Video Mockup: Updated

Installation Sketch & Video Mockup

3 Sections - Self Reflection on edges - Interaction in center

Mockup: Reactions

So, the good news is, people are reacting really well to my project! I put up my mockup in the hallway. Some reactions have included the following:

• "I want to hang this in my house when I can afford to have actual art." -Student
• "I like what you've got going on. Do more." -Professor
• "It's really beautiful" -Student
• "She seems vulnerable." -Student
• Slight Discomfort
• Interest/Curiosity

Those are just a few things that people said to me while I was working. What I was really happy to see was that I seemed to be successful in creating a visual experience that was both visually appealing and a little off-putting in the details. People seemed to want to spend time examining the different pieces, and I think that was definitely due in large part to the warm/vibrant aesthetic, interest created through 3D elements, and the reflective surfaces.

Installation Layout Idea

Presentation Preparation: Mockup

1). This painting was completed to this point in only one day.

2). The next steps will include working in the paint creatures, adding background elements, and expanding beyond the picture plane.

THESIS STATEMENT: ROUND ONE

I am currently in the process of revising my thesis statement because my reading and thinking over Fall Break has (again) helped to make my direction more clear, resulting in some changes. However, below I have included the first draft of my artist statement in order to document my process.

Beyond Vulnerable

To be vulnerable is essentially to be at risk, to be somehow susceptible to physical or emotional harm or ill will. 

What if we could step easily beyond the limitations set by our vulnerabilities? Perhaps we could overcome the disadvantages of social pressure, of self doubt, and even the constraints of our own physical bodies. Perhaps we could shed our fears of exclusion and inadequacy. What if our interpersonal relationships were not stifled by our internal fears?

What if we took the risk?

Embracing vulnerability means accepting a certain level of risk, of sacrificing personal security for the chance at something better than simply safety. There is grace in that. There is grace in finding peace with a purposeful surrender of oneself. There is beauty, grace, and a twinge of discomfort in taking that leap of faith.

My paintings teeter delicately between causing discomfort by means of distortion and inviting the viewer to appreciate the warmth of rich color or beauty of carefully executed details. Depicting this balance through the meeting of contrasting styles carefully respects the complex issue of confronting vulnerability by recognizing the fearful possibility of harm while celebrating the potential for transcending our fear.

The Importance of Beauty

Simply put, I want my thesis to be beautiful. I want people to want to look at it. I want people to enjoy looking at it. However, I do not want to make something that is beautiful for the sake of being beautiful. I want to make something meaningful that people will spend time looking at and thinking about because they enjoy the experience.

There is definitely something to be said for art that visually arrests the viewer, assaults the eyes, and draws out thought through emotional discomfort, but that it not what I want to do.