Bella’s Work

Conceptual portrait

Weeks *10* + 11 + *12*

For my conceptual portrait, I worked with photography as a medium. It encapsulates an idea of portraiture of a collection of people who all belong to the same family using objects to portray them, among other things. Along with the objects included, there are many aspects of each picture that allude to a difference in personality, era, familial ties etc., of each person or people depicted.

Each photo utilizes a different gel when lighting. The first used a warm-toned gel, the second a cool-toned, and the third uses both. In my final edits I did play with the colours, whites, blacks, saturation, and all those fun tools, to really highlight was I wanted to show with each photo.

The first one, Helen and Frank, appears duller and more flattened than the other two, as it depicts my grandparents who were not only from a different time but have also sadly passed. It also depicts a bouquet of dead roses as well as a lit candle. These motifs appear through all 3 images and change slightly, to play with the traditional idea of memento mori used in still life, as well as to show the passing of time in a way that the objects could not portray as accurately. I chose to light the tall candle in this image as candles are often lit at the end of life, signifying safe travel into the next chapter, whatever that may be to the person. My grandparents were religious people and since candles are also often a signifier of the light of Christ I chose to use it here to honour their beliefs and help the continuation of their spirits endure.

The second photo, Tammy and Gergely, depicts my parents and plays with cooler tones and sharper image quality. This photo begins carrying some objects over from the first, which I will discuss more in-depth in a moment, as well as starting to open up visually. This can be seen with the direct opening of the wooden box which was seen closed in the first image. This plays with the idea of time passing and generations adapting to the world around them. I am lucky to have such open and accepting parents and this is something I wanted to highlight throughout the series. In this photo, the bouquet of flowers also changes to a bouquet of live carnations and daisies. Daisies often are used to symbolize innocence and purity, which is accurate as my father was very young when he met my mother and has loved her ever since. Carnations often depict love and strength and were actually one of the flowers in my parents’ first wedding in Hungary, so I thought it was fitting. (Just for reference, my parents had 2 weddings as they had to get married in Hungary so my dad could legally immigrate to Canada, it was very small and basically an elopement, they had a large wedding in Canada once they moved here). The candle in this image is half burned down, showing the passing of time more than anything else.

The third photo depicts myself. This one was the most difficult for me as it was harder to pinpoint objects that could accurately represent me. I must admit I did not do myself complete justice, however, I love this image and it highlights what was necessary for the series. The lighting in this one utilizes both the warm and cool tones as I am very connected to my family and am extremely analytic when it comes to my own personality traits and where they may stem from throughout my family tree. The flower chosen for my portrait is a singular rose. This is not only because my portrait depicts only me and not a couple, but also because my middle name is Rose and it adds to the portrait even more so, with a secret easter egg of my name. Roses are often tied to romantic meaning, one generally means “love at first sight” and the fact that this Rose is light pink indicates that it represents youth and beauty.

Though each image has objects that are meant as secret easter eggs for the viewer, I am going to list off and explain choices for some. Mostly because I want to. BUT YOU HAVE BEEN FOREWARNED. if you do not wish to know and enjoy living life in mystery then please, feel free not to read the next paragraph or two.

Helen and Frank

depicts (from left to right)

• bouquet of dried roses
• closed wooden box
• small painted metal cardinal
• gold and emerald ring
• traditional Hungarian candlestick holder with a tall lit beeswax candle
• Players’ cigarette container filled with old photos of Helen and Frank and their lives
• deck of playing cards spilled out (with the 2 of hearts as the only upturned card)

Tammy and Gergely

depicts (from left to right)

• opened wooden box
• leather banded watch
• gold locket
• matches
• photo of young Gergely
• photo of young Bella and Tas (Tammy and Gergelys daughter and son)
• gold ring band
• jade droplet earrings
• deck of playing cards (barely shown)
• small painted metal cardinal
• bouquet of carnations and daisies
• fabric bag with forints and a button
• Hungarian handkerchief
• traditional Hungarian candlestick holder with a half-burned, lit beeswax candle

Bella

depicts (from left to right)

• small black artists sketchbook
• traditional Hungarian candlestick holder – sans candle
• box of incense cones
• a single pink Rose
• solid perfume in soapstone
• open wooden box
• beaded mask chain
• gifted resin penny art from Sudbury based artist “FOR LUCK OR YOUR THOUGHTS”
• deck of playing cards (barely shown)
• all previous photos used (barely shown)
• sticker from Haliburton
• clear quartz
• lucky silver stone
• spell jar
• small pinecone
• 3 matchboxes
• acorn
• silver acorn
• small painted metal cardinal
• Hungarian handkerchief
• leather banded watch
• small jewelry dish (which contains a safety pin, multiple pendants, jade droplet earrings, gold locket)
• daily rings (silver braided band, peridot ring, emerald gold band and thin gold stacker, braided silver knot, engraved silver moon signet, thick silver band, silver Claddagh, blue opal ring, gold band, 2 thin gold stackers) *My rings each have a meaning and they mean quite a lot to me, I have included a PDF of a “zine” I made about them at the end of this for your own perusal)
• gifted carved wooden mushrooms from Manitoulin Island – Gore Bay, based artist

The clearest object used in all 3 images in the wooden box. This box once belonged to my great grandmother and was handed down to each woman in our family as sort of an unspoken heirloom. It actually has the word mother written on it in cursive on the top, which is not shown in any of the photos.

The next item that is seen in all 3 in the candlestick, though I have already spoken on that.

The third and final item used throughout all 3 photos is the small painted metal cardinal. Cardinals mean a lot to our family. Ever since my grandparents passed, they have come back to us in the form of a cardinal to let us know they are safe and well and watching over us. I am aware we’re not the only family who has had experiences such as these. IN fact, I have a tattoo of two cardinals which I got for my grandparents and it has sparked many a conversation with people in similar situations. Cardinals are seen as messengers from loved ones who have passed on and so I wanted to include it throughout each image as a representation of the fact that though my grandparents are gone they are still with us and still cheering us on in our journeys.

Other items threaded throughout are the playing cards, the handkerchief, the watch, the jade droplet earrings and both the emerald and gold banded ring. The handkerchief is actually something I was gifted by my grandmother on my father’s side, whom I don’t get to see as often, nor do I have as strong of a connection to because of the distance and slight language barrier. The emerald ring was a gift to me from my grandmother and one she used to wear when she was young. The watch and the gold banded ring are both pieces from my mother and she wore them in her 20’s and when she went to Guelph for her undergrad. The earrings belonged to her as well, and were a gift to her from my father.

Clearly, I have very strong ties to my family and I enjoy celebrating these quietly in my everyday life. I am a sentimental person and making art that surrounds my family has always been a big love of mine. I loved creating these images and the thought I put behind them truly shows how true that is. I’m very happy with the final products and love the idea that one day it can be continued with future additions to the family.

*This is the PDF of the zine I mentioned in my list under Bella that highlights each of my rings, if you feel so inclined to learn*

***the gold stacker rings and the peridot ring are not shown as they are the newest addition. The peridot is a sister ring to one of my closest friends not in the Zine and the stackers were gifted to me from another close friend***

Audio Art

Week *8* + 9

My first audio art idea surrounded the idea of being a classically trained singer and learning music on my own in the pandemic.

Though I’ve been training for many many years reading music is still somewhat of my weaker points in the art. I was never taught music theory, so I can “sight read” to an extent, but would never be able to tell you what note I am singing.

When I started to record this idea I realized 3 things. I could not for the life of me cut it down to a minute with it still sounding interesting, the more I recorded the more I learned the piece and the more authenticity was lost in turn and in the end, it sounded boring overall.

I think it could be interesting to record myself for an entire practice and pick out all the “unappealing” moments The burps, the swears, the voice cracks, and the exasperated sighs. And this was something I was planning on trying, however, I got sick and couldn’t safely practice. Though I do plan on doing this for my own interest in the future.

My second audio art idea is my favourite and one that I believe turned out really well.

It’s is a piece of layered campfire songs. I know MANY campfire songs and have always loved to camp. One of my favourite places to be is at a campground and I have so many amazing memories made there.

When reminiscing about these memories while booking a trip for this summer, this idea came to mind.

I “sang” a handful of campfire songs in my repertoire and layered them on top of one another. It sounds like pure chaos and I love it. Camping is often a calm time, especially at the end of the night when everyone is sat around the fire. This chaos brings irony to what is actually being represented while singing these specific tunes.

I love how you can hear different random aspects throughout the chaos in the beginning and once they die out to three or four songs you’re able to focus on something more. I also think the ending is just perfect. Throughout the whole piece each song is fighting to have the last word and just when you think it’s been a tie, down by the bay comes in strong.

I did end up making a second version of the campfire song audio art and editing the layers so that it has a little more *thought* behind it, so to speak. I curated certain phrases to line up so you can connect different songs together, as well as splitting and heightening some parts of songs that are comedic or just silly.

I think this one definitely turned out a lot better, though I believe even further editing could go into it. However, I didn’t want to exceed the time expectations TOO much, as it’s already over a minute long. (2 and a half minutes)

I had a lot of fun with this project. It is definitely not a form of art I generally create, in fact, I have never before created an audio piece in this fashion. Of course, there is the argument that each piece of music is a piece of audio art, but it is not necessarily looking at it with a conceptual lens such as this.

An artist that really spoke to me during the lecture was Janet Cardiff. I fell down a hole of watching her audio walks, and most definitely want to immerse myself in one when I am one day in a place where I can do so. Her 40 piece motet is a piece I don’t doubt I will think about for years to come. I ache to see that installation in person. I’m very interested in the idea of ‘swimming in sound’ and this is a piece that definitely enhances that idea.

Buttons

Week 6 + 7+ *8*

I have IBD, along with a list of many other things. Because of this, my health has always been at the forefront of my life in a different way than many others. It has helped shape who I am today in many ways; how I deal with things, comfortability with medical information and images, and different boundaries overall. THIS BEING SAID my sicknesses do not define me, nor do I want them to, even though they are an unavoidable and integral part of my life.

This introduction is simply because I want everyone to be VERY CONSCIOUS of the fact that I do not want any pity. I don’t need it and it is not welcome. I’m not here to assume that that’s what you’ll give me, but I’ve been diagnosed long enough to know that often it’s just a natural reaction for some people, so watch yourselves, I’m scrappy.

For my buttons, I wanted to play with the idea of my health. I wanted to toy with it and make it a sort of matter the fact thing, without purposely invoking a conversation about it.

The majority of my buttons depict medical imagery of the inside of bodies, mine, and others. They’re mostly from scope procedures, both endoscopies, and colonoscopies, and depict; Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis, Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC), and esophageal varices. A choice selection off my list.

I hope that if you wear them and people say “hey what’s that?” you can say “my friend’s colon” or “a girl in my class’ liver” because I think that’s hilarious, and I urge that to be your answer.

I’ve always been very open about my health with anyone who inquires about it so this is just another pathway of that.

I also made 7 buttons of the types of stool from the bristol shoot chart. Which, if you don’t know, is basically a chart of how your poop looks and what it means. I feel like this doesn’t need much of an explanation as to why, but the bristol stool chart was a very big part of my pediatric health journey to say the least.

Pandemic Portraits

week 5

someone I know: Gergely (father)

“people who don’t understand the difference between cause, and what causes things. The complete lack of understanding of a simple process of logic.”

*disclaimer; he simply wasn’t wearing a jacket outside as it was quite mild, he was honestly out in the world like this*

I understand there was some trouble viewing the video for a bit, hopefully, this has been remedied with the repost.

someone I don’t know

“I wish weddings were not so expensive and it’s stressing me out how much I’m gonna’ have to spend to marry my best friend.”

Conceptual Masks

week 4

TW: blood (bloody nose)

I had way too much fun thinking of things to be used as “masks”. I must admit, not all of them have a deep conceptual meaning behind them.

Below is a grid of extra photos I took, that weren’t my top choices. I’ve chosen a couple favourites to be shown larger underneath.

I feel I must warn you though, I did envoke a bloody nose for one, so there will be blood. I’m pretty desensitized to it but if you’re squeamish maybe look away?

Final #1

In this first favourite I’ve wrapped my head in cellophane. I thought it was kind of ironic considering some face shields or masks don’t actually look that far off from this. I also really enjoyed the overall aesthetic of the picture. plus its a slight nod to chicago…

Final #2

I talk a lot, not that you’d know from this class but I’m quite the oversharer. This is a trait of myself that I don’t like, as I have accidentally crossed other people’s boundaries while talking about myself. This mask was born from that insecurity. I often want to do this in conversation as I can feel myself oversharing but for some reason, I can’t shut up. It’s as if my brain and my mouth aren’t connected.

Final #3

TW: blood

I get a lot of nose bleeds.

This mask started as just the panty liner on my face but after I sent it to a friend she said that she think it would add something if there was blood, considering, and knowing I get nose bleeds often.

I then continued to mess around with the bridge of my nose until it started bleeding and continued to take pictures of myself.

Final #4 1/2?

I’m really interested in the idea of narcissism and so this mask plays into that idea.

The first is one side of the mirror and is what I began with, the other is the convex? concave? side of the mirror. (I must admit I don’t know which refers to which at this point in time…) I think these are great because in the photos I’m able to see myself back and back again but when thinking of it as a mask out in public it would force other people to see themselves in the reflection.

Defenestration

Week 3

defenestration: the act of throwing someone, or something, out a window.

While thinking about this prompt I, first of all, thoroughly enjoyed the fact that defenestration is a word, and when looked up in a dictionary it first references throwing a person out a window, and then refers to a thing.

I live on the second floor of a townhouse, so it’s not too far from the ground, though I wouldn’t want to throw anything fragile or heavy out of the window. However, I was willing to have my roommate fling clothes at me from it. Which is exactly what I had her do.

On a day when it was not so gray outside, I popped off the screen to my window and instructed (after asking very nicely) if my roommate would throw an outfit I had laid out on the bed, piece by piece at me standing below.

I liked the blue sky background of John Baldessari’s Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty-Six Attempts) and because of the angle I was stood at, holding my camera relatively perpendicular to the ground, I captured a similar background myself. Some include different parts of our roof, tree, or house.

The outfit thrown consisted of; undergarments, a dress, a sweater, a coat, a hat, and a pair of shoes, as well as, a shot of everything thrown together, as a full ensemble. I did not include any of my jewelry because I do not take my jewelry off, and so do not require to put it on when getting dressed. (also I didn’t enjoy the idea of throwing 12 rings and a necklace into the deep unshoveled snow of my backyard).

I chose an outfit that I would not generally wear for 3 reasons.

1. It would create a better flow of fabric and a more interesting photo in my own opinion.
2. I wanted to express a more feminie outfit, that I currently am less comfortable in in general, as I don’t enjoy the male gaze. However, I enjoy my feminity.
3. I don’t get to wear an outfit like this often nowadays, as I’m commonly at home, and in trackpants, which I did not want to capture in time at this moment.

Though I am currently not wearing this outfit, or an outfit such as this as often at the moment, I view my collection of photos as a sort of self-portrait. One very focused on my feminine side and mood.

I would love to do this again but with an outfit focused on the other common mood I have, with more of an androgynous energy to it. I feel both of them displayed together would create an intriguing self-portrait of me and my two dominant personalities.

An Hour of Stillness + notes

Week 2

Marina Abramović

I’ve enjoyed Marina Abramović’s work for many years. I was first introduced to her in high school and have since been continually interested in her art. One of my favourite pieces has been and remains to be Imponderabilia, more commonly known as the “naked doorway” or “living doorway” piece. This piece was first done in 1977 by Abramović and her partner at the time, Ulay. The couple stood naked in a doorway as museum-goers passed through them.

Art considered to be ‘controversial art’ always interests me. Artists like Abramović challenge viewers and inspire thought and emotion.

While watching the film I was completely starstruck. I am continually in great awe of artists such as Abramović and this film allowed me to learn deeper about her as a person as well as her art. I enjoyed all the background information for pieces we got during viewing. Seeing this raw side of the toll her pieces may take of have taken on her allows the audience to gain a deeper appreciation for her and her work, at least that is what I believe. Abramović is an inspirational artist and I’m so happy to have looked at her work in this course.

One Hour of Stillness

Approaching this assignment I already knew it would be a difficult one to complete. I, like many others, do not sit still very easily. It is human nature to fidget and think and react, so an hour of doing nothing seems quite daunting. This makes Marina Abramović’s piece just that much more impressive. I could not imagine sitting for so long looking at another person, or people. Whenever I look at someone for too long I get anxious about the fact that my eyes dart back and forth between theirs, something I had never realized I do until one day someone so kindly pointed it out to me.

Nonetheless, I am always up for a challenge and was filled with nervous excitement to complete this piece. Now came the first of the tricky parts though; creating a base concept; where would I sit for my hour?

I often overthink my own art. I believe in a high level of effort and commitment, which is a strength, for the most part, however, this sometimes becomes my downfall in artmaking, making me less willing to simplify.

After dwelling on many ideas I settled on a bus bench. The idea of waiting for nothing in particular while sanctioned at a spot where waiting for something specific often occurs was incredibly intriguing to me. There must be an easier way to say that but alas.

I began my journey by getting on the first bus I saw and riding it until I felt content with my surroundings. I sat in a sheltered stop, hoping and praying no one old or pregnant would come along and require me to stand and give them my seat, being a good samaritan but in turn, failing my act of nothingness. I wore headphones but listened to no music, simply so people would *ideally* be deterred from talking to me. Luckily not many people came by the stop as I sat, and thankfully no one pregnant nor old came by so I had no need to relinquish my seat.

As I sat, I was very aware of my body. I could feel all my jewelry on my skin, my fingers felt cold and slow, the tips of my ears were chilled, there was condensation of my breath in my mask, my back ached and my kneecaps were frozen. (In fact, when I got home afterward, thanks to my auto-immune side effect of terribly body temperature regulation, my kneecaps were on FIRE for approximately 40 minutes once I was in warmth)

I sat for an hour, as still as I could be, trying not to think of how badly I needed to crack my back and once it was over I propped my phone up and took a photo, recreating my stillness as best I could.

As I assumed I did not overly enjoy this hour of nothing, I meditate at home but in practice with meditation, breathwork, and mindfulness. It feels very much the opposite of nothing for me, whereas this stillness felt loud and blaring. Maybe it was because I was doing it as an assignment, or maybe because it was outside in the elements. I am not too sure but I don’t think I ever will be.

Conceptual Kilometre + notes

Week 1

Sol LeWitt

“The idea becomes the machine that makes the art” speaks to LeWitt’s belief that an idea itself is the artwork, rather than how the creation of such work may occur. When first learning about LeWitt I was unsure about how I felt about this idea of conceptualization; unaware if I agreed or disagreed on his stance. Thinking more about it I’ve come to find that I do not stand strongly on either side and remain neutral in the argument I created for myself. There is a quote I found from LeWitt that states “I wasn’t really interested in objects. I was interested in ideas”. This summarizes his main system of belief neatly into a statement. The idea of the artwork is in turn a work of art, the actualization of the idea does not necessarily need to be with the artist’s own hands to be credited to that artist.

Along with this, LeWitt’s work is very mathematical. He constructs a solid and complete plan to be following through thoroughly to achieve the results he envisions during his process. Without his concept and instruction, the piece would never be created in the first place. Every piece of art begins with an idea and this conceptualized artwork becomes actualized after the fact.

The way that Sol LeWitt goes about the actualization of his pieces reminds me of how an architect may be viewed when designing a building. LeWitt is the architect of his artwork, creating the blueprints and articulating each detail. The artists who are producing the idea into a tangible work of art are the engineers in the process.

Yoko Ono

I adore Yoko Ono. Many of her pieces have deeply intrigued me for many years. I was first introduced to her work in high school when I was shown “cut piece”. Ever since then I’ve been taken by her activism and place in the world of conceptual and avant-garde art. After the lecture I got my roommates to write down a wish for my very own wish tree, and now when anyone comes into our home I have them write one as well. I’m a big believer in putting energy out into the universe and getting positive responses in advance and because not everyone believes in divine types of manifestation I am glad to be able to keep their wishes safe and hopeful that they come true. I do not have an actual tree in my room, so I’ve hung the wishes on my Pilea Peperomioides (Chinese Money Tree).

When thinking about Yoko Ono’s book Grapefruit “boundaries” is not a word that comes to mind. In fact, this book provides many artworks that seem limitless. As discussed in the lecture the idea of “feeling the earth moving” is a limitless feeling. Yoko Ono is opening viewers’ eyes and minds into ideas of art that are simplistic yet intrinsically difficult. Similar to the act of meditation, to ask one to “feel the earth moving” is an ask that may seem simple at first but is in fact, a very challenging act of mind, body, and spirit. The art in Grapefruit is accessible and up to interpretation, as is most of Yoko Ono’s own performance and visual art pieces.

I enjoy many prompts given by Ono in this collection of concepts. The connection to the earth that she threads throughout them is a specifically intriguing factor for me. Along with the connection to oneself she seemingly links throughout. These prompts allow people to slow down and take time and think about what they are doing and how they are doing it, while simultaneously allowing them to interpret the promts in their own way.

Bruce Nauman

“I needed a different way to approach the idea of being an artist”

https://art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s1/bruce-nauman-in-identity-segment/

This quote (which is also a partial quote from the one underneath the Art21 video), is one that is very important when approaching the art process of Bruce Nauman.

In the piece Wall Floor Positions, Nauman created black and white images of himself in different positions on the floor. Each frame is filled by his body but it is not a piece that speaks as a self-portrait. Nauman himself is the content matter in a different way. In the Tate video, it is said that he uses his body as the ‘sculpture’ and I think that is very apparent in this piece. This raw actualization in the piece draws viewers in and allows them to think about what they are seeing and why they may be seeing it. In this piece, and many others he’s created; even some that we looked at, such as Walking in an Exaggerated Way Around the Perimeter of a Square, Nauman challenges the question “What is Art?” by creating pieces that seem mundane but he has labeled as art because he is the artist.

In another piece discussed in the Tate video Nauman frames a spilled coffee cup and titles it Coffee Spilled Because the Cup Was Too Hot.

This piece is visually very stunning and in stark contrast to the “dullness” that the previous black and white images above provided viewers. It uses colour to fill the space and highlights a very human thing to appear as something more than it may be. Nauman uses everyday objects, tasks, mistakes, and qualities and frames them in a formally artistic way to enhance the viewer’s understanding of the piece.

My Kilometer

When I first began to brainstorm what I could do for a kilometer I thought of many things. Some felt too big and others too small. I thought of walking or driving, taking the bus, or calculating a route. I wanted to work on something that felt bigger without having to over-exert myself in ways that I simply didn’t have time for in this exercise. I also wanted my final product to be a true kilometer. However, I didn’t know quite how to do that.

That is until I began to focus on my interests. I thought about creating something that was a true kilometer but also had some kind of underlying idea woven within it. It didn’t necessarily have to be some deep profound thing, but I needed it to be something for my own personal satisfaction.

In the end, I decided to work with the concept of deconstructed clothing. At first, I imagined it to be a full-body shot but once I began taking my photos it came to my attention that working from the shoulders up may be a more striking image.

I took a ball of yarn, which is approximately 10 meters, and began to wrap it around my head, neck, and shoulders. All the while thinking of the crochet balaclavas that are currently all the rage within many parts of the internet. I then wrapped it around my wrists and arms, trying to use the whole ball of yarn in the process. While I was doing this I set up my phone and began to videotape. I recorded myself wrapping and unwrapping my body with this ball of yarn hoping one of my roommates wouldn’t walk in during the process, though this is admittedly not one of the weirdest things theyd’ve caught me doing.

Once I was fully unwrapped I began to rewrap the yarn into a ball as successfully as I could.

The next step was to take this video and use it to create an image that would capture a true kilometer; since the ball of yarn was only 10 meters.

I took screenshots of the video and then took this collection of 100 images into a program so that I could layer them all. After messing around with the transparency of the photos I had my final product. An image with a true kilometer of yarn captured within it.

Though my final kilometer is one that is captured in an image, it is captured within a conceptual actualization, rather than simply taking a photo of a kilometer. I created my own kilometer and the image is simply a way of producing a more tangible piece of the idea.