Week 1

After doing some research on John Saksai, I found his Killing One Bird with Half a Stone very interesting with the way he connected the coved experience with the plugs as being disconnected but connected at the same time. This for me made me think of how we were disconnecting but made more effort for the human connection with loved ones and at the same time was hindering us as I feel that it made us more disconnected at the same time with having difficulties coming together now that the lockdown has subsided. Another piece liked in the installment was the motivation piece where he would assist the light by fidgeting with it to turn it back on. Almost like helping someone that is broken to help them back to their feet.

For my idea with text, I want to use the phrase “Nothing to see here “with a box and a hole, and if they happen to look into the box write” see I told you “Please write your first name and see if this method will record people that do look. I feel like the human urge for curiosity is fascinating. On the weekend I was in Ottawa, and I stopped to go to the grocery store as I parked beside a car, I saw a white bag on the windshield of the car. At first, I was curious as to do the owner of the vehicle leave it or did someone random place it there. As I was leaving the store the owner followed not too far from us. We went into the car, and all looked back to see what the owner would do. As he pulled up to his car, he looked confused slightly looking at us and then around to see if it was only his car. Then proceeded to open the package to see what was in it. This package could have been harmful or even a prank and or even money. This to me was so interesting and we had a whole conversation as to what we would do and some of my friends said they would investigate the package.

Week 2

For my video, I wanted to focus on the expression that anime uses to relate to everyday things which we go through. Growing up watching anime, I’m almost numb to the use of sexual acts with female and male characters in these. With the noise bleeds, females being groped, and age gap differences, one may see why this might be problematic. Growing up I will say I notice people tell me I animated. The use of the sounds with scream and body gestures are, and I never thought that maybe it is because I have watched anime my whole life. Another point that brought me to use anime was the relatability to real life for me watching Pokémon gave me a sense of persistence as Pikachu never gives up, as well as in Hunter x Hunter with the main characters Gon and killua. With all these crazy worlds they create in animation, they still find a way to give these characters human emotions in ways we can relate to but pull humor on sexual acts. It is weird to me and I hope to dive more into this and put together a series of clips showcasing that.

Part 2

After watching the example video shown in class, I decided to change my initial focus and show pieces of my culture from my prospective. I feel like the social media culture shows a lot of injustice in our society due to systemic racism which I do understand why it needs to be addressed, but on the other hand, I feel like there are so much more pro the cons and it has shown as African people continue to push forward. I hope to convey this message in my video. For me I call this the solution.

When making this piece, I wanted to focus on a nuanced picture of Blackness that embraces a full range of Black life. More specifically, I want to highlight Black people overcoming everyday adversities centering their achievements. On social media, Blackness is constantly depicted as a spectacle of oppression through “black-on-black” violence, police brutality, and broken homes. This framing of Black life denies the full depth and breadth of blackness thwarting other ways of reading it. By no means am I denying the realities of Black life, however, these experiences are not all-encompassing. Black life does not always end in these moments as Black folks must move through these daily obstacles to survive. From my perspective, for most, adversity yields high results. I want to showcase other capacities of Blackness–positive elements of Black culture; the heroes and icons that galvanize youth to chase their dreams whatever they may be. The system as it is currently structured functions to exclude and oppress Black folks and I believe that it will continue to present its problems until it is reformed. However, in the meantime, if we, Black folks, focus on building trust, respect, and hold our values to a higher standard, we can build an ecosystem from within as I believe that ultimate change happens when a foundation is set. I call this the solution because it starts with love within our community. This is my message to you.

Week 8

For my purposal I had two ideas. one was inspired by Damian hirst I would set future date and this would be the day you die. I thought of this crazy theme as Damian hirst artwork for the more parts challenge the way we think as artist and question our day-to-day moral such piece called “A thousand years” a thousand years is and art piece that Damian hirst did in 1990. The piece was a installation that caused controversy was A Thousand Years. This conversation starter and gruesome piece was showcased in a large glass case containing maggots and flies feeding on a rotting cow’s head where within the box was a UV light. Inside the box, maggots hatched and then turned into flies feeding on the cow’s bloody head. Hirsh’s inclusion of the UV light is another play on death. Here the flies were given the “choice” to either eat on the rotting head or accidentally fly into the UV light which instantly killed them. This once again speaks to Damien Hirst love for death and science and controversial concepts as he states that people kill flies all the time and as such what difference would it make if it was showcased? Again—he is having his viewers engage with the cycle of life and death as put to the forefront the ways that we as humans also engage in “questionable” behaviour that is naturalized as “normal.

For my idea, I wanted to play with like it. In today’s life before meeting someone the social construct which we use to pick who we are even attracted to is in teams of looks and other biases based on preference. My first idea was to play with death itself and give a tattoo of a date the date would give you 100 years. My reasoning would be would it matter how we look at life, or would we be pressed to work if we knew how many days we have left? My second deal would be to accumulate daily essentials which we use. Tattoos are almost permanent in today’s world except for laser removal which still leaves somewhat of a mark. My other idea was to make a series of daily essentials and even one you use and/or relate to would be what you pick to be tattooed as these daily items we can’t live without are almost permanent in our lives as we can’t leave the house without and over time make a connection