For the project brief, we are required to create a metaphorical journey as part of an installation. This can be created in any way, using sound, video, photography, text or a combination.
Bucket List Idea
This idea was inspired by last year's Time Art project, in which I researched the installation of Victor Sonna's Twisted Bikes. These bikes were created to show the twisted events that are reflected through people's lives, also detailing their unique movement both physically and mentally.
Taking this idea of a life journey, I want to reflect mine through people's experiences (or plans for the future, literally mapping out their life). A Bucket list is a list of experiences/places that people write down, like a checklist, in order for them to complete in their life. This idea focuses on a bucket list, with it portraying a life journey of a person, giving the audience an insight into the mystery person's personality and objectives in which they want to live through.
The installation will contain a real bucket (silver/metal) containing maps, pictures, leaflets etc. This will give the audience a sense of interactivity, allowing them to piece together who this person is and what they are interested in. It will also place the audience in the person's shoes, giving them experience through a memory or different forms of media.
I would like to utilise various aspects of media, such as illustrations (leaflets, business cards) and photography (pictures of buildings, places, events) and possibly sound recordings played through an mp3 player. This would give the illusion that this person has experienced various different opportunities and allows the audience to imagine how and what is happening.
Candy Chang created a public display of a bucket list called 'Before I Die' on the side of an abandoned house, allowing people "to reflect what is important and meaningful to them". Passers by were able to pick up a piece of chalk and write whatever goals they felt they wanted to achieve, either personal or as a community.
"By the next day, all 80 prompts were filled and responses spilled into the margins: Before I die I want to… sing for millions, plant a tree, hold her one more time,straddle the International Date Line, see my daughter graduate, eat more everything, abandon all insecurities, be completely myself…"
This gave the public a sense of interactivity, whilst also allowing them to express themselves and understanding other people's opinions on their own goals. It has since been imitated by other artists in different countries.
There are various websites that offer suggestions for bucket lists, ranging from spontaneous goals to achievable, everyday goals. This will be handy for me to pick and create a character from these suggestions. In addition, I could make it specific to a location (Farnham for instance), by tailoring the goals to it e.g. Visit all the restaurants in Farnham. (http://www.bucketlist.net/lists/all_lists/)
Sound Journey Idea
One of my ideas refers back to the first year of Experimental Sound, where we were shown a film (The Double Life of Veronique) in which the protagonist starts listening to audio of someone's journey. We hear distinct noises (such as footsteps, creaking of doors, dialogue, background noise, etc) which create a narrative, distinguishing key moments of the person's journey.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101765/
My idea would be similar to this, featuring a journey through sound. The installation will require the audience to place headphones in and listen to the sounds that are being played back to them, using their imagination to map out a path of their journey. This would place some sort of interactive feature within the installation, which allows each audience member a unique experience and hopefully immersing them into this fictional world.
The inspiration of my work will be solely from Disney Pixar's 'Monsters Inc.', in which I will incorporate a person walking through several different doors featuring different environmental changes/sounds. I will recreate the sounds of these various environments, allowing the audience to differentiate between them and experience what the character is experiencing.
Environments:
Outdoor Grass (Birds tweeting, trees swaying, grass footsteps)
Mountain Climate (Heavy wind, snow footsteps)
Storm (Thunder, Lightning, rainstorm, splashing)
Volcano (Cracking, eruption, audible struggle of the character)
Restaurant setting (Hear background noises of people dining)
Empty room (Echoed footsteps, slight breathing)
Techno room (Odd techno bass sounds, experimenting with techno sounds)
What is the work... what is the audience. Understand concept and content... so how does this work beyond a technical exercise. But what is it? Finished work needs to communicate to an audience and have a life beyond project for Uni. How will you engage us?
ReplyDelete