VIDEO REVIEW:

I liked Kirsten's video because I think her concept is strong.

I like the way she can "comment" on human behavior  using the

animals she made, and how her message is stronger

because she chose to use animals. The concept and execution

were excellent!

Final Project

Final Video Process

        My final video project started out focused on the concept of TIME. 

Ideas on how I relate to time, how I feel squeezed by time, interact with

 time, etc. As I began thinking about time, I wondered what images and 

words might best represent my theme. Words like 

decay, growth, aging entered my mind as elements to consider filming. 

Once I started shooting video, I remembered the assignment from Daniel 

Pink's book which was to place an object on a table and write about it.

      I thought about those objects that I wrote about and gathered some 

of them to look at again. One of these objects was a photograph of my 

son Geoffrey that I took ten years ago at my sister's wedding. He was 

wearing his first suit and tie, and I remember buying that for him and

choosing his tie together. The picture of him all dressed up gave me a 

glimpse of what he might look like as a young man, handsome and smart. 

I felt very proud of him, still do, but that day and especially that picture 

captured a moment in time that I'll savor forever.

      My son's picture reminded me of other memories I have of him 

growing up, and if I was to create another video, I'll focus on creating a

"memories" piece of key times we've shared together. 

     I like the way "art" happens. If you think of an idea, put it in the back 

of your mind for your unconscious to work on, the final outcome usually 

becomes more meaningful. I let this idea sit, and came up with combining 

two ideas into one. I'm not really sure it 'works", but I learned how to 

make this piece a personal journey through time. I'll take elements from 

this and incorporate them into my next piece, getting a little more "lively" 

with the images and the music. Right now, this looks like a good start.

Whole New Mind...Meaning

This chapter described the reason I'm back at Mass Art which is: getting my degree so that I can become a certified teacher.  I never realized how much I love teaching until I taught my son and his third grade class how to make an iMovie.

After teaching my first 45 minute class, I sat down with huge smile on my face. I felt like I'd just won the biggest Jackpot ever! My son's teacher looked at me and said, "Wow! That was great"...'You should seriously consider doing this for real"

Those little kids made an impact on me.

The whole Mass Art experience of making art again has enriched my life. The satisfaction of teaching, and continually learning from my students and other teachers, will keep that smile on my face for many years...or until the next chapterin my life.

The ICA show review

This show was much better than I anticipated.

     The ONE work that grabbed by attention was Cornelia Parker's 

"Hanging Fire ( Suspected Arson)" piece of suspended sculpture. 

The verticality of the piece literally "woke me up" and called me 

in to take a closer look. The blackness of each speck floating in the 

air against the white "sky" and walls reminded me of heavy rain. 

The transparency of the piece was beautiful, allowing me to see the 

whole thing at once, unlike most sculptural work. I also like how 

"architectural" the piece feels, and the precision of the corners.

 Her quote gives us a clue into her thought process when she says,

"If you lay the charcoal on the floor, it starts to look like a morgue... 

But once you reanimate it... it becomes reactivated."

   To me, the artist is saying that you CAN give "new life" to almost

any object, you just have to sit with it for a while to discover what 

it wants to become. It's like clay, if don't force it to become something,

a beautiful shape will (sometimes for me) magically appear.

Overall, this piece emits a positive energy, even though it comes from

something lost forever. I see this piece as a representation of hope, and 

of a spirit that's  been "lifted-up" and given a new life.

Two other pieces I liked from this show were, the Andrea Frasier "spoof"

on the Tate Gallery Audio Tape, where she becomes aroused by feeling the 

smooth walls of the gallery foyer.  This overtly sexual drama was very effective

in getting a laugh, and also it nicely let the artists audience in on the spoof.

The Paul Chan video was another work that made me stop and take notice.

Viewing this video I focused on the small details, the thin telephone wires, 

the thin "wire" outline of a human figure, the bicycle tire spinning freely, 

the blue irregular shapes that seemed to hover at the top of the piece. All of 

these shapes, although they were totally separate from each other, blended 

in a rhythm of a symphony as they moved. 

Whole New Mind...Play

The best statistic from this chapter was the following...

Even doctors can benefit from playing Game Cube.

One study found that physicians " who spend at least

3 hours a week playing video games made about 37

percent fewer mistakes in ... surgery and performed

the task... faster than [other doctors] who did not play"

I've been yelling at my son to get off the game station

and get back to studying for the last two years, without

much success. Then I read this statistic and I thought...

maybe it's not so bad after all. 

Overall I think when you "play" at anything, you are 

letting off steam, unwinding, and enjoying a quick

"time-out" for yourself. I think it's an important part

of a sane and balanced life. 

Paper making Video