My book is a parody of the images from The Body: Photographs of the Human Form (1994). The images were dominantly white people, specifically sexualized photos of white women, perpetuating them as soft, sensual, and angelic, and upholding the ideal, the innocent, and the vulnerable perception of women through racist, colonial, patriarchal values. Additionally, this book was exceedingly ableist and presented many colonial values, dehumanizing people through their photographs, and capturing people and cultures as if they were test subjects, animals, or monsters. All and all, this book is really messed up. The Body successfully captures the white man’s view of what “the body” is, its potential, worth, ‘differences,’ sexuality, formation, mutilation, and decaying. Exploring a single narrative of what a body is functions to silence any other view or experience of “the body” outside of the perception of a white man. The Body universalizes our bodies to the point where few can relate to the images contained within the book.
As a queer, transmasc person, I couldn’t relate to hardly any of the images that were intended to be universal. My relation to my body didn’t fit within the narratives portrayed, leaving my experience silenced and disregarded. In return, I acted to reconstruct the images to authentically relate to my experience and relationship with my body, how I perceive my body’s worth, sensations, sexuality, formation, reformation, dysmorphia, and origin. Ripping pages, cutting, stapling, and drawing on top of the images, I worked to disrespect the book and honor my lived experiences with my relationship to my body.
I recommend everybody do this, it was very cathartic. To physically take the single narrative and dominant view of “the body” and critique and remix it to represent you and your experience allows you to reflect and feel seen. Feels good. (from Anna’s/Andi’s blog post, 2023)
Lecture: Artist Books – Collection and reading together in class
Discuss book design/concepts
ARTIST BOOK ASSIGNMENT: A BOOK ABOUT A BOOK
Pop Quiz By Dave Dyment About the project: A near comprehensive collection of all of the questions posed in pop songs from the artist’s music collection. 360-page softcover artist’s book 5″ x 8″ Edition of 500, numbered and signed by the artist (each with unique handwritten question) $50
Experimental 2/3
ARTIST BOOK PROJECT: A BOOK ABOUT A BOOK
Note on Schedule: 1. Book design workshop with Nathan
2. WORK IN PROGRESS due for discussion
3. ***Final works uploaded and submitted for printing deadline****
4. Works will also be discussed in progress during class.
Consider a book. Use any book you are interested in – a novel, a textbook, a book of essays, a field guide, a book of maps, a self-help book, an instruction manual, a cookbook, a memoir, a monograph… the possibilities are endless.
Choose one book as the point of departure for a print-on-demand artist book that you will develop and design in class. Like examples of artist publications discussed in class, your artist book will emphasize image over text and be an artwork in its own right. It can be any length or size available on Blurb.com under a budget of (total) $28 including taxes.
Your work can be about the book, use the book’s images, respond to or engage the book in any way. Consider content, text, meaning, and image in your work. The original book may or may not be visible or obvious in your finished work – but the artist book will represent your own version of the ideas in the book, and your own responses. The work may be discursive and legible, or it may be austere, formalized or abstract.
Strategies and motifs you may consider:
Scanning and photocopying from books
Using found photographs from the internet
Taking photographs
Working with appropriated text
Using text as image
Making a book from the past into the present
Focusing/repeating one detail in a book
Exploring visual references in the book
Responding to cover art, diagrams or illustrations in a book
No class meeting in lieu ofFIELD TRIPFriday Sept. 27th – 9:30am – 6pm
Due: FIELD TRIP BLOG POST
Note: You may work with your partner in the arboretum and use equipment to shoot videos on site.
WEDNESDAY
Discuss field trip:
Rave Chacon – Three Songs (2021) is a three-channel video installation that explores a history of Native resistance and questions the myth of an uninhabited American West. In the video, Indigenous women appear singing in their languages and playing instruments while they occupy historical sites of massacres, violence, and the forced displacement of tribal peoples. The work features Sage Bond (Diné), Jehnean Washington (Yuchi) and Mary Ann Emarthle (Seminole) who sung in their native tongue a history of resistance on the Trail of Tears, the Navajo Long Walk, and the forced expulsion of the Seminole. (From TBA website)
In Sonnet of Vermin, a legion of unwanted creatures related to the Mesoamerican underworld attempt to syntonize with one another and with the dead in the midst of a planetary cataclysm. The vermin are unspecific animals who are asociated with negative aspects, damage or destruction. A bat broadcasts frequencies from a tomb with the help of a funerary bundle/radio. A group of frogs/children are paranormal cyborgian amphibians who have adapted to toxicity and they demand another fix of cyanide. A twisted scorpion is a bad omen who claims for the right of infection. A snake sheds her skin while she announces the transformation of the cycles. A telluric alligator devours all what she finds on her way. A brigade of arms insists on raising from the earth. All of them seek for a subaltern solidarity and queer relationality as a form of re-existance within the ruins. (from the artist’s website)
Leila Zelli (@leila.zelli) is a Montreal-based artist born in Tehran whose work explores the relationship that we have with the ideas of “others” and “elsewhere” and, more specifically, within the geopolitical space often referred to by the questionable term “Middle East.” She creates in situ digital installations using existing images, videos, and texts often found on the Internet. With the resulting visual and sound experiences, she creates an opportunity for viewers to reflect on the state of the world, their relationship with the Other, and the actual effect of our actions on humanity. Leila will be presenting Pourquoi devrais-je m’arrêter ?(Why should I stop?) (2020-21), a video installation shown on two screens. The work pays tribute to the resilience of Iranian women who defy the ban on practicing Varzesh-e Bâstâni in public, a traditional form of athletics. (from the Toronto Biennial of Art)
Discuss field trip
Video editing refresher demo
Editing and consultations in class
Show footage/work in progress
Video shooting in Arboretum if needed.
REMINDER:
VIDEOS DUE OCTOBER 9th/16th – sign up for critiques
Aatooq means “full of blood” in Kalaallisut, Laakkuluk’s Greenlandic mother tongue. In this film, we explore the spirit of blood – how we ingest it, create it and emit it. We honour blood as our life force.
Ikumagialiit ᐃᑯᒪᒋᐊᓖᑦ (those that need fire) is a performance art band with Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, Cris Derksen, Jamie Griffiths and Christine Tootoo. The Ikumagialiit quartet is egalitarian, bringing together four strong women from different disciplines, across generations. Ikumagialiit’s premiere show was a part of Abadakone at the National Gallery of Canada and also played at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto before the pandemic. Aatooq is the quartet’s newest work, where the four women pushed themselves to be creative and collaborative despite living in lockdown in three different communities.
Iqaluit, Kangiqlliniq (Rankin Inlet) and Tkaronto (text from National Gallery of Canada)
Work time with group
Arboretum maps/tips/references and advice
Book equipment, demos from Nathan, development of production schedules.
Artist examples – relevant to research interests.
WEDNESDAY
Work time on site in Arboretum together during class time – meet in the classroom for equipment etc.
For this project, I decided to visit the library since I don’t have many books with me in Guelph. It had been years since I last went there, and this experience gave me a chance to reconnect with physical books. Instead of just using the library as a place to study, I spent time exploring the books, which reminded me of life before everything became digital. Holding the books brought back memories of that time.
The stacks I created are “Kon-Tiki and I… Born to Trouble”, “The Ape That Spoke…Life Is Tough…On Becoming Human”, and “The Voyages And Travels Of The Life Of Ferdinand Magellan…Been Places And Seen Things”. I arranged them in a way that tells a new story, as if the books are part of a bigger adventure. Through this process, I wanted to give them a new purpose, almost like a second life, by connecting the titles to suggest a shared journey.
This experiment allowed me to explore how books, when put together in unexpected ways, can go beyond their original meanings and become part of something more.
EXPERIMENTAL FIELD TRIP
Toronto Biennial of Art, Kensington market, and MOCA
Raven Chacon: Three Songs
A brief introduction to the work:
Three Songs (2021) is a three-channel video installation that delves into the history of Native resistance, challenging the myth of an empty, uninhabited American West. The accompanying visuals are paired with For Zitkála-Šá (2017–2020), a series of graphic scores dedicated to First Nations, Native American, and Mestiza composers and sound artists: Ange Loft, Autumn Chacon, Barbara Croall, Candice Hopkins, Carmina Escobar, Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Heidi Senungetuk, Jacqueline Wilson, Joy Harjo, Laura Ortman, Olivia Shortt, and Suzanne Kite.
In a dark room, we watched as videos were projected onto the walls around us. The visuals and music filled the space, and three women, each at different ages, sang as if they were telling stories from the past. The drumbeats, without any background music, felt like warnings, deep and resonant. What drew me in most about Three Songs by Raven Chacon were the visuals. The silent notes seemed to tell distant stories, but they became so vivid and real right before my eyes.
The Quiet Perch is a video project that focuses on the calm and simple beauty of a bird yawning while sitting on benches in the arboretum. Yawning in this context is not meant to be disrespectful. It is a natural and peaceful act that shows relaxation and comfort, which symbolizes a moment of rest. It fits with the quiet and reflective theme of the project.
We will film at different times of the day—morning, afternoon, and sunset—to capture the different moods and lighting that nature offers, adding to the peaceful atmosphere.
Inspirations:
Corpus Dance Projects: A performance where the artists dress up like sheep and imitate the routine activities such as shearing, feeding, milking
Costume ideas
(ignore the head part)
The costume is inspired by the Black-capped Chickadee, a common bird in the arboretum. We will use different fabrics and materials to recreate the bird’s wings, making them look textured and full of movement while still feeling natural and grounded
Bench locations
“The Arboretum’s bench program is a charitable giving program which aims to commemorate loved ones or special milestones, beautify our gardens and collections, and provide both places for rest in the gardens and funds to sustain the Arboretum over time.
The $7,500 is a tax deductible gift, made through the University of Guelph, and the whole amount comes to the Arboretum. The funds support the bench, preparation, footings/pad, plaque design and creation, installation, and sealing, as well as a portion to our endowment for sustainability. The benches have a ten year term, after which family members are invited to renew. (This process arose as a significant need to ensure safety and sustainability).”
We will film on benches that are part of The Arboretum’s Bench Program, which allows people to honor loved ones or special events by placing benches in the gardens. These benches represent rest and reflection, which fits with the theme of our project. The bird yawning while perched on these benches will remind viewers of the importance of taking peaceful moments in life.
This project also acknowledges the University of Guelph’s Arboretum Bench Program, which supports the upkeep and care of these meaningful benches.
Shooting ideas:
Background sounds: collecting different sounds from the arboretum
Some clip could be one and another could be two of us perching on the bench at the same time
Video Idea #2: Dining in the Arboretum
Concept
In this video, we imagine a fine dining restaurant set up in the middle of nature, with the chef preparing meals for animals who are invited to dine. Through this scenario, we explore how wildlife interacts with a human-made environment like a restaurant. The video captures the intersection between the natural world and human creations, raising questions about coexistence and the influence of humans on animal habitats.
Class Discussion Inspiration
Our project is inspired by a class discussion on Lesbian National Parks and Services: A Force of Nature, where artists created new ways of thinking about nature and invented playful, creative interventions. In a similar way, our video turns the arboretum into a dining venue for animals, playfully blending nature with human elements to make viewers think differently about how we share space with wildlife.
Second Source of Inspiration
We also draw from The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store, a series where a department store adapts its services to animal customers, some from extinct species. This blending of hospitality with wildlife interactions, catering to the animals’ needs, serves as a model for our experiment. In this restaurant, we adapt our service to the animals, without imposing typical human expectations or orders, instead allowing their behavior to guide the experience.
Shooting Plan
The video will be filmed in a tranquil arboretum, where we, as chefs, create a miniature dining experience for the forest’s inhabitants. A small, elegantly set table will be arranged with vintage plates, cutlery, and an assortment of food designed to attract birds and other creatures. The focus is on non-verbal communication—there are no spoken interactions or orders between the chef and the guests. Instead, we observe the animals’ natural behavior, responding to their presence as they explore the environment.
The interactions between the animals and the human-made dining setup will dictate the pace and direction of the video. The idea is not to force a narrative but to capture an organic experience where the animals’ curiosity, hesitation, or engagement shapes the story. Through this process, we highlight the subtle dynamics of coexistence, demonstrating how humans and animals can share space while maintaining the integrity of their respective worlds.
Final Video Project: The Wild Table
The Wild Table is a 5-minute video that sets up a fine dining experience for animals in the arboretum. The camera focuses on a plate of food placed in different spots in nature, to see how the animals interact. In one scene, a squirrel and a blue jay even get into a little fight over food, showing the lively and unpredictable nature of wildlife.
The goal of this project is to see how animals react to something very human, like a fancy dinner table. By watching them, we can reflect on the differences between how animals and humans experience something as simple as eating, but also notice some surprising similarities.
The Wild Table experiment brings together the human and natural worlds, revealing how animals interact with the environments we form. It invites viewers to appreciate the nature and the unique ways of how species interact the world.
I wanted to explore how to make books stand out and create the most striking images. I experimented with various layouts and book arrangements to find the composition that resulted in the most eye-catching photographs.
Power of Light
In this book stack, I wanted to focus on the middle book, Iron Flame, as when looking at all the books of choice the bright tones of yellow stood out to me more. I wanted to find a way to highlight the vibrancy of the book cover. I decided the two dark coloured books would help create a contrast and fortunately, I was able to find titles which correlated to the Iron Flame book.
La Vie en Rose
This book stack was an experiment on composition rather than the titles having a link or connection. I wanted to play with the colours and the layout of the books to see if I could create an interesting photograph. I worked with different shades of pink book covers to see how well they matched with each other.
12 Rules
For the last stack, I wanted to focus on one book and I liked the way I could organise the books to make the white cover stand out. Instantly your eyes are drawn to the book title as this is the only text you can see. The book chosen also creates an interesting composition as it has many arrows pointing to the other books which cannot be seen. As the other books cannot be seen, I feel like it draws the audience in, as the photograph almost ‘hides’ the 12 rules for life as the titles for the other books cannot be seen.
Field Trip
I enjoyed our field trip to the art galleries as I was able to learn a lot about other artists that I had not heard of before. I found it interesting as a lot of art work was based on different topics e.g. culture, historical events and politics that I have not seen in the UK galleries.
Karen Tam- Scent of Thunderbolts, 2024
The first artwork that truly captivated my interest was Karen Tam’s installation at the Toronto Biennial of Art. What struck me immediately was the monumental scale of the piece, as it enveloped the entire room and invited an immersive experience. The interactive nature of the installation actively engaged viewers, fostering a deeper connection with the work and encouraging reflection on the cultural themes it explored. Tam’s piece, inspired by Cantonese opera, powerfully conveyed this influence through its elaborate staging and spatial arrangement, which resembled a theatrical set. The work not only highlighted the visual aesthetics of the opera but also offered a nuanced insight into Tam’s cultural heritage, making the experience both intellectually and sensorially rich.
While exploring the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), one particular work captured my attention. As someone from an immigrant background, I found the piece deeply resonant, evoking personal memories and ideas that closely aligned with the themes explored in the artwork. Although I do not recall the artist’s name, I learned during the tour that the work was inspired by the artist’s family’s migration journey. The use of ethically sourced, handmade fabrics to construct the piece added a layer of authenticity and meaning to the narrative. The large scale of the work powerfully underscores the emotional and psychological weight of migration, inviting the audience to reflect on the often-overlooked trauma and challenges that accompany the experience. This piece highlights the complexities of migration, making visible the profound impact it has on individuals and communities.
The contrast of interests between an Uncle and a niece
1. Mastering the trade, the potty book for girls
2. How to be a quick turn real estate millionaire baby shark
3. Getting past your breakup, no more pacifier, duck
Each image has a book from my boyfriends at home library and one book from his nieces at home library.
My boyfriend Gavin, is a 23 year old electrician whose goal in life is to make as much money as he can. He is very interested in reading about economics, learning new trades and learning about word history. On the other hand, his two year old niece Octavia is interested in dancing to the baby shark song and is being potty trained at the current moment.
They both live in the same house so I thought it would be a fun experiment to try to make funny statements using a book from each of their libraries.
I wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary when going through Octavias books, however I found some funny books while looking through Gavins collection like : getting past your break up.
These stacks are a play on the “real-life” and the soft reality you live in as a child.
Assignment 2: Short Video
Ideas and Chicken Scratch:
My brother does videography for skateboarding, BMX and snowboarding. For this type of videography, the fish eye lens is very popular to use because it gives a cool look to the clip and showcases what trick is being preformed very well. This lens is also used for underwater photo/video, intentional distortion and wide panoramic or hemispherical image. I have the idea to use this lens to create a short video for this assignment and to make the video as weird as possible. Also I want to maybe use this lense for not its intended purpose. Here are my possible ideas:
Licking whipped cream off on my face; or someone else doing this action.
I had this random idea pop into my brain, it has nothing to do with the arboretum. I just thought that the combination of someone trying to lick whipped cream off of their face and struggling because their tounge is too short to reach would be extra funny because the fisheye would distort their face.
Someone doing gymnastics in a prom dress.
I thought that filming someone tumbling barefoot on the grass in the arboretum, in clothes that one would normally not do gymnastics in would make for an interesting video. Combined with some dancing, I think it would look both goofy and mysterious to see someone in a prom dress doing back flips in the arboretum.
A slow performance
Another idea is a slow performance; trying to move as slow as possible when doing a specific action. I did a slow performance in a group a few months ago, and I enjoyed it a lot, but now I would like to see what it would be like to do a slow performance solo. The goal would be to walk as slow as possible for point A to point B (not sure what that would be yet), and try to connect with the rich nature surrounding me. Observing surroundings and listening to all the animal noises.
Field Trip Reflection: Toronto Biennial
Hanging Shoes:
This piece was was particularly captivating to me because I loved that this artist chose to repurpose something that probably would’ve ended up in a landfill, into art.
When I first observed this, I only looked up at all the hanging shoes and I thought that the way that the shoes were cut up, were meant to look like abstracted birds. It was only after that I noticed that the shadows that were cast from the shoes also looked like a flock of birds in the sky. This is such an interesting concept of repurposing materials and also using a natural resource to create such a cool installation.
From our guild at the gallary space, I learnt a little more about this artist and I came to know that this artist is interested in the topic of immigration/migration. If I remember correctly, the artist themselves is an immigrant and connected the topic of immigration to the migration of birds. A connection that I saw with shoes and birds is that we use shoes to get from place to place and birds use their wings.
Cardboard Drawings:
These drawings are from the same artist and are drawing of many different species of birds on cardboard that was used to import food from other countries. Depending on the season, birds migrate from place to place, and certain fruits and vegetables are only in season in certain months. Again, the artist used repurposed materials, but also has a very well thought out concept by using materials that were perviously used to transport goods from different countries.
Work in Progress: Assignment 2- Short Video
I have decided to go with the slow performance idea. I am going to set my camera on a tripod and walk towards it from a certain distance (maybe 100-200m away). I don’t want to be too far away that you cannot see me at the start of the video but I also want to be far away enough that the video is decently long (aiming for around 20 mins I think, maybe longer depending). I will chose a point A to start my walk from and point B will be my camera. I would like to do it on a specific path because the trees drape over the path very beautifully, however I don’t want to be in the way of any vehicles that may want to pass through. I am going to wear a vintage dress, and the idea is to connect the idea that when this dress was made and worn, the trees in the arboretum were growing into the beautiful trees they are today. Connecting old with old in a way.
I have chosen to make 3 separate book stacks with different, unconnected themes and concepts. It is my hope that by exploring three separate approaches I may learn the most about which approaches are best suited to the up-and -coming projects we will explore and expand upon in this course. E N J O Y
JAWS Fanart(Ana Platanos, 2024)
For my first book stack I’ve chosen to create a book scape reminiscent of a beach with rolling waves. Formalistically speaking this is my best work out of the three book stacks presented because of its dynamic and creative composition. In terms of concept the book “The Old Man and the Sea” Being positioned like it’s about to be swallowed by the waves (so-to-speak) is a cheeky twist that I hope reminds you the viewer of when that sad old man died in JAWS.
The Maiden, The Mother, and The Crone. (Ana Platanos, 2024)
For this bookscape the phenomenon of viewing woman as either The Maiden, The Mother, or The Crone (as per the title! Haha) found throughout literary history, religious practices and feminist theory is represented. The arrangement of the books arranged both in order of how the three figures are often referred to also serves the conceptual purpose of creating a sort of hierarchy for the trope. Both the Maiden and the Mother lean on the crone for example, however the crone peers through the shadows tucked away and unnoticed. As I battle with myself and my place in the world both in career, family and spirituality as a young woman the history of these tropes and their place in my life and every woman and non man’s life is significant and worth contemplation.
Pretentious (Ana Platanos, 2024)
To be pretentious is to act or behave in a way that expresses you think you’re important, usually more than you really are. I am a super pretentious person and actually I believe that’s the only way to be especially as an artist. I have no idea if what I make is good or why people should like it. At the same time I wholeheartedly believe they should! I like myself, I like my art and I will never apologize for thinking that what I have to share with the world is worth sharing. In order to create both art and connections within art I believe you have to do what every artist in my bookshelf of artist biographies has done, place worth on yourself, your art and the artists of previous and contemporary. In this piece I have created both a book stack and an altar dedicated to these individuals, my own principles and my own goals.
