YesWeCarve.com

First, I don't know what the deal is with the format here. I've tried correcting it, but the paragraphs just keep lining up like this, and not finishing words on the same line. Sorry. Please continue...

With the upcoming election, I felt it was appropriate to throw in something political. Kind of going off of what I wrote in my last post, about music and video, this is slideshow of photographs uses music and soundclips to provoke an emotional reaction. The chords used in harmony in the music spark a HOPEFUL and ENCOURAGING emotion. The voices and thoughts of Americans from different places, of different genders, ages, races, etc. express the basis of the Obama campaign: in essence, 'by the people, for the people'. One man states directly "We're organizing ourselves. The campaign helps us, they're there to help us. But we're organizing ourselves."  Albeit a slideshow about pumpkins, it does prove this point.  

At a time in this country where the majority of its citizens are fed up, sick and tired of the Bush administration, Obama, -however "experienced" or if he can/would be a "good president"- has truly brought hope to many Americans. He has inspired and reminded people that even though we have dealt with an administration that does whatever it wants (regardless if  "the people" approve or not) that YES WE CAN have a say in our government. I do not know if he will be a good president. We have learned from the American Bush experience that even many who voted for him (TWICE, no less) probably would have chosen otherwise if they could have seen our present day 4 and 8 years ago.

This political campaign is different than I have ever experienced in my lifetime, for more reasons than one. The one that stands out to me, for the sake of this post, is that Obama has inspired people to feel empowered. This video of carved pumpkins shows that the timing and creativity of his campaign has worked. It has jump-started the life back into an emotionally battered nation. Regardless of how 

his policies will pan out, he has been a beacon of light in the political world for veteran and new voters alike. I think the fact that 'regular' people and artists alike are CREATING(!) because of this person, show the social climate in this pivotal point in our country's history. 

No, this isn't "gallery" art. But I can't help but smile while I watch it, knowing that so many people are so excited for change- enough so to want to CREATE because it.

What an exciting time to be living in Chicago!!

I Love Flying

I was inspired by "The New King of Irony" (essay we read last week in Falling Upward) to post a video I made over the summer.  Just in the first paragraph, Lee Siegel writes: "Maybe that's why we're so attached to our iPods: they provide a score of background music that lends to our ordinary days something like the cohesion of a meaningful plot."

I love seeing the world around me, which is why I love photography and video. I love music. These elements combined? Oh my. At it's best, it can be more than breathtaking. Music can tell different stories, without pushing any words down anyone's throats. It challenges the viewer/listener to find the meaning and importance in what they're witnessing.  Certain musical notes can be combined to create harmony. Harmony can be also be created by combining two or more mediums. In the case of music videos and movie scores, for example, two senses are being entertained.  

In June, I flew to Minneapolis for a friend's wedding. I love to travel and I also love Claude Debussy. Some may think there's nothing necessarily amazing about it, but the two elements together make my heart skip. 

"Welcome to Chicago, By Way of Minneapolis/St. Paul"

(For some reason there are two options of video quality, so if you are interested, I recommend watching it in "High Quality", rather than "Normal Quality". You can click on the title "I Love Flying" to go straight to the youtube page. Look under the bottom right hand side of the video.)

Indian Express

I don't know why, but the comment "Best dance/music video on a train ever" caught my eye on Artsjournal.com. So I watched it.

 HOLY CANDYLAND, BATMAN! 

If I had no idea about Indian culture and their "Bollywood" and were to see this I would be so confused. As it is, I really only have a vague (very vague) idea about mainstream Indian pop music/art culture. If this is a peek, then I'm sold! Who would have thought that a train which travels through villages and forests in India would carry such magical musical gifts atop of it?? I mean, the front man wearing the Michael Jackson-esque jacket (circa 1984) has a haircut that every boy in my 6th grade class had. The Indian dance troop in traditional cultural outfits, the belly dancer, the synchronized dancing: it is like eye candy with music from the ice cream man's truck. Something familiar enough about the music to get drawn in, but different from the "everyday" sounds in my surroundings.

While watching this video I wonder what cultural boundaries it crosses. What similarities are there, differences between the two cultural giants? Seriously, this is mainstream Indian pop culture with all the synchronized dancing, the token lead female, and token male pop star included in our mainstream pop culture. Instead of sagging pants, there are traditional turbans; the setting is a choo-choo train instead of an alleyway/street corner. The token female is a belly dancer, and that seems totally normal in the Indian light. The colors, the movement, the costumes. The dancing, the singing. (Did I mention the Michael Jackson jacket?) What and how is any of that "cool" or "hip"? 

Do they see American culture in the same surreal light as we see while watching this video? I would imagine it's just as silly for them as they look at us.

I just gotta say- I love this.It sounds facetious. But honestly, this video makes me smile and makes me want to eat sugar. 

That Poetry was DEAF, yo! Really- it was...

Friday October 10th, Columbia College held a symposium that featured Peter Cook, an ASL (American Sign Language) poet and storyteller (he is also a professor at Columbia), and his hearing collaborator, Kenny Lerner. These two men are "The Flying Words Project", created by Kenny and Peter in 1984. In this hour and a half presentation, a number of poems were told in the ASL language, coupled with movement, spoken word, mime and gestures. By combining humor, drama, political commentary and more, stories were told in a way that made me feel like a kid again, watching a cartoon for the first time. They offered explanations behind some of these stories, like where the idea originated, and how often and best Peter and Kenny work together. I was in awe with the majority of the presentation. It was amazing. It was beautiful. 

Poems told by way of their collaborated talents and imaginations were unlike anything I've seen. The closest thing I can compare it to is a book being made into a movie... but it is more than that! With different languages intertwined and intersected and taken from, the words not only came alive, but took on a life of their own.  The words were literal actions- each word, a painting or photograph of a river from the seat of a canoe. Each word brought us up close and personal with flying birds and allowed us a peek at what air looks like. After this experience, I visualized seeing these same words on a sheet of paper: colorless. Who knew little four, five, or six-lettered words were capably of expressing so much off of the page?

Peter Cook is an amazing storyteller. Kenny Lerner has the perfect poetic audial voice. To do it justice, I encourage you to check out the link I've included. First off, it is a 58 minute video and I do not expect you to watch all of it. I would like to highlight one of the poems I watched. 

I will add, too, the poems/stories change as time changes/passes. While this piece has the same name, it is not exactly the same poem I watched.

The performance on youtube was sponsored by The University of California's Department of Literature on May 23, 2001.  If you are so inclined, please watch the introduction and the first piece, (which is comical, geared more toward a younger crowd). (Approximately 8:30 minutes total) Otherwise, I encourage starting at approximately 3:30, (which includes the last part of the introduction) and the first piece. The whole performance is pretty cool, and if you have the time, I encourage you to enjoy more of it.  (Please click on the Title above to watch the video.)

Knifed to Death- Andres Serrano

  

"Knifed to Death Part I & II" are inclusions in Andres Serrano's "Morgue" series. Appropriately stated at an MCA exhibit, Mr. Serrano successfully "reveals a tension between the power of an image to attract and the power of the subject matter to repel". 

The emphasis on this exact moment in this body's existence brought on by the stark contrasting backdrop neither overwhelms you with gory facts and back-story, nor does it limit the depth of analysis you would choose to go. It invites and allows the viewer to look and stare at an otherwise taboo subject matter.

                                                                      

My initial reaction was both curious and repulsive. But as my eyes and mind continued to roam about these pictures, I found the detailed hands-which were capable of doing so much damage-  to be peaceful, subdued, even while carrying these horrendous gashes.  Once I accepted the body as uninhabited, I found the glossy fingerprint ink to be more alive than the hands themselves. At the same time, singling out these hands may ignore the fact that this person's will to live was literally overpowered by their own heart and mind. This also brings up vulnerability and the sense that we are possibly overstepping our bounds, intruding on not just a corpse, but a real person.

                                                                                   

Even without a face, name or body, we feel a sense of connection: flesh, blood, human. But perhaps the most intimate being the solemn connection with death, which is a guarantee and certainty we will all experience. It lays out a blatant truth and it draws you in and makes you think for yourself your reactions, thoughts and emotions. Without cultural propaganda, this piece allows its viewers to contemplate within themselves their ideas and comfort in their own mortality.

Carrie Mae Weems.

There are many photographers who tell stories with their work. There are artists (or specific work) you can tell they were thinking something deep, but sometimes it's a little too deep. I assume I'm not profound enough, or maybe not pretentious enough. Sometimes it just has to do with not relating at all. Then sometimes there is an avenue there for my imagination to figure it out.

I have found in researching Carrie Mae Weems' art a profound and universal truth found in her work. While she typically uses black subjects, it is meant to represent all ethnicities. 

One self portrait entitled "I looked and looked to see what terrified you" showed her wearing a dress and beads around her neck, looking into a handheld mirror. Her hand is up to her hair. Without the title, it was simply a nice black and white print.  What is so moving about this particular shot is it's complexity.  At face value, it is not "overly" racial. By that, I mean it's not screaming in your face or racially pointing fingers at anyone in particular. At the same time, you see a beautiful woman decked out in an African-style dress, who is obviously very proud of her heritage and who she is. Even as she is dressed up, there is not an air of higher/lower class, nor a feeling that she may be going anywhere, necessarily. She is a woman, she is African American. She is a human being. 

This portrait naturally brings out in us our own conclusions. What is it about any black person, (or Asian, Mexican, or any other nationality, for that matter) that make anyone nervous? She is proving that she and her skin alone are not terrifying. So it is up to us, the viewer, to ask ourselves what it is exactly. The answer you come up with will not just affect how you feel about the portrait but truly about your own thoughts and opinions, also. 

THE ATLAS AGENDA

On Sept 12, I attended a dance performance, The Atlas Agenda. This "new annual dance festival" featured work from seven male choreographers, celebrating men as a minority in dance. The show ran for two weekends (September 5-6, 12-13) at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Lincoln Park. This black box theater was both comfortable and intimate. Being in the front row, I was far enough away to take in the whole stage, yet I could still see facial expressions and intricate details of costumes. 

With the number of choreographers involved, there was a variety of emotion and themes throughout the evening. There were a few I did not care for much, but others that were truly enjoyable. The third performance was my favorite. It was a one-man performance called "Doll House" which was choreographed by 20 year old Chris Nasadowski. There was a lot of storytelling throughout the evening but this piece was different.  The brief introduction let us know the point was to incorporate body motion and dance directly with the music. With a spotlight on center stage and a collage of sound clips, beats and songs, a limber man in a backward visor, gray long sleeved shirt and pants became a part of the rhythm. For example, when Woody Woodpecker laughed out of nowhere, the dancer moved accordingly by shrugging his shoulders with his hand up to his face. Break dancing and other gestures collaborated with Willy Wonka and DJ Shadow to become a sort of smooth roller coaster. We, the audience, were a part of this experience as we sat back and enjoyed the ride. 

I questioned if there were connections or some meaning, and if so what were they? I still felt a smile on my face into the next act! I stopped questioning. I'm pegging this one as pure visual and audial pleasure.