The Mundane In My Life

My concept for this project stems from my personal life. I will use video as my medium, recording several different mundane activities that I do on a weekly basis
The meat of the clips is going to be found in the absurdly tedious/typical things I do on a typical day... closeups of tearing open the package to a granola bar, sipping my coffee, opening the door to my room, typing on my laptop keyboard, etc. I am going to try to find the things that I do without even thinking. I see the video beginning with my alarm clock going off, and ending with a clip of me in my bed, in my room, under the covers, and then the lights go off thus signaling the end to the day.

I am going to record these individual actions and combine them in a video with editing that communicates a mundane feeling. I anticipate using a dull filter such as black and white, or one with a green tint. Avoiding smooth transitions but rather quick cuts, and repeating these clips over and over in different sequence with quickening speeds to communicate how it is a routine for me.
My thought is that this method to editing may communicate chaos more than a mundane routine. So....  on the other hand, I could do the opposite and edit the clips to be very slow in order to show that it's a monotonous and boring routine. I may experiment with both of these approaches and decide which is best in the end

I want to make this video personal and for that reason I am pulling elements from my own life week by week, day to day.

My Senior Project: A Work in Progress... (Fashion in Spain)

As some of you may or may not know, I have had to start my Senior Project while in Spain. I am an art major and while some seniors have a "Senior Thesis"... mine is called a Senior Project. What that means is I have to come up with a way to demonstrate what I have learned in my major and display that through whatever artistic medium I feel is best.
I have always been really interested in fashion, and culture. I'm sure you knew the former considering this is a fashion blog.... But anyway, I decided to combine both into my Senior Project. I am going to be creating a Spanish fashion magazine. In order to do this, I have had to take photos of Spaniards here in Salamanca. The magazine is going to be strictly on women around my age. Think of a magazine like InStyle, or Seventeen or something of that sort. That age range will be my demographic. I plan to create segments in my magazine such as a "Get The Look," "What's In My Closet," etc. It's a work in progress and my ideas are constantly changing.

But today I lucked out and was able to plan an actual photoshoot with three Spanish girls for my project. I've gotta say it's a little nerve-wracking having to walk up to strangers and ask them, in Spanish, if I can take their photo for my "proyecto de la moda" (Fashion project). So meeting with girls who already knew my objective and were excited to help me out put my nerves at ease. Also I was able to actually control the types of photos I wanted and it was overall a really fun time.

Here are some sneak peak photos from the shoot!

Raquel

Two random spanish girls I stopped on the street

Sara

Coral

A big thank you to my beautiful models Raquel, Coral, and Sara!

Spain: Fashion for the Seasons

I promised in my last post that I would create one about typical outfits I have seen in Spain, so here it is! I tried to create outfits that fit for the different seasons here thus far.


This is an outfit that I saw lot of during my first multiple weeks here. A lot of girls (specifically teenage) would be rocking a tight cami that ended just above their hip bones, or above their belly buttons depending on how risque they wanted to be that day..., jean shorts, black platform sneakers (platform sneakers are a huge trend here for young girls), and of course a small backpack. I´m not sure that you´d see me walking the streets in this outfit, but it´s definitely a European look that I saw when I first arrived. It makes sense too though. It was ungodly hot upon arrival so why fuss with anything more than a tank top and shorts?

This next outfit I saw more of in mid September to early October. Printed pants. Everywhere. And people of all ages were wearing them. I wouldn´t even know where to start with them, but people here knew how to style them (for the most part). I saw a lot of people just wearing them with jean jackets which is always a safe way to go when you´re wearing something else so loud. I was even tempted to buy a pair but I knew that I´d only get a couple months wear out of them, and then it´s back to blizzards and below zero weather in Wisconsin. But a lot of other girls in my program bought themselves a pair (super easy to find in stores too because like I said, they were everywhere. And sometimes for less than 10 euro!). Also, I love this style of sandal. I saw some back in the States and wanted one since then, but didn´t realize how big of a trend they are in the hotter months in Spain. I saw people my age wearing them as well as ladies in their 70s. Must be comfortable.

Finally, we´re in Fall. It came quickly too. I feel like in a matter of a couple of days it went from 60s-70s to 40s-50s weather here. So now this is what I´ve been seeing a lot. Not too different from the states I´d like to add. The military green parka seems to be a universal trend (especially the ones with the little dangly strings in the back... you ladies know what I´m talking about... I hope). As well as knee high boots. Another universal fall trend. I don´t think knee high boots will ever go out of style for those of us living where Fall and Winter are a real thing. But don´t quote me on that. It rains here on and off so I also see a lot of Spaniards wearing rain boots on a daily basis, just on the off chance that it might rain. They treat them as a normal day-to-day boot in a sense. I don´t however see many people wearing leggings which is really disappointing since I live in leggings during the colder months. People here still for the most part stick with a pair of jeans. I´ve also seen some people layering their sweaters over collared shirts, which isn´t anything outrageous... but it´s nice to know that they are still putting some effort into their outfits whereas when its cold I just throw on a sweater and call it a day. Oh, and I added an umbrella just because people are borderline afraid of the rain here and are always prepared for the rain. Always.

Fall in Spain

I didn't die, I promise. I'm still here. I wish I could have been a bit more consistent with my blog, but hey ... better late than never, right? People say that, so let's go with that.

If you didn't know, I am studying in Spain right now (what!?). So I decided to take a bit of inspiration from being here to create a look that I would wear here in Salamanca.
Fall in Spain is close to perfect. It's still in the 70's! Although I must say I do miss the chillier weather which comes along with Fall in Wisconsin. I never thought I'd say that. But then again, I hear it's in the 40s and 50s there already, and I do not necessarily wish for it to be that cool yet. So I am soaking up all the sun I can before it starts cooling down.

Back to the outfit I put together. This is definitely an outfit I would wear for the weather here right now. Throw on a pair of jeans, cute booties, throw on a cardigan and you're good to go. You really do not need to pull out the fall jacket yet. You can probably even ditch the cardigan, but I always bring some type of outerwear with me wherever I go since I'm always scared of being somewhere cold and not being reliable to do anything about it.

So yeah, if I owned these clothes... this is what I would be wearing right about now. Actually, I own that dark cherry lipstick but that's a minor detail. I think dark cherry is the perfect color to wear for the fall, especially on your nails, like the one shown in this post. But back to the outfit...essentially it's just jeans and a tee, but the over-sized cardigan, cut-out booties, and chunky statement necklace make it a bit more interesting. I also decided to add the black backpack because most people my age wear little backpacks instead of purses here in Spain. I like this one because it's sleek enough to go with anything and, even though it's a backpack, the gold hardware and geometric lines make it less casual.

Maybe I'll make a "Most-Seen Outfits in Spain" post next... although that title needs some work.

Hasta entonces.

The Love(less) Workshop

For my final project in Digital Processes, I knew that I wanted to do something that involved being open and personal with others. I wanted to put together an event that involved people engaging in an activity that allowed them to be vulnerable. I know, however, that this idea is not entirely welcome by everyone and it would be difficult to attract participants. For this reason, I staged "The Love(less) Worskshop." I reserved a room in the Warch Campus Center, created a Facebook event inviting people to participate, and it came together. During the event, each participant was told to write a break-up letter and a love letter, and that is what they did. I had songs about love playing during the event itself in order to stimulate the writing process.

In "Relational Aesthetics" by Nicolas Bourriaud, he talks about the "arena of exchange." He states, "The exhibition is the special place where such momentary groupings may occur, governed as they are by differing principles…[and the arena of exchange] must be judged on the basis of aesthetic criteria, in other words, by analyzing the coherence of its form, and then the symbolic value of the 'world' it suggests to us, and of the images of human relations reflected by it" (18).
My event aimed to create this arena of exchange where everyone participating in the same vulnerable activity, and were thus able to relate to one another in this way; by being vulnerable and tapping into their personal feelings. It was my effort to comment on the "world" of social barriers that exists and to delve into the "world" of openness where people are able to relate to one other on a personal level.

After they wrote the letters, I interviewed each person and asked them the same few questions.
Here is my video documentation of the event and interviews.

Enjoy!

THE BREAK UP LETTER // THE LOVE LETTER

Nicolas Bourriaud states in his book Relational Aesthetics, "Now, contemporary art is often marked by non-availablity, by being viewable only at a specific time. The example of performance is the most classic of all. Once the performance is over, all that remains is documentation that should not be confused with the work itself" (29).
He also states, "The exploration of relations existing between, for instance, the artist and his/her gallery owner may determine forms and a project" (33).

My project will combine his two concepts expressed in these two quotes: art being an ephemeral experience and consisting of collaboration.

I drew my inspiration from Sophie Calle's break-up letter project where she had individuals analyze a break-up letter. Love and pain are sensitive topics and I enjoyed the fact that this break-up letter had the opportunity to surface these feelings in other people, through use of analysis.
My project will be different, however...

A group of individuals will be tapping into their feelings and write what they feel when given the instruction to "write a break up letter" and "write a love letter." They will be not required to write a whole letter, but a few sentences to express their feelings.
(Alcohol may be provided in this social setting in order to serve as a catalyst for these open feelings)
Once everyone who wishes to participate has anonymously written their sentences, I will combine the sentences of the break up letter to form one collaborative break up letter. Same with the love letter.

The purpose is not to have this documentation at the end, but the documentation rather serves as proof of the event. The art in this project is the social event, people socializing and opening themselves up and being vulnerable on paper. It may be difficult to get people to take this seriously, but that is okay! I am flexible and open to whatever the outcome may be. If people think about a specific person they once loved and write anonymously about them, then great! If people write a cheesy, borderline-humorous love letter... that is okay too.

The experience is the art, and part of the beauty of this art is being open to the unexpected.

 

Robert Smithson

His name may be ordinary, but his work is not.

Robert Smithson, during his short life of 35 years, defied conventional art and traditional approaches to art through his use of non-traditional art materials and creating art that represents form and as being one with the earth.
He is most famous for his earthworks like the Spiral Jetty which was meant to be an ephemeral experience as well as defy conventional art by placing the art in the physical landscape as opposed to on it. This 1,500 ft long and 15 ft wide jetty extends into the Great Salt Lake in Utah and allowed for visitors to experience the art as a journey through walking on it.

Spiral Jetty

His works consisted of not only earthworks, but drawings, sculptures, photographs, films, etc. Here is an excerpt from the film he created about the Spiral Jetty.

Spiral Jetty is just a prime example of his artwork. Here are some more examples of his non-conventional pieces:

Dead Tree

Partially Buried Shed

Robert Smithson created artwork that was meant to exist outside of the gallery setting and for this reason, Bourriaud name-drops him in his book called "Relational Aesthetics." Smithson allowed for viewers to think about art in a different, non-conventional way and thus contributed to the idea of relational aesthetics.