Laurie Anderson

This block we got to see Laurie Anderson, which gives me confidence in professional storytelling.  She is amazing and manipulates thoughts with images and sounds.  I really enjoyed her talks and most of all her video work (Dog Playing Piano).

A major take away for me is when she talks about how she was never asked what her strongest medium was, but the art she produces is made from the medium that helps projects her concepts.

This helps me refocus myself and the vision, for myself, as an artist. 

△s Dancing W/ ☐s

So this was my final performance—and WOW was it final.  This piece was the piece that I had the most fun with.  I think it was because with piece was very surreal.  When I first performed this piece, in class, there was me sitting on a pedestal and there was a spotlight shining on me.  The audience sat in a crescent shape around me and I told a story.  It was a decent performance (Emphasis on decent).

There was more ways I could have improved the performance and I think I did during live night.  It was amazing.  The audience was so huge to me—as I progressed in my story the more the audience was in the palm of my hand.  I couldn't believe it.  And I am impressed by my voice and its effect on their attention (It was pure Amazement).

If there was something I took away from the Live Art night is having confidence in my peers as well as in myself.  Also displaying everyday actions as High Art.  I challenged this by sitting on a pedestal while I told my story—something I do everyday.  Our night went smoother than butter on fresh baked bread and together we challenged the definition and stereotypes of (A)rt with a capital A.

Trust in our fellow Artist.

Cake

This piece was a collaborative piece with Madi, Lucian, and I.  It was really fun to make and very experimental.  Randomness—is the vein that flows blood through this piece.  This piece consisted of us sitting in front of a cake and saying what ever came off the top of our domes (I do say it was so much FUN + we all were recorded).  A lot of what is in the video was chosen by “Chance Operation” (Thanks to Lucian).  So the final product was clips that were randomized and smoothed over with special effects.

A few take a ways from this piece is always being open to experimenting.  As well as not relying on perfection and quality.  A lot of art is based off of having as much resemblance to Life as possible.  Whether it is realism, abstraction, and/or conception art is not only defined by perfection but the imperfections that draws out the good in a piece.

So, Imperfections art the perfect perfections.

"Dear Dad"

This piece was, and still is, very difficult for me to perform.  The piece had me sitting on the floor next to a black chair.  There was a spot light on the chair.  The audience sat in a half circle around me and the chair.

Through the piece I didn’t break focus with the chair.  During this performance it was hard to keep the momentum.  I didn’t practice what I said during the piece.  I think the piece went very well but there was more I could have added for emphasis and detail.  I guess an example of this would be me repeating more words and after saying goodbye to my father—an example would be me turning off the spot light after I was done.

This piece was really nerve racking for me.  I was in a panic and there was a rush of emotions I thought was buried.  One way to look at it is in the end we cry tears but tears don’t age.  I could feel myself quiver and slowly breaking due to my nervousness.

Over all I think this piece was successful.

L3

Fire shows more excitement than the people

There is an exchange of order between stacked paper

Stapler gives her goodbye kiss

Always leaving her marks—they clench and puncture

There is a gag from Marker, vomiting on white 8 by 11 sheets

They still push him past his limits—poor Marker

There is a shower of fingers masking keys that belong to Mac

The cupped sounds of music tracks coming from its rubber chamber

Water funnels through bottle necks

Thus Bubbles come to play…POP

Bubbles sing gurgled symphonies

Pages hold swinging hard covers back

“never seen a successful fight here”

L2

Green Blades playing Wind like piano keys

There are hand games between the Dirt and Glass shards

Smothered laughter bows to Distance

Scrapes in Gravel’s back

Shovel and he are no long friends

There is the Stream playing hide and go seek with the Pebbles

Stream always seems to win

Palms are hammock by grass

They rest while Fingers pillow soil

Lung ingest Wind's gusting breaths

While Heart’s pace is swift with excitement

L1

Silence is playing cards

His bluffing face—flawless

Mouths mute

Minded thoughts go putter putter…

Eyes making out with Words

Pens have intercourse with Paper

They scratch each other

Such violence

Chairs crack and pop

Screech here and there—sounds of their hard work

Carpet brushed by their legs

Like pillars they reject hugs from this infinite fiber being

Bodies arose

Arms and Sleeves dance

Sole’s soft pecks to concrete cheeks

Stairs beating rhythmic evacuations.

Slide Slide Slipper Slide 

This piece was with me and Rio.  We sat inside a circle made by the audience.  Their backs were turned towards us.  We started the game with four slides of the hand and every time we messed up we started over.

What I enjoyed about the piece was how Rio and I progressed throughout the duration of the piece.  I would mess up and we kept going but the more we preformed the further we would get—the more stable the rhythm would get.  The rhythm of the hand games was really interesting for me.  I feel like there was more texture in the beginning with due to the sprinkles of laughter.

A few things that could have change would be our volume (LOUDER).  Standing up and moving around the circle would have been pretty cool too.  Maybe, another way to enhance the project would be for multiple people to do different hand games.

Hmmm.  Instead of in a dim lit room, what if the room was completely dark(?).

About Me (As an Artist)

What makes me an artist?  I have no clue.  An example would be my thought process of exciting. I feel that all we are are little speckles of a larger entity and the characteristics that make us individual are the different situations our live produce.  Yeah, I really don’t know why art is Art but the more I explore, and get in to the subject, the more I learn about different perspectives.  This, in turns, makes me an artist and anyone else who is willing to do so.  As someone who is willing to learn and test themselves to see in different perspectives—brings up a lot of challenges and tests, that further pushes ones art.

But enough of the deep stuff.  Ummm.  Art is fun and I like doing it a lot.  I enjoy cartooning and doodling.  I enjoy written art as well, like poetry and novel writing, especially  fiction writing.  I also indulge in a little performance art like Spoken Word and Storytelling.  I like cake too.  It takes guts to call yourself an artist, let’s hope I have them or as much as Art calls for.

Speak Poet

I did my first performance piece.  I was really nervous but as I kept focus I was able to implant myself in the setting and movement of my piece.  The piece consisted of me walking in to the setting removing my backpack and coat.  I sat on a stool that was in the back row and second form the left.  My actions were leaning forward, snapping, and a hand full of shouted phrases.  These phrases where “Speak poet” “Mmmm” “Come on” “Listen to the poem” “You got this” and finger snaps placed throughout the piece.  I ended with congratulating the poet with stating “Golden Unicorn for you”, standing, applauding for them, putting on my coat/back pack, and leaving the room.

I sat in the audience which injected my presence and immerse the audience.  I think this adds a nice touch of the “inyourfaceexperience” that I enjoy in art—whether it’s in a concept, an image, or the puncture of personal space that “inyourfaceexperience” really captivates the audience.

I wonder what it would be like if there was someone performing the piece in front of the audience while I was responding to them(?).

First

Here's to the first day.  Just the word first brings a lot of thought.  This word pools a mixture of emotions, triggers, and triumphs.  It is really interesting to see that cesspool come to shape.

First, like there is for everything.  Then comes second and third—after that its habit.  How do we break that?  Breaking that first—that is destined to become a habit.

Drain the cesspool.