Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Ideas and Things

Here's some sketchbook stuff of another idea I had for this project.  The other idea involved combining lightbox and shadowbox, but I decided that was too sick of a concoction to make, look at what happened to Frankenstein when he tried to combine all those body parts. 

Building Project 4

Here's some measuring I did while trying to get the image to put in my light box.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Artist Statement for Project 3

Stop the Insanity!


This work is a composition of found footage, the two components being a collection of infomercials and a sound recording of Alan Ginsberg reading the footnote to Howl.  The infomercials are intended to express an attempt to order and control the created objects in the universe.  They do this for two reasons, first because the infomercials chosen are of objects that are supposed to help order and organize domestic possessions, as well as due to the infomercial medium itself is very formulaic by nature.  The poem is a reference to the Zen Buddhist dabbling of the beat generation artists and how, as Kerouac puts it, "everything has a Buddha nature."  This notion seems to parallel the ideas of the monists, especially Spinoza, who comes to the conclusion that there is only one substance in the universe and since there is only one, that substance must be god.  Everything is an attribute of the one eternal substance, and trying to impose a system of order by creating categories and places in which to put the things in these categories, denies that there the one substance.  And thus by trying to organize objects one is denying not only god, but their own holiness as an attribute of god.


The formal qualities of the video seek to parallel this concept.  At the beginning of the video Ginsberg identifies the chaos (that is supposedly apparent before the miracle product) as Holy, despite the obvious discomfort people feel without a system to control their environment and make them feel safe.  Ginsberg continues to list holy things, but the volume of the poem decreases with the imposition of the products and ordering systems.  The work ends however with both the clutter and the products gone and him declaring "Holy the hideous human angels!" the fact that the objects have faded shows that one must accept their place within the one eternal substance to truly actualize their holiness, and in so doing give up the need to control other holy things, either by possessing them (which causes the problem of process in the first place) and by imposing order (which is itself a Tower of Babel). 

Another Project I Started to Plan

Here's as far as I got on an other attempt at project 3, it was going to be about folk-taxonomies!
Personal Inventory, March 9th 2011

action figure sized guns 1
adaptors 2
alarm clocks 1
American dimes 2
American dollar bills 1
American half dollar coins 1
American nickels 1
American pennies 104
American quarters 1
amethyst pieces 1
arrow heads 3
axis and allies pieces 204
backpacks 2
bags of brown sugar 1
bags of corn 1
bags of icing sugar 0.5
bags of seafood 1
bags of white flour 1
bandanas 7
bars of soap 3
bathing suits 2.5
beach glass pieces 19
beads 1624
beds 1
bike helmets 1
bike lube 1
bike pump 1
bikes 2
binders 4
blankets 2
boards 1
bolts 1
books 64
boots 4
bottles of conditioner 0.25
bottles of liquor 0.5
bottles of rubbing alcohol 1
bottles of shampoo 1.25
bras 6
bronze cross awards 1
bronze medallion awards 1
bull nose clips 3
butter 1
buttons 705
buttons (pinback) 51
calculators 1
camera 1
camping mattresses 1
camping stoves 1
candles 7
cans of apple juice 1
cans of fruit cocktail 1
cans of mandarin oranges 1
cans of paint 5
cans of tomatoes 2
cards 21
caribeaners 5
carrots 7
cartons of milk 1
CD drive 1
cellphone 1
cellphone cases 2
charcoal pieces 14
charging cords 3
cheese blocks 3
chess pieces 32
clay 1
coal pieces 1
coats 2
coffee maker 1
combs 1
composters 1
computers 1
condiments 8
containers 2
conte 11
cork balls 1
corral pieces 1
coveralls 1
crochet hooks 1
cutting mats 1
dental floss 2
dice 20
dimes 298
divacup 1
dog tags 1
dominoes 160
double boilers with wax 1
dresses 1
dressmaker's paper pieces 2
dymo label makers 1
earplugs 4
eggs 2
envelopes 9
erasers 3
eye droppers 1
face wash 1
film containers 1
fishbowls 1
fools gold pieces 2
foreign coins 9
frying pans 1
garbage cans 2
glasses 2
glasses (vision) 3
gloves 4
glue sticks 1
graphite pieces 1
graphite sticks 1
guitar 1
hammocks 1
hankies 12
hard hats 1
hats 3
headlamps 1
headphones 2
highlighters 2
items out from the library (public) 33
items out from the library (university) 5
jar of coffee grinds 1
jar of my grandmother's rags 1
jars 11
jars full of pantry items 26
jars of tomato sauce 2
key rings 2
keyboards 1
keys 5
knife blades 11
knitted socks 1.5
knitting needles 4
knitting patterns 1
knives 1
lamps 2
leggings 1
lighters 3
lino tools 1
long johns 2
loonies 3
magazines 6
margarine 1
mash models 2
mattresses 1
mechanical pencil lead cases 1
mechanical pencil leads 29
mesh bags 2
mice 1
milk crates 6
mirror 1
mixer 1
monopoly pieces 1
mp3 player 1
nail clippers 2
necklaces 1
nickels 112
Nintendo game box 1
notepad 1
nut 1
Oktoberfest coins 2
onions 9
pads 13
paint chips 7
paintbrushes 20
paintings 3
palette knife 1
pants 7
pastels 24
pencil 1
pencil case 2
pencil crayons 66
pencil set 1
pencil sharpeners 1
pendants 1
pennies 147
pens 6
permanent markers 2
perogies 12
pewter mugs 1
phaser replicas 1
picture frames 3
pictures 14
pillow cases 1
pillows 2
pitas 1
pliers 1
pointy things for knife 3
posters 2
potatoes 6
power bars 1
puzzles 2
qtips 136
quarters 11
quartz pieces 1
razor blades 5
razors 1
record player 1
records 54
recycling bins 1
reed pen 1
ring 1
roach clip 1
robot sculpture 1
rolls dymo label tape 13
rolls of American pennies 2
rolls of pennies 1
rotary knives 1
Rubik's Cubes 1
rulers 1
saint medals 3
sandals 2
sanding blocks 1
satchel 1
scanners 1
scarves 1
scissors 2
SD cards 1
seashells 1
sewing machines 2
sewing needles 2
sheets 2
shelves 2
shirts with collars 4
shoe boxes 1
shoe laces 6
shoes 2
shorts 9
skateboards 1
skates 4
sleeping bags 2
slumped glass pieces 1
smudge sticks 1
snowpants 1
socks 46
souvenir squished pennies 4
square rulers 1
stamps 4
straight pen nibs 4
straight pens 1
stretchers 1
styluses 1
suit cases 1
sweaters 5
T-shirts 21
tanktops 5
tape measures 1
tarps 3
tents 1
thimbles 1
tin boxes 1
tins 2
tokens 4
tooth brushes 3
tooth paste 2
tortillas 9
towels 2
tricorder replicas 1
tubes of paint 23
tweezers 1
twoonies 1
Ukrainian Easter egg tools 2
underwear 10
usb sticks 2
utility knife 1
utility knife blade container 1
utility knife blades 2
vests 1
viewfinders 1
walkman 1
wallets 1
war amps key tags 2
washers 2
waterbottles 1
watercolour pencil crayon sets 1
wax hotdogs 5
wet suits 2
wine bottles 1
wooden bowls 1
wooden nickels 1
X-acto knives 3
yarn balls 2
zip lock bags 9

Here's a post with some references to taxonomy and categorization

http://www.strayshoppingcart.com/shopping_cart/2_uts.htm
a taxonomy

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/science/11naming.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
on taxonomy

58.  There is Nothing Like a Nurse  (B-309)
     November 19, 1974
     Written by Larry Gelbart
     Directed by Hy Averback
     Guest Stars:  Jamie Farr, Loudon Wainwright III, Bill Christopher, Bobbie
                   Mitchell, Molli Benson, Jeanne Schulherr, Leland Sun

     The nurses are evacuated when the threat of an enemy parachute
drop arises.  Hawkeye and Trapper try to enliven everyone's spirits
with them gone.
Box labeled "Surgical Supplies and purple things"

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Hurray!

I apparently now know everything there is to know about Final Cut Express.

Prelude to an Artist Statement

Here are some words I made a while ago to try and get this project rolling.  They're not exactly where it ended up, but where it started at least.