Embodied Reflections

A blog dedicated to reflections on arts and creativity in relation to STEAM. #deersquad.

[senkasteam2020]

A Reflection on Change

Throughout the semester, our ideas have undergone many (important) changes. We started off with a general theme: consumerism. How can we portray this through an art installation? What feelings need to be conveyed? What mediums effectively transmit and engage with this theme?

Our initial idea was a room with a path around it. The room would contain remnants of a retail space and one way mirrors would allow viewers to look into the room from the path. This was our first notion of entrapment that was meant to capture the feeling of being on the outside, looking in and feeling unable to make any changes. The feedback for this idea can be summarized with one word: Underwhelming. Retrospectively, I agree that it indeed was.

Concept 1: Retail Space (a.k.a. “The Shed”)

The feedback pushed us to further develop the thematic framework for our project and we began to explore what we could make out of textile waste. This leads me to our next idea which was an installation that consisted of three large quilts made from textile waste that move in and out to enhance feelings of entrapment (similarly to walls closing in). From this idea we were encouraged to continue the development of our project and to place more focus on the idea of entrapment and the vicious cycles of production that harm the environment.

Concept 2: The Textile Wave

From there, we continued to research and brainstorm. Finally, we opted for a project that utilizes sound art because sound is often used in marketing, which inspires consumerism. We decided to create a piece consisting of six speakers, each hooked up to a pedal. The speakers would play everyday advertisements for clothing companies. However, when a pedal is pressed, the speaker it is hooked up to will shift to sounds relating to the negative effects of consumerism such as news clips of factory crashes, testimonials from workers and other relevant sound effects. 

Concept 3: Sound Art

As is evident, the changes that led to our final concept were many, which, I believe, allowed us to fully understand the themes that we were working with (i.e. entrapment, overwhelm). Our project evolved from a very literal representation of consumerism to something that better engages with the underlying culture of consumerism and its impact on the environment. As a team, we thoroughly researched and discussed various ways to portray our intentions and we also reached out to our professors and classmates for feedback. Throughout this process, I have come to appreciate the importance of change (and allowing it to happen) in the creative process. 

[senkasteam2020]

A Reflection on Teamwork

Our team has been working on developing an idea that effectively encompasses consumerism as a dangerous cycle, both for the people buying items and for the people making items in overseas sweatshops. Within this cycle are things ranging from dangerous working conditions, underpaid workers, aggressive marketing, and feeling like there is very little one can do to get out of this cyclical abuse of people and environmental resources. 

Drawing for team idea

Developing creative ideas to fully engage with this concept has proved to be challenging for our team for several reasons. First off, our team lacked a clear purpose with this project up until recently. We understood what it was that we wanted to express, but we were unsure as to the why of what we were doing. Another difficulty was the push and pull in between creativity and practicality present within the group, which on occasion felt limiting to creative thinking. These challenges, frustrating as they were, proved beneficial in the development of our team dynamic because we learned each others (and our own) strengths and weaknesses. Also, they pushed us to further develop our creative ideas by continually engaging with our theme. One thing that I had not expected about working creatively in a team is the way that it stimulates creativity. Often, when working on your own, one tends to land on a good idea and stop there. With the team dynamic, you are constantly pushed by your teammates to take your thinking one step further because you need to be able to effectively communicate each and every step of your creative process. 

In this team dynamic, my own strengths and weaknesses have become progressively more clear. I’ve realized that while I am very much capable of thinking creatively, I have trouble communicating ideas effectively so they often get lost in translation, so to speak. Furthermore, I am open to others ideas but I also have a tendency of trying to integrate all ideas that are presented which often leads to a lack of clear intent and purpose within the final work. Altogether, this awareness of my strengths and weaknesses will prove beneficial to my team and my own creative practice in the long run because I will aim to better explain and develop my ideas.

Altogether, I have been finding the group creative process to be an interesting learning experience. I have grown very appreciative of each of my teammates due to their general open-mindedness and willingness to learn. 

[senkasteam2020]

A Reflection on Proximal I, II, III, IV, V  and Transatlantic by Caroline Monnet

I: General Info

Proximal I-V (2018) and Transatlantic (2018) is an immersive art installation by Caroline Monnet that explores cultural relationships to land as it relates to colonial histories. It consists of a projection of a 15 min 10 s video onto a large wall accompanied by five hollow concrete spheres. Born 1985 in Ottawa, Ontario, Monnet is an artist currently based in Montreal, Quebec.

II: Brief Description

The projection shows various landscapes taken by the artist during a cargo ship voyage from Europe to North America. The concrete spheres emulate the texture of the moon, an effect further enhanced by the lighting placed onto them. In the space, viewers are forced to move around the spheres in order to see the video, subsequently creating an immersive and participatory experience for the viewer.

III: Form

The artwork is situated in a dark room that has a slightly reflective floor. The video plays on a loop. The spheres are placed on top of podiums, which combined with the reflective floor make the room seem as though it is a body of water with pieces of ice floating atop it. The use of light is crucial to this piece as it situates the cement spheres as representational of the lunar cycle by imitating how the moon reflects sunlight.

The video of the trip from Europe to North America refers both to the economic interchanges that currently exist in between countries and to the historical “discovery” of North America by the Europeans. Due to this referral, the piece inherently relates to intergenerational trauma and it seems to elicit the subtle feeling that something is about to happen - “the calm before the storm,” so to speak. Equally important, the video has dizzying qualities which effectively mimic the feeling of seasickness in the viewer, hence directly placing them as a participant in the trip.

On the other hand, the cement spheres carry a heavier physical weight in the room. They force viewers to walk around the space and essentially dictate how engagement is done with the video - are they walking around the spheres to see the full image or are they using the spheres to block parts of the image and exploring its effects? The aforementioned lunar cycles represented by the spheres are central to Algonquin tradition, once again creating dialogue about Indigenous peoples in relation to current practices in North America.

The asymmetry in the placement of the sphere creates an almost natural-looking surreal landscape, as though the viewer is walking through space themselves, maneuvering around moons and oceans.

IV: Opinions and Conclusions

The combination of the spheres and the video create an artwork in which the viewer directly confronts their own role in colonization and racial history in Canada. A meaningful experience ensues, not only due to the aesthetic properties of the piece but also because it pushes viewers to question their own relationship, both cultural and personal, to the land. To me, the artwork becomes an entirely new environment composed of known objects and referents and in doing so it forces the consideration of the symbolism of these objects.

[senkasteam2020]

A Reflection on the Process of Creation

People (myself included) will often feel that we need to wait for ideas to come to us. We believe that the best ideas will wake us from a peaceful slumber and we will become changed beings with a new purpose. We feel, for some reason, that genuinely good ideas and concepts will take form only through a stroke of genius, a moment of clarity while we are sitting on the couch watching television. Unfortunately, the process of creation is not at all one that will happen with the snap of a finger but rather it is excruciatingly painful. The process of creation is not so much about finding good ideas as it is about digging deeper into your own beliefs, questioning them at every turn until you clean the dust and dirt off of the diamond that had been in your mind the entire time, but you couldn’t access until you slaved away at the rock in which it was embedded.

Questions, to me, seem to be the most critical factor in this process. Every idea needs to be questioned: Why is this being done? How does it relate to the world around me? What is the underlying cause it is undressing? Is the cause personal, political, social? Why this shape? Why that colour? Why those materials? Are any of the choices you are making creating a paradox to your initial point? How? Why does it matter?

But, too many questions and you will inevitably fall into a rabbit hole. What I have found most useful in order to filter the right questions, and aid me in the process of creation, is to write a mind map.  For me, a mind map involves starting with one word in the center of the page and then branching out to various words that come to mind. The key to a successful mind map is to have absolutely no filter; every idea, every word is written down. Both during the brainstorm and after, words are connected, highlighted, coloured, penciled in, in order to connect concepts efficiently and to highlight ones that strike you as critical to the point at hand. Creating a mind map does not necessarily lead to an idea, and it certainly does not need to. Rather, it aims to stimulate the mind and force it to keep thinking without converging onto one idea.  

(Mind map created by Deer Squad, 17 January 2020)

As we learned in class this past Friday, there are other ways to stimulate conversation, growth and subsequently ideas. Lego Serious Play (LSP) helps the process of creation by making its participants consider the visual components of what they build and why they’ve built it. What I found most interesting about this workshop was the amount of different ideas that could formulate in a fairly short period of time, stemming from essentially the same prompt and materials but different people. Similarly to mind mapping, it forces you to step out of your comfort zone and consider aspects of creation that you otherwise may not have stumbled upon, and of course it pushes you to ask the right questions.

(LSP sculpture by Senka Stankovic)

The process of creation inherently involves forcing yourself to think, which can be done in ways ranging from mind mapping to LSP and anything in between. What is crucial to this process, regardless of who you are or what you do, is uninhibited thinking. Actively, we must let go of the fear of mediocre ideas and allow ourselves to experience the exquisite, excruciating pain of thinking.