KTW

Fall 2020 - 4D

[scox32]

Performance Art Project

I got the idea for this project when thinking of things that I could film in my apartment. I thought about how when I tell people I have OCD they always think I am a germaphobe, or one of the other stereotypes that the media portrays. In actuality, OCD manifests differently for everyone who has it. For me it has a lot to do with physical appearance stuff. I find myself taking forever to get ready because I am constantly redoing or changing things. This video was actually about 10 minutes long but I sped it up to make it easier to watch. This is pretty typical of what getting ready looks like for me. I was just trying to get a decent braid in my hair but by the end my arms hurt and I didn’t want to try anymore. I was surprised how much endurance this took, and how self conscious I felt knowing people would be watching this imperfect and intimate process for me. I hope this project can help shine light on how mental illnesses present so differently in everyone who has them.  

Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/482471908/54ec187d8c 

[ktwclassqueen]

Student Critic: Normalizing the understanding of mental health is the best way to combat ableism; I appreciate your use of endurance to showcase this. Minds new to the concept of what normalizing hopes to do, confuse the goal. Not only does this allow a space for those with visible or invisible disabilities and mental health to feel they are a part of their community, but also allows a space for those to realize they may be experiencing something that they thought was isolated, but in fact has resources and a community of understanding behind it. Your endurance shines through as I feel this was a release as much as it was educational. 

[keyanalaraewilkins]

Zen-Tangle Performance Art - Artist Statement

For my Performance, Zen-tangle Art, it is communicated in a personal and social issue. Personally, I struggle to control my anxiety and just recently discovered Zen-tangle art at my work. We have a class called “Social Group” at the high school for special needs kids to help them find ways to manage their emotions and stress. This inspired me as it was calming for me when I participated. It also got my creative juices following again. By merely putting on meditative music and draw away keeps the stress away and re-grounds your soul. It is a social issue in times like this. People are stressed and have their schedules full, financially, emotionally, and physically. Realistically, to stay sane, we need something to help us escape and refocus on the simple and happy things in life. I want the audience to experience how relaxing a Zen-tangle can be even on a bigger scale. Sitting in the warm sun, listening to the birds, and drawing calms the brain from this chaotic world. I believe what people drew reflects their thinking process and their emotions through these patterns. My overarching goal is to radiate peace and calm in our chaotic world, relax and release, and pause time for what matters most.

[ktwclassqueen]

Student Critic: I appreciate the use of your loved ones to help bring the message of stress release full circle. The paralleling use of “social group” as inspiration and in practice completes the message. The image of you laying on the ground as the participants draw pictures to help their stress shows connectivity and vulnerability. It would have been nice to either hear the use of classical or smoothing music to help set the mood of the scene, or silence to bring full effect of the mindfulness associated with your piece.

[ktwclassqueen]

Waiting For Love

Performance Art

I sit in a protective seated position to represent an alertness as I wait for love. My body position speaks to my guarded nature. Romantic elements soften my stoic appearance with a burgundy lipstick color choice; loose curls, the soft pink color of the nightgown, and the use of vintage clothing harking back to an idealized glamour of the past. I read from the poetry book The Rabbit Box written by Joesph Pintauro and designed by Norman LaLiberte (1970) to further the patient, endurance associated with the process of finding love. There is a special awareness of pain while embracing vulnerability. As I sit as still as possible, my goal is to demonstrate the strength and resilience of the rabbit, the symbol of love. 

I am paralleling the innocent, intimacy of the animal to myself. The location in front of the window acts as the barrier to the outside world, literally and figuratively. In a literal sense, a form of window shopping, and in a figurative sense, protective layer from hurt; I’m safe in my space. This is an exploration into my own balance of self preservation and vulnerability, through physical endurance to represent emotional hurdles.

[ktwclassqueen]

Grapefruit

The “Pea Piece" creates an obstacle or a traveler. As I place the bag of peas in varies places, I see the change in purpose. To place it near my dog imposes an obstacles due to her blindness, as does placing the bag on the stairs. To place it outside immediately makes it trash.

The grime from an area outside the personal cleanliness of one’s home and spaces seem to override the traveler affect the bag of peas possess as it’s set up in different locations. Outside, it’s less of in the way and more so have a crowding and foreign effect.

There is a sense of calm in creating the “Walking Piece” as it embodies the metaphor of ‘walking in someone else’s shoes’. The walking path from my front door to the alley is used, not only by neighbors within my building but the builds next to ours. The path is also used by random people unrelated to the homes on my block. The performance reminded me of the connection to the past obtain with pilgrimages or locations tied personally, with each intention step I try not to make a sound in an attempt to walk the same path but not add or disturb. The building I live in was a single family home from the late 1800s until the 1990s. This performance welcomes all the feet that have touch the same path.

This past week has been stressful to say the least. My heartbeat and sleeping patterns have been erratic as I cling to self soothing tactics and spirit guides. The “Beat Piece” provided a space to perform calmness. Using my dog, I tried to be still. Her reaction and interaction with me enhanced the performance.

[mindyfulmastery]

Intervention Art - Garbage Fish

I used to live by a beautiful lake in Germany. It was clear and great for a summer swim. Unfortunately though, there would often be beer bottles, candy wrappers and other trash laying around or in the lake, harming the fish and destroying the beauty. For this piece, I decided to do a work that shows how we are ruining nature with trash. I wanted the message to be something like “We are replacing beauty with garbage”. I’m very much into composting, recycling and not littering. I try to avoid plastic straws and dislike seeing garbade near water (or anywhere else in bature for that matter). My intention is that when people see the piece they will become more aware of not throwing their trash in the water and using trash cans. I enjoyed coming up with this idea and creating this piece!

[ktwclassqueen]

Mindy- The plastic fish appear to be suspended in the action of swimming. The representation of implied movement, as your sculpture stands next to the water, pings awareness that fish are swimming around in muck. Human, in their selfishness tendencies, might only notice the trash when they are in the water, forgetting about the aquatic life. You bring environmental awareness to viewers in a colorful, skillful way.

[ktwclassqueen]

Intervention Art Project :Mod 3

Inner Piece 

The picture above is the location of the intervention before the installation. My simple art table sits in the corner with tool out available to use at a moments notice.

The goal of my intervention was to intervene on my personal balance. The duality of its use as a shrine to ancestors; while making it a present day offering station to invoke strength within myself tells a story of personal growth with help. Qualities of resilience reside within me, the use of the altar reminds me to acknowledge them.

That balance of past and present can be seen with the attention-grabbing back board with the message, “Black Lives Matter”. The height and visibility of the message parallel my visible race with a heartbreaking, deadly ping of repetition of history. The red triangle represent the blood spilled. Covid looms overhead. Life’s fragility is symbolized with the living plant. As easy as it is to kill a plant by accident, is to the ease of death from this virus. The vine rests on a used painting palette bringing present to past as painting is a stress release. I must remember the things that bring me joy.

This installment sits atop my art table. I left the area set-up for use with my paint shirt draped over a chair. I wanted the installment to be jarring in my organized space. The past draws me back in with the Bhagavad Gita, reminding me of my spiritual journey that began twelve years ago. The book sits closed, now I must ensure I have mastered what I’ve learned thus far. The book acts as a table for the ashtray with palo santo atop. Both items are gifts from my mother making the act of burning the palo santo one that brings me back to reality. 

Costume jewelry, formerly owned by my great-grandmother, is draped across my water jar for painting tying the message together. A small book, given to me by an acquaintance, reminds me to think of others from my past and present. The ability to wear the jewelry, along with the smudging, allow me to engage with the space in two ways. The theme of combining personal iconographic items to balance the past and present, thus balancing my intentions and with personal reminders.

[ktwclassqueen]

Art Intervention - Welcome Sign

Mod 3: Intervention Camouflage Exercise

The inspiration sprouted from seasonal door decorations like decals or wreaths. For it wasn’t enough to just have a quirky sign; I wanted the guest or neighbor to engage with the sign before interacting with the home or me. Another aspect of intervention comes with the use of magic and imagination. The verbiage reads like an incantation or spell. The door (my home) is being guarded by a unicorn. The goal is to shift the viewers mood from whatever they may have been feeling to a happier self. I wanted the interaction to be playful making it easier to ‘pay the toll to the unicorn’ to enter. This is meant to be fun! It also softens the idea of spell work and magic, making it accessible to all. 

Magic aside, I want to remind the viewer of their childhood imagination. The plush unicorn is small and silly, but to engage is to channel your inner Princess Lili (Legend by Ridley Scott reference) or maybe you’re having visions of Bowie surrounded by muppets. 

Unlike other times, the holidays allow for magic to coexist with daily life. Halloween and Christmas grants us time to play make-believe and get lost in nostalgia. The sign and unicorn hide in plain sight as elaborate bells and ribbons are hung from doors; skeletons and turkey decor are dusted off for display. 

[keyanalaraewilkins]

Video Remix Project - Artist Statement: Video Remix 

 Hi Everyone!

Here is my Video Remix about the Dream Board of Life.

What are your goals and aspirations for your life? Have you ever wanted a big house, a perfect family, a dream job, and overall happiness? At least once in our lives, we have sat down and created a dream board, and for the most part, it is not entirely realistic; some of those dreams or goals don’t come true. Instead of making a physical dream board made out of magazine cutouts glued to a cardboard sheet, I can virtually make a dream board through different videos found on YouTube. My artwork’s message responds like a collage of art videos expressing contemporary art through wants, hopes, and desires of the future.

When I was younger, my mom and I would make dream boards together every new year to be creative and set our future goals. Spending time with my mom and doing fun crafts was always something I looked forward to doing. I loved that one on one time. Since then, I continue to make goals for my life, and as I see them come true, I find gratitude, peace, and happiness in each moment I seek.

Most of the time, we watch movies that are “not real life”; they are “dream life” that everyone wishes they could have to be happy. We watch those movies/ videos because it makes us feel good and dreams of hope for the future to live a life similar to that. This is the same intention for the viewers to see in my video.

My goal as an artist is to enlighten people from this destructive and depressing world and bring back hope and happiness by being more optimistic about the present and future. See life from a different point of view through different lenses.

****Created by Keyana Wilkins 9.26.20 for 4D Art College Course. All materials sampled in this work are purely for creative non-profit purposes and will be removed at owner’s request.****

Source Credit:

https://youtu.be/mFC9NXtm9wM

https://youtu.be/xzUn1Vl5Kwk

https://youtu.be/eMbsiMp_ya0

https://youtu.be/Z9veWohi2oU

https://youtu.be/K6MkS1EYS6E

https://youtu.be/weP0HgtK-Tw

https://youtu.be/s6mWF1iCfE4

https://youtu.be/G7NbhcExQYQ

https://youtu.be/5J1WsAe5j2c

https://youtu.be/bGVKn3OBUEY

https://youtu.be/Bt-R5UWOGuo

https://youtu.be/Z0lU5g67394

https://youtu.be/6YmP1TSJmzo

https://youtu.be/5bpqo_mc6rg

https://youtu.be/Tk0GtPNRrWk

https://youtu.be/mCl9xtW03AA

[ktwclassqueen]

Hey Keyana - You successfully used images of people in happy moments to convey your goal of creating a video dream board. It would have been nice to see more diversity in what makes people happy, so you video could resonate with a more viewers. You made dream boards modern! The overall composition appears balance with repetition of similar themes. The clip transition editing was smooth throughout.

[ktwclassqueen]

Video Remix

Video Remix - Summertime News

I wanted to focus on blending and paralleling current events with a symbolic song. My initial idea involved the use of many time periods. That concept was altered to fit the needs of finding the proper voices to complete the song. The song used, ‘Summertime’ by George Gershwin, from the opera ‘Porgy and Bess’. Although written by a white man, the song is sung by a black woman. The world did not have a summertime, rather one spent in quarantine. The song and clips bring together the continuous pain felt by the Black community; the loss of a summer, the excessive police brutality (focusing on attacks of reporters) and the disrespect of Black women. 

Student Video - MSU Denver 4D Class

All materials sampled in this work are purely for creative non-profit purposes and will be removed at owner's request.

YouTube Songs Used:

"Summertime" from Porgy & Bess

Ella Fitzgerald - Summertime (1968)

Sarah Vaughan "Summertime" (Cascais Jazz, 1973)

Fantasia Barrino - Summertime (American Idol 2006)

Leona Lewis ~ Summertime ~ 28.10.2006 (Week 3) The 2006 XFactor

CNN reporter arrested live on air while covering Minneapolis protests - The Independent May 29th, 2020

NBC News Reporters Get Caught In Minneapolis Crowd-Control Effort | NBC News - May 30th, 2020

More than 100 attacks on journalists by US police during George Floyd protests | DW News - June 2nd, 2020

*Unable to attach link due to technical problems.

All materials sampled in this work are purely for creative non-profit purposes and will be removed at owner's request.

[ktwclassqueen]

STUDENT Music Video PROJECT: My Mind by Yebba X Watchmen S 1 Ep 1

All materials sampled in this work are purely for creative non-profit purposes and will be removed at owner's request. 

 Exercise B: Music Video -  I have combined the song My Mind by Yebba and the opening scene from Watchmen (Season 1, Ep. 1) to create a music video. 

I choose My Mind by Yebba due to the intensity and power of the song combined with her vocals. I find myself revisiting her moving performance (uploaded to YouTube in 2016) for an emotional release. In the same breath of intensity, the opening scene for the HBO series Watchmen is one of the most poignant sequences of the Tulsa Massacre. It took me watching this scene to realize I had never seen a dramatization of the tragedy, only grainy films of the aftermath. I wept upon seeing both the recording and the series. That’s what motivated me to combine the two for this project. 

 I can not stress enough - "all materials sampled in this work are purely for creative non-profit purposes and will be removed at owner's request.”

Audio : https://youtu.be/RXwE1G7_U9M

Video: https://youtu.be/PF2XgS5GPAk

[ktwclassqueen]

Mod 2: Video : Artists

Bjorn Melhus’ STILL MEN OUT THERE flashes before the viewers eyes as sensory receptors overload to the sounds of war. Melhus utilizes screens, they appear to be repurposed television sets from circa 1993, as light monitors pulsing to different previously recorded sound snippets. DJs mix sound bits and loop segments, not unlike Bjorn’s method for mastering the soundtrack that played in sync with light show. The jarring use of simple colors and sounds to finalize the message of the piece can also be seen in Cunnilingus in North Korea by Heavy Industries. Heavy Industries presents a slideshow of an interview transcript paired with tango music. The sexy association with dancing, specifically tango helps to stress the sexual verbiage from the transcript. Irony latent, Cunnilingus in North Korea, is successful juxtapose from the free flowing music and the rigid views of North Korea.

STILL MEN OUT THERE Bjorn Melhus, 2009

The duration of Roja by Shirin Neshat, although long, sucks in the viewer with film shots that capture the viewers attention in its totality. The film explores personal growth at the root of the message aided by imagery and audibly by mixing silence and classical instruments. The Clock by Christian Marclay combines clock motifs and details from film throughout the years. A dragging duration diminished enjoyment as a viewer, although the beauty of capturing time capture time can still be appreciated. In the same breath of a compilation, Dara Birnbaum’s Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman, connects scenes the moment of transformation from Diana Price to Wonder Woman. The choppy video highlights video editing capabilities of the late seventies.

Sam Taylor’s Still Life plays with duration while upping the tempo for the viewer as the decay of fruits take longer than 3 minutes. Taylor uses implied time to combine the differences. Slow motion takes on new life with Bill Viola’s The Quintet of the Astonished. As a reaction from five different people creeps to completion. This work has a balance of movement as a video but presents as a photo similar to something seen in the fictional newspaper, Daily Prophet, from the Harry Potter series. The magical Center Jenny by Ryan Trecartin is a headache inducing chaotic piece of expression.

A somber storytelling begins and ends, Carlin by Brent Green. He fills the core of the video as stop-motion techniques complete a tale of yearning for death and giving up on oneself. Props are used to reenact the actions as spoken word overlay the music and sound effects. Green was able to use the real location at the farmhouse where the story originated.

[ktwclassqueen]

(via GIPHY)

“Moon Madness, Rain Sadness”

Three’s a Charm. Maybe it will Break the Spell.

#4DGIFproject #okoklastone #Ireallyenjoyedthisproject #moonmaddness #rainsaddness

[ktwclassqueen]

(via GIPHY)

Gently Informing Friends (GIF)

#4DGIFProject #MySecondGIFever #politicalsatire 

[ktwclassqueen]

(via GIPHY)

ROUND 2: 

Ana, the fourteen year old blind Shih Tzu, stars in her first GIF!

#postedtowrongblog #4DGIFproject #Myfirstgifever

[ktwclassqueen]

Exercise Intro: Mobile Studio 

Playin’ around with software on hand

iMovie, Pages and Garage Band  

I can understand the wonder and frustration 

Dabbling in clicks and clacks, a new vibration

Revel in time lost or gained, capabilities astound 

Discovering patience, a new outlet I have found

Standing ground, steadfast I laugh as programs crash

[ktwclassqueen]

Ai WeiWei

A complex parallel between a feline anomaly, with the ability to open doors, and Ai Weiwei sets a tone of independence, rebellion and intelligence. The similar defiant cleverness can be seen in his ‘Study of Perspective’ exhibit as middle fingers star in obstinate message to the elite. This was the beginnings of another kind of whistle blower similar to Micheal Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11”

When questioned about his identity as an artist, Weiwei fancies himself a “Chess player”. That can be seen as he oversees assistants creating his work bouncing ideas off of them onto materials. In classic regime fashion, the arts are suffocated out of existence only to reemerge under the guise of nationalism delivering messages fed to them. Ai Weiwei denounced such practices yet, found himself assisting in logistics for the Beijing Olympics.

In an attempt to spin stories, the Chinese government disallowed Weiwei’s messages via a “Great Firewall” from reaching the Chinese people. Instead, his fame grew in places outside his home country. Once the earthquake struck, killing almost 6,000 children alone, a new found radicalization occurred in Weiwei. 

Something that was always there as his own father, a poet, and family were exiled; that something had always fueled his work. The use of the internet gave him access, voice and a platform to tell the world about the inhumane, oppression and destruction of relics, homes and social structures.

Weiwei spent the next three years uncovering death and negligence as he compiled the list of names and birthdays of all those children that perished. He documented his process throughout as many of them involved interactions with law enforcement. 

 Heavily monitored internet activity connects art to artist while also making a tractable target. Without the time spent creating his blogs, documentaries, photo journals the world may not have known the true extend of oppression. Ai Weiwei refused to align with controlled expression and hypocrisy landing him on the Chinese’s most wanted list. His message still lives on after his disappearance.

[ktwclassqueen]

The Function of the Studio (When the Studio is a Laptop)

The environment in which an artist creates serves many functions. In the classic view of art making, spaces attached to homes or studios elsewhere, innately create the structure for the artist to thrive. Beyond four walls, the use of equipment, like a computer, allows for a new views of the workspace and the art created within. Limitations have been removed with the use of technology; not only in distribution but in creation. The modern age engages artists in a way that allows for dynamic presentations, displays and contemporary areas to create. A harshness can be seen as the art world adjusts to the new wave. I believe there is a misconception regarding the relationship between time and art relating to ease and creditability. The reputable actions of an artist require reflection, the ease only exists within the artists abilities; quick, impactful art can be created unlike before. Some inevitably turn away from performative, interactive and heavy technology laden artworks. This new artist gives glimpses of their expressions in progress as they release layers and stages of work seemingly unfinished. This new chaotic, passionate and expressive artistic energy gives us deconstruction and synergistic use of a variety of materials.