WEEK 1 – Shelley Niro – The Shirt
A five-minute performative documentary that subtly highlights the injustices inflicted upon Indigenous Peoples in the form of souvenir T-shirt slogans
Shelley Niro is a multidisciplinary artist born in Niagara Falls, New York. She was born in 1954 and grew up on the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve, near Brantford, Ontario. She is known for her work that challenges cliches and stereotypes surrounding Indigenous communities, specifically women, while reinforcing the consequences of colonial history.
She has produced films and digital collages addressing land, border, treaties issues and women
The Shirt (2003) was produced in response to a trip Niro took to Houston Texas. While on the plane for a photography conference she recalls looking out the window at the divided plains below her and was reminded of the complex histories that have happened on the land that is so clearly divided for ownership.
In the film, Shelley uses the natural landscape as her background as the frames progress with individuals appearing and disappearing. The film shows the progression of the shirt and its text as it changes, and is literally taken from the woman’s back, as a metaphor for what Indigenous peoples have been left with as a result of colonialism.
It is described as “an amalgamation of her determination to challenge the stereotypes against Indigenous Peoples in a single, powerful work”. It confronts the viewer with the question “What do you really know about colonialism”
The firm message is delivered subtly, but effectively as it reframes the relationship between land-ownership and Indigenous peoples and their self-determination.
The film was presented at the 2003 Venice Biennal as well as at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Banner Project!
“Cool Detached Attitude”
My banner is made of coloured felt and string, and I chose the phrase “Cool Detached Attitude” from the reading. I think the position of the banner in the studio is a funny as we create and critique projects in this room that make us feel anything but cool and detached. I decided to represent that struggle of recievcing criticism and pretending to not care as much as you actually do. In my mind this is quite funny! but also very real. It serves as a reminder that we are only students, only people, and trying to remain cool, and detached is not always possible. Things will make us emotional in many ways and hiding that is not always beneficial to our well-being. Why not be way too involved? why not care too much? There is not anything wrong with caring about your work, and trying to be cool and detached does not yield the appearance we often think it does. I really like colourful, whimsical decor, and I think that pairing that with a silly kind of phrase or idea reinforces that it is a reminder to try and relax, to not care about what other people think, and to open yourself to help and collaboration. Screw a cool detached attitude!
Internet Topic Presentation (Pre-Video Research)
An Analysis of “Clean Girl Makeup”
Before discussing all I have learned about this topic, I believe it is worth saying that makeup and beauty as well as the trends that come and go are all controlled by forces larger than the average shopper. Most of what we consume has been marketed to us in many ways and the world of marketing is always using new methods of advertising to influence the average shopper. So, though not all beauty trends are inherently negative, we must remember that our participation in said trends is not always an independent choice. Makeup and fashion are important art forms and are creative outlets for millions of people. It is not about whether or not you look the part of a trend, it is about enjoying the privilege of decorating your body. It is never about looking “good “ or “bad”, but this mindset can quickly be adopted. It can be harmful to discuss beauty trends when allowing people to enjoy what they like is what should really be the point of all this. However, the world of visual culture inevitably attaches certain values and caricatures to the way things look and for that reason a second look should be given to trends that take the online world by storm. Many of these trends perpetuate harmful stereotypes, habits of over-consumption or feelings of unattainable beauty, when in reality your worth should never be determined by the way you look. Your inner light and precious mind are what make you amazing, not what products you purchase.
With all that said, let’s talk about “The Clean Girl Aesthetic”! Unlike many trends that quickly come and go on Tiktok, this trend has become a long term character in the beauty landscape. Often characterized by neatly slicked back ponytails/buns, minimalistic neutral fashion, and “clean” looking glossy skin, this “clean girl” is the goal of many for beauty and fashion. Many of these attributes have existed for a very long time in the heritage of Black and Brown women, but have since been adapted for Euro-centric beauty features. It has also become ways of behaving, eating, dressing, even decorating ones home. This trend and its virality have been adopted by many beauty and fashion brands that now market products as a staple in achieving this aesthetic. This then becomes a class issue, we have adopted trends of beauty from cultures and now it has become a discussion surrounding consumption, where spending money on specific products is also essential to this lifestyle. This may be hard to wrap your head around, I say this because personally it is difficult to critique things loved by many or that simply allow women to enjoy themselves or bond on common interests. I ask myself if this is a discussion about misogyny because of this, but perhaps it is not. When women become excluded by factors they cannot change, their natural body, their level of wealth or race, a trend becomes harmful. If not everyone can participate “correctly” because of their true self it becomes an exclusive club where members look down on those who try to join, but fail.
This “clean girl aesthetic” is arguably a repackaged version of many trends that have existed before, ones that center themselves around wealthy, thin white women with access to resources and products most do not. I find it interesting that a trend that really centers itself around a “clean” and fresh look, that suggests little makeup and simply clothing does not “work” with textured skin or larger bodies. Is that not the “cleanest” version of the body? Natural beauty? Additionally the language surrounding this trend is harmful, the use of the word “clean” implies that there is a “dirty”. Words like minimal would be better to describe something that is highly curated.
In a chapter titled “Mapping Gross Bodies: The Regulatory Politics of Disgust” from Aesthetic Labour, writer Breanne Fahs explains that women “described feeling burdened with the task of managing unruly bodies, maintaining ‘appropriate’ standards of cleanliness, hairlessness, and thinness, and hoping that they would not offend or otherwise step outside of the boundaries of appropriate bodies.”
“As Western minimalist and elitist propaganda send signals of calling no-makeup makeup looks clean, it carries the connotation that grandiose measures of beauty, experimental glam, and cultural signifiers are dirty.”
“The concealment of labor and exertion externalizes that the no-makeup makeup looks we’ve been doing is a method to disguise looks of stress related to poverty, illness, or the failure to suppress the body’s natural secretion.”
(https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/epzna7/tiktok-clean-girl-aesthetic)
Reflection on trends that have so many questions surrounding the fairness of these ideas and the true meaning of these terms is very important. The wealth of the body and its capabilities do not lie in how it looks and how that look conforms with trends, especially when that trend is about selective features, hidden labour, and the exclusion of the originators of specific hairstyles, jewelry etc… It is also important to mention that when critiquing things like this, that we check our misogyny. All too often do people see conversations like this as an opportunity to tear women down based on the way they look and act when in reality most women do not knowingly contribute to these problems, they are merely consuming what they are being told to and happen to be enjoying themselves. This issue lies in the exclusive nature and the habit of classifying specific features as bad and undesirable. We must remember women deserve to enjoy themselves without being ridiculed and observed. Especially when social media encourages observation and judgment.
Week 5 – Post-Internet Video Art
ASMR Fidget Toy Sensory Extravaganza!
For this project I wanted to analyze something that I really like. I have been interested in ASMR for almost a decade and I really have come to love collecting fidget toys. Fidget toys are often meant to ease mental stress through their fun nature and the sensory elements (things that click, squish, slide etc…). They can be really beneficial to kid who have issues focusing in educational spaces or calming kids who have difficult time in social situations. I think they are really important and they have been around longer than some people realize. Stim toys refers to “stimming” which they are often called and refers to physically actions that ease or satisfy the body for people with sensory issues, autism, anxiety etc… I discovered these because I really like toys. I think it is that simple, I just like collecting things that tie me back to the joy of being little. I also have been on a quest to manage my anxiety and panic disorder as I have gotten older, embracing things I like and allowing myself to enjoy them has been big for me and these toys are a part of that. they just so happen to be great for the senses.
ASMR has always helped me relax and often focus when I am working, I feel fortunate to enjoy it because for some people it can be very unsettling. Additionally, the stigma surround these videos that is often based in fetish and intimacy has been more normalized as I think some people on the internet know how important it is for people to simply enjoy what they enjoy. The crossover realm of videos about these toys is so interesting. There are ones where people unbox them and review them, one where people simply play with them recording the noice and visuals, some people role play with them (role play is common in ASMR) videos! It is a really interesting genre of videos.
I chose to clip bits with sensitive audio and good visual to maximize the hypnotizing element. I adjusted the sound and surrounded the loudest clips with others that gradually introduce an increase in volume. I made some of these editing choices to keep they viewer in the audio visual experience. I went through a lot of source content because these videos are usually 30 minutes or more, and I feel like the presentation would definitely include surround sound audio to highlight the in-ear feeling these videos have when you wear headphones.
The ideal installation I think would be a large projection in a dark room with surround sound audio to deeply intense audio. I think that the concept of multiple screens might be nice but I don’t know that my intention is to overwhelm to viewer. Perhaps multiple videos would have their own sets of headphones but all be projected on different walls of the same room. I think I would have to make a firm decision regarding the intent of the piece to either go the overstimulating way and subvert the purpose of these relaxing videos or to embrace it and create an environment that nurtures a comfortable feeling and encourages the viewer to stay and relax for as long as they would like. I think creating an auditory environment would be super cool!
Parent Video
This assignment was very hard for me. For context, I was raising in a single-parent household. I was very fortunate is a lot of ways! I was loved and fed, had amazing pets, and a parent who did their absolute best to keep me happy and healthy. I don’t think I could have asked for much more. With that said, there were some not so nice parts too. My mom passed away when I was 11 and I was very lucky to have the it me with her that I did. But when I look back, all I really have now is that time. I am an only child, with a very small family, who are not very close to each other, so I have spent a lot of time imagining my future, and a family I have not yet built. I think a lot of things would have been different if I had a mom, and siblings, but to wish things were different is wasted time. I have many things to be grateful for. My own company being a large one.
When I was trying to generate an idea for this project, I was drawing a blank. I didn’t have a fun way to document my parents or something to have them do. No genealogy to trace or ancestry to look for. I don’t know a lot about them or where I come from. I am fortunately and unfortunately very independent and some times I am my only family. So I decided to make a video about me and what I do have. I don’t have any heirlooms from my mom. No jewelry, or knickknacks, or letters, just nothing, just the time I can remember and have to fight to keep fresh in my mind. So I thought why not document this? These photos are about the only objects I have in memory with her, these physical depictions of memories. It’s a small collection, one where we look happy, where we are holding each other. In the video I take time to remember these moments and to assess the state of the photos, after a couple decades they have started to show some wear. I also am taking the time to meditate on these objects, they are filled with life and I have no other evidence of it. Lastly, I spend time trying to find my likeness in her. My body and mind are the last thing that exists in memory of her. My genetic make up and facial features are proof that she did exist even though sometimes it does not feel that way. This video is a way of spending time with her and using the body and brain she created.
Now I know this is all quite sad. And I did want to avoid that, I don’t like feeling pitied by other people, but I also don’t want to not answer the questions about her. So, just enjoy this video as a daughter spending time with her mother the only way she can.