10 Mt. House Rd. - Thesis Wrap Up

Moving the couch into the gallery with mom

With so much build up towards installation of my project and the entire thesis show, I have to admit that the whole process (once in full swing) was better than I had expected.  The hours were long, unexpected things came up, but in the end I am very proud of the final product and was very impressed with all my fellow artists as well. It was really a great environment to work in, with lots of helping hands, second, third, even fourth opinions on whether things were hanging straight or needed rearrangement.

My biggest challenge (once I actually go the couch in the gallery) in installation was the wall I needed built, spakled, sanded, and painted.  Kamil did such an excellent job so most of that was taken care of for me. Beyond that and printing all of my material, installation was alot of "fussing" with details.  After several meetings with my design class, I edited and placed the final touches including the lamp, tea cup & saucer, and magazines.

During installation I could already see that my "living room" was as inviting as I intended as other Inner Spacers used it as a relaxing place to rest! Once the show opened, it was truly rewarding to walk through the gallery and find people sitting down and looking through my books.  It truly came out the way that I pictured it in my mind and in my memory.

Unfortunately I was the victim of theft and two elements went missing from my installation.  This was very disheartening to me as a student and an artist.  The artifacts that were taken were personal and one of a kind. On three various occasions I came to the gallery to find that no monitors were even there.  As the only type of "security" the gallery has - this did not help my frustration with the situation.

On a much more positive note, the reception could not have been a bigger success and by the end of it the carpet in my space (which in a previous crit had been questioned because it looked to new) certainly had some wear and tear.

Meeting with the guest critics was also extremely helpful. Even though it was past the point of immediate changes, Yoonjai made several suggestions that I have been considering.  She said that my creation of an environment was really successful, but questioned how it would have been different had I not been there to narrate her through.  She thought perhaps giving the viewer more of a "start" would be helpful.  Another suggestion she made was that I document the project and perhaps that becomes a book of its own.  An evolution of the entire piece, and a way to continue showing it.

final installation

All in all Inner Space and 10 Mt. House Rd were very rewarding.
As an added measure of success,  aunts, uncles, and cousins who came to see the show said they truly felt right at home, as if they were sitting in Mimi and Poppy's living room back in South Orange.  I am confident that those who had never been there still felt its warmth and comfort.

Thesis Crits - catching up.

It's definitely crunch time for the first show, and I am really feeling just how close it is. On Friday I showed some possible iterations of one of the coffee table books for my installation. The content of my book is letters and notes that my grandparents wrote to eat other in the 40's.  I have scanned the photos but will continue to use the actual photographs - placed into the book using photo corners.

The overall reception fit well with the conversation I had been having about the book in Design class. While at first I think I was attached to creating these layouts with pattern and leading the book in a scrapbook direction I have come to agree with the fact that perhaps the first version is too "designed".  With the scanned in patterns and business, the content, these "artifacts" of another time do not shine through, nor does it fit with the rest of the content in my installation which is all very authentic and non-designed in the sense that I am using actual objects.

Beyond that the all aspects of my content seem to be captivating the audiences  I have been showing them too, however my challenge continues to be how to make my own photos and the found photos co-exist in a logical way and allow each to shine. 

I've continued to divide the found photographs into sets based upon where they are in the house, showing the passage of time and the growth of the family, in the same comforting setting.

I've experimenting with lots of ways to hang everything.  Here's a most recent look at that:

I think after this latest hanging I am leaning towards: more space between sets of photos and thinking that I want the larger photos (my originals) to perhaps be even a little more separated in the space. Perhaps on the right wall of my installation space:

The challenge would be to make it feel cohesive, but I think if done right it could serve as a nice bookend to the installation.

Thesis Crit: January 28th

          We had our first crit of Spring semester on Friday which has definitely got me thinking and excited about the upcoming show. First an updated description of what I want to do for the show and what the critique on Friday was centered on. 

        My hope is to address two main points of interest. I am creating an installation using design and photography that will capture my grandparents and serve as a portrait of them and by extension my family.  At the same time the work will focus on memory and the certain amount relatedness that comes with the idea of nostalgia.  I want people to feel comfort and warmth, the fondness of the past.

What I want to do is to design an environment in which viewers in the gallery can feel comfortable.  Memory is sensory; it can be evoked by so many different things (sights, sounds, smells, touch).  While everyone’s experiences are different, there is something about the idea of remembering, of looking back, that is constant and allows for a certain level of relatedness.  In my gallery space I will be setting up this scene of the living room in which viewers can interact with the details and memories that are personal and specific to me and perhaps further reflect on their own.

       My group responded well to my ideas and gave me alot to think about.  I am trying to iron out the way in which I will display the photographs of the house I have taken in juxtaposition with the old photos and memories I have been collecting.  I think that in flipping through my own photos some of their effect is lost and they would stronger hung on a wall perhaps behind the couch.  

      There were mixed thoughts on a series of collages I began making as experimentation for the start of a memory book.  Here I took found photographs (of people in my grandparents house) and layered them in a collage style with the corresponding picture of the room in the house.  I also added text about things I remember.  

 So I am still unsure of exactly how the elements are coming together but I am continuing to experiment in hopes of find a way to balance all of my content.  

Studio Journal- Collage and Portraiture.

In trying to figure out where to take the idea of nontraditional portraiture I decided to try using collage.  I have always liked collage because of the way it brings together so many different elements.  A person's character and personality is likewise made up of so many different elements- so it seemed a perfect fit.  I began with myself and started shooting my environment, my belongings, patterns, and other things that I care about.  I digitally combined all of these photos together to create a collage of "Mary".  While I liked the collage on it's own I thought it might be worth while to pair it with a more traditional portrait, creating a diptych.  Once I completed my own portrait I decided to include others.  So I have been collecting images of family and friends in the same way and creating these collage portraits.  Once I have enough images, they will be bound into a book.  I really like that it gives two reads of a person- the view anyone could see just by looking at the person but also pairing it with tiny details you might not see but that really make the person who they are.  It is a bigger, more complete picture and expression of personality.

 (in progress)

Studio Journal - A New Cliche

In Design III we were assigned the task of creating and distributing a new cliche, I wasn't sure how to connect this to my thesis interest but I knew where I wanted to start: Bruce Mau's Incomplete Manifesto For Growth.  I knew when I read this that I wanted to do something visual with it and this was the perfect opportunity since the list consisted of so many design troupes, ideas that could easier enter the idea of cliche.
I decided that I would turn each on into a post card that could be mailed out.  To create the images I used quick associations from either the tag line or the explanation of each point on Mau's list. All the images were found using Google images as my tool. Each postcard is numbered so that the recipient would know that they are receiving a part of a whole.

While I really liked the visual impact and idea of the postcard set, I was still unsure how this idea could work into my thesis.  The biggest link was association.  Each card would get part of my personality, since I created them with my own associations.  Then I would be connecting with others by choosing who to send each one too and bringing their personality in to the mix.

Collecting Images: Further Stumbling

In trying to find the Ellie Brown project I mentioned previously, I found this guy on flickr: Jason Travis. I really loved all his portrait work.  The subjects seemed confident, comfortable, and therefor the portrayals seemed true to their own spirits.  Maybe that's the case, maybe its not.  But what i stumbled upon in relation to Ellie Brown's project and my own interest in beginning this search was a bag project of his own.  A series called Persona. Instead of trying to sum this up I give you a Bio of Persona straight from Flickr:


[Persona Bio]

When he began taking photographs in November 2007 for his Persona diptych series, Jason Travis set out to catch up with old friends, learn more about new friends, and, most significantly, to capture a portion of their lives in terms of what each individual considered essential enough to carry around with them everyday.

Viewers of the Persona diptychs take a voyeuristic delight in not only glimpsing the items usually tucked away in bags and pockets, but in identifying with strangers by relating to the tokens they carry with them. Alongside the meticulously arranged items that each person carries, Jason situates a portrait in which the subject always seems confident and at home, comfortable in their own skin. In these snapshots, each person appears as Jason sees them, which is always beautiful. Assembling the Persona diptychs has not only allowed Jason to combine his love of photography with his knowledge of the uniqueness and beauty in each of his subjects, but also has allowed him to share this knowledge with others.

-Sam NeSmith

Melissa. Persona Series - Jason Travis

David. Persona Series- Jason Travis

Colby. Persona Series- Jason Travis

Ben. Persona Series- Jason Travis

Amelia. Persona Series- Jason Travis

I love the system that Travis has set up.  There is such a consistency in his style, (The focus of the background, the centering of the portrait, the neatly laid out objects) that the true point of the images, the capturing of individuality and exploration of usually hidden details is able to truly shine through.  The focus on the background of the portrait images is something I especially love.  It adds to the personality of the subject, without distracting from the portion of the actual person that we can see. Each is so unique, and I could spend hours going through each of them.  There is always something new that you can notice in the sprawled out items. As the bio points out, the viewer has the chance to connect to the subject, to associate on some level even with just maybe one of the small details found in the contents of the bag.  Like Ellie Brown, Travis titles each image simply with the first name of the subject.  He includes even less detail than Brown , but with the same effect.  It puts a name to a face.  I think it's a nice touch.
 

You Are What You Keep

With and interest in the things people collect, hold on to, surround themselves with- the phrase "you are what you keep" kept coming to mind. So naturally, I googled it.  And I came across this:

http://www.newsweek.com/2008/06/22/you-are-what-you-keep.html

In this Newsweek article Jennie Yabroff discusses the work of psychologist Sam Gosling and his book: Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You. 

"A psychology professor who spends his days poking around in other people's bedrooms, offices, and medicine cabinets, Gosling believes that our artifacts--our books, music, photos, posters, and, yes, even our bottle caps--serve as nonverbal cues to the rest of the world as to who we are and what we value."

I love the choice of the work "artifact" - it really captures my own interest in looking at people's belongings.  They tell a story of history as well as comprise a present personality. Gosling says his main interest is personality differences.  I think I'll have to check out Snoop for myself.