Unofficial Manifesto

I must say that this is a pretty deep handout. It makes you think more about the quality of art and goes into detail about how public art is more than just a display of one's emotions and/or feelings of what they think out of life.
My two favorites are number 11 and 14.
No. 11 speaks that art isn't something you'll see and then shouldn't be concerned about due to the fact that it won't be there again. "Art is always worth worrying about." I believe that quote is true because it takes a lot of work and thought behind one's piece to display the message they are trying to get out into the audience. If the viewer sees your piece as nothing but an everyday thing, then it's like no one cares for what you put your heart and soul into. No one really gives a damn about what it is you are putting out there for them to see.

No. 14 is speaking of the quality of one's public art.
"Quality may mean many things in many different contexts, but it certainly means something in the end: you should be willing to fight for it."
I love that quote to the max because it's simply saying that regardless of what it is, if it means something to you then you should do what you can to stand up and fight for it; whether it's an item, a piece of land, a belief, a thought, anything. People may not see the value or quality of it but it doesn't matter on their part. The important thing is how much it matters to you. So regardless of what others will think, still fight for what it is you are after and succeed no matter what.

Keep Me in Your Memories...

Memories…

so fragile to the point where they can make you or break you. I’ve heard many things come from different people. A lot of them were happy or random, very few were sad and/or tragic. Perhaps people never wish to discuss such painful thoughts of the past. Then again, who would?

At the very first thought of me collecting memories I was happy to no ends. For one, I had finally found something to collect. Two, this was something I would enjoy collecting. Anyway, the memories were collected from people online, as well as people around me. I had wanted to have most the work hand-written to make it more realistic as I post them on the bulletin board but typed was fine as well. The board itself was 24” X 36” and would have been presented on a wall in a gallery at eye level for the viewer to be able to walk up to it and read all the memories displayed. I would also have a small table with a stack of paper, note cards, or sticky notes where they can also write something they remember and add to the collection. This would be an experience the viewer would have as being apart of an art piece for at least one moment in time. Also, if they did not wish to write something, I would have an old-fashion Polaroid camera that they can take a picture of themselves and post the picture onto the board. Why not a digital camera? To make it more like an old photo album you would find in the back of a closet as you are cleaning it out one day.

I had it where the ones that weren’t handwritten by the person themselves, I had typed up and posted it onto the board. The names at the end of each one were real or made up by how I know the person. Each index card was 3” x 5”. Each colorful post-it sticky was 3 7/8” x 5 7/8”. And the typed paper varied in sized depending on the length of the memory. They were posted on there by push pins and perhaps taped to make it just a bit messy in a sense. I want this to appear like an office board where everyone has posted work wherever there was a space possible. This reminds me of the boards I’ve seen around campus with different advertising on them in different angles, directions, and even stacked one over the other.

Why Assigned this Project

Why have we been assigned something like this? At first i would suggest it would be because it was required for us to do. But after all the many projects, the speakers, and the many artists we've seen, i realized that it's more than just a simple project. It's a way for us to tie together all the elements we've learned so far and how to present them in a more meaningful fashion that would go well with our piece.
To me this final project is a way to see how far we've come as artists and how much we will put more thought into how we wish for things to be done the next time we work on something. It's like putting your skills to the test in a sense. Then again, it may not be Ms. Malena's intentions at all.
She may just wish to see what ideas we can come up with in the end of the semester after so many others have been done.
Either way i see a benefit to this piece for it's as if we are collecting something that matters to us the most. And/or something that could have a symbolic meaning in our lives.

5/2/08 Collecting

Woo! Meh b-day! Today was..well...interesting. Trying to collect memories from people was a lot more difficult than i thought. Everyone mostly responded "uhh...." "well...." or "i don't remember anything". Eh... i suppose it was because i asked them on the spot. However giving them a bit more time they was able to come up with something. However it wasn't a variety of things. Most of them were random memories which i don't mind at all, just wishing i could get more.
I decided to do it as a bulletin board posting. I was going to do a video but why do that and make it technical? I want this to be somewhat old-fashion in a sense and make it more of the past instead of present. ^_^

Garden of Stones

Great approach in how he plans for the plants to grow, then die, and then grow in an endless cycle. Who would have thought of having a garden of stones though. That's what i like in this piece he does. It seems that certain people were unhappy with the piece due to the fact that they thought it didn't represent the holocaust victims. Of course their opinions changed after explanation, but surely one doesn't have to get an explanation at all times.
I like to let the mind wonder. It gives people a chance to come up with ideas of how the art piece is trying to give out the message. And after they see that it's giving a message, they can try to figure out what it is exactly the message is trying to say from the artist.

How Creativity is Killing the Culture

.....wow.... creative people are to be stopped eh?
Well, i suppose i get his point in reasons why he feels the way he does. He mostly looks at facts, and logic. I think that instead of looking at things in different perspectives, he looks at something and sees it for what it is. No extra fancy words, just plain and straight to the point. Then again i could be wrong all together.
But what i do know is that I don't think that creative people should be stopped at all. I mean if it wasn't for creativity, the world would suck ass. Do you understand just how plain and boring life would be? Shit, i'd probably would snap if I hadn't found my creative side in things i love to do the most. "Creative people"...what are they exactly? People who do things that are "odd"? "wierd"? or people that look at things in different perspectives? What about those who do in fact try out for American Idol or the other shows he mentioned in the text? Singers, dancers, performers in general, poets, people with dreams.
Dreams...that's where it all begins. Once you have a dream or set goal you should do what it takes to strive for it. I think that's where all the creativity takes place. You work hard and put yourself out there for the world to see and hear about. Yes you will be judged but you keep going no matter what the costs. That's where the creativity lies in my opinion.

He should realize that even he dreams sometimes and if so, does he not try to do what he can to reach his goals? Then again, some people don't try due to certain situations. Or they see that if they can't accomplish their dream, then they just toss away all emotions towards it and look at the facts in life. I hate it when this happens because they give up too easily. Yes it may take time or yes you are unable to reach that goal at the moment but it doesn't hurt to have hope does it?

I've come to realize the good and bad sides of having hope. The good thing is that it keeps you going even when all around u is falling apart. The only bad thing is when your hope shatters due to something someone said, or something that's been done, etc. Either way, still keep going and dreaming for one day as they all say, all of your dreams will come true. You just can't see it at the moment because something is blocking your path.

To make all of this come together and to have a random quote, if a friend of mine read this, she would say "he's upset at the world because he has no sex life".

Nan Goldin

I see that the artist tries to cope with the loss of her loved ones through her films. To be completely torn away from someone dear to you really can cause an impact on your life. Sure her friends have passed, but it seems that no matter who dies around her, her's sister's suicide will stick out the most even if it happened decades ago.
I've come to realize that many people cope with death differently. Some it takes a few days, others it can stay with them the rest of their lives. Sure they will try to get past it, but sometimes they don't want to get past it. They rather live or stay in the past rather than move on. For if they do move on, i suppose to them it's like erasing something dear to them when really they are just moving on to enjoy the days that remain for them on this earth. That's why i try to get people to realize that they can't stay in the past for too long. Sure it's going to hurt for a while, and that's understandable, but over time it's best to move on or else your past will become your present and future if you're not careful.

I like how she does her work. She takes shots of events as they are happening. She isn't trying to focus on the past, or what's in store for the future. It's all about here and now. For we are to live the moment and think nothing of tomorrow. That's something i tend to do at times. Instead of worrying about what's ahead of us, enjoy what you have now for it may not be there tomorrow.

I think I understand now as to why her sister's death sticks out the most. They were extremely close and all of a sudden, her sister is gone. Dead. No longer apart of her life. Something like her sister committing suicide didn't even cross her mind and when it happened...she had no chance to see her sister ever again. So now she does what she can to capture every moment of life on camera as it happens. So that once the people around her are gone, she can look back and see how she was able to at least have a moment in time with them through the photos.

A quote that the artist said which stood out to me in the text. "Memory allows the endless flow of connections."