Nathan’s Work

FOOD ART FINAL VIDEO:

Student Dining: Mind Full vs. Mindful was inspired by Christian Jankowski’s The Hunt (1997) in which modern advancements are contrasted to primitive ways getting food. So, I asked myself where there was a similar interplay in life involving food. I realized that my eating habits change when I am under stress, especially as a university student during COVID-19 and final exam season. But there was another culprit—the over reliance one of society’s greatest advancement: the smart phone, an innovative modern tool providing instant volumes of information whether it is history, news, or social media. This work shows the addiction to modern technology and how when eat when our mind is full. Eating when in a “mind full” state is to be unaware of the food and variety of utensils in front. We eat with the same frenzy speed as we live our lives, unable to disconnect from our phones as it is our priority. Although I want to eat the soup, I do not use my rational thinking when under stress in this case. Instead, I become primitive like in Jankowski’s work when in a “mind full” state. The “mindful” state in this video is demonstrated when I am calm and centered and surrounded by plants and my cats. Although a spoon (correct utensil) is not used to eat the soup in the final clip, slow and mindful eating is the correct tool and hints to choosing whether to use it or not. Moreover, our state of mind is important for approaching food.

Creative Process:

• Go beyond just improper use of food utensils like fork used to eat soup…Add a context!
• Main things at time of creation: Final exam season, COVID-19 Pandemic…translates to major stress and lack of focus and connection towards food

WEEK IX: FOOD ART

IDEA 1: Combination proper and improper food eating techniques

Source of inspiration: Christian Jankowski, The Hunt (1997)

• This work featured primitive food hunting techniques from the hunter gatherer era set in a supermarket during the present day
• This represents rebelling against present day innovations

• This work would be similar to The Hunt, but involves eating food on plates instead of hunting in public indoor settings
• This would also feature and unusual/improper eating techniques (e.g. eating spaghetti and meatballs with hands, eating a sandwich with a knife)

IDEA 2: Play on Words

• E.g. Strawberry: straw connected to a berry
• E.g. To “butter up”: knife putting butter onto a slice of bread

Bread Making Activity

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WEEK VIII

This video consists of two contrasting ways of spending time during isolation amid the pandemic. The left half features reading and flipping through pages, while the right is playing a video game through the clicking on the controller.

WEEK VIII: “BREAD THE RISE AND FALL” PODCAST

Bread is well known for its captivating aroma and delicious flavour, the foundation of daily meals, and for being one of the key sources of food in the “wheat and grains” category of the food guide. Bread is also viewed as a symbol of companionship as it is meant to be shared within others as a loaf. The simplicity of bread ingredients is parallel to an easy way of building society, as it teaches us civility such as democracy and who we are. Bread is also associated with religion as it is used in church because Jesus first used bread; the combination of yeast with water and grain is compared to process of creation. On a scientific level, bread does not grow from the earth, but through a miraculous process over the 10 000 years of nature and human labours and skills, from hunter gathering to farming—Neolithic revolution.

However, enlightenment thinker John Jacques Rosseau also stated that the growth of agricultural correlates with the growth of inequality. Although this revolution reduces the physical labour needed, it is also known accelerating global warming and the depletion of the oceans; agriculture depends on suppressing biodiversity, humanity’s largest footprint on the earth. also root to diabetes, obesity etc. Some also believe that bread has shifted the balance of power as the wealthy wear able to store grains and wealth, and power over people and could lead to slavery. Although bread has brought rise to the negative aspects civilization including war, tyranny, and slavery, it is also symbol of equality: no matter who you are, everyone needs a source of sustenance of recently good quality, sufficient quantity, and accessible pricing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many have been baking bread to limit the contact with other people when outside of their houses. It is also possible that those struggling economically have also been baking instead of constantly buying bread from the stores.

The comparison of bread to civilization and religion were striking for me because although I always knew how popular and essential bread has always been, until now I never knew about the profound impact on social and economic classes, as well as greater acceleration of global warming and depletion through agriculture.

LINK FOR INSPIRATION OF THE FIRST IDEA:

Canadian artists come together in ‘Lean on Me’ cover for coronavirus relief

LINK FOR INSPIRATION OF THE SECOND IDEA:

http://abcnewsradioonline.com/music-news/2020/3/17/sales-of-rems-its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-other-s.html

WEEK IV: SOCIAL DISTANCING PORTRAITS

CLIP 1:

Nathan Kasprzyk-Heuff, Oceans Apart, 2020

The phrase “oceans apart” fits perfectly with COVID-19 as many of us are isolated, far away from each other. The spread apart figures were glued into their phones to make it seem like at first they just captured an insta-worthy moment and are uploading it, but no, there is much more to that. As part of the current “new normal”, electronic devices have become a significantly more normal part of our everyday lives from doing work, entertainment, to communication including playing games through iMessage’s GamePigeon. Filmed at a beach on the shores of Lake Ontario, no background music needed since the waves already did the job!

CLIP 2:

Nathan Kasprzyk-Heuff, Is Anybody There?, 2020

There is no music in the background, but the captured sounds include the activity in the parks including the tennis courts and kids having fun, and the large echoing perfect for representing the loneliness and emptiness. Although playgrounds have reopened in July as part of Stage 3 of reopening, activities like swinging close together are still more likely to be impacted than with others like tennis.

ADAD HANNAH:

In his clips, the figures are centered within the frame and show the entire body. All figures included were centered within the frame ranging from one person, to multiple people close together whether within an immediate household close together or from separate households and wearing masks. Captures the everyday moments of life and is set in various settings within a city that can be related to the pandemic, whether it is a crowded downtown environment, or a wide open but sometimes populated park. Ambient music is also added to the background of some of the videos and sound surprisingly realistic like it was added during the post-production stage.

My favourite clip was the man in boxing gloves. Although it makes it seem like he is waiting for the opponent in order to practice, it this clip still reminds us to continue doing whatever excites you, as long as the safety measures are followed.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MY CLIPS:

CLIP 1:

• A park setting where the two figures are maintaining physical distancing on benches and glued into their phones?…Yes, but how also about a windy lake to represent the phrase “oceans apart”? BINGO!
• The dark and cloudy weather during the day the clip was shot perfectly matches the lonely and grim tone of COVID-19.
• Okay, the figures were not centered, but the space in between is. Both figures were not from the same immediate house, so physical distancing was maintained instead.

CLIP 2:

• Inspired by Adad Hannah’s Social Distancing Portrait 17-Dimas
• Use a playground setting when not many people are using those places despite the reopening…try a slide…aha! Do that but at a swing by occupying the right and leaving the left one vacant!

PHOTO I:

Nathan Kasprzyk-Heuff, Daring, 2020

The first book stack is constructed like stair steps and represents an evolution and final product from combination of going from being daring and creative, to being rebellious and ‘badass’, to being even more rebellious and creative—in this case creative cursing. Getting creative and ‘badass’ starts with you…daring greatly. Cursing is a common form of being offensive and breaking rules, but many also use it in a humorous way.  It is important to bend the rules at times, think outside of the box, let the creativity flourish, and embrace the wild and rebellious part within you.

PHOTO II:

Nathan Kasprzyk-Heuff, Up, Up, and Away, 2020

This second collection of books is another evolution style like the first image, but involves the progression from learning how to fly, to the voyage through outer space. The transition from the Flight Training Manual to the book about Helicopters was chosen because helicopters fly differently from conventional airplanes, but if you learn to fly an airplane, you can then easily learn to fly other types of aircraft. The Voyage Through Space book is the largest of the four books and is positioned at the top not only because the outer space is infinite in size compared to the finite Earth, but also because the concepts of space exploration and potential colonization on other planets are highly fascinating and discussed topics nowadays.

PHOTO III:

Nathan Kasprzyk-Heuff, Links, 2020

The third collection of books involves a combination of titles involving music and art from both history and digital technology, along with a book about how computers work. Unlike the evolution style in the previous two, this work was organized in a sandwich style to represent the interconnection between music, art, and computers. The art and music history (Art History and A History of Music in Western Culture) books are at the opposite ends from each other, with the two digital technology books (A Short Course in Photography Digital and Music Technology) still at the opposite ends but closer towards the center. How Computers Work was placed in the center to indicate that computers are used virtually everywhere and are essential in the 21^st century; computers and the evolution of technology is also noticeable and crucial in both music and art. Although computers may seem to take center stage in the musical and arts fields, the history of the arts from the past few centuries and millenniums are equally important and there would be no digital music nor art without this history.

WEEK II: USING TEXT AS ART

1. LOOK AT: Artists who use text in their work including: Yoko Ono, Jenny Holzer, John Baldessari, Barbara Krueger, Geurilla Girls, and Shelly Niro. And more contemporary examples including: Nadia Myre, Joi T. Arcand, Jon Rubin, Eleanor King, Micah Lexier, Lenka Clayton, Alisha Wormsley and Germaine Koh.

John Balderssari:

• I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art, 1971
• Tips for Artists Who Want to Sell, 1966-1968

Lenka Clayton:

• Fruit and Other Things, 2018

Germaine Koh:

– Dear Mercer, 2006

Yoko Ono:

–        Grapefruit, 1964

–        Billboards since 1960s, e.g. Fly, 1996; War is Over, 2008

Jenny Holzer, 

–        Truisms, since 1980

–        Survival Series, 1986

Barbara Kruger, 

–        Untitled (Your body is a battleground), 1989

–        BELIEF+DOUBT, since 2012

Guerrilla Girls, 

–        Guerrilla Girls Definition Of A Hypocrite, 1990

Shelley Niro,

–        The Shirt (detail), 2003

Joi T. Arcand, 

–        Northern Pawn, South Vietnam, 2009

–        Amber Motors, 2009

Nadia Myre, 

–        Indian Act, 2002

Eleanor King, 

–        No Justice No Peace, 2015

Jon Rubin:

–        The Last Billboard, 2010-2018

 

• WRITE: Select TWO artworks from above to write about. Compare and contrast the different ways the artists use media (materials, platform, format) to express their message. How is the medium relevant to the message in each case? How are viewers expected to relate to the text in each case? (Write approx. 250 words).

Shelley Niro, The Shirt (detail), 2003

The first work that I chose was The Shirt by Shelley Niro. This is a photograph-based artwork from the lens of First Nations people criticizing European colonialism in America and consequences in the present day by parodying tourist souvenir tee-shirts and photographs . An Aboriginal woman is in the center of the work facing the camera, wearing a bandana with the American flag graphic, and wearing the tee-shirt with the texts. An American landscape is in the background of the work, adhering to the takeover and destruction of the land of Aboriginals. Rather than stating where the one or multiple people were visited, it states the impact of colonialism, in this case violence, annihilation, massacring, and that the next generations of the ancestors do not get as much as what the white European backgrounds get. No post-production effects were applied to this image and the materials used in this work already effectively communicate the issues.

Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your body is a battleground), 1989

Untitled (Your body is a battleground) by Barbara Kruger is the second work that I chose to write about. This is another photograph medium like many of her other works as it features an appropriated close-up of a woman’s face portraying feminism. However, unlike Shelley Niro’s The Shirt featuring a landscape in the background, this work only features pure black and white images with a regular and inverted half, allowing the focus on the woman’s face and texts. This work is also larger than The Shirt as it was created to emulate a poster for the April 9, 1989 Women’s March in Washington for supporting legal abortion, birth control and women’s rights. It also differed from The Shirt as effects were applied to image after it was taken. The key titles within this work are in bold white on red background and hence the march, the small title says “support legal abortion birth control and women’s rights”, while the largest and central title is “Your Body is a Battleground.” Kruger states that pictures and words both work together for rallying and there is a combination of photographs and assertive texts that challenge the viewers.

WEEK III: BANNERS

The Three Movements, 2020. By Nathan Kasprzyk-Heuff

This banner was created to represent three major movements that are still prevalent in the 21st century. The bold stencil font was chosen in order to stand out visually and fight against domination, violence, and oppression.

Media: Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, printer paper, string, shot on an iPhone 11 camera

Stylistic Features, 2020. By Nathan Kasprzyk-Heuff

The second banner uses the phrase “stylistic features” with fonts using detailed features including serifs and slabs, italics, red and yellow colours, distortion effects, shrinking and increasing sizes, as well as outlines. A string with party cup lights was chosen to create an illumination effect, shining the light on the text.

Media: Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, printer paper, string with party cup lights, shot on an iPhone 11 camera

PROOF THAT THESE PHRASES CAME FROM DIRTY WORDS INTERESTING:

SELECT ARTISTS FROM BLOG READING:

Micah Lexier:

• Ampersand
• Two Equal Texts
• Notes-to-Self (2007)

Laurel Woodcock:

• wish you were here (2003)
• on a clear day (2010)

Hiba Abdullah