ARTIST MULTIPLES
“I can quit whenever I want”
For my artist multiples, I chose to make stickers based on the “smoking kills” warning labels on cigarette packages and give it an ironic twist with more defensive phrases in relation to the same subject matter. I used all the listed phrases below but kept the phrase “I can quit whenever I want” as my main concept for this project. I wanted the stickers to be used on items that are addictive themselves, items that symbolize addiction, or things that conceptually can be addictive if not physically. In the photos below, my stickers are being used on things that are traditionally known to be addictive (alcohol, vapes, cigarettes). The stickers serve as a label of denial and defense, claiming not to be addicted and “being able to quite whenever they want” while still using or consuming the labelled product they are denying addiction to.
Despite the humorous and ironic phrases put on each sticker, it is important to acknowledge that, although addiction can be less serious and lighthearted in the context that I envision my stickers to be used, addiction can also be an extremely serious and severe topic that should not be joked about or taken lightly.
ADDICTION DENIAL
“it won’t kill me”
“i only do it occasionally”
“it hasn’t changed me at all”
“i just like the feeling”
“i am not addicted”
“i’m not hurting anyone”
“i’m under a lot of stress, i just need to relax”
“i can quit whenever i want”
[smoking kills] cigarette pack warning label-style sticker
OR groovy/hippie style font?
photographs of the sticker on various addicting items
– lighter and cigarette
– bong
– vape
– cellphone
– credit card
– computer
– alcohol
– gambling (not sure what item)
– coffee cup
– energy drink
– sex toy
– a man
ARTIST BOOK
HANDBOOK OF ANGELS
I found a book called “Knowledge of Angels” by Jill Paton Walsh at a thrift store and was immediately intrigued by this idea of knowing what an angel is. My artist book if loosely based on this book and it is titled “handbook of angels”. I really wanted to push this idea that no one really knows exactly what an angel is. There are always random posts or articles on the internet talking about experiences with angels and what a biblically accurate angel looks like. I realized that there are many different kinds of angels that I would never really think about normally so I wanted to bring those to light in a direct and sort of humorous way. Each page includes a small square image of a different item relating to the word “angel” in any context whether it be the word in its name or something that resembles a typical angel. These images include a variety of different subjects that I would never see together in any other context, but they all fit very well in their place in this book.
REFERENCE BOOK: Knowledge of Angels – Jill Paton Walsh
HANDBOOK OF ANGELS
24 pages — each page includes a different “angel”
– angel food cake
– angel hair pasta
– angel wing clam
– angel shark
– angel falls
– angel dust
– destroying angel
give definitions to my roommates and have them draw what they interpret from the definitions without knowing what the term is — i.e. “a deadly poisonous white toadstool that grows in woodlands and is native to both Eurasia and North America” and then scan their drawings and put them on each page with the term, “destroying angel” for this example.
OR
each page only has an image of a different “angel”
side-by-side pages should have some kind of connection or correlation that is not too obvious
ARBORETUM VIDEO ART
“Elements” – Kathryn and Amelia
We began with our idea of running behind a tree and bursting into leaves as a conceptual display of the movement of air as well as the concept of life and death. However, we wanted to further our idea with multiple videos to explore the different elements (fire, water, air, earth) in a more conceptual context. With each element, we created a different gesture idea that would all be looping together in a grid-like formation. To keep each video interesting and intriguing in its own way, each element and its video is unique in the way it is filmed and in the gesture it presents. The first video, representing fire, shows the figure kneeled on a large stump we found in the Arboretum while rubbing a stick to create a natural fire. This video loops over this one singular action to act as the stable and consistent aspect of the entire video as a whole. The second video shows two people jumping up into the air and “transforming” into a pile of rocks that fall down, reversed and looped. This video symbolizes the element of earth. The third video was a tribute to our original idea of running behind a tree and bursting into leaves to represent air and the movement of air. The fourth and final video in the grid represents the element of water as the subject fills a vase with water from the fountain and dumps it on herself. All four videos together provide the viewer with a busy but simple interpretation of the four elements and the visual aspects help connect each video together as one.
VIDEO IDEAS (MP4 file for blog upload)
- “When We Leave”
- running around a tree, run behind, burst into leaves
- jumping up and down, jump up, rocks fall
- crawling under the bridge, crawl one side, other side water flows
- costume — all black for all three or full colour matching each element (leaves, rocks, water)
- 3 videos at once – maybe 4? for 2×2 grid
- start with first video, make it flow into the second, third, fourth, until all of the videos are playing together (?)
- Bear mask, honey on hands, attracting beers, ants, wasps, etc.
- flip in nature — the insects eating the predator — cycle of life
- GLOVES AND SHOES SAFETY FIRST
- Blending into nature by burying body parts
- Teaching the trees (call and answer) — easel, whiteboard/chalkboard, pointer, teacher costume/outfit
- “I am a Tree” — wearing a sign that says “I am a Tree” around neck and standing in different parts of the forest
- wearing an outfit that has nothing to do with trees or anything
- mimic tree sounds and movements
TORONTO FIELD TRIP
The Toronto Biennial of Art and the MOCA exhibitions we explored were amazing. The variety of different art mediums, themes, ideas, and installations made it easy to stay intrigued and curious. My favourite artwork from the entire trip had to be Passing by Maria Ezcurra located at 32 Lisgar and Park as part of the Toronto Biennial of Art, 2024. This installation, as pictured in the last photo, involved numerous different kinds of shoes cute into the silhouette of birds hung up on wires strung up on poles. From afar, the installation just seems to be sculptures of birds strung up in the sky, but once you get closer and directly under the work, you can see that every “bird” is actually a shoe. It was so cool to be able to see how each shoe was individually cut up in order to resemble the wings, tail, and beak of a bird. There was so much variety as well between the different shoes and how they were cut. Some shoes had sharp beaks, some had no beak, some had fringed tails and some had pointy tails. The weather was perfect on the day we went. The beautiful bright and blue sky functioned as the perfect background for this installation without taking away from the idea and creativity behind it.
BOOK STACK ASSIGNMENT
“How to Stop Time, Death”
“Her Mother Causes Life”
“Angels & Demons Fear the Way You Think”