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4D Performance Art

Walk a Mile

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Experiment #4 Richard Serra’s Verb List

Verbs depicted in the photographs: Gather, Wash, Slice, Season, Shape, Sass, Grill, Eat

My list of 20 verbs �� see above, plus cut, cook, paint, glue, arrange, ignite, burn, build, mix, peel, mince, strain.

Three favorite verbs – slice, season, eat.

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4D Reading Module 4 Performance Art

The Other History of Intercultural Performance

The second article, The Other History of Intercultural Performance, by Coco Fusco, was an interesting perspective. Reading about the history of people on display was heartbreaking to say the least. I was not aware that this occurred. The experiment of the artists putting themselves in a cage on display was fascinating and to read about how others reacted was shocking. It is hard to imagine how they felt, and it is hard to imagine how it would feel to see them in a cage. If I saw them in a cage, I would be so confused and would have to sit down immediately and search the internet on my phone and try to figure out what I was looking at. I don’t know what I would’ve thought in the early 90s, had I come across this exhibit randomly in some art museum. I have been in third world (and modern) prisons for work and interviewed detainees and seen plenty of people behind bars that I have no problem with, but seeing a human being on display like they did would’ve been shocking. I think I would have immediately thought they were actors. I would love to see a documentary on this. It was as if the artists were doing an experiment on the audience.

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4D Reading Module 4 Performance Art

Performance a Hidden History -

I enjoyed reading the Roselee Goldberg article, “Performance: A Hidden History.” I found that it went along really well with the video in the lesson, “The Case for Performance Art” and the Marina Abramovic movie, which I found all very interesting. Having no prior exposure to “performance art,” I am very interested in the history of it and also how to define it. After the film and the lecture in class and starting to brainstorm ideas for my projects I find the more I learn, the less I understand. It was interesting to watch, but sort of like a traffic accident where I find it hard to look away, but don’t like what I’m seeing.  I find it interesting how artists and videos and articles seem to define it differently and it has me wondering if my piece will be performance art or just like a basic TikTok video…. Which I’ve never made before, so at least I will be learning. The article spoke of performance art being a collaboration of artists from different disciplines – painters, poets, architects, dancers, magicians and filmmakers. In the Abramovich movie, she spoke of the difference between performance art and theatrical art is that in performance art, the blood is real and not ketchup…. But some of the writings speak of theatrical art as performance art. I had an hour long debate with my husband about different types of performance art could do and even though he felt sure he understood it, I felt I had come full circle and was back to being confused about when it becomes art, especially in our videotaped context. This article even states that performance art is live art with an audience, so when most of my ideas are filmed alone, I wonder when it becomes performance art.  I think with my editing and then posting of the video it then becomes performance art no matter what it is depicting… or does it need a story? Need actual art in it (like poetry, fashion, dance, creating something)? When most of my ideas involve food, fashion and dance, I wonder if the little TikTok videos I’ve seen qualify as performance art. If so, then I’m right on track.

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This is my Colorado ~ Rocky Mountain Gratitude long version (the entire song)

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The Supercut Video –. 

Colorado - Rocky Mountain Gratitude

In these times when our country can feel divided, I like to focus on our similarities and appreciate all we have in common and our way of life here in Colorado. We all have hardships, but we are fortunate to live here where there is so much beauty and opportunity. I believe our Colorado culture bonds us and we are more alike than we are different. The Colorado Rocky Mountain way (for us anyway) is better than the way we had. My husband and I have lived in for Colorado for about two and a half years and love it! I’m 53 years old, I’ve lived all over the world and there is no place I would rather be than right here, right now. I take pictures everywhere and I am in awe daily of the beauty that is all around us. There are so many things to love about Colorado - #1 is the friendly, upbeat people, but these images focus on the natural landscape and all that we have access to. In Colorado we enjoy all four seasons with 300 days of sunshine, urban and rural adventures, a wide variety of art/culture, outdoor activities, wildlife, beautiful nature, sporting events, festivals, conventions, parks, botanical gardens, great food/beer... No let’s get out there, have some fun and enjoy this incredible state that we are fortunate enough to call home.

Video credit Joe Walsh – Rocky Mountain Way music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt75y38J00s Photo/video credit – A few photo/videos were shot by my daughter, Sarah Thomas, and my husband, Dan Thomas. Apple Maps screenshots of Denver

This project was a great opportunity for me to enhance my favorite Colorado photos in Lightroom and to learn more about IMovie. I’ve fallen in love with Lightroom and plan to use it regularly. The most challenging part was limiting the video to 1 minute… so I made two videos… a long one and a short one.

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Blue Ball 2023

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4D Reading and Response #3 – Video Art

The first article, Projection: Vanishing and Becoming, by Sean Cubit was very interesting. I enjoyed it discussing the origin of art. For someone new to the art world, with a sense of wonder about who has the time, luxury and desire to make art, it instantly made sense. Imagining the woman making a charcoal outline of her lover’s profile/shadow on a wall before he goes off to war clicked for me and made me see the creation of art, as if it was capturing a moment, like the way we use pictures today. The article got me thinking about art trying to preserve something and how we are trying to “cheat death” and live on. I think it gives us a feeling that we are leaving something permanently behind when we create art that may be seen by people in future generations. And it makes us feel that we won’t be forgotten. I enjoyed reading about the origins of projection and how I am so grateful for this medium. I do not have a huge imagination and am practical/logical and it’s hard for me to get lost in stories when reading; however, I find it easy to get lost in projections/movies. Even recently for my art history class, I watched Alexander because it was hard for me to imagine Babylon and Alexander the Great. These projections, especially historical ones and science fiction, really help me to open my mind and imagine how things once were and what amazing things could be possible.

Introduction to Video Art by Lea Collet was also fascinating and I enjoyed the links to videos she described. My favorite description and video was that of Pipilotti Rist, Ever is Over All, 1997. I was sucked into watching the woman stroll down the street, looking so happy and peaceful. The calm music was mesmerizing and I loved the mix of screens with the flowers and nature on the right, with bright, cheery colors. And then the bursts of violence when she uses the flower to break glass and then she resumes her stroll and smile and then as I watched and waited for it, it happens again. This was an interesting depiction of the contradictions that are in each of us, that we are all capable of joy and anger and highs and lows…. That each of us has a beast within us and we need to keep that beast tapped down and under control. I also enjoyed watching Beyonce’s 2017 music video Hold Up, where she used the same format, strolling down the street with a smile on her face, after she talked about all the work she had done on herself and then still to be tortured by wondering if he was cheating. She looks so relaxed and happy, strolling down the street and then suddenly uses the baseball bat to smash out car windows and shop windows, break fire hydrants and then resumes her peaceful stroll. The art is beautiful and well done. It reminds me of how challenging times can be and that most of us have been on emotional roller coasters in life, over relationships, love, anger, jealousy, heart ache, heart break, yearning… The retired law enforcement officer in me is pretty black and white about violence and destruction of other people’s property. Yes, it can feel good to break things, but I hope she does not inspire others to follow her lead by glamourizing it. I have also been divorced and been in bad relationships. I absolutely understand her feelings, but I think it’s just time to leave Jay Z – love yourself more.

Five examples of time based video, art, film and cinematic artists:

Nam June Paik is a South Korean video artist that creates works that involve culture, technology and politics. https://www.paikstudios.com/#GALLERY

Bill Viola is a contemporary video artist whose work often depicts spotlighted figures acting out emotional gestures and expressions in slow motion. https://www.billviola.com/

I loved visiting the immersive van Gogh exhibit in Denver, which was a video projection of the brush strokes of van Gogh’s painting. https://www.immersivevangogh.com/

I think this exhibit was an amazing projection that lasted under an hour, could be enjoyed by all and exposed people to his art that normally would not go to an art museum.

The Multiverse by Leo Villareal at the National Gallery of Art is another example -https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.142055.html

The Denver Civic Center has an amazing holiday light projection that is synced to music.

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Project 2: Gif Series Part 1

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project #2 : Gif series

GIFs have become a ubiquitous part of internet culture. Evolving from a mere novelty or annoying pop-up to an essential form of online communication, they provide a unique way of expressing emotion and sharing ideas in a compact shareable format. They are fundamentally short and simple, from silly and meaningless to grand and emotional; they are glimpses of what makes up the internet. In the same way, the moments that make up our day-to-day lives, no matter how ordinary, shape who we are as individuals. Each experience contributes to the sum of our existence, their meaning decided by their memory: the short “gif” of that moment in your mind.

To pay homage to the unassuming yet integral presence of GIFs in internet culture, I embarked on a project that reflects my personal experiences, both big and small. Through this series, I aimed to capture the moments of my recent life, from concerts and football games to day-to-day moments in my camera roll. These clips hold glimpses of my world, including the boy I babysit, my cats playing, and my boyfriend at home. My love for skiing and dining out also found its place in this project. Furthermore, geese flying over the campus served as a source of inspiration, as they are my favorite animals.

In the process of creating these GIFs, I experimented with various techniques in Photoshop and the Photos app on my iPhone. However, I found the grainy texture of Tumblr's GIF function the most fitting, complementing the poor image aesthetic that works so well with GIFs. By staying true to this art form and my personal experiences, I hope to convey the beauty of the seemingly mundane moments in life.

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Pushing through everyday. Seeking. Hoping for happiness. For me, with happiness there will always be sorrow but nature continues to prove that even in the worst of times one can find peace and solace. I seek the experiences in nature that will make me forget, if just for a brief second.

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Art Project #2: Gif Series

Animals add so much joy to our lives! Pets remind us to be present, play, have fun and be goofy. I experimented with a variety of my own videos, which included nature, art, dancing and sports. The GIFs I most enjoyed creating, sharing and looking at were those of animals. I don’t have any pets, but I love everyone else’s pets and I think these looped/edited videos show that. Making these GIFs have restarted the conversation with my husband and I about when we will be ready to adopt our own pet ~ perhaps this fall... “we’ll see.”

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4D Experiment #2 ~ Reunited

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4D Reading Week 2 GIFs

I found the readings about GIFs this week very interesting. All of the information was new to me and I have never played with GIFs at all, other than to embed one into a text from my phone that showed emotion – like a celebratory “Yay!” or the one of Ben Affleck smoking a cigarette to show total exhaustion. 😊  or SNLs Molly Shannon kicking as Sally O’Malley, when I turned 50 a few years ago. It looks like it will be fun to experiment with this type of art that I never imagined doing.

I enjoyed the video “How Art Can Transform the Internet,” and how the “Kenosha kid” sentence continually changed with different meaning. I was moved by the last words of the death row inmates, especially the one that said, “I did not kill your loved one.” If true, that this person died and they were innocent, it breaks my heart. I also enjoyed looking at the video of XXO by M.I.A. The video was beautiful and I loved all the animated flowers. I enjoyed Toyin Odutola’s video about her drawings and the hands. Her art is incredible and I enjoyed watching her and appreciate her upbeat, positive attitude. I relate to the feelings she described when drawing – a sort of flow, peaceful state… that I long to find on this snowy afternoon. The slow moving GIFs from the Oakland barber shop were very cool and some of them force you to slow down and look hard because the movement is slow and subtle.

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(via GIPHY) love this and so many other gifs with the still background and the hair or clothing blowing in the wind. I am drawn to hair and love to play with cuts, colors, styles.

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(via GIPHY) Love this gif of a mountain biker - apparently from the movie 127 hours. I have a gravel bike and love to ride dirt roads and trails.  This one makes me long for warmer weather and a bike trip.

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(via GIPHY) this psychedelic mandala has such a happy, brightness to it. It draws me in and I love that it feels infinite.. but I can’t look too long or I get a bit dizzy.