Final Video

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Cul_vid_meedle_final

Abstract Sound

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Abs_sou_meedle

Abstract Video

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abs_vid_meedle

Performance Art Stop Motion Video

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Overall Video aspect

Contemplative Video

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1:30

Work in Progress

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Cumulative and Research Video Draft

Theme Sound Light is...

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Theme sound (topic light)

Final Blog Review

1) What is the most surprising thing you learned about yourself as you worked with Time Arts, 
whether it is a new interest or an old interest made new?

I learnt that I have a lot of creativity and creative ideas that can be used to create interesting and controversial projects to illuminate people’s awareness. An example of a project I did that reflects this is the performance art piece. In this piece I used a common action of throwing down and picking up garbage to symbolize how people are neglectful of their actions reflecting the environment and that everyone’s actions are and equal and opposite reaction and without raised awareness this repetitive cycle of harming our environment will never end.


2) Write a short narrative of where you began in Time Arts, the
 conflicts you faced, and how you resolved them.

When I attended my first Time Arts class I was intrigued by the meaning of the class. After watching some example videos I was convinced that I would not be able to succeed in the class, as I did not believe that I had not only the mindset but also the creative ability to be able to provide what was needed to survive and prosper in this class.  You can only predict my nervousness when I handed in my first official project. Completely unsure if what I had created was something of artistic value. However although my first project although containing many flaws was still of value, this encouraged me that I could prosper in this class however, if I put more effort into trial and error. The main thing I learn about myself and from my conflicts with my projects is trial and error. You will never know if something is complete until you push it that bit too far and then you remove it and say "its complete". 



3) what was the most challenging assignment for you? In what 
ways did that assignment challenge you? What assignment came most naturally to you? Why?

The most challenging assignment was the Final Video. The reason for this was because there was no real direction. From being in high school it almost feels as everything is directed and has outlines and guidelines. Although some of the precious projects were very open they still had limitations, the only limitation this project really possessed was that it was not to contain music. Another aspect apart from the ambiguity was once I collected video, what sound was I suppose to connect to the project? It much easier, in my opinion to create a project that already has sound or an image rather than going in, as they say "blind".

The project that came most naturally to me was the theme sound. I believe it was the most natural because, one our previous experience with our abstract sound projects (so our understanding of sound studio and M-Audio recorders was much more knowledgeable) and secondly it was something I was passionate about, my theme, light.


4) what ideas about the creative or critique process from Time Arts can you imagine applying to your future major?

When creating art in the past I had never really exercised the advantage of have a critique group or having someone else looking at your work. From this class I have realized that having other people look at you pieces in the creative process can add another level of meaning or simple illuminate elements of your piece that do not makes sense, or are a little hazy. In the future I plan to be an art teacher. As a prospective teacher when assigning projects to my students I will most definitely have a critique group at the end of all their projects so that they can see where they could of improved and help them learn to change those corrections.

5) What technical skills have you learned?

I have learnt many technical skills whilst attending this class. To begin with I have learnt how to use equipment from the cage. Items such as an M-Audio recorder and a basic video recorder. In addition, I learnt how to use iMove 2009.


Extra Credit Question:

6) Have you learned anything about facilitating or
 participating in a creative group?

Participating in a creative group is very effective in growing and advancing ideas. Alone one person could have a great idea but as they say "many minds are better than one". In my future artistic endeavors I most definitely plan to always get my projects critiqued.

Peer Crit: Emily Whipple

1.     Does the video maintain continuity by editing for graphical and rhythmical relationships to create successful transitions among different image frames? Give examples of this using a minimum of 5 screen shots that move us from frame to frame. Provide a written description with consideration of at least 3 of the following:

 This shot above is the first frame present in the video. This frame acts as a contrast for the frame below as the video transitions from this frame above to the frame below.

 This frame is after the one above (as mentioned before) it resembles a change and an increase in amplitude in the piece. This also sets the scene as many of the images in the abstract video are distorted and edited.

This picture of inside the washing machine drum is flickered with the color distored image above. The flickering is a graphical representation of how the music in the video is rhythmically performing.

In the piece above are one of four images that use the Ken Burns effect to focus in or pull away to match the rhythm

Finally here is another example of a Ken Burns effected image. In the video and in this frame the camera zooms out appearing to be walking away or backing up.

All of the pictures seem to posses an element of yellow, white and some sort of light beige (cement coloring). This allows there to be a connection between the pictures even though they do not necessarily connect in context. 

The shots in the video that use the Ken Burns effect are very effective in connecting the picture and the sound aspect of the assignment. However, the middle portion of the video had clear connections between sound and the images but the changing of the pictures was not as effective. I believe that if the pictures flickered a little more to the ambient sounds it would have been more effective.

Finally I believe that the piece has a good amount of image exposure. For all of the images Emily used there was not one image that was over-used or under used, this also allowed for another element of balance.

2. Does the video include non-linear structures (i.e. structures other than linear narrative)? These might include acausal structure, list structure, and cyclical/circular structure? Please describe the structures within the video.

The piece contains a list structure repeating similar images. The images in the piece are all paired with different particular sounds. When those sounds are played they are always paired with same image, creating the list structure. There is one sound like a "dunnnngggg" and Emily used a Ken Burns effect to appear as if the audience is moving in the picture. She repeats this with a few of her images, this repetition of effects is also an example of list structure. It can be seen at the frame below.  
3. Does the video modulate in pace so that it has sections of slow and fast time? Please describe this in terms of constancy and variation over the course of the entire work.
At the beginning of the piece the sound is slow as if it was transitioning into a faster pace and Emily illustrates this very well by changing the effect on her first frame. This adaptation makes us feel like there is a transition similar to the music which is transitioning. The next frames are flickered like to represent the background sound which allows the viewer to visually see the speed up in the music. Emily does a good job of showing the changes of pace in the piece as there are many variations in her music choice. She creates a sense of structure throughout the piece by using the same images with their paired sounds. Therefore, even if the piece speeds up or slows down it is easy to follow visually.

4.How does the artist break patterns to avoid monotony? Give an example.
The images in themselves are similar but different in what they represent. This alone creates something that is visually appealing and interesting. When creating projects like this it is tempting to choose images that all tell a story or have something in common. However, the fact that Emily's pictures do not all fall in the same category allows her to avoid the problem of monotony in her piece, so therefore even though the images all represent a sound it feels like they are all different.

Video Training Series...

http://witnesstraining.wordpress.com/3-film/tips-for-filming/

1.     Name three techniques you can use when trying to shoot steady shots without a tripod.

a. Bend your knees

b. Pull your elbows in

c. Try to avoid "hose-piping"

2.     How can you minimize camera shake when walking and taping?

Focus on one area best with a wide shot and if you feel the need to change the shot quickly move the camera and then stay focused on that area. 

3.     What camera movements mimic the way the eye moves? 

Focusing and un-focusing mimic what the eye does when looking at an object close or far away. When an object is close, that image will be in focus and the background will be blurred. However, if you focus on the background the foreground image will become blurred and the background become in focus, resembling how the eye moves. 

4.     Why is it important to consider how long you remain on a shot and how quickly you move the camera?

You should at least shoot for 10 seconds to create good raw footage. Also it is said that "stable still shots are the best shots". If you move the camera too much it can create a nauseating feeling similar to that of hose-piping which is not as effective as keeping the camera still.

Concept brief...

What is your research topic?

 Light

What research will you do?

For my research there was two areas which I looked into. The first was article given to me by Anne on the Sensory Deception: Lab Mice Can 'Smell' Light  which illuminated the ability to cross senses. Secondly the Vogue article "Light Fantastic" by Leslie Camhi (march 2009).

This article discussed the Techno-sculptor Leo Villareal who creates futuristic installations that involve thousands of blinking LED's. 

What is your idea behind your piece?Why is this of interest or of importance to you?What will it look like?

Being that light is only experienced technically through 1 of the 5 sensors, I wanted in my project to illustrate that light can be experienced in different sense (for example through sound or kinetically). I also in my piece want people to think about the way that light effects our lives. My first sound piece I asked 30 people what they thought light was. Some people took a spiritual direction and some people took a more science approach in describing light. I then took 5 recordings of different people reading those 30 adjectives and placed them all at different amplitudes on the same track. This created a somewhat chaotic by synonymous feeling to the audio piece. This is important to me because I think idea of attempting to cross senses is fascinating, and I love the challenge of approaching light at a new angle.  For my final project I had many ideas of ways in which I could approach my project. One way  decided upon was to take a day to night video of the sky. This would show the circle of light and how it effects our lives everyday, how its lights up the sky. This would be followed by a commentary audio piece. Another idea I had was to follow along the same idea but instead of speeding up the footage of the sky, take footage of a melting candle, showing us that light doesn't last forever. 

Mindmapping... ☯

Abstract Analysis: Part Two

Part Two: Comparison of Formal Characteristics with Mass Media:
Survey movies you know and love. What one to three minute excerpt of a movie, video, commercial, game…can you find that shares at least one dominant formal characteristic with the video you just critiqued? Make notes of the comparison on your blog and be prepared to make the comparison in our critique next week.

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

Apple Ipad commercials

The piece appears to have the same rhythmical structure as the Pogo piece. It starts off with a simple sound or collection of generic sounds (in pogo), displaying pictures to match however, in this case word support is needed especially as its a commercial.

The piece then progressed with the addition of a key element, more sounds.Like here with the addition of the piano.

 The piece is also similar to Pogo's Gardyn piece at the beginning when images would changes when a new sound was introduced. The same idea has been constructed here with the flickering of new Ipad images when new sounds are introduced. Below is an example of a change in picture and an addition of a new sound (in a screen shot).

Here below also there is a addition of a new sound.

Then finally the piece almost creates a circular motion and ends with same note it began with, emphasizing the Apple logo and the title of their new product the Ipad.

Here a circular structure is also created through the images, similar to pogo's piece. At the beginning of Pogo's piece the focus was him tapping the things to make sound and ended with the tapping of the pot. Here it starts with the Ipad name and ends slightly different but still white and black and still possessing the Ipad name.

Abstract Video Analysis: Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBN-CAhOYQ0

Gardyn

 

1. Does the video maintain continuity by editing for graphical and rhythmical relationships to create successful transitions among different image frames? Give examples of this using a minimum of 5 screen shots that move us from frame to frame. Provide a written description.

These screen shots were taken from the beginning 40 seconds of the YouTube clip. The screen shots progress continually and each time a new sound is added a new picture is displayed to match the sound making the video flow rhythmically. These shots are extremely successful as it displays a visual represented for the audio that is in the video. Without this represntation the sound in the video piece would not be as substantial, as the greatest quality of this piece is its ability to create something extraordinary out of ordinary items; like the bush, wood, shovel, door, bell and cement.

2.Does the video include non-linear structures (i.e. structures other than linear narrative)? These might include acausal structure, list structure, and cyclical/circular structure? Please describe in detail.

In the beginning of the piece it appears to posses a list structure as the only visual we are presented with is the bush, wood, shovel, door, bell and cement. However, as the music dynamic changes synonymously so does the structure of the visual representation. When it changes it varies to a more of a narrative piece. It does this with the introduction of the mother and you see her shoveling, planting, talking and sitting petting her dog. Another element to pay attention to is how towards the end of the piece the sun begins to set, which also implys something coming to an end, like the day, like a story. There is also a circular pattern. At the end of the video focused on just the drumming of a pot which was the same as the beginning of the video when the person was brushing the bushes.

3.Does the video modulate in pace so that it has sections of slow and fast time? Please describe this in terms of constancy and variation over the couse of the entire work.

It does modulate in different paces. As I mentioned above the beginning its very fast pace as it is mimicking the rhythm but as it changes in structure the pace changes to become slow and then in the end it speeds up again, to also mimic the circular narrative.

4.Can you see the artist paid careful attention to changes in graphical layouts and rhythmic repetitions in relation to the audio patterns that occur in the sound track? Given an example of how patterns of sound and image work together 

Sound and image work together when it is a direct picture and sound connection between the two for example at the beginning with the rustling of the bush or even the bell. Another example is when the audio posses less noises appearing it to be quieter and more relaxed, it shows a short clip of his mother petting her dog.

Well apart from the obvious numerously mentioned structural changes
5.How does the artist break patterns to avoid monotony? Give an example.

He keeps the piece from sounding monotonousness by changing the speed of the piece, the addition of the spoken word in various areas and finally the actual video clips. As mentioned above numerous times the changing of the speed has effected the piece enough so that it does not allow monotony in the piece. The next example is the addition of the voices which adds a change in tone and adds a different timbers to the overall piece. Finally the video clips, all though all of the sounds are repeating only some of the images are repeated and even some clips are only displayed once. 

6.Did the artist try abstracting at least some of the images beyond recognition a.k.a. wreck the images? Give examples.

There are no "wrecked" images in this piece. Just simple focus on Pogo's mother and the subject her "Gardyn"

7.What additional formal aspects are emphasized in this video? Analyze the following:

    •    Color temperature(s) or degrees of black and white contrast

The color composition of the piece appears to be warm with not to many blues but more yellows and warm sky's. 

   •    Graphical layout and composition of frames (the 2D layout of the picture)

The layout is constantly changing from the focus being either in the center to it being on the left or right side.

    •    Proximity (closeness of camera to subject)

The camera angles and the proximity of the camera to the focus point are close up an focused throughout the entire piece. In a majority of the frames there is one focused subject that the piece focuses on. Even though there are different shots of the bush compared to the more larger landscape pieces there always seems to be one centralized focus.

    •    Pacing

At the very beginning the pace starts slow with just one sound and progressively gets louder with addition of more sounds and voices. The addition of these elements creates a almost fast pace, until some of the sounds are dropped to isolate the voices and that then creates a feeling of a slow pace.

    •    Repetition

Apart from the obvious repetition of the "generic" sounds and their visual co-parts there is a repetition of what the voice is saying in the piece. Even though we are unable to understand the voice, the voice has a good harmony within the piece.

    •    Sensitivity to lighting and shadows as graphical elements

Being that the setting is outdoors there are bound to be shadows naturally from the sun. This however, does not create the illusion of darkness but more of warmth (as mentioned above). The sun creating its progression through the day, the same as the video progressing towards the end, is further shown by the setting of the warm afternoon sun.

Three things November 12th

Today we learnt:
+ Graphical Editing
-edit frame bases on visual patterns within the frame
-color
      degree of focus
      closeness/ proximity
-what stays the same with what changed
+Rhythmical Editing
- editing using rhythmic patterns or breaks
-visual and auditory
+"power lies in appealing to sensory perception (intersection of mind and body)"
-like how pogo gardyn moved the audience can see the affection in his piece 

extra session.. mon nov 8 2010 7-8pm

RIM
Recognize good first steps ( sit and listen
Intuition and analysis
Marriage of form and intention
-(form) different sound structures
-(intentions)what are you trying to do? and why it matters to you.. and to your audience?
-its about feeling emotion

SOUND STRUCTURES
Voice as an instrument
bicycles
Montage
audio word for collage, bits and pieces, formal relationships,
Documentary sound( sound space)
List
Narrative
Linear narratives- begining mid end, intro, conflict, resolution
circular narrative begins and ends in the same place (physical, same point, situation) tell the same story from different perspectives
list then (i love music b/c positive things)
acausal narrative- opposite of a story that has a cause and effect (momento)

then puts a narrative here with he 3 best
n-l-l-ln-l

examples:
bicycle
list
montage
voice
story
crash squealing

Joan Jonas
talking girl in canada

Appliances
went around a kitchen in the 60's and played all the appliances
to symbolize the lack of human interaction over taking of machines

ubu.com
analyse it in formal terms

20 credit, sound piece on i-disk
845 thursday

Brainstorming

Police officer: How can we install better lights in suburban areas?
Lady gaga: How can i incorporate light into my outfit?
Easter bunny: How can i use light to find easter eggs?
Obama: How can light inspire change?
Abe Lincoln: What makes you think light skin is better?
Bush: how can I light up the mood as a country during the war?
drug dealer: how many colors of the light spectrum do you come across during an acid trip?

Class notes for October 29th

Vision

+What they are trying to do

+Inventory

-Expertise/ lack of/ gaps= opportunities

-Skills

-Commitment

-Money

-Chancellors award

+Stories

-Relax creative brain comes out

-Narratives

+Need

+What do they want from us?

+History

+Preparation

-any information/free imagination/sensory input

+Percolation

-incubation

-ideas come from

-day dreaming

-running

-shower

+Illumination

-distracted

+Does not include

-functional and fixedness

- self-censorship

unusual juxtaposition

+Translation

-putting in the hard work to make idea realistic

-inventory

extra credit decorated musical instrument ♫

Three Things October 22nd 2010

1. The first thing I learnt in class today was to do with the editing of sounds on Sound Studio. To be able to edit most efficiently the best way to do that is to go to insert and scroll down to insert silence. This allows you to better manipulate the sounds.
2. Another thing I learnt pertaining to Sound Studio was how to add tracks and still be able to identify the difference between left and right. After you add one track the indicators of left and right disappear. However, when looking at the tracks you can see that the odd number as always the left side or speaker
3. Finally the last thing I learn also related to Sound Studio was how to adjust pitch and tempo on certain sound fragments. Firstly you go to filter and you select the application to adjust pitch and tempo or even you can change the volume by adjusting the amplitude.

Extra Credit...It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ☀

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia "Beatbox"

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

Advertising

Attentiveness and Perceptual abilities/ Concepts and Formal Analysis;

            In the piece there is a lot of abstract sounds like grunts, shh sounds and high-pitched noises (for example wohoo). These sounds are all complied together to create a rhythm which sounds like someone almost beat boxing. This piece is interesting as there are multiple ways to actually listen to the piece. On the one hand you can pay attention to the individual sound and here their individual properties. Or, you can almost unfocused the sounds and allow yourself to pay attention to the whole rhythm and compilation of the piece. The only thing that I disliked about the piece was towards the end they used some words and I believe one of the reasons this piece is so effective is because it shows you how you are able to create a piece without words; and by simply adding words it makes the piece not as strong.

Interpretation Knowledge of Contemporary Sound:

            In this piece the singers or noisemakers are the main actors in the TV show “ Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. The noises they make in the piece are also symbolic as it relates to their character in the actual TV show. The woman figure for example, she makes grunting and sexually connotated noises, this reflects her character in the TV series as a free spirit who is sexually detached from all of her inquisitions.

Critique

            The implications of this piece are that as an advertising campaign they appeal to our musical side by using a popular formation of music, beatboxing. This is also racially ironic as African American’s, usually performs most beatboxing that takes place. This also connects to the TV series as the show is manly complied or ironic, racially stimulated and crude.

Knowledge and relevance: 

In opposition to the Lyre bird idea which possessed ideas of showing contrast in natural and industrialized environments, the best way to create a sound project relevant to this TV series would be to also show a contrast but now instead make it more on a controversial topic such as race, gender and sexuality.

Lyre Bird ☼

1. Attentiveness and Perceptual abilities:

From listening to the Lyre Bird you hear the amazing ability this bird has to imitate the sounds in its surroundings. Not only can this bird imitate over 20 different species of bird but also other sounds such as, a camera shutter closing. It was also mentioned that the Lyre bird reproduces these sounds to attract potential mates.

2. Concepts and Formal Analysis; Interpretation

 The Lyre Bird makes a variety of sounds form bird calls to a replication of man made objects in order to appear to have the most complex song. In the beginning of the YouTube video the bird sings sounds similar to the kookaburra, which posses a strong rhythm and a low-ish timbre. The second sound that I remember the most was the chain saw; it was so realistic it was hard to believe that it was actually coming from the mouth of the bird. That sound had a very low tone but had high volume and a large pitch.

3. Knowledge of Contemporary Sound:

The Lyre Bird is imitating these sounds from its environment to attempt to attract a potential mate. In the YouTube video the Lyre Bird is standing on what looks like a dirt mound, which he makes his stage to perform his sounds. The sound maker (the Lyre Bird) chooses to  “sing the most complicated song it knows” in order to attract a mate. However, this bird does not only sing songs that pertain to the animal world but also to our industrialized human world. Towards the end, the Lyre Bird makes noises of a car alarm and a chainsaw chopping down trees. This is important as it shows how this bird’s home/ habitat is being overtaken.

4. Critique

As mentioned above toward the end the bird branched out of its normal animal-like sounds and adopted the complex sounds of man invading the environment around the bird. The implications of this are that from these noises we can see how mankind is affecting these animals. By people overtaking this animal’s environment and threatening this existence they are enviably raising the potential levels of extinction simply by eliminating their homes.

5. Knowledge of how contemporary and historical time-based works influence individual, the earth and cultures and relevance:

I believe that a good design for a media project would be to follow the example of the Lyre Bird. Here a beautiful amazing creature with the ability to meticulously replicate sounds of birds and other things in its environment; and from this we can see how it is being threatened. The situation of the bird in its natural habitat, unharmed, is then contrasted by the sounds of men working on chopping down trees. This contrast is what I believe would make a good angle for a media project. An Idea that I brought up in class was the idea of how Walmart is considered a big threat to small business’s in small towns because of their cheap prices the competition is just to strong to beat. The concept that we developed in class was to potentially if a Walmart was to be build, play naturalistic music in the background, to represent a contrast, a contrast of things lost by this supermarket tyrant. As a Art teacher major the illumination of different social and economic problems that fuel many artist and art movements is important in the understanding of art. For example WW1 lead to the famous and influential German Expressionism movement that motivated many other movements. I’m definitely not comparing Walmart to something a big as WW1 however; it’s more the idea of conveying and emotion or message thought the art that is significant.

October 15th Class Notes

DPI

72 dpi usual if you are to upload online

350 dpi is good quality

I-Disk- publicly accessible storage

Sounds shape our experiences

Technical skills sound

Record and archive

Environmental sound space

            Clarity-clearness

            Amplitue-voulme

            Character-distortion

            Reverberation

            Foreground

            Mid-ground

            Background

            *Ambience

            Foreground

Three Things October 15th 2010

1.     When holding a microphone to record someone’s mouth it is best to hold it 90 degrees above someone’s head to avoid getting air and spit into the microphone and making the microphone’s sounds, sound loud, slurred and unclear. If holding the microphone above the head is not an option, the second best option is below the mouth.

2.      In Sound there are three main components, mid-ground, foreground and background sounds. When analyzing sound you can realize that background has most, mid-ground has in between and foreground has least amount of sound. Also sounds will be louder and quieter depending on you closeness to the object creating the sound. If you stand further away there is more of a chance for the waves to bounce off other objects in the room. However, if you are standing right next to the object you can directly record or hear the wave sounds.

3.      Another thing I learnt was the technique in using the M- Audio recorder. To use the recorder when taking down a sound the rectangles on the “L” & “R” lines must meet the triangle which moves with the buttons below to create a good sound quality.

After the Performance !!

If there was one thing you got out of the experience designing or performing piece, what was it?

One thing I learned from this experience was that when performing your planned piece, you cannot focus too strongly on following the proposal you laid out before. During the performance there were many aspects of my piece which I adapted in order to make the piece work better. An example of this was when reviewing the first pictures that were taken during the first of the five mini-performances, although you were able to see our actions and faces, you were unable to see the reactions and interested onlookers and passersby. Another part of my performance that was decided on the day of the performance was that the camera was not only going to maintain a single distance from the performers, but be a variety of different distances away. Close-ups and long shots were used to show details as well as the overall performance. The final thing that I took in from this performance was that it is always good to have an additional person on your team (not including performers, photographers and managers) that can compensate for the unexpected happenings that can take place in your performance. For me, it would have been good to have a person who was there just in case the trash blew away, as it was a very windy day. Allowing the trash to blow away would have defeated the object of my performance, but interrupting my performance to pick it up would ruin the atmosphere connected with the piece.

If you could eliminate or change one in the process, what would it be, and how would this change the process?

            If I were to recreate this performance again, I would not go to as many locations and I would focus on attracting people’s attention to just one area. Another addition I would make to my performance would be to have a large, digital timer displayed. This would allow better synchronizing of the performers when throwing and picking up the trash, and would add significance to the overall theme of how time goes by, and this still seems to be an issue on campus. In addition to remaining in one spot, I would move the camera around the performers on a tripod (to steady the camera) to get different perspectives of the performers and the people observing them.

Press Release ⚠

 

♺ Refuse Repeat ♺

For Immediate Release           

For information and photos contact:

Amanda Eedle,

aleedle@syr.edu

Tasked with inspiring students to notice the amount of littering present on our University campus, my fellow performers and I will be participating in an action which involves the repetitive throwing and picking up of trash found on the Syracuse University campus. This performance will be located in the Quad and will consist of specific scheduled timings and places in order to better portray the message.

Friday October 8th, 9:30am-12:30pm.

http://www.meedle1.blogspot.com

Syracuse, NY October 8, 2010

Four averagely dressed students each carrying black trash bags filled with garbage found on the Syracuse University campus will be performing in five different locations on the Quad, for five minutes at a time. This performance is to show the repetitive nature of littering that occurs in the University grounds. The performance will consist of throwing the trash from the bags onto the Quad and then picking all of the trash up again, in silence and without emotion. With the performers all being anonymous but appearing like an average student, this allows a connection to be made with the observing audience, and allow their own personal realization of their part in the littering of our campus. The Division of Student Affairs, Syracuse University, supports this performance.

Professor associated with project:

Anne Beffel

Photographs !! ⚉

 Beginning Location

  Secondary Location dumping out trash

   Secondary Location collecting the garbage

   Third Location The moments of silence before the performance

 Fourth Location Picking up trash

 Fifth Location over the shoulder view with an observing bystander

 

The End

Assignment #2: Documentation Blueprint

My Performance art Piece “Refuse Repeat” I will be using a DSLR Cannon Camera on a tri-pod set on Shutter mode. To document my performance I wish to take a continuous set of pictures and then place all of the frames together to form a small video, similar to a flipbook (like the picture below).  

The performance cycle

Photo by Anna Hider

For my final piece due to scheduling conflicts with Anna Hider I will be using Ana Karina (Penelope) Vasquez, photography major who will be documenting my project using the shutter format. I want to do a shutter format because when it forms together the final product will have a feeling of a continuous motion which plays along with concept that this littering happens every weekend.

            In the pictures, all of them will be and overall view picture (like the ones shown above). All of the participants will remain emotionless, as the focus will be more on the actions of dropping and picking back up the rubbish than facial emotions. 

Mock Performance Photo's by Anna Hider

Picking up trash for performance piece

Example of the trash not disposed of properly 

Performance space: The Quad

Picking up trash for performance piece

Larger overall view of performance piece

Assignment #1: Formal Project Proposal - "Refuse Repeat"

♺Refuse Repeat ♺

Performance Piece collected trash from scattered areas in Syracuse University

Photo Anna Hider
 

Photo Anna Hider

Project Components

·      Four Syracuse University Students executing the Performance Art Piece “Refuse Repeat”

·      Four Generic household black garbage sacks.

·      Four black sacks full of collected garbage found on SU campus

·      Preformed in the Quad by major walkways to allow maximum exposure to SU Students

·      One day performance on Monday the 4^th of October (Dates negotiable)

·      From 1:00PM to 1:25pm (5 sessions of 5 minutes in 5 different locations inside of the Quad)

Project Description ♻

For my performance art piece, I have decided to raise awareness to the amount of littering that is prominent on our school campus. After completing a class assignment and coming back from Oakwood cemetery on a Saturday, I walked along Comstock Ave. As soon as I passed the Woman’s Building near the brand new Life Sciences Complex, I became aware to the large quantities of party refuse that was left there from the night before. The trash included plastic red Dixie cups, crushed beer cans, cigarettes, fast food rappers and much more. This trash made me more aware of the other areas around campus (not just Comstock), that after a weekend, had evidence of littering. Areas such as Euclid, Waverly avenue and some residence halls such as BBB (Boland, Brockway, Brewster), Day, Watson, Flint Hall and even after a football game all displayed verification of the amount of littering present on our SU campus.

By completing my performance art piece, I wish not to raise awareness to the life style choices that students take but rather the mess they leave behind and their ability to make it a cleaner environment. I have careful crafted my performance to best metaphorically represent the situation. My performance is called Refuse Repeat because during my project I will be pouring out the trash in the black sacks and picking it up again to symbolize the repetition of these negative actions that happen every weekend. No only this but also the realization of the physical act, that the cleaners do after every weekend removing the trash from the SU campus.

The project is broken up into sets of five. Following the common saying, “it only takes five seconds to throw it away” I have decided that I am going to have five separate mini performances all on the Quad but in five different locations adding to my overall performance art piece. All of the scenes will be located on the major pathways and can be seen on the image below (by the red dot). In addition, the minis performances will be five minutes long equaling a twenty-five minute long overall performance. The number five is not only a reference to the widespread saying (mentioned above) but also to the actual act of throwing out trash appropriately; as we use our hands and our a hand has 5 fingers. This is also reinforced by the actual performance, as we will be picking up trash and then throwing it down again with our hands.

Photo taken from goggle maps http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&q=the+quad+syracuse+university&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

More Photos’ of the example performance. Photo by Anna Hider.

 Budget information

QTY	Cost		COST
1	$3.40	10 Generic Black Trash Bags CVS	$3.40
		TOTAL	$3.40