fi arts

crosssection is going to be documented in a small moleskin journal using ZINK photo-paper through the KODAK Print-o-Matic. There is a strict timeline that has been up in my studio and will update if deadlines begin to switch. 

The artist that I chose to explore and learn more about is Cao Fei and her work in “Fantasy”. Her works focus on the integration of cultures into one another, and the integration of hip hop into Chinese culture. Her time to analyze cosplaying also interesting to me because she analyzes parts of pop culture that have become even more popular since the time working on her project. The ways in which she picks her locations is something that I wish I had more attention to, particularly the way she can explain and pick apart the cosplay culture. The way she incorporates the dances into the factory is something that I ended up finding extremely interesting, due to how precise and thought out placement and location are with her video works. 

Later on, her focus to join Second Life to make an art project from this avatar-based program. Her captivation with it is something that I can definitely see, the way in which she can dedicate herself to create a documentary through the game application, a way that I haven’t quite seen artwork done before - with video game artwork. The way in which romance is dictated by the video game is so unique and I find something extremely disconcerting. The way she shoots these scenes make this word seem so large and endless, although it is clear that in the end, it is just a video game. 

In the end, I want to make this recap about my experiences with the studio visits as well as my experiences with how senior seminar has changed my own view on my arts. The best part about senior seminar has been changing my art as well as really homing into what I relate to. I found out that I really relate to video games and the way that they relate to my art, as well as my interests are simply what I am interested in at the time. In the end, I feel like there are many ways in which my art changes but it all has to do with what I am passionate about, particular in the games I experience and play. 

In the studio visits I’ve had in the previous year, my favorite part has been the descriptions about my artwork. I’ve had comments on how playful and fun my artwork is, and this has made me happy in ways I can’t explain! It is so wonderful to hear that my playful attitude can translate correctly to my artwork. I’ve definitely had my share of more harsh critique and how I need to be able to really hone into what I enjoy and how it relates to my artwork. I definitely think that I still have alot more self reflection to do on my artwork, and I know that I still need to be able to explain why I make the choices that I do. I know that I often have more intuitive reasons to why I create the things I do! I really enjoyed all the visiting artists and how they visited the studios and added more to my practice. In the end, I feel my studio evolved far more thanks to these helpful critiques. 

Search & Rescue Ranger Logs ( 1942, 1943 ) combines a variety of things that I have loved into one cumulative process for my work in senior seminar. It was a way of experimenting with the concepts I have enjoyed such as multidimensional portals, different parts of national parks as well as the unique feeling of experiencing the beautiful and otherworldly. My favorite part of creating Search & Rescue Ranger Logs was emphasizing the beauty of the natural world but also focusing on the unique occult that can occur when messing with evil spirits. 

Search & Rescue Ranger Logs has a focus on the idea of what will happen if we disrupt evil spirits in monumental spaces. The inspiration is directly from Claire Hummel’s sketches of the Bryce Canyon as well as pulling from the history of the national parks within Utah. My favorite part about crafting this world is looking for references of the parks and learning how to properly illustrate and create sedimentary rock, or the illusion of sedimentary rock. With the help of observing Claire Hummel’s work in national parks within the Utah area, this helped me get a more solid idea of how to properly illustrate the world I wanted to create. 

Search and Ranger Rescue Logs observes my favorite part about a set of illustrations, which is to create the feeling of a journey through a series of images. I liked the idea of having a series of events occurring from 1942 to 1943, giving the world a feeling of an event that has not only passed, but acts as a recreation of history. To add my little logs to my instillation adds a story behind them, and ends up being an addition to the story of the search logs if you see the instillation in person. 

A major part of my instillation was also the ability to come and view my works to be able to take home a copy of the smaller print versions. What was also really great was to be able to distribute these prints and to be able to share my story with other people! I found it really great to be able to learn about new places and stories about a United States region I had never seen but also being able to research a new place! I found my experiences in senior seminar really enjoyable and I felt that this really was a accumulation of the things that I was interested in into one place. 

In the end, Advanced Photo was another way for me to explore the things that I enjoy! It wasn’t so much as a way for me to push myself but as to explore fun new things in the medium of photography. I felt that it was a way for me to improve my critique in a way that was more gentle than I had been in previous years, to engage but also to be more supportive. I really enjoyed being able to meet new people as well as to develop new habits in my photography practices. This was another way for me to be more professional with models as well as a way for me to just experience trying new things.

I ended up really enjoying taking photography with Evelyne and I felt she pushed me to be more positive as a person, as well as to approach my artwork with a more positive approach. I felt she helped me have a better attitude towards what I like and how I want to approach my photography, rather than dismissing all of my ideas. It really helped me want to make more photos, rather than feeling like pulling teeth. In the end, SA244 provided me with the challenge of documentation (which was hard because I usually feel my thoughts are quite scattered) and this helped me learn how to better write & express my own artwork. In the end, SA244 + SA396 are both hard classes I was challenged with this term and Evelyne helped me in the best ways! 

Little Slices of Infinity is a way of combining two projects that I enjoyed into one instillation with several copies of each book.  In total, I made 10 books with old and updated photos for the infinity book. I wanted to have two photos point the correct way so it looked like each time it would flip would have the single photo. If you turn the image the other way, the flip ends up looking like the photo but facing the opposite way. The idea way to distribute would to have all the flip books ready to go from the instillation, and to give each person a way of tracking the image back to the artist.

My favorite part about these books are that they are so much more lively in person. They have small cracks and make small crack noises when you flip the book, giving it a unique physical experience. My favorite part about them is that they also embody a kind of imperfection that I am okay with. I really enjoyed creating these books and adding more wear and tear to them so this way they would be used and well worn, something that ends up looking natural. 

In the end, I feel like this project is definitely not more original than my previous two projects, but it combines two things I was interested in and ends up returning a project that looks more polished and fun. I really enjoyed seeing each person enjoy playing with each of the books as well, giving each person a unique experience with how they may flip through the images. 

I Am Sorry For Your Loss is a way of processing grief into a digital format in multimedia. To be able to make multiple posts about subtle hints of grief, to not directly relate to certain topics. The different parts of the posts are the multimedia links that often point to other places on the web, as well as learning more about different kinds of resources to grief.

I Am Sorry For Your Loss is a place that isn’t a way for people to find their own grief, it is a way for me to selfishly air my own grief. It is a way for me to air my own loss, grief and trauma in a way that acts more like a journal rather than an art project for the viewer. I have used this as a way to deal with conflicting feelings rather than to deal with the reality of the situation.

I have really enjoyed exploring different feelings and thoughts in a way that was more subtle rather than direct. I also enjoyed the ability to act more as a thought process for myself rather than just some art project to be able to fulfill a criteria. It gave me a great outlet to explore multimedia creation and I found that there were parts of the project that I found myself enjoying and parts that I didn’t enjoy. In the end, I wish I had more time to explore so much more.

Slices of Infinity are an exploration of the physical manifestation of the photography into a journey. Two of the four flip books were based off of a winter trip into Canada, as well as the other two books being based around a trip to New York (specifically to Dia Beacon + an homage to the neon instillation there).

 To be able to display these small books on their own feel complete, as well as to be able to video them outside and to show how they may look in landscapes. The sound of the outside and the small sounds outside coincide with the sharp flip noises that often sound like loud cracks, giving the effect of the fall nature. 

With a hot glue gun as well as the different photos, cut out to specific sizes. To be able to glue 8 photos together in a specific format to be able to show off the craftsmanship and unique nature of these books that continuously flip. This is something that I wish I had more time to clean up, to be able to find a unique way to present and distribute. I wish that I had a better way to track the nature of these books, such as keeping track of how many times they have been flipped and implementing a counter that can show how many times the books themselves have changed faces.