For this second project I chose to continue with the theme that I had started in Exercise #2 of making GIFs out of music videos. I personally really appreciate music videos and enjoy having a connection between the auditory and the visual. Music videos are a form of storytelling that add dimension to music. As an underappreciated form of art, music videos are postmodern in nature. They help bridge the gap between the high end of art production and direction by being available as a low art form to the masses through social platforms such as YouTube.

I have a connection to many music videos, either because of their artistic beauty or emotional response. For this project I chose to capture the moments from many of my favorite music videos that stand out to me every time I watch them. The music videos chosen are either new (Big God) or old (You & Me). I have included three GIFs from FKA Twig’s music videos because of my constant amazement at her artistic talent and vision. Credit is given to each of the original music videos. I aim to encourage a broader appreciation of these musicians - or at least these videos - through these GIFs.

To create this first project I wanted to tell the story of changing times though my collages. In my archival process I collected images of large cities in the Front Range Colorado area (which is where I am from and where I am currently living). I included pictures of Denver, Boulder, Colorado Spring, Fort Collins, and Longmont. Some of these street views are promotional images for the cities, others are simple snapshots of neighborhoods. I wanted to embrace the everydayness of Colorado towns. Also in my archival process I collected images of large mammals native to the Colorado mountains. Living in the foothills of Colorado, it is common to see many rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, and the occasional deer. When happening upon these animals I always feel a sense of invasion, and realization that their home has been invaded and developed by humans. 

For the selections project I used selected images of native animals (mountain lions, deer, skunks, coyotes, bison, and owls) and created scenes of the animals interacting and living in man-made streets. Through this I created a visualization of native animals interacting with humans and reclaiming their space.  The use of repetition creates a sense of realness and presence of the animals.

I actually really enjoyed reading Goldberg’s essay on Performance art. When learning about performance art in other art history courses, usually only performance art from the 70′s is mentioned. I appreciate learning about the fact that performance art has pretty much always been around. Who knows, maybe even prehistoric art was performed? It is comforting to me to know that artists have always embraced drama and theatrics. Performance doesn’t always have to be a presentation for class or quoting lines from a play. Performance art is the most free from of art making that there is. One only needs their own body and the want to say something. Performance art can be serious or comedic, it can be political or personal. 

One of the greatest performance artists of our time was Marina Abramovic. Abramovic has paved the way for performance artists with her daring and original performances. When watching the documentary about her most recent performance, The Artist is Present, I was overcome with the extreme power that Abramovic holds. She is unafraid of her art and is determined to tell her story. I have always been inspired by Abramovic, even by her older works, including Rest Energy and Relation in Time. When creating artwork, I always remember Abramovic and ask myself how I can push my artwork further to its fullest potential and how I can trust myself and others in my art-making processes.