Tuesday, February 12, 2008

I'm all shook up....

My brain feels like the inside of a snow-globe with thoughts swirling around. I wait patiently for one to settle on my sleeve for closer examination. Here is one:
. . . . Considerations about the GROUP PROJECT . . . .
  • The project must be "manageable", physically as well as time-wise
  • Consider referencing Andy Goldsworthy 
  • Consider using relevant "materials" that reference "our collective" commonality
  • Possibly books instead of rocks: source Salvation Army?
  • Possibly #2 yellow pencils instead of sticks?
  • Location of "work" is crucial . . . Who IS our audience 
  • Do we want them to: 
  1. "know"  something, 
  2. "feel" something, 
  3. "think" something,
  4.  "do" something
  • Example: A series of cairns made out of books with projections of images, sounds, or both, coming from the inside out????
    Another thought: If books... maybe each cairn has a colour of book..or are they painted? or covered in a specific colour of paper/fabric...?
     There is much to be known about the way colour affects. Maybe the sounds/images coming out would clarify this concept...Maybe they would all be white...and have white noise and white light....maybe not. WHAT CAN THIS MEAN?

Thursday, February 7, 2008

The Evening Begins

The evening begins with us writing. 
I like to write. 
I found that I felt
unconnected to the words
when the computer 
was invited
to create a poem 
from my words. 
Here is an example.
My Poem about my week:

Driveways 
Like to keep
You Home

Water 
Likes 
To 
Freeze

Houses 
Like To Feel
The Heat
By Burning Up 
The Trees.

This is what the computer came up with:

Endure calmly like a misty cloud.
Why does the whale die?
Why does the wave grow?
Waves rise like clear whales.
Death, Faith, and Faith.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is the poem I made from words from "page 397":

Themom

You certainly wouldn't 
Fire Mom
Would you?
He thought no man
could know himself
until he knew how important 
women were. 
They were more
 important 
than writing.

Now one about what it means to be human in a digital society:

Outside
I breathe in the cold fresh air
Inside
The computer slumbers
like the earth 
as it waits 
for spring.

Without me 
it would wait
 forever.

Diversity

Considerations about the conceptualizing of our [GROUP ] project:
  • We are diverse group. It would be prudent to consider what each of us believes we could bring to the piece. Off the top of my head I am not sure that I know what my strong contribution might be...but I do know that I see potential where others see none....so that might be something I bring. I can confidently say that I can't remember being bored.
  • I will suggest that each of us represents a new, unknown, "material"..... and that our challenge lies not so much in coming up with a concept, but in recognizing, and bringing into play, the potential in each of us, so that we are able to communicate a concept by utilizing what we know about ourselves, that actually translates to what we know about humanity.
Yippee Skippee! I think this might be the "Save The World" part!

Break on Through to The Other Side....

The long drive to school has found me pondering the oft posed question of what is Art and what isn't Art. Although I do acknowledge that there is a perceived difference in forms of artistic expression, I have strong intuitive feelings about putting limitations on creative expression that deny their value as Art.
I was delighted as I watched last weeks videos that showed me other ways to use my body and imagination to communicate ideas. Their daring efforts to convey and engage an unknown [internet] audience is an art form unto itself.
I don't feel that there is a "pat answer" to the "Art" question, but rather that the concept of "Art" is relative to the experiences and perceptions the Artist and viewer bring to a piece.
And so might I suggest that putting limitations on:
  • what is Art
  • what isn't Art
has the potential to stifle the creative process for each of us. It limits our perceptions of materials, medium, as well as our imagination. Instead why not encourage exploration and break on through to the other side by living life as Art.