#body extension

[woundgallery]

Rebecca Horn, "Feather Prison" costume still from Der Eintänzer (The Gigolo), 1978

[olivortizart]

the last of my body extension journey! (pt.1)

Okay so I’m pretty sure this next set of posts will be the last you’ll see of my body extension !! As sad as that is lol

So yesterday my mother and I drove around town to find a nice large white wall for us to take photos/film my body extension.

We eventually found one and got out of the car to document! It was very cold out and windy so that made it extra tricky to film and take photos.

I edited them in photoshop to try and brighten them up more and even out the temperature (they were quite blue.. still kinda are😬)

But anyways I really like how the final photos turned out :))

I wanted to take more photos to give more context to the meaning behind the piece but because it was so windy out and we were under a slight time restraint we ended up leaving.

Maybe if I have more time later I will take those photos ! But for right now I have just this regular documentation ! Detail photos in the next post!

[michelleknappe]

Endi has been pushing me to take more photos of my body extension and I was finally able to do so today! These are inspired by Duane Michals “Chance Encounter” photos. I loved how those photos implied this bubble of personal space. My body extension creates this same space and keeps people away. (Even though we may wonder what may have happened if we could have interacted)

[meredithkratochwill]

Here are the photographs I took to document my body extension. To set up the background for these photographs, I moved around furniture in my living room to make a clear space, and hung a white sheet from the curtain rods. (Thank you Mom for letting me completely rearrange our living room!)

[renstrawn]

So an update! This was an experiment with portraying emotions as a sequence. On one of our conferences, Endi pointed out to me the range of emotions I had displayed and suggested playing with the idea of emotion and narrative. 

From the video, I took film stills and arranged them to show a clear narrative of a progression of negative emotions and it’s eventual conclusion. I lined them up in sequential order, and then after that I took a less clear approach. I was wondering how much I could abstract these images and allow them to still portray the emotion that the first sequence does. I found that overlapping all of the images directly didn’t work and was to jumbled and unclear. However, moving them slightly to the side allows a more clear view of what’s going on while still leaving enough ambiguity to be visually interesting. 

Strangely enough, this is part of my body extension project. And, I think, the most important thing I’ve made during this project. Through my progression with this work, I’ve realized the actual body extension (the social distancing assistant) was only a springboard for a deeper dive on character, emotion, and sequence. I recognize that this was a very strange place to take this project, and not necessarily what was intended as the end result, but I’m happy. I feel like I’ve pushed myself and although the body extension itself is not in the final piece, the emotions that explain the creation of the extension is clearly exhibited. I consider myself a storyteller, so it was only natural for the item itself to become a prop to a more interesting and compelling story.

[stamps-lucyz]

Quarantine ready  👍 Stay inside and wash your hands.

[madisongrosvenor]

I finished building my body extension today! I made a lot of adjustments from my prototype, including a “bouncy” place to rest my head for both comfortability and an uplifting feel which is what my extension is all about. I also used a different kind of cardboard that worked much better for my purpose, and added a kind of handle so that the extension could be much more secure. All thats left to do is find a creative way to document it! Yesterday I listened to a song that fit perfectly with my concept and idea for this project, it was “Keep Your Head Up” by Ben Howard. The words literally fit so well, and I am now thinking of a way in which I can incorporate that song into my project. I absolutely love when I find a song that is absolutely perfect for a particular moment. More updates soon!

[emiliab4005]

Third attempt: the weights helped the curtains fall down all the way once I let go of the strings holding them up.  A success!