Filmmaking today is more than a narrative, it's the freedom of expression that can only be understood by those who are willing to understand.

Art Journal #2: Bone Play by Michael Sappol & Eva Åhrén

In Bone Play by Michael Sappol & Eva Åhrén, the main topic discussed was the basic idea of the dead, its bodies, and how overtime people have changed their views of respect for the dead. The article first introduces the idea of the dead through the historical use of anatomy with human bodies.
Sappol and Ahern start by saying how people at first respected the dead because of fear and religion. Then as anatomy was introduced in the mid-sixteenth century, though controversial as it was in that time period, it was the opening factor of how the dead would eventually be viewed today - in some way equally viewed as the living. The dissection of bodies in the medical profession became required and it wasn't so uncommon to use the deceased without worry of religious superstitions or respect for the dead. Sappol and Ahren said that their profession allowed them to 'play with the dead' through their practice of anatomy, and because the dead was initially to be feared and respected, students often had the impulse to 'dramatize and fool around' to avoid the thoughts that provoked disgust and remind them of the taboo of touching the dead. So to cope with working on cadavers, students covered it up with the act of 'playing' with the dead as if it were a joke. This act eventually became the norm in today's society starting with medical professions and later other people who came to wear skulls on their shirts, put it on their album cover, and etc. This respect for the dead, though not completely disappeared by religious means, has altered through the decades by people's actions and thoughts creating a new perception of the dead.

And so today, it is easy to point out the skulls that are printed on shirts and other common everyday objects. An great example of today's value of the dead would be the store, Torrid, which sells a gothic style clothing for females that often features dark clothing with skulls. It is not that they 'value' the dead but that they value its symbol and use it as a statement for their style - to be feared (perhaps), different, and unafraid for their bold use of skulls. Bikers also are often portrayed as dark, mean riders with skull tattoos and bandannas. This new perception of the dead is one I feel has become normal in today's society as if it being present make it acceptable to see death and that it's not something to be feared. I think that for the most part, to make the dead look like it is something not to feared is exactly the goal - to not fear the dead. By making it part of our lives with it printed on objects, it's a statement that we do not fear the dead but in theory, I think we really do. Like how Sappol and Ahren mentioned earlier about the medical students not being able to go through with dissecting cadavers was because it was originally taboo to touch the dead as well as nauseating to go through the procedure, the students made it seem like a game or a joke to play with the dead as if the body were nothing but a toy even going as far as taking pictures of the skeleton dressed up. It's no different in today's society in comparison to what the medical students did; to get over our fear, we make it normal to see skulls on consumer products. To see it on consumer products make it more of a decoration of accessory and it is no longer a reminder of our ultimate fate.

STOP.LOOK.LISTEN.: Janet Bigg's Predator and Prey

Janet Bigg's Predator and Prey was a quite amusing piece of sound and depiction of predator and prey. Her work was a two-channel video installation shown on eight Plasma screens. On the subject of imagery, it consisted of many scenes with animals (horse hooves, eagle, and polar bear) as well as man in two scenes. Overall, I found Bigg's Predator and Prey extremely fascinating and appreciated the work that was put into it of the different kind of focuses with two screens showing one thing different from the other.

The sound that accompanied the wonderful imagery was of great amusement in the way it was developed with, perhaps instruments to represent the animals in the video. In the first scene, both channels show a horse's hooves trotting on which looks to be moving ground (like a treadmill). In that first scene, the sound of trotting hooves was the dominant feature but because of the double screen, it was also double the sound of trotting. In contrast to Patty Chang's only soundtrack of slurping every now and then throughout the video, the introduction sound of the hooves related to me like a steady beat that could be more closely associated to music as Aaron Ximm would put it. Then as we proceed to the next scene of a man with his expression of pain in his head on the left plasma screens, the right screens displayed an animal. The sound this time is a type of a screaming sound which couldn't be identified as music to one's ears but one that I could connect to the imagery that was displayed. This made me be able to understand the pain the man was expressing in the left screens from the guess that the animal on the right had possibly produced the scorching sound. Thus, I interpreted that the animal was the predator and the man was prey to the effect of the sound made by the animal.
Moving on to the scene that made the most impression on me was the one that showed the eagle on both screens in mirrored images of the eagle; so that the left screen he was facing himself on the right screen in the same position. The sound in this scene was like a substitute of what you'd hear for the flapping of the wings as the eagle flapped it at its attempt to get its food from off the string. I believe this was the only time that the sound had a fade in the left speaker to fade out in the right speaker in the headphones. The instrument used to make the sound would not be easily identified - perhaps a drum? Regardless, the sound engrossed me to the screen and my attentiveness to what was being presented at the moment led me to think of how everything worked together in that moment with the sound, image, and mirror view of the eagle. This very scene made me ponder on the effect of the substituted sound that was used versus if the literal sound of the eagle's flapping wings was used. I think what Bigg provided in this scene seems to be more intense with the substituted sound of the wings, inviting the viewer to stop, look, and listen.

The last scene also made an impression on me, although not as much as the scene with the eagle did but it was still a great part of the video that I enjoyed. The video finished off with the horse's hooves again but only this time, the sound of the horse's hooves was not working harmoniously but the sound of left screen being played a little before the sound for the right screen was played. So to me, it was like finishing with music, and I think it was a great way to end it. I will admit that the rhythmic sound of the hooves this last scene made me want to dance to its beat. It sounds silly, but I felt that even with so simple of a sound from a horse could be appreciated. I don't know how I would feel if I were to see two horses first hand and trotting in the fashion that Bigg was able to create, but I have to point out that because the scene was manipulated into creating this specific sound, that it could definitely be credited as a dancing beat – something can be related to the performance of Riverdance.

Overall, I found that the sound used throughout Bigg's installation was an alternate between music and just sound that related to the image displayed on the screen. I admit that even though I found that there was an alteration between my feelings for the sounds, I enjoyed Bigg's work immensely upon the fact that the video was able to project feelings into me from beginning to end. In connection to Aaron Ximm's four artist statements (provided below), I think Bigg was also able to pinpoint each one in her work.

First. I want to recontextualize the sound around you.
Second. With composition I often aim to evoke specific emotional colors.
Third. I want to provide an environment for different thoughts.
Fourth. I want to take you on a trip.

STOP.LOOK.LISTEN: Patty Chang's Fountain

Patty Chang's Fountain video work displayed at Haggerty Hall Art Museum was intriguing to watch. It first caught my eye recognizing that a girl seemed to be making love to herself or another person who shared her physical qualities, and since it was the first video that caught my attention, I literally stopped, looked, and then listened. The video drew me in because it triggered my curiosity of how Chang was able to portray the act of lovemaking to herself in front of the camera. My first guess had been that they were twins that were in the video. In Fountain, Chang seems to have put the camera at a 90 degree angle that would capture the footage at a length that would deem appropriate in capturing her act of slurping water off of a mirror laid down on the floor. As I watched her taking her time drinking the water off the mirror’s surface, the pauses that were taken in between her drinking were great in emphasizing her looking at herself in a deep stare that could be taken as a ‘seductive’. I interpret her look as seductive because she certainly took her time looking at herself as if it was another person then slowly drinking the water off the surface as if she was deeply kissing someone. If I had not read the brief abstract provided in the pamphlet, I would have mistaken Chang being insanely in love with another female. This work of hers can be related to the familiarity of the Greek myth of Narcissus - of a man whom fell in love with his own image. The Greek myth could be easily understood of what happened to Narcissus but to see it in Chang's Fountain brings out a different feeling in witnessing such an act - it's disturbing to witness such intimacy that is often thought to be private.

In Chang's Fountain, the only sound that could be heard throughout the video is the sound of her 'slurping' the water off the surface of the mirror. The pauses in between her slurping offer a silence of observation and thought of what can be interpreted of the actions made by Chang. In connection to Aaron Ximm's idea of sound providing an environment for different thoughts, Chang was able to establish, you can say, a type of 'environment,' in which the only sound heard was her contact to the mirror. Thus that specific sound took me on surprise at first because I had no idea that she was drinking water off the surface of the mirror until I read the abstract provided in the pamphlet. Therefore the sound was able to trigger a curiosity, a concentration of what the sound was and its purpose in the video. I couldn't seem to put a finger on it so I assumed that it was just a sound made when contacting her other self whom seemed to be in another world. Thus it created a type of environment because of the sound provided by Chang's drinking of the water, but in contrast to Ximm's idea of regular sound as music, I think the slurping is as plain as the 'noise' a drain would make.