Inspired by Sigur Ros's Untitled #1 (Vaka) and my Black Studies Class
I took 28 different dogs and photographed them all in different ways, to capture different personalities. I used a film SLR and digital camera and then had them uploaded onto the computer so I could digitally remove the backgrounds. I then had the images put on transparencies so that it is just the dog and the rest of the image was clear. In the end I hung all the images in a clear plastic sleeve and put the sleeve in the window so that they caught the light to illuminate each dog much like a strip of negatives.
The piece it’s self focuses on the death of Johnny within the book The Outsiders, as well as ideas from my own experiences with death and loss. The bulk of the influence and inspiration for this piece is from the novel itself and not so much visual influences. The presentation is to be more functional, the idea of a keepsake, a place to store thoughts and or items and either hide them or share them with others.
The piece is about the idea of collecting things as a child and a childlike innocence. I used a collection of bouncy balls and jacks as well as lighting up the jar to represent an inner light.
The painting was based off the drawing. I was only allowed to use black and white to create black and white space for the painting. The drawing was inspired from a photograph and the book, This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.
For my Colby
Points of anxiety, a wire scultpure that shows where I feel stress. Heart, Lungs and Feet.
Influences from Death Cab For Cutie's "Follow You Into the Dark" and Cartel's "Burn This City"
This piece was an installation titled "Natural Disaster". The main concept for me was yet another way of expressing the fragility of life and set a mood of calm and eerie. In order to set the mood we; (my partner Cassie and I), used the relationship between nature and industrialization. There was a use of plants, real and fake as well as a turf bottom. In addition was the sound machine of a heart beating, crickets and humidifier for a fog/water/dripping effect. Finally was the projection of a the Hindenburg disaster to show destruction. The installation was designed to be sensory with visuals, sound, and touch experiences. As stated before it was also supposed to set a certain mood of calmness but with a eerie perhaps even an anxious twist.
