Project 4: Artist Statement

I think of my installations as conceptual, thought-provoking visual presentations to bring awareness and draw emotional connections or sympathy among the audiences. I like to incorporate a feeling of relatability or inspiration to the viewers through my installations, but also keeping a serious or political sense. My main goal behind most of my installations, especially this one, is to make the viewers deliberate and put thoughtful and thorough ideas together based off of whatever ideas or thoughts they may get from viewing my installations. The abstractness of my works is perfect for not directly telling the audience any details, but to give them enough clues to figure it out themselves. Not only do I want my installations to spread awareness and inspire change among the audience, but I also want to spread intellectual wellness and for my work to help serve as a tool that helps sharpen several people's mind. For a healthy intellectual wellness, one must keep their mind engaged or stimulated, and through the creativity, visuality, thinking, etc. that my installation provokes, I believe that my installations effectively influence people to consider a great deal of information and values. Installations, in general, are fantastic tools to sharped human's intellectual wellness, so I try to make my installations achieve that to my highest ability.

This installation was designed and created to serve as a call to action/awareness of the growing disaster that is our home and planet. Human activity and pollution has been and is continuing to be the largest cause of deterioration of our world, and damages it in a plethora of different ways. As humans live and produce waste, and the industrialization of society continues to grow, the issue of pollution is expected to continue to worsen to a dangerous level. Although this problem is so large-scale and there is a ton more work that needs to happen that is bigger than this installation, one of the best things we can do individually is to be more aware and do anything, no matter how small, to help clean up the environment. Although we would need just about everybody on the planet to work together to solve; a very realistic yet still very helpful solution can be inferred from this installation. The first part of my installation is to see who/if anyone is even willing to enter the installation space due to all the garbage that they would have to walk over. This is very important because it can show that if some people are too grossed out to walk over the trash in my installation, then they should be appalled by the same thing happening but on a tremendously larger scale. As the viewer walks through my installation, they should feel overwhelmed and disgusted, as they walk through trash and have to watch all of the filthy and deadly images of the proof that human pollution has destroyed the beautiful natural environment. The thick layer of garbage on the floor is to represent/depict how unaesthetic, ugly, and gross the sight of dense garbage is. The layer of trash I created looks very similar to the actual hunormous mounds of garbage in the waters, beaches, and land/dumps all over the world. Once the viewer gets to the end of the installation and sees their face in the mirror, they should feel a sense of either disgust or inspiration in themselves, as they notice that they have been part of the cause of the problem. I will also include a bag next to the installation, as a test/study to see if anyone participating in the installation would go out of their way and clean up the trash if they had a garbage bag ready and accessible to them. Hopefully, whether the audience felt disgusted or inspired, or something else, the installation will have made some kind of impact on them, and bring on a new and lasting perspective. That is my goal.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwHR0T8xp9I

Project 4: Process Post #3

Once I had all the parts of the installation set up, the most important step began. This step was the planning/experimenting to find the perfect or most efficient spot to place the projector. The placement of the projector is so important for this kind of installation, for several reasons. First, because the space is so narrow and small, the viewer walking through it can easily block most of the projections with their shadow. Through lots of planning, moving and checking, I found that the higher up the projector, (above the participant's height) the better it will be, as their head/body is not protruding or blocking the light of the projector. However, when I put it up so high, it only projected on the upper half of my installation space, so I used some extra materials that I had to support the back of the projector to cover the right space. This process made me realize how art and an artist's final product is not just the main/only exhibit of art, but the whole process and planning that goes into an art piece is also a very significant component to the art, the artist, the information, and overall quality.

Project 4: Process Post #2

The setting up of this installation was very tricky. It took a ton of trial and error and experimenting to correctly and efficiently set everything up to the maximum possible potential. I had to try several other kinds of materials before I bought and decided to use the sheet/curtains that I used for my final showing. Some of the other materials I tried, such as plastic shopping bags connected together, a shower curtain, and large sheets of paper just either were not efficient enough to meet my satisfaction or did not allow for good visibility/clarity of the projections. I wanted the material to be symbolic for pollution, but decided that I valued the visibility of the projections over the symbolic deeper meaning; however, I think that the sheets are the perfect material to incorporate both to a great level. It was not too hard setting this up, but certainly not easy. The hardest part was finding a spot in the black box that I could set it up, then using the space and resources around to help make it great. Once I had everything in place, I cut a flap in the sheet where the mirror will be, and then began the task of figuring out the perfect placement of the projector.

Project 4: Process Post #1

Clearly I am not a very good artist or drawer, but this is my basic rough draft/blueprints for my final installation. It may not be very clear to others, but I understand and can read my drawings and what I'm intending to show or do in each sketch. Using these sketches helped me in planning, and helped me a great deal in deciding where it would be most appropriate and efficient to place the projector and all other props in order to maximize the quality of the installation and limit the amount of shadows present.

Installation Art Response: Chapter 4

Ari Felsen 
FMX 463 
4/23/19

Installation Art: Chapter 4 Reading & Response

          This chapter of Claire Bishop’s scholarly article, Installation Art, focuses more on examining and analyzing the concept of activated spectatorship as a politicized aesthetic practice. From the importance and effects of a viewer’s participation/performance in an installation, to the political/social effects/results that are correlated are the main theme of this chapter. The role that a viewer has on an installation may be immense, as their individual actions have the ability to completely sway or takeover the whole message and perception of a piece of art. Whether acting individually or interacting with another participant, a viewer can be integral to achieve the desired effect of a work of art. Straying from traditional art, such as paintings and sculptures, where the viewer’s only activity and role is to be spectating and is free of interactions; this concept of art is entirely interactive as it is designed to inspire/use the viewer to ‘activate’ themselves and engage their presence within the piece, using their own bodily materials, especially dialogue, thought, and discussion. This chapter stresses the relationship between art and the political world. Many artists and critics are recently understanding that the viewer’s active presence within an installation or work of art is much more political and ethical than when viewing more simple or traditional works of art. As the viewer has more involvement with a work of art, their social, political, and ethical engagement is far more in-depth as opposed to a viewer spectating a work of art.
          The use of multiple participants is very significant to this era/style of art. Artists’ method

of including multiple participants together to interact or communicate is extremely effective as it not only forces the participants to discuss and use their skills to understand the piece, but it also transforms the viewers, allowing them to view and deliberate the artwork as a collective community, rather than in isolation as a mere spectator. Instead of using the viewers as objects or pieces of the installation as a way to use them to express different perceptions, they are used much more intelligently as they become an even bigger part of the artwork and encourage discussion. There are other ways that viewers can participate as a community and have an integral value to the piece. For example, for the production/building phase of the 1981 exhibition, The People’s Choice, several people were invited to donate any objects that aren’t typically thought of to be seen in an art gallery. The social interaction and collaboration between all of the people who helped was the key component of this exhibition, as it was a much of the final display and was considered to be just as important as the final outcome. 

Artist Research 4

The artist that I chose to learn about this time is Mary Mattingly. Mary is an American visual artist, born in Connecticut and now based in New York City, where she works and displays a vast majority of her artwork. She studied at Parson's School of Design in New York, and earned her BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2002.

Her work is all very interesting and conceptual, with many of her pieces being sculptures in site-specific locations. The props and sculptures themselves have their own meanings and importance, but her use of space/locations adds a lot more meaning and interpretations to her work, forcing the audience to think about what it means on in much more open-ended way, as well as understanding more what the artist [Mattingly] is trying to depict or suggest through her work.

Many of Mary's pieces look like they take a great amount of time, money, and labor to produce. This shows that she is very creative and precise, using a ton of organizing, design and pre-production to plan out the piece and the process to make it happen. It also shows that she is a go-getter, as she exemplifies determination, problem solving and risk-taking.

I have found that several of her pieces share a similar motif/theme. In many artworks by Mary Mattingly, the use of geometric shapes appears to be one of the main focuses of each piece. Mostly being spheres/balls, but she also uses squares and triangular shapes in some of her work. Being big, clear, and center, these shapes are clearly there for a reason, intended to be the main focal point and possessing a distinct message/purpose, supplementing or supplemented by the details going on around and in the background. Another thing I like about her work is in most of the photos/documentation of her projects, everything is typically centered and symmetrical. This reminds me of one of my favorite film directors, Wes Anderson. As many know, Wes Anderson's signature film style is symmetric shots of the subject on screen. Almost all of Anderson's movies are so enjoyable to me that as I was looking through the photos of Mary Mattingly's art, I thought of The Grand Budapest Hotel, and made me happy and enjoy her art even more from the good vibes it gave me!

https://marymattingly.com/DefaultMattingly.html

Project 4: Project Proposal

Polluter:

In the room, there will be a viewer who walks through the installation. As you walk through the space, there will be a series of videos/images projected along the walls/surfaces, and trash around the room and on the floor in which the viewer will have to either pick up (which most viewers probably will not do, but shows results from my experiment/hypothesis) or kick to the side. Another idea I can do, but is not necessary, is to spill some juice or liquid on the ground where the viewer will walk, to make their feet feel sticky, which will add to the vibe of dirt/pollution, as well as add another element of the sense of touch for the audience.

As the viewer makes their way to the end of the space/installation, there will be a figure or shape of a human, and on it will be a video projection of a person doing some sort of pollution, while standing close and looking into the camera. The viewer will then be able to lift a flap or some piece of cloth of the figure, to reveal a mirror underneath, with the viewer's reflection directly on it. The viewer watches as the polluter becomes the reflection of their-self.

As the viewer walks through, another experiment I can trial is having some fruits/food on branches that the viewer can rip off and eat if they choose. The fruits will be delicious, but it will go to serve the metaphor for humans taking the planet's food and resources.

In the beginning, I can include projections of nature/earth with lush vegetation and healthy heartbeat sound in background, and as you walk through it, the planet dies and is barren/plants withered and planet's heartbeat dies off.

Senses:
-Sight
-Touch (touching the trash/sticky floor, moving the flap)
-Hear (heartbeat, any other sounds)
-Taste (if they choose to eat a fruit)

Materials:
-Camera
-Projector
-Laptop, MadMapper
-Mirror
-Fruits/branches
-Trash, juice
-Sheets/materials for wall surfaces or surface to project on

Plan:
April 9-14: Research which materials to use (projecting surface, fruit branches)
April 15: Should have all materials acquired by this point
April 9-17: Get all videos/animations/footage to be projected
April 21: Should have set up the whole set-up at least once by this point, to make sure everything is right and don't need anything else
April 23: Plan out lighting and positioning of projector, to prevent unintentional shadows
April 28: Should have everything done/acquired by now... Now time just for practicing and run-through's

Project 3: Documentation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFxarcMJXEg

The video file was too large to upload here so the link to the video documentation on YouTube is above. I think that choosing the lizard may have been a little misleading, as not all pets live miserable lives. However, there are tons and tons of animals mistreated, trapped in enclosures way too small for them, and stolen and taken away from their homes/environment. The installation was intended to serve as a setting in which a person/audience can enter a room and first-hand experience being under the circumstances that so many innocent animals are forced into, and better understand/feel sympathy.

Project 3: Process Post 3

Editing has always been one of my favorite aspects of new media, so I had a fun time editing this project. When I first uploaded all my clips to Premiere, I felt that the footage I had was good but not amazing, however I feel that my skills in editing changed that and the final product came out very well!

Project 3: Process Post 2

This is me and the adorable supporting actor featured in this project. This photo was taken during the shoot when I was filming my installation. He was being such a good boy that I had to interrupt the shoot to praise him and give him some love. The filming of this went pretty smoothly and luckily did not run into any issues!

Project 3: Process Post 1

One of the first steps I took to creating this installation was animating this scene. Along with other videos I recorded for this project, this piece was one of the most difficult but powerful. I illustrated and animated this scene in Toon Boom Harmony. It was designed to act as the shadow of the participant/subject, as he is scared to see that he is really just a prisoner.

Artist Research 3

The artist that I chose to research this time was Sabrina Ratté. Ratté is a Canadian artist and film director, and the inclusion of her film/animation skills in her art works so well and is what makes her work so captivating and beautiful. In most of her installations, she uses a scene/setting of which she created to be projected onto. Varying from miniature models of an interesting piece of architecture to abstract 3D designs/sculptures, to using a whole room. Her choice of platform to project on supplemented with her amazing animations creates remarkable installations and art pieces. She is really good at being able to augment reality, as her animations look so realistic that you think its real and then it emerges into a trippy animation. One of the things that I really love the most about Ratte's work is her use of colors. In almost all of her many artworks, the designs are so unique and psychedelic and the vibrancy from the colors really pop so much and looks so cool and aesthetic. It is really tough to pick a favorite piece of hers, because not only does she have so many installations/pieces, but they are all so incredible that it's almost impossible to think of any flaws in any single one.

http://sabrinaratte.com/

Project 3: Proposal

For my next installation, I was thinking about making my piece centered around the feeling of being trapped and/or on display, like a zoo animal. My plan was to utilize a small room to act as the "cage" or terrarium/tank that the viewer will be the direct participant and subject. Using projections of zoo-goers or pet-owners, etc. on the walls looking at you like a small animal, and possibly using a mesh screen/fence or glass wall, the participant should feel as if they are a small animal being watched in a cage.

The purpose of this is to make the participant, as well as the audience, feel how the animals feel when us humans lock them up for our entertainment. The direct message should be a sense of entrapment, but the deeper message I will be trying to evoke is to first-hand experience the morality of locking exotic animals up so the audience can have their individual feelings/make their own opinions/conclusions on this topic.


In more specifics:
-you/the participant is the lizard/pet/animal
-the space used is in a small room but supposed to make you feel like you're inside the cage
-crickets/worms/food crawling around you
-human looking at you from outside the cage (face is pressed up against the glass)
-using a human-shaped shadow of prisoner/prison clothes to pretend to be the participant's shadow


What I shall project:
Wall/floor- shadow of animal/bearded dragon
Wall/floor- worms/crickets/food
Wall- person's face up against glass
Wall- person tapping on camera/glass (like finding nemo)

Materials:
Projector
Laptop
Participant
Illustrator/photoshop
Premiere Pro
MadMapper

Timeline:
March 19- Arrange what room installation will take place in
March 20- Decide what will be projected; what will be projected on each wall/surface
March 20- Figure out where the participant will be relative to the room and animations
March 30- Complete animations
March 30- Test out/coordinate finished animations in the room
March 31- Final run through
April 1- Film final installation

Project 2: Documentation

My project was intended to represent the faces and lives of the victims of the tragic high school shooting in Parkland a year ago.  Using a lot of symbolism, I believe that my installation was successful as it was effective at allowing the audience to understand the piece and make their own conclusions on it, despite its ambiguity. I didn't want it to come off as 'too easy/straight-forward' where the audience understands everything they see right away; however, I wanted it to be clear enough, but have the audience still put some thought into it. From showing respect and commemorating the victims, to promoting the call for gun control, I believe that my project speaks a lot and in an efficient way. 

This installation, although I would've liked to incorporate a bit more complexity/animation to it, was still very effective as its simplicity is less distracting to the viewer and allows them to focus and think more about what it's really saying.  

Project 2: Progress Post 3

Using gaff tape to post each of the stop signs to the wall, I placed them all in the space I created to project on the wall. I then used the MadMapper software to arrange and adjust the shape/sizes of all of the victims' faces to fit the spaces of the stop signs to project on. I then was the active performer in the presentation of my installation as I took away the faces of the victims one by one. I think the installation was a success and the message/symbolism that I was intending delivered for the audience.

Project 2: Progress Post 2

I have further added to my plan, that in the background of everything else going on, the setting will be heaven. My project plan was to already express the consequences of guns as well as show the remembrance of each victim, but I feel that it would add more imagery, respect, and honor to those whose lives were tragically taken by symbolizing them all in heaven and resting peacefully. I will most likely put all of the stop signs and faces on a wall and have them all up in the clouds of heaven, which I will begin illustrating/animating today. At the end of the exhibition, the faces will disappear one by one, as the stop-signs remain there. This symbolizing that although the victims are physically gone and were taken away from this world one by one, they are resting easy, won't be forgotten. Also that although each of them are gone, each of their lives made an impact on society and on the future as the debate for gun control has gotten much more serious and awareness.

Artist Research 2

I explored several artists for this assignment, but the artist I chose and researched in more depth was Camille Utterback, because her art really fascinated me in many ways. Utterback is an extremely successful American digital and installation artist, who works primarily with interactive exhibits/art. She earned her Masters degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU, and currently teaches art and Graduate Design at Stanford University. Her work creatively incorporates visually aesthetic animations with motion sensors to take interactive art to a new level. I really like her because she uses different forms of interactivity to her works, such as Kinect-like motion sensors to track one's body movements, and a touchscreen kiosk that the viewer can directly touch and interact with to alter the projection or make things appear or disappear. This shows that she doesn't just stick with one certain style for all of her works; which, although is still truly incredible art, may get old or boring after a while. Her use of variety in interactivity makes all her work different and fresh. 

I am a huge fan of interactive art, not only because of the incredible capabilities it may have to offer, the complexity the artist went through to make it possible, and the utter beauty of it. But I love installation art because I believe that the best art is art that gets the audience involved. Most art galleries you just walk through and admire the works, but the interactive element gets the audience way more involved, creating a more fun, thought-provoking, and memorable experience. Camille Utterback is truly excellent as she achieves all of these goals in her work and continues to create amazing groundbreaking works throughout her long career.

http://camilleutterback.com/

Project 2: Progress Post 1

After long and thoughtful deliberation, I decided it most appropriate and practical to go with stop signs as the medium to project my installations of the Parkland victims' faces on for my project. I feel that this would be very powerful and supportive of the message that I am trying to portray. Obviously using real stop signs would be impractical, as they are too heavy and large to carry and fit all 17 into the limited workspace I have, but it would also be illegal/dangerous to steal them! Therefore I have decided that it is much more feasible to print out all of the stop signs onto sheets of paper.

Project 2: Proposal

Idea #1-
A bunch of balloons/plates/shields/stop-signs/round surfaces arranged around the room, and the face of a Parkland victim is on each one, and an anti-gun speech/song or experimental audio playing in the background.



Materials:
-balloon/plate/round surface for each victim
-string/tape to hang or hold in place
-phone for audio
-camera to film the final documentation


Timeline:
-get all materials by Feb 15
-have plan for positions of all objects in black box by Feb 19
-have mapping complete/set by Feb 25
-have audio set by Feb 27
















Idea #2-
Either square or rectangular boxes set up in a 3d depth-pyramid that will light up/change colors/designs to the tune or beat of a copyright-free song.

Idea #3:
Place objects around, use height as a form/means of depth, the objects transfer water/liquid from object to object.

Project 1: Documentation

My project is a very abstract/experimental depiction of one of the uneasy feelings people experience sometimes. I chose to make it about the feeling of waking up in the middle of the night parched, confused, and uneasy. I experience this somewhat frequently, and wanted to show exactly how it feels, without using dialogue and being too direct or upfront about the message.
I know that I'm not the only person who has experienced this, so I wanted to create a sort of "memory" or "deja vu" for the audience who has ever felt this, creating a sense of relatability. I chose to go in a slightly different direction from the original directions to have six videos organized evenly on the screen, but felt that in regards to the message of my video and stylistically, to do so differently.

Project 1: Artist Research

The artist that I chose to explore was Heather Hart. Hart is a successful American Installation artist, who creates her work in a variety of different forms of media, such as drawings/paintings, collages, and architecture. The thing about Hart's art that interests me the most is how she mainly focuses and works on making her artwork interactive, intended to get the audience participating with it in some way. I think that this is an extremely successful tactic for an artist, because there is no better way to get the audience engaged with art than by literally engaging them/letting them interact with the piece. This is because it lets the audience explore more of the work, makes it more interpretable and dynamic, draws a better reaction, and makes the exhibit more fun and memorable!

Of all of Heather's work, her Oracle projects are my favorite. I enjoyed these for various reasons. The rooftops are very interesting to look at, considering how it's a mere rooftop in the ground with the whole rest of the house MIA. This is very cool because it's unique, something we don't regularly see or think about actually existing. It makes you wonder why there's no rest of the house, and what it means or may symbolize. It kind of reminds me of a fantasy, as it resembles the Hobbit houses in a way. Aside from the visual and metaphorical aspects that I appreciate about this project, my favorite thing about it is its interactivity. In the pictures, you see people kicking back on the grass and admiring it, and you see people climbing on the roof, playing live music, or laying down on it relaxing. I liked this because of the chill vibes of the audience, which tells us that Heather Hart was very successful in the ultimate goal of this installation art piece.

Oracle of Lacuna

Heather Hart's artist statement:

My work explores nostalgic futurism, amalgams of distorted traditions and symbols, handed down and mashed-up to fit our prospective needs. My works are meant to expand with public programing and viewer activation. I am interested in not only creating site-specific liminal space for personal reclamation but also in questioning dominant narratives and creating alternatives to them. 

Project 1: Proposal

Hello!

Howdy! Welcome to my blog, where I will be posting all of my awesome projects and works of art from my Multimedia Installation Art course throughout the semester.

I am a Junior/third year at this fine University, however I had just recently switched my major from Digital Arts to Animation. I enrolled in the University of Tampa as a Film & Media Arts major, which I really enjoyed and learned a lot; however, as I gained more experience and thought about my career plan, I decided to switch and focus more on what I really wanted to do and enjoyed doing the most. 

This is only the second multimedia art class I've ever taken, but I'm already very intrigued in what this course has to offer on an educational standpoint as well as my eagerness to create some really cool projects. I am very excited to learn more and further improve/build my skills over the next 4 months!