Project 4 Link and Artist Statement

 LINK

 I met my boyfriend on the internet about four years ago, and our means of communication throughout the years has changed accordingly; from emails to texts to video chatting on Skype. The latter was a major turning point for our relationship, I believe. Although we had been dating for about a year before we were capable of that sort of interaction, we were limited simply to text and voice interactions. I was aware that physical reference and appearance was important in a relationship, but I didn’t fully comprehend it until I could finally see my boyfriend’s face for the first time, in person. There was something almost magical about it. I have a whole slew of new things to say about him. All of the wonderful physical traits and speaking mannerisms and body language that he has have become an important part of my image of him. He lives in California, and many times the distance between us is extremely disconcerting. It’s hard to have someone you are close to, and being limited to a detached form of communication the majority of the time. Even with the fantastic technology of being able to see and talk with someone in real time, it doesn’t change the fact that he goes away when I shut down my computer for the night.

            With this project, I wanted to share with viewers a sort of similar feeling that comes with being in a long distance relationship, both in the communication method, and the overall emotions that accompany the whole affair. I recorded a few snippets of the chat sessions I have with my boyfriend over Skype, and made it so it appears the viewer is the one having the conversation with the person on the other end. I recorded both myself, and him, and switch between the two perspectives intermittently. You cannot hear what anyone is saying, however, so there’s an air of ambiguity, and maybe a sort of discomfort to the fact that someone appears to be speaking to you, but you are unable to hear them. This parallels to quite a few of the emotions I feel regarding the distance between the two of us: there are many things we are incapable of doing the majority of the time.

            But the video is not silent. I recorded myself, and had my boyfriend record himself, monologuing about how we feel about our respective partner. The personal, and sometimes somber, words juxtapose themselves frequently against the rather jovial images of ourselves. In a way, it shows the complexities of our relationship, and how, in the end, we are happy with where we are and where we are going.

Yes Men Inspired Performance Piece - Exercise

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This piece is a sort of more satirical look at the themes the Yes Men explored; the ideal situation in an unnecessarily conflicted issue. Basically doing what's obviously right. Their Dow Chemical piece made the company into even more of a bad guy by making them come out and say they wouldn't follow up with all of the humanitarian promises made. Mine kind of makes the people and the government of this country look and feel similarly.

Project 4 - Expanded Idea Draft

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Project 4 Draft Clips

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All of my clips are included in this one video.

Project 4 Proposal

For this project, I wanted to attempt to explore the emotions and turmoils that accompany my long-distance relationship with my boyfriend. This was the idea I first started considering when I thought of a performance piece. Actually, this was something I had wanted to explore with the other projects, but found other ideas that seemed to work better at the time. This relationship is probably one of the more important things in my life, and the fact that I'm passionate about it is reason enough to make it a convincing theme. The only problem is how I plan to make a convincing performance piece using him as the subject, since we communicate mostly through text and video chats. But I think this could be a very effective element in conveying my message in the piece. I want to explore and share the difficulties faced and the patience one needs to have to handle a long distance relationship. I would want it to be a quiet and subdued piece, perhaps with some narrative included. Focus would be more on the emotional quality, conveyed through simple images and musings of the people involved. Visuals would probably include just the two of us staring at one another over video chat, overlaid with dialogue from our talks, perhaps discussing a singular topic.

Another one of my ideas is a bit of an alteration of the previous one. This would focus more on the negative aspects and purported "doubts" that come with being in a long distance relationship, as well as all the worries and troubling things that have come with my own personal experience. My boyfriend as seen over video chat would be the sole visual, with my own visage not included this time. My own voice would speak in an endless stream of my thoughts and worries and all the hurdles that came up along the way, before ending on a light, positive note.

My final idea is something different from the previous two. I wanted to take my love of drawing and maybe do a real-time illustrative representation of significant events of my life. Using either traditional media or drawing in Photoshop, I would either do simple doodles or one elaborate drawing that figuratively or literally represents what I will be speaking about. Like my other ideas, a narrative voice would ambiguously explain my thoughts and emotions over the events that are being recounted. The visuals would entirely be the sheet(s) of paper or document that I am drawing on, as well as my hand with the drawing implement. I am leaning towards making the drawings a variety of things, and metaphorically or symbolically representing what is being said.

The setting would  most likely be my own room for all three of these ideas, since my computer is located there, and not much room is needed for a single sheet of paper, if that's what will be used. Since these will all most likely turn out to be info-dumps for my life, they'll probably turn out to be a few minutes long, if not a little longer. Actors would be myself and my boyfriend, if I go that route. Though I said that most of the visual interactions would be very subdued, sometimes with not much going on at all, I'd like to include some poignant moments. Perhaps inclusion of body language shifts, or other non-verbal fluctuations of emotion. I wouldn't need much in terms of props if I was going the boyfriend route, and just some drawing tools and sheets of paper, or just my tablet, would be necessary for my third idea.

I am very open to any changes and suggestions, since this all pretty open-ended. I'm still quite unsure how everything will be implemented and how exactly I want to get my point across.  

The Red Tapes - Response

-What are the different voices that Acconci uses when speaking in the work and to what means? What characters does he embody/perform? 

Throughout the piece, Acconci varies his voice between three different personas: a frantic, disjointed voice that rattles off snippets and words that connect to one another, a narrative voice who remains fairly monotonous (and disembodied, along with the previously mentioned frantic voice), and the reflective voice that is used when Acconci himself makes an appearance in the performance. The first voice spews out an exhaustive stream of connected, singular words, and seems to be a vocal representation of the unconscious thoughts of the character in the performance, being said as they are felt and perceived by the brain. The second voice relays a poetic, but similarly disjointed story in a very narrative-driven way. Sometimes this voice accompanies visuals, and sometimes it speaks against a blank screen. It remains emotionless, and seems to almost tell the story from a different perspective, especially compared to the first voice. This voice includes the use of sound effects, but they remain similarly monotonous, giving them an uncanny feeling. The third voice appears when Acconci acts in the performance, and though it seems somewhat similar to the second voice in content, there is a deeply personal connotation to everything said then. Acconci seems to embody that of the "outsider" character in general, the description of the video mentioning revolutionary, artist, and prisoner. He plays the role of those "different" folk, and their perceptions of the events and of the world accordingly.

- Locate instances of nationalism as well as lone individuality in the work. What do references to nationalism “do” or emphasize with respect to our understanding of the story.











There are frequent visuals that allude to the idea of nationalism, such as maps and an American flag. And Acconci's dialogue and narrative speak of a variety of capitalist and industrial themes, such as his, in very basic sense, reference to automobiles and his lamenting of the confinement he feels from his existence in this country. The many allusions to war and death and the hints of revolution are also highly nationalistic themes, speaking in terms of personal response to the aftermath of a war. The phrases of "no country" and "we the people" make this a singularly American piece. As Acconci is supposed to be representative of an "outsider" figure, he presents the events and developments of the world, from industry, to political assassinations, in a sort of detached way. His character feels overwhelmed by the world. In a way, these references to American nationalism make this something of a relatable performance, and entices the viewer/listener to pick out recognizable events or emotions from his narrative. And the idea of the "outsider" in a political, nationalistic environment further conveys the thought of people who go against the norms of the society. Prisoners, revolutionaries, and artists are frequently known as those who are against the so-called social norm of their culture.

- How do the formal strategies (the look and how different elements are put together) of video, still  photos, painting, film, and performance contribute to the content of the work? Provide specific examples. 

Although the narrative included in the piece seems to have quite a few emotions being conveyed, the visuals that accompany it are very serene and some seem to have little connection to the words being spoken at the time. The talk of strokes, which seems to be in relation to painting and art, imposed over the images of a progressively aging man, appear to be unrelated to one another. The talk of war while visuals of maps and landscapes are being presented make the subject of the narrative more apparent. And the blatant use of American symbols quite obviously direct this as a criticism of the political and social situations of this country. Though at times Acconci's narrative gets rapid-fire at times, overall his words are fairly emotionless and betray little of the heaviness of what he speaks of. It evokes the feeling that these are the private musings of someone, and the tone betrays a sense of isolation and loneliness. This is matched by the typically empty shots of pictures and paintings of  landscapes and buildings. 

- How do you ultimately understand the narrative or story of this work? Please describe.

There is definitely a story to the work as a whole, but it seems disjointed and taken out of context, what he describes. This looseness relates it to a person's subconscious thoughts, and gives the performance a very primal, emotional feeling, despite the fact that words are used more than the sound effects. I interpret it as the musings of someone witnessing events as they happen over time, and trying to understand what results from existing in an ultra nationalistic, capitalist society. They witness war and death and feel the isolation that comes from living on the fringes of society.    

11/19 In-Class Exercise

It was a very calm and relaxing state that I fell into, but it reminded me of how tired I was. How tired I always am. I'm pretty sure I looked the part during some of the exercise. The gaze was somewhat comforting, and I found myself zoning out sometimes while looking into my partner's eyes. It was difficult to think about anything other than the situation that was going on; any potential thoughts just seemed to peter out, and I was sucked back into the present moment. Time went by very slow. I didn't really feel sad or too emotional. But I did consider the fact that this was probably the longest, singular time someone acknowledged me. I've always kind of kept to myself, and it was a little strange for someone to be looking at me for so long, all at once.

I did feel a connection to my partner, and it felt like we were feeling the same things, almost. I wish I was better at reading other people. 
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 For the second exercise, I thought a lot about my name, how I've been feeling lately, and the kinds of things I'm interested in. It all kind of came out as a mess of scribbles that look like a crying monster.

Project 3 Critique Reflection

Once again, I was very happy with the responses I received from everybody. Everyone seemed very enthused and interested in my final piece, and I was elated to answer all the questions and hear what had to be said. I was a bit upset that some of my sounds didn't play in the studio space, however, I realized that it was my fault: exporting using different channels muted some things on a few tracks. I'm lucky I figured it out and got my original version uploaded as well. But even though the original wasn't the one that played during critique, I am very happy with how everything sounded. It came out as atmospheric as I intended. If I were to improve this piece, I'd probably add a few more subtle transitions, though I still want to keep it a bit abrupt. I would also play with the sound levels more, and test it out on a variety of speaker set-ups. Tweaking a few of the monster roars would also be a priority, to make them a bit more suited to their specific soundscape. But overall, I believe this project came out a rousing success.

Project 3 - Set-Up Diagram

In-Class Video Exercise 11/12 - Lydia and Zoe

LINK

Project 3 Draft Feedback

I am very happy that everyone says I have managed to convey my Lovecraftian vibe as intended. And I will definitely take all of the suggestions to heart; this can only be improved further. I do plan to include more organic sounds, especially since I plan to do something of a three-part soundscape with differing themes for each. I also want to put in more recorded voices. Nothing involving a story, and maybe even not being completely relevant to the subject. I think the more out of context these voices would be, the more unsettling the piece overall will become. And though I do like the disjointedness of everything, I will try to have the sounds meld together a little bit more. At least the ambiance. Overall, the feedback was a great morale-booster, and I'm excited to expand upon my ideas.

Draft Sounds

LINK

For the most part, I'm sticking with my original idea as it plays out, considering things seem to be going well as this point. I just need to work on stringing everything together right; I don't want it to be harmonious, but instead want it to be fairly disjointed and somewhat uncomfortable to hear. I am also planning to add more voices to it, using recordings, mostly. And though this draft is fairly uniform in its sounds, I want to add a couple more soundscapes, to sort of mimic a travel through a space. Perhaps have a loose theme for each one.

In-Class Exercise - 11/4/14

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdNAGXXB23o

-Hypersonic energy pulses
-Reverberating screeching and growls
-Ambiance of wind
-Gunshots
-Footsteps of the character
-Alien, animalistic calls and chirps
-Beeps and other associating sounds of interacting with the menu
-Explosions and blunt force impacts
-High tension music - contains electric guitar and percussion
-Glass shattering
-Electronic beeping
-Voice of the NPC - giving the player directions and adding dialogue
-Screaming
-Bugs in the background
-Thumping steps of the robotic aliens
-Echoes of sounds against the metal roof and other objects
-Breaking wood
-Repetitive whizzing of the flechettes from the aliens

Harn Faculty Show Extra Credit - Two Piece Analysis

Nan Smith - "Mercury"

This expansive piece is constructed so it takes up quite a bit of room on the floor of the gallery. What looks to be a sculpture or mannequin-like figure of a woman is seated on a wooden bench, washing her feet. Next to her are bars of soap. In front of her is a rectangular space with the image of a clear stretch of water placed on the floor. Within this space, huge figure eights of graphite colored, identical toy cars loop around with the symbol of Mercury painted on their hoods. Nondescript tuna cans are interspersed throughout this space, and are on the bench next to the girl as well. Looping around with the cars are long lines of models of fish of varying sizes. One of the fish is coated in what appears to be mercury. And finally, behind the seated figure of the girl, three banners hang showing amalgamated photos of swimming people, fish, etc. to form something of a cacophonous representation of the scene presented physically below.

This piece is obviously an environmental message, and is commenting on the cycle of pollution caused by humans into the water, and how it eventually comes back around to harm us in the end. Specifically, the pollution is mercury emissions from cars that drain to the oceans, where the fish are poisoned and contaminated. These tainted fish are caught, regardless, and packaged up to be sold as food for humans to consume. So in a way, as we ambivalently poison our oceans and fish, we're simultaneously poisoning ourselves. The idea of mercury emissions comes across from the Mercury symbol present on each of the cars, and the fish that happens to be covered in a metallic liquid representation very similar to it. The figure of the girl on the bench, washing herself, is representative of humanity cleansing the environment and themselves to hope for a better future.

The cyclical forms of the fish and cars are very effective in showing the endless loop of contamination that inevitably occurs each day, and the sheer scale of the piece highlights the importance of the issue. The looping figure eights of the cars and fish also give a sense of entrapment, kind of like a whirlpool. The fish can do nothing about their predicament, and there's no stopping people from using and constructing cars. Though the subject and message should give a very negative connotation, I like the positivity implied by the artist with the bathing girl, and that we have the ability to change everything.

Bethany Taylor - "Runoff Verdure"

A verdure tapestry (which is a traditional tapestry woven to typically depict landscape scenes) hangs in the center of the gallery wall, but remains incomplete. The image on the tapestry looks to be a forest or swampland area, but the final quarter of the piece remains as a basic guide for how it is supposed to be finished. The threads that have yet to be woven into this section are instead trailing off to the sides, and looping around themselves to form figures that hang adjacent to the tapestry. These figures include mostly animal and animal skeleton forms, the skeletons of humans interacting with objects such as boats, and objects that represent or allude to plant fertilizer and pollution.

Another piece commenting on the impact of humans on an environment, the tapestry represents the picturesque, ideal landscape that the location should be, but frays entirely at the ends and forms the figures of the suffering and dead animals, and the skeletons that represent them. The depiction of human skeletons shows that it even affects them after everything is said and done, and like Nan Smith's piece, our recklessness and ignorance comes back to haunt us later on. Specifically, this piece seems to be about fertilizer runoff from crops, and how it poisons the water and kills the fish and animals living in the area.

This is a very elegant work, and is a strange juxtaposition against its message. From a distance, it almost looks like the forms made from the individual strings are just very artistic representations of the animals and people that live in the location the tapestry depicts. But when you view everything up close, you see that they are actually decayed skeletons and suffering animals, and the blatant imagery of a fertilizer pump and farming equipment drives home the environmental message. The incomplete tapestry starts to look like a work of sabotage after you see this. Perhaps it has already been finished, but humans came along and tore it all apart, forming these unsettling figures.   

In-Class Exercise 11/3/2014 - Zoe and Lydia

We each did our own pieces following each of the rules.

Our Rules: Change voice pitch (high, regular, low) each time you read a different statement in any piece of text. LINK

Their Rules: In a speech or piece of text, replace a word each time it appears with a vulgar sound. LINK

Project 3 Draft Concept and Sounds Link

When H.P. Lovecraft wrote his stories of unfathomable cosmic horrors and unexplainable, strange goings-on, he was considering the rapid advance of scientific discovery at the time, and how it simply opened up new, and potentially terrifying mysteries about the universe. As more is explained about our world, more things that are unexplained surface in response. What of the possibility of other dimensional planes? Or entities or experiences so incomprehensibly horrifying and out of our range of understanding, that we could go mad just to think of them? Humans like to simplify their world-view as a natural way of living fairly normal lives. If we sat and pondered the mysteries and potential horrors of the universe, we would indeed find living a stable existence quite difficult. Despite our intelligence, the human race has a fragile sense of reality.

I want to explore with this project that sort of otherworldly existence that may be reality somewhere, in another time, and maybe in another univese. The sounds of a different dimensional plane; perhaps one that is incomprehensible to a mere human. Where you can hear the tiniest atom vibrating against its neighbors, or the sounds of the cosmos whooshing through the infinite nothingness. And maybe even the presence of eldritch horrors would create a warping, disturbing mess of foreign noise. This is something of a difficult concept to really convey using simple everyday sounds, so for this project, I'm going to take the sounds I find and warp practically all of them to create something uncannily familiar, but disturbing and very different. My plan is to give listeners a glimpse into a reality somewhat like our own, but nonetheless terrifying to witness. 

Sound Pieces Link

Time Based Media 10.29 In Class Exercises

Zoe Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/zoe-wilson-groark/zoe-sounds

Lydia and Zoe Collab (BIG MISTAKE): https://soundcloud.com/zoe-wilson-groark/meme-me-up-scotty

Four Sounds In-Class Exercise Link

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Project 3 Exercise 1 Soundcloud Link

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Project 3 Brainstorming and Sound Clip Links

For this project, I wanted to do something a bit more abstract than my previous ideas. I don't really want to give the impression of a specific place through my sounds, but rather a very vague, universal feeling that accompanies the sounds being portrayed. Perhaps something that can be interpreted as a different place by different people, but conveys the same feelings to them. For example, something that causes anxiety can be different for various people, and they would imagine varying scenarios.

My main ideas focus around the sensation of eeriness. Not cliche eery or creepy, like groaning houses or grinding meat, but something more psychological. I'm just trying to think how I will pull this off. Perhaps repetition of unsettling noises, putting in unorthodox sounds, and distorting everyday, recognizable things could effectively make an uncanny auditory landscape. Superimposing comforting sounds and noise over uncomfortable ones could also be very effective; it's a neat idea to experiment with contrast. At the moment I'm getting back into my love for all things Lovecraftian. I adore the idea of things that exist that the human mind is incapable of understanding or comprehending, and of dimensions with inhabitants so horrible that it would drive humans mad just to glance at. Obviously this is extremely difficult to convey with...earthly sounds, I suppose. But it would also be interesting to experiment with the perception of the extra-dimensional. Of something inhuman and distinctly alien. It would be an exciting challenge making everyday sounds sound not of this world.

Sound 1
Sound 2