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.