Alejandra C

Photography

[helloitsalexsworld]

Performance Art

I decided to share my practice and art in rolling a joint. TO me marijuana has helped with my anxiety and stress, it has allowed me to be able to stay off antidepressants and anxiety medication. It has been 3 years since my last dose of medication, it has not always been easy. In fact the social stigma against marijuana being a recreational commodity is an outdated argument, as a Texas raised Latina I can say that this “devils” lettuce is one of the most natural plants that grows abundant in the South. This daily task I’ve incorporated into my way of life, most ask if I need to smoke everyday. NO, but I do enjoy the benefits of it. Rolling is actually very cognitively addictive and the pattern becomes relaxing and enjoyable. Just like society, we as humans get consumed with the pattern, that we forget about the hidden meaning behind it, we allow ourselves to be diminished or mistreated, and as a society we allow the of accepting bad behavior.

Just this video itself may be flagged for insensitive content due to the misjudgment and misinformation behind an outdated social stigmatization system. Mental Health is a byproduct of our societal system and outdated norms, but within this problem there are always alternatives and better solutions we can take to prevent mental illness. Whether rolling a joint of Gods ‘good creation ‘, or seeking help, walking,music, art, ice cream, etc.. We as a society are the performance.

[helloitsalexsworld]

Richard Serras Verb List

To twist, to crumple, to twist, to roll, to smear, to disperse, to fold, to crease, to remove, to open, to systematize, to wrap, to distribute

[helloitsalexsworld]

The super cut video

I created a short segment of waterfalls. To me any body of water brings soothing vibrations and allows comfort, but like every natural entity there is an inner violence. Like water we are able to renew but also destroy and disrupt in any environment.

[helloitsalexsworld]

Reading Response #3

Projection: Vanishing and Becoming

Sean Cubitt's thesis transpires a series of origin stories to the phenomenon that we call projection. From Buddha to Melanie Klein, the ideology remains, human psychoanalysis creates and identifies the "reality" in three forms: mythical, archeological, and psychological .

Melanie Klein believed in the ability to project inner life onto external objects as a way for human development to overcome trauma imbedded in the stages of childhood, or "astral projection". This idea creates the hypothesis that within every being there is a certain light or innocence that we all carry, making projection an ideological action.

Buddhist believe that art was composed from reflection due to the projection of light; a story that highlights this is when Buddha asked a young painter named Bihar to paint himself. Bihar a mortal, could not look at the God due to how much light was radiating off , Bihar could not handle the gods direct light. Buddha then suggested that the artist used a waters reflection stating, "The World we see is but a reflection of a reality that escapes it's reflections". This story of Buddha and Bihar share a similar belief of projected light within an inner being.

This similar story also allows Pliny's origin story of the maiden of Corinth who drew the first portrait . She is nameless in the origin story, but it goes that on an evening her lover was to set out for a long perilous sea journey, to remember him, she reaches into the embers of a fire. There she grabs a charcoal stick and traces her lovers outline on the wall to record him one last time. Pliny's story implies the lovers innate death, but the moral of the story is that through lights absence ; shadow highlights the memory.

To finish my piece I write that all these stories have one meaning in common when it comes to projection and becoming. Sean Cubbitt states that the realm of the dead is the realm of absence, and therefore the realm of the silent, colorless line, or that art is the memento mori of the reality. Projection is one of the oldest tools for movement, the projection of fear, loss, sadness , happiness, etc... Projection allows pseudo realities to be translated into three dimensional and two dimensional realities that become perspective. Although within the projection we must ask what distortion is created and how it effects the visible ideology that inevitably will transpire to become an individuals becoming.

[helloitsalexsworld]

Reading and Response # 3

The long and complex history of video art has been debated, along with theatrical and cinematic photography, Video Art involves the use of video and sound to record. Most video artists utilize moving pictures as a cheap and more accessible way of recording. A few artist like Bruce Nauman use body movement as means for exploration in performative art, utilizing the camera to capture the makings of themselves the performance.

Now in this day and age video is now a genre rather than a traditional movement than theatrical cinema. Some artists even use the visual images form multi-disciplinary uses that mimic traditional art forms, such as collaging photo frames together to create a new scene. The artist most known for this style of work is Trisha Baga who uses, photography, music, painting and sculpture to create film montages and collages.

[helloitsalexsworld]

From Goldberg, Performance Art from Futurism to Present

Performance Art has had a long and complicated history, which began with the European War exiles bringing performance art into the western practices.

Black Mountain College, NC one of the oldest art institutions, a professor John Rice at the college invited Josef and Anni Albers to join the community. The community had created a safe space where students and faculty can practice and create a new makeshift program into the school. Albers who had taught at the Bauhaus [German school for Art and Design] before the Nazi closed the institution, gave a lecture to 22 students and 9 faculty members that night. She stated " Art is concerned with the HOW and not the WHAT; not the literal content, but with the performance of the factual content. The performance -how it is done-that is the content of art." creating a new conversation on performance art.

In 1936 Albers invited Xanti Schawinsky to expand the performance program stating that the course is not for training for any particular branch of contemporary theatre. Rather a study of fundamental phenomena; space, form, colour, light , sound , movement, music , time, etc.. Which led to the first staged performance of Spectrodrama , focused on visual interplay of light and the geometric form.

Live Art was the next step, at Black Mountain College during the 1952, the new school created new courses and assemblages. This impacted contemporary painting and artists who used performance as a way to revolt against conventional forms of theatre. Artists known to study this was Al Hansen, George brecht, etc..

AL Hansen painting

[helloitsalexsworld]

Coco Fusco an Cuban-American artist performed a piece which challenged the Western concepts used to allow the imperialism of 'primitive' beings or third world governments. The original intent was to experiment a satirical commentary, during the periods of the US Quincentenary Commission during the 1900's, this operation was later investigated for corruption, and met with protestors. During the Bush Administration , artists had drawn clear parallels between the 'discovery' of the New World Order- to Christopher Columbus "discovering Indians" , in 1892 the Columbian commemorations had served as the justification for the the US imperial power to step in.

The experiment was simple resurrect the collective memory of colonial violence in America that has being dramatically and strategically erased from the mainstream culture and media platforms. The artists planned to live in a golden cage for three days as Amerindians- a country of the Gulf of Mexico in Guatinau, were the two artist performed 'traditional tasks'. This practice was actually based off Christopher Columbus exhibiting indigenous people from Africa, Asia and the Americas in zoos, parks, taverns, and museums , like 'exotic primitive' beings.

The project was "TWO Undiscovered Amerindians Visit..."

[helloitsalexsworld]

This piece focuses on time and healing. Often as humans we suppress our emotions and sometimes forget that taking space is okay. Taking time to heal is necessary and focusing on ourselves is not a selfish act. Healing takes time and patience! So this video was playing with favorite nostalgic memories!

Music by Time Alison Wonderland *Quix Remix

[helloitsalexsworld]

My theme was to focus on the role animals have. Serotonin boost, enjoying the small moments and appreciating how small gestures can change a persons day.

[helloitsalexsworld]

Making Mini Cinema

I collected a video I had recorded for this gif! Enjoy the beach

Hawaii Expedition 08/11/2022

[helloitsalexsworld]

Net Art

Reading and Response #2

Net Art has changed the way society has interacted on multiple platforms. What is Net Art? It is a telecommunication way of expressing and sharing art, the movement took off around the 1980's when the world wide web was shared and popularized. This made the internet a new source and platform for artist to create and experiment with new ways in communication and collaboration. Net Art encompasses many forms and genres as it is constantly adapting and changing through the online forums. The creation and usage of GIFs is a great example of Net Art. A GIF( Graphic Interchange formats) is a easy way to express oneself through the movement of a picture. Even though GIFs are not popularly perceived as art , they do allow creators to express and convey certain ideas through the digital interface. Hopefully, in the future we can see more acceptance and movement in allowing Net Art more recognition as it is one of the fastest growing art forms in todays society.

who doesn't love snoopy

Describes my Virgo energy , creates humor

I love cats

Love superhereos

Best commercial ever

The office is a classic

Mood

This is just a classic nostalgia moment

[thelaurelcanyon-deactivated2023]

Art Experiment #1: The Drift

{ t h e p r i m o r d i a l s e a }

[madahn]

Disappearing Acts

I'm inspired by the notion of identity when I'm faced with the concept of disappearing. Especially the act of it- meaning a figment, an illusion. The illusion of disappearing. Its all an act. The self, the identity, appears and disappears, what we thought was concrete in our identity is moldable. It shows up and disappears yet its always there. We get so caught up in the drama of the movie, as the audience, that we forget that we are enjoying a play. We get wrapped in our characters. How could we not when we are the actors, the writers, the audience and the director all at the same time? It disappears just to come back together again, cyclically. So I guess my ideas are about non-attachment. Remember the drama is just that- a drama. It's a play. If we stay attached to one frame we miss the whole point of this ever-changing and continuing story. We naturally let go just to be able to grasp again. What a paradox to be alive, to have a self, always developing, to feel, and to think. What an insane species we are.

[miac-s]

Art Project #1: Disappearing Acts

The term “disappearing” itself obviously means for something to be gone, one way or another, and it is not dictated by if those ways are positive or negative, or even wanted in the first place. People often then get greedy when faced with this, and I am not saying that I am an exception, but, I do view something outside or inside myself “disappearing” to be natural. Yes, I would love to stay as a naive kid for just a bit longer, yes, I would love to have beloved pets and family members returned to me, however, I have learned that having an unhealthy attachment can do much more harm than good. So, instead of wistfully wishing for certain things back, I fondly remember them in their entirety as best as I can, along with slightly comparing with what is there now in its place, physically and mentally. Besides, it is fun to see how I have grown and be in awe at the progress that I have gone through.. Plus, I am passionate about 2D art for a reason, so, why not also add that along with my photos to make my thoughts even more apparent?

[theresacthomas]

Disappearing Acts ~ "Attitude Adjustment" I am inspired by the natural beauty that is all around us. For this project I was inspired by a sort of funk I was feeling and my strong desire to get outside after a very cold January. I want my art to be bright, colorful, uplifting and I want to inspire joy and gratitude. This module inspired my husband and I to take an overnight road trip into the mountains and immerse ourselves in the beauty that we love so much about Colorado. I wanted to keep the photos natural looking but add color to express emotion. I used Adobe Lightroom to enhance the images.

[hannahmendel]

Disappearing Acts

This set of photographic self portraits embodies disappearing to me. I often feel like I disappear on a daily basis. My anxiety often consumes what I consider to be my identity, leaving me a shell of a person. I used photoshop to manipulate these self portraits in an attempt to invoke anxiety. I tried to showcase different emotions such as panic and dissociation. I feel the dark color scheme adds an eerie dimension to the portraits.

[helloitsalexsworld]

Disappearing Acts

This piece is a reflection of the inner battle of identity. As a Latina, identity is a difficult conversation. As many Latinos are mixed races or due to colonization of the Native Americans in North and South America. In many Latin cultures and societies, we as a community battle against the erasure of our Native roots and identities, especially in America. Due to the misinformation , in racial stereotypes and social issues surrounding immigration and politics. This piece allows us to openly understand the inner struggles and personification of forced conformity that most Latinos face when it comes to their own identity.