My own person thoughts now that I have lived with it for a little while, as well as going back over what I had originally wrote in this blog, is that my view on the project is now very different. For sake of time and clarity, I'm just going to list what has been going through my mind.
1. For one, I'm not so sure that the "individual importance" is the main focus anymore. And while that is still an area of concern for me, I think it's somewhat trite and underdeveloped. I think there are bigger things going on here.
2. Race, culture and ethnicity definitely comes into play, as well as how we chose to represent ourselves even in death.
3. There is the issue of death itself. I think part of the reason why (some) people have such an adverse reaction to this (i.e. "what the f*ck is this") is because they are being forced to confront death., and we as a society are not prepared to do so. Personally speaking, I've dealt with a lot of death this past month or so, probably more so than I have ever had to before. It is something that you can only prepare for once you know what it's like. Other cultures view death very differently than Americans do. Yet, while we cry and mourn about people we know who have died, we make bodies pile up in alternate realities, like video games. There is a disconnect between what is real. I think people's initial reaction to dismiss things like this is their defenses against having to deal with mortality as a whole.
4. The cut outs in the installation happened somewhat by accident, as they were created from obituaries that I cut out to make my initial screen prints. But it begs a question that I have been plagued with all along while doing this project, and that is which person's miniature story is more important than others? Some of the sheets of obituaries are double sided, so I have to choose whose to show. What role does that put me in? Who am I to say that one person's life is more important than another's? Does that almost deify me as an artist? (Which has a whole separate category of issues associated with it). And what about the holes in the installation that those cut outs made? Did that person escape death, and if so how? Who would have been there if circumstances had been different?
5. I also am intrigued by the overall shape that the installation takes on. It's almost as if each square is a part that is plugged in, and that has a very digital connotation. Then equating these people to data is a whole other problem/issue. The overall installation has a very graphical feel to it and I think that can be explored more.
Just my initial thoughts. Any more constructive comments would be great.
1 comment:
Follow up note: I think part of the problem I have with people and the "what the f*ck is this" comment is not necessarily because it is "my" work, but because that general attitude of disassociation is what is plaguing our society with indifference. Collectively, we make up our environment, and while we can pick and chose what to put into that environment, we cannot ignore certain facts about other people. You cannot ignore the fact that your actions have consequences on others, especially those whom you may not even know. You cannot ignore that your actions effect the environment that people inhabit. You cannot ignore the fact that people die. You cannot view someone's story and say "what the f*ck is this" and walk away. That ignorance of others is exactly part of the reason why we as people cannot relate to each other as well as we can. It is the most common lack of respect for others, their story, their life and their death that I think gets to the heart of what it is I am trying to address.
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