overall, people seemed to like it, albeit find it disgusting…Someone to the point of saying it made her want to throw up. While I definitely did not want to make anyone actually throw up, I won’t deny that I’m glad that I made someone want to. I was also pleased when someone said that the whole What-If-I-Become-A-Crazy-Cat-Lady?! fear was very relatable. Glad to know I’m not alone on that one.
10 plays
What did I tell ya–here be the track! I’m pretty pleased with how it’s turned out, but right now, it just grosses me out. It was spawned by a long train of thought while smoking a cigarette and thinking somewhat worryingly, as most people tend to do, about what I’d would be like when I’m my mom’s age. This of course lead to several thoughts along the lines of “What if I’m that bitter, nagging, drunken housewife like Elizabeth Taylor in Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf??” or “What if I end up in working in one of those office buildings with *gasp!* cubicles?” and finally, gazing warily at the cigarette in my hand, “Oh my gosh…What if I’m that chain-smoking, hermitish cat-lady that lives all alone in some run-down tenement?!”
So that is how I came to spend my weekend sitting in the parking lot of my apartment with my computer, trying to produce the most disturbingly hacking coughs I could muster while recording such efforts. At first, as I listened to the playback of these clips, my initial reaction was “Psh…These coughs aren’t that bad…I’ve heard nastier! These won’t disgust anyone! Oh well…”
Ha…no…after sitting and listening to those clips, spliced up with the pleading mews of an army of cats, and “This Devil’s Workday” by Modest Mouse (and if anything screams “I’m creepy and live all alone in a festering, roach-encrusted apartment, possibly in Ohio, or maybe Detroit” it’s that song), it’s safe to say I’m pretty grossed out. So it’s namely for that reason that I have some trepidation about showing this next week. But I did have fun making it…Normally, I like all my work to have some kind of beauty to it. This piece is one of the first truly nasty things I’ve ever made.
Project Progress
I was going to try to use the title as an opportunity to be witty and down with abbreviations and whatnot by combining the words “project” and “progress” and then I realized that they pretty much already are…Unless I wanted to be awkward and say “jectgress,” which just wouldn’t work.
Anyways. After a firm and stupid belief that this piece was due on Tuesday this week, which lead to a late night spent finishing the project in the internet-having confines of my mom’s house in Franklin, which lead to me speeding back to my shady internet-occassionally-having apartment in Nashville for a couple hours of sleep on Monday night, this piece is for the most part done. I’ll probably have it posted on here by the end of this class after I get a few more little details worked out.
I’ve gotta say, I’m getting a little bit burnt out on this piece. It was fun to make, but one can only listen to themselves cough for only so long without getting repulsed.
That dubious statement will make a lot more sense in a couple hours. So will this one: Meow.
