Snippet from “Why I Don’t Write About Harassment”

10 things off the top of my head that my dad won’t let me do:

• Wear sleeveless tops or any clothes that expose my shoulders, my midsection, my back, or my upper thighs
• Wear leggings without anything to cover the crotch and butt area
• Wear shorts or skirts shorter than the standard school dress code
• Ride the LRT wearing skirts or shorts that shows skin regardless of its length
• Walk to the LRT and ride the LRT home by myself at any given time of the day (I get fetched at my stop)
• Walk to and ride the LRT with a boy other than my younger brother as my only companion (I also have to let my parents know who I was commuting with)
• Go out with a group of friends that is at least 80% male (or if I’m the only girl out of the bunch)
• Go on sleepovers or overnight trips with high school friends without a supervising parent or to organization seminars without a supervising faculty member (they called me at least thrice a day to check up on how I was doing on my first overnight seminar)
• Go on a 20-day overnight trip to Ilocos Sur for supplementary units for my minor course even with supervising faculty members
• Go on a 3-day overnight trip to a Middle Eastern country for a math competition even with my mom offering to chaperone and my friends offering to stay in the same accommodations (My dad had been hearing news that were a lot of foreign women getting kidnapped right off the streets at the time)

It was one of the first few times in my sophomore year that I rode the LRT to school. I was waiting by the jeepney terminal to cross the street when I heard a male voice call out “Ui, ganda” a couple of times. I locked eyes with one of the guys riding the truck that slowly drove by in front of me. The man smiled as he said “hi.” I just stared at him until the truck was out of sight. I have never been called out to out of nowhere like that before so I’m not sure if that’s what people call getting catcalled. I was wearing a graphic tee with a pair of dark washed jeans, black ankle boots, a bulky backpack, and a lunch bag in my hand.

The other day, I was standing at the same spot at the jeepney terminal and vaguely heard another “hi” from a similar white truck that passed by. My response was no different from two years ago: ignore the incomprehensible encounter and continue my brisk walk to class. I was already running late.

~

What to do when the READ ME looks like it’s ciphered?

So.

It HAS been a while since my last blog post.

I actually finished the project by the first week of April (I hadn’t notice that a month had passed since then huhu) and this is what it looks like:

“What to do When the Read Me Looks Like It’s Ciphered?”

Chinese calligraphy ink on cartolina – 21.5 x 17.25 in

(It doesn’t look as impressive on camera as it did when I had it in my hands… Boo, my poor camera skillz T^T )

At the time that I finished my piece, the only concern I had left was if I still wanted to get the audience to actually decipher the text, and if I did, how I was going to make it apparent. The initial idea I considered from my previous blog posts was providing a conspicuously hidden cheat sheet (that’ll give people clues on how to decipher it) and a stack of papers and a pen on a table directly below the frame. The reason why I didn’t push through with it is because I couldn’t find a table that was either white or that matched with the frame that I had.

The backup idea was to incorporate it into the title of the piece. As you can see, I made it pretty apparent that I wanted someone to give me an answer to my question. Unfortunately, when I had my classroom panel defense for my piece, the panel understood what it meant, but didn’t decipher the message as I had expected. It was probably because I had forgotten to actually talk about my title. (And if it wasn’t obvious enough, I only realized this as I’m writing this blog entry right now…)

The “read me” and “qdzc ld” labels on the frame was supposed to be the cheat sheet, but looking at it now, I’m questioning how I bore it with myself to crudely stick a piece of paper right onto the frame. I’m not sure if the panelists understood what it was for, considering they didn’t question the awkwardly placed papers with an incomprehensible script on it, but I think it would work if I just change the way I incorporated it into the piece.

I was part of the 3rd batch of students for the panel defense that was set on April 19. The panel seemed to approve of or at least understand the concept of complexity in language communication, but I wasn’t too thrilled about half of their comments. As I’ve mentioned countless of times in my blog entries, the direction I want to go with is to get people to acknowledge the misunderstanding AND see that there is a way to connect and solve the dilemma/issue presented (that is, by using familiar letters). The panelists on the other hand, based on their comments, want me to stop at acknowledging the misunderstanding, to heighten and amplify the being “alien” of one person’s language to others. They wanted the script to be “completely unrecognizable” if I remember correctly.

Not that there is anything wrong with that. In fact, I really like the idea. It could be a part two to “What to do When the Read Me Looks Like It’s Ciphered,” after I revise and fix the issue I have with the cheat sheet.

Well, I can always start on a new project on my own.

Can of Dices

5/4/2017

WIP: Update #2 on Encryption

As I’ve mentioned in my previous wip post, I decided to drop the idea of using illustrations and to just stick with the English alphabet. Creating a new typeface (using Chinese calligraphy) would reinforce the idea of a “foreign language” that is easily recognizable, but not stray too far that it will lower the chances of the audience decoding the hidden message.

On a side note, I’ve decided to stick closely to the rules of Chinese calligraphy and write all the letters in a box shape (excluding the hanging strokes for the letters j, p, q, and y) following the preference of majority of the people I asked, saying that it was more visually appealing. I will be using the typeface as seen on the lower half of the picture.

Now that I’ve settled with a typeface, the next think I need to finalize is the encryption that I’ll be using.

Two things to keep in mind:

1. Amount of time and work it will take for the audience to decode
2. If it is evident to the audience that the text needs to be decoded

A couple of encryption methods I was considering includes: Caesar, Vigenere, Beaufort, Alberti, and Bellaso. (Check out dcode. There’s a ton of cool stuff there for problem solving.)

All these, with the exception of Caesar, will require a key or a tool to be able to decode a message, which seems a lot more complicated compared to a simple substitution of letter by shifting – which is the Caesar method. The original Caesar methods works by shifting the alphabet by 3 letters, so that A will be encrypted as D, B as E, C as F, and so on. If a message says “what’s the password?” the encrypted text would read “zkdw’v wkh sdvvzrug?”

As seen in the first picture above, “hidden meanings” was encrypted to “ghccdm ldzmhmfr.” Since my piece is to be presented as a visual piece, it seemed just a bit too hassle if I were a part of the audience member and had to shift all the letter by 3. Since an unfamiliar typeface already adds to the complication of reading, I decided to shift the letters by __ (I just realized, if I mention the number I used, it would give away the message before I even finish my piece, haha.) I tried shifting them to the right and to the left, to see which combination would look more appealing.

Disregarding the spacing, the upper text seemed a bit more appealing to me just because the lower text looked like it uses too many boxy letters such as U, M and N.

I was satisfied with the results after trying it out with the proper space allotment for the size of the frame that I’ll be using, and so, I decided to stick with this encryption.

All that’s left is for me to:

1. actually write this down on a cartolina and make sure each stroke looks right because I keep making mistakes and irregularities between my letters
2. frame it up on a wall
3. find a way to make it a little more obvious that the audience actually needs to decode the text and not just appreciate how nice my typeface looks (lol)
4. also, think of a title (will most probably have to address #3)
5. Oh yeah,
6. Happy April Fool’s!!!

Can of Dices

4/1/2017

WIP: Update #1 on Typeface

Last week, I was choosing between two typefaces I could use for my project. As I’ve mentioned in my previous post, I wasn’t really sure where I was going in terms of the visual aspect: if it would be handwritten or typewritten, what typeface would best cater to an audience deciphering the text, how big of a material I’d want to use, and so on. At the time I did my art pitch, the only idea I had was those of Instagram quotes like so:

A block of text floating in the middle of a white space; black and white; written in calligraphy.

Of course, there are still a lot of different typefaces to choose from. At least, I’ve narrowed it down to handwritten calligraphy. I planned on using my old Chinese calligraphy brush (note that this is totally different from the calligraphy pens or brushes that we see in art supply stores) to try to mimic such fonts.

As can be seen on the above image, the brushes I had at home were perfect for the job. They produced the exact results that I was hoping for, but I didn’t really fit right with me. The sample encoding of text on the bottom half doesn’t look eye-catching to me at all. I went ahead and asked my professor for a second opinion. Here’s the 3 points that he raised and my concerns regarding the matter/s:

1. why retain the alphabet?
   • ease of decoding for the audience
   • less time consuming
2. why use this font?
   • It’s just a place-holder. I’m in the middle of testing out different typefaces.
3. why use a Chinese calligraphy brush?
   • truth be told, I was just trying to be “c r e a t i v e”…

I remember one of the comments on my art pitch blog post. It raised a concern regarding originality, or how I was supposed to own the work. It took me a few days, but that’s when I figured, why mimic the calligraphy style of other brushes when I can style the alphabet using Chinese brush strokes? In a way, I’m incorporating something that’s been a big part of my life – like, 6 out of the 19 years I’ve been alive.

It’s not that Chinese strokes don’t fit the alphabet, but it’s that I haven’t picked up a brush in almost 2 years now. (Because of that, my alphabet looks like it was written using a wannabe calligraphy brush.) It always had been an assignment to do, a requirement to pass for school, so I never really took the time to do Chinese calligraphy when I left my Chinese high school and entered college. Not that I didn’t like it. In fact, when I picked up the brush for this project, I was overcome with nostalgia of all those times na binababoy ko ung pagsulat because I was always doing it last minute. It’s just that I never really had the time to sit down and appreciate the craft.

I have to recall the proper way to write before I try anything.

Once I wrote down the Chinese alphabet (upper half of the image), I realized that I really did rush all of my works before. I never realized how nice my writing actually was. I was just, like, “ako ba talaga nagsulat nito?” and had to send pictures to my high school friends to confirm it. They said it was really good. My confidence level was raised HAHA. (Also, note that the 3 characters on the right aren’t part of the chinese alphabet. That’s just my Chinese name.)

Anyway, as you can see on the bottom half of the image, I tried to recreate the English alphabet  using Chinese strokes. I don’t know if you can tell, but it looks a lot better than the one I did from the previous image. And by a lot, I mean A LOT.

Now, the feedback from people I asked varied. The Chinese people I knew commented more on the visual amiability of the letters – whether it was pleasing to the eye and such. The non-Chinese-speaking/writing people, on the other hand, commented on the recognizability (I don’t care if this isn’t a real word) of the letters. This raised the same subject of inquiry I mentioned earlier: will I stick to the English alphabet or do I create an entirely foreign alphabet for people to decode? Do the cons (that i mentioned earlier) outweigh the possible bonus effect this could have on my piece?

That’s a matter I can settle once I get the typeface checked off my list. Actually, that’s the next on my list: decoding. For now, I tried writing down short quotes the way the text is supposed to look in my final piece.

In my opinion, it looks pretty unique. Pretty and unique.

It’d be a lot better if I wasn’t just giving myself a pat on the back.

Hopefully.

 

Can of Dices

3/27/2017

1st Art Pitch in a Project Proposal-ish format

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve decided to work on my “secret codes” idea as my final project for my fine art research class. Given nga na it’s a research class, i will now present to you my art pitch in the formal way – as a project proposal.

Plus, it’ll help organize all those concepts and ideas I smushed together and everywhere in my earlier posts.

Just to make things clearer, you know.

And easier to digest.

Excuse me, though, if I still insert commentaries that’ll keep my proposal from sounding legitimately formal. That’s just how I write. Also, because I get to use the excuse that this is still technically a blog post and I get to be as informal as I want. Peace.

—

Title: currently pending, but I might just go with “What do you think I mean“ or something along those lines

Abstract: (just a revised version of this post)

The piece will be exploring the human tendency of misinterpretation in communication through language. Misinterpretation stems not only from the language barrier between humans alike (or even between species) but also from the concept of a “foreign” language itself.

The pre-conceive idea we have of a foreign language is that of encrypted symbols we have to decode. The fact is, not every group of symbols we see will translate as a foreign language to us. We decide for ourselves whether it’s “intelligible” enough to understand or not – be it deluding ourselves to “understanding” meaning or allowing confusion to inhibit us from meaning-making.

These will be explored through a literature type artwork – an encrypted message made to look foreign that will have to be decoded by the audience through a provided cryptograph cheat sheet. Audience interaction with the art piece is required in order to achieve an answer to the question this project intends to raise: Where do we draw the line between foreign language and plain gibberish?

Background of the Study:

The reason I decided to push through with this project (although it was my least favorite one among the 3 initial ideas i proposed because I wasn’t sure how I was going to execute it) (apparently it was the only concrete idea according to my professor. He was right.) is probably because the topic is something that I actually have issues with. The idea was born from watching Nina Katchadourian’s pieces on language – specifically the Talking Popcorn. To explain briefly, the Talking Popcorn was an installation of a popcorn machine that recorded a transcript of the popping sounds in the Roman alphabet. Her project was born out of pure interest in the domain of language.

This project, on the other hand, stems from my inability to express my thoughts properly through the standard (English and Filipino) verbal language we all know and use. Every person in the world, whatever language it may be, do not entirely understand their language enough to be able to utilize to the full extent that they convey exactly what they wish to express when communicating verbally. The complementary issue to that also lies on the other party’s inability to comprehend due to the lack of understanding language as well.

The idea of using children’s secret codes coincides with the idea of people, in general, being amateurs in language. A cipher naturally incites curiosity from people, prompting them to want to understand something they don’t but can. The type of encryption will play a big role in getting audience members to participate. In comparison to foreign languages that use a different alphabet system, children’s secret codes written in English alphabet instead of illustrations are easier and won’t require too much work or time for third parties to decode.

Inquiry:

How will audience members get the message of drawing the line between foreign and nonsense through an encrypted piece of composition and a piece of cheat sheet?

The initial idea is to have the 1st layer of interpretation sound jargon (not random gvkjvkfghd) when read in the English alphabet to lay out in plain sight the idea of having to translate the piece. A cheat sheet will be provided either in plain sight or cleverly placed on the piece itself for the audience to use. The 2nd layer of translation (after decoding with the cheat sheet) is supposed to make more sense, but not entirely make sense. It will show recognizable English terms, but the sentences itself would not make much sense. To stop the decoding process at this point would only garner perplexity in the audience regarding the purpose of it all, the kind that I don’t need. In order to avoid that, the English terms upon decryption should already form a coherent idea. It would pertain to the goals of the project itself – drawing the line between foreign language and nonsense, in general. Hopefully, when the audience gets that, they would understand that there is another layer for them to decode, only that there is no 2nd cheat sheet for them to use.

Objectives:

1. To write a double (or triple) layered composition that would “show but not tell” the audience the message of drawing the line between “foreign” and nonsensical language

2. To provide a cryptograph that is easy enough that it wont take people to much time to translate but complex enough to show the difference between making-sense and nonsense

3. To display the composition and the cheat sheet in a way that will encourage the audience to interact with the piece (hopefully the title helps, as well) and get the message of the project

Description of the Proposed Work:

1. A composition, maximum of 10 lines (refer to the inquiry section re: content)

2. handwritten/printed (undecided + font style)

3. on an A4 or A4 width square (undecided)

4. framed on a wall

5. cheat sheet (printed) tacked on a table directly below the frame (temporary idea until i come up with a better one)

6. (thinking if I should provide a stack of post-its and pen, if ever, for people who need to write it down)

7. deciding on the space to put the artwork in: either plain white background or a homey/office look (help!)

Related Works:

1. Paris in 1935 (unknown photographer) – explains my usage of a photo frame

2. Un Coup de Dés Jamais N’Abolira le Hasard / A Throw of the Dice will Never Abolish Chance Stephane Mallarmé (1897) – also explains my usage of a photo frame

3. Guitar and Wine Glass by Picasso (1912) – explains the number of layers of translations

4. Apolinere Enameled (Guillaume Apollinaire) by Marcel Duchamp (1916-17) – explains the my usage of secret codes

5. lyrics to Cypher pt. 4 by BTS (2016) – explains my concept of interpretation

6. lyrics to Blood, Sweat, and Tears by BTS (2016) – also explains my concept of interpretation

To understand what I’m getting out of these sources, refer to this post for a review of these related works. It’s a bit long so I’d rather not flood this post with the same content.

Mind Map:

(at least this is how my mind mapped it out)

Time Table:

(to follow)

References:

also refer to this post.

Can of Dices

3/3/2017

First visit – Art Fair Philippines 2017

First things first, I want to get something out of my chest.

When I saw this painting by Fernando Zobel at the Galeria Cayon exhibit

I was immediately reminded of this.

That lower left circle right there.

The image above is the logo for the kpop group (my current addiction~) BTS’s Wings album that was released last year.

7 teaser videos were released one by one to complete the logo. The circle I singled out was derived from a teaser that featured this painting. (Which, in turn, reminded me of this game series while i was searching for the original image because it looked so familiar… I still don’t know what painting it is, though.)

For some reason, I felt that these 4 – the art fair painting, the teaser images, and the game I linked up there if you clicked that – gave off the same vibe. Long story short, I got excited about a painting that reminded me of half of the love of my life (the other half should be obvious when you scroll through my home page haha!)

Of course, I had to forget to note down the artist and title considering that I went to the art fair almost 2 hours before 9pm ON THE LAST DAY (which my professor specifically told us not to do in his instructions…) Good job, me, for being able to finish the first two floors, at least.

Luckily, out of all the pictures that I took, one of them included the name “Galeria Canyon” and another had “Zobel” so I was able to look it up and confirmed that the collection was, indeed, Zobel’s.

Looking through his other works on the site, I came across this one

which reminded me of another painting shown in a couple (1,2,3) of BTS’s trailers. :)))

OK.

So, I’m supposed to be writing about the art fair and i think I’ve dawdled long enough.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, my professor warned us in advance that going on the last day or at night would be overwhelming. And what did I do? I went on the last 2 hours of the last day. Haha.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been out in busy places all day that I didn’t really feel constricted at the art fair itself. Based on the comments my classmates gave in class the other day though, I’d say it really was packed by the time I arrived.

It being my first time at an art fair, I wasn’t really sure how to navigate through the different exhibits. At first, i thought the route would be open-ended, like how museums are, you know? That as you walk further, you either discover new exhibits or go back to the place you started at. I guess the reason why the place seemed so busy and packed is because the place was set-up in a way that you walk into a lot of dead-ends and have to turn and walk back the route you just took.

Out of all the exhibits I was able to check out given the limited amount of time I had, I’d say the collections at Gallery Kogure, Galerie Stephanie, Secret Fresh and Vinyl on Vinyl would be my top picks. Of course, I had a number of individual favorite works from other galleries, such as

Black Sheep 2017 (forgot to note down the artist)

Sigilo I by Raul Castro Camacho

Ang Patuloy na Pag-usad ng Lipunang May Sayad by SANGVIAJE

and Barbaric Age (lower painting) by Luis Lorenzana

A couple of works I found pretty cool we’re

 

LEAP (calendar) by Cristina Quisumbing Ramilo

After Velasquez’s “Las Meninas” by Roger “RIishab” Tibon

MNL by J Consunji

and Astro Bling by Gabriel Lichauco x Filip Houdek, Josef Klavenka

I noticed from the pieces that caught my eye that my taste in art is pretty consistent. Based on the examples I gave, I fancy colorful hodgepodges, details, quirky ones, and murky cartoon styles. At least, that’s what I conclude from the art fair. Among the 4 galleries I mentioned earlier, this seems pretty solid to me.

The first one I came across was Secret Fresh which was at one of the dead-ends.

The first thing that caught my eye were these sculptures that were distributed all around the exhibit, each one painted differently. 

I immediately thought of wanting one of these but obviously I wouldn’t have the money for it, and that was when I realized that the stuff at the art fair were actually meant to be sold. Duh.

Among the other pieces in Self, parts of the walls and floors we’re also painted in the same way the sculptures were.

Other pieces I found pretty were Desolation and Born as a Fighter by Yeo Kaa

The next exhibit I found was Vinyl on Vinyl which was actually the gallery I had my eye on for a class assignment last semester. Unfortunately, there was no exhibition during the time the assignment was given.

The first thing that greeted me was this.

Balat Halimaw by Karayom

Although the two sculptures caught me a bit off guard, for some reason, I kinda like the piece.

From what I research about Vinyl on Vinyl before, this kind of piece is right up their alley, and I really like them for that. I was with my mom at the time, and she was pretty disturbed by the exhibit, though. :)))

I pretty much liked every piece in this exhibit, including

Sexually Addicted to Kindness (left), Have Both a Dick and A Pussy (middle), Not a Man, Not a Woman, Not Gay, Not a Robot, Nor Whatever (right) and Experimental White Turd (bottom) by Chalk Zaldivar

Follow the Smoke by Regen Mulingtapang

Salvador (top left) and Andy (bottom left) by Ren Quinio and Potato #347 and Potato #346 by Bjorn Calleja (top right) and Shorelines 1 by Iyan de Jesus (bottom)

When I was taking a picture of Shorelines 1, there were two foreigners taking about how the circles on the painting were tangent to the same horizontal lines. I remembered something like that back when I was in high school and the fact that I still remembered something like that just amused me.

The next exhibit I happened upon was Galerie Stephanie. I wasn’t able to take note of the artist or the titles because they had announced that the art fair would end in a few minutes, but these three are my favorites from the exhibit.

and these, I found to be pretty interesting

Balance of Humanity by Anton del Castillo

Life Unkwown by Emman Acasio

And the rest of these hidden at the back with the artist.

The last exhibit I was able to check out also happens to be one of my favorite collections, Gallery Kogure. I will always have a soft spot for Japanese artworks. Also, because it was the only exhibit that featured cat-related artworks (at least from what my camera tells me.)

Kingdom of lack by Hideyuki Tokunaga

and Daruma Cat – The Sun by Kayo Nishinomiya were probably (because I wasnt able to look at all the exhibits) the only cat themed pieces in the art fair, unless there were other foreigner exhibits since Filipino’s have that cats-are-bad-luck belief, right? It’s just a guess on my part, though.

And then here comes my top three favorite pieces that my mom absolutely hates.

Skull of Flower by Kiriku

another Skull of Flower by Kiriku on a different year

and Heaven (large skull) by Osamu Watanabe

this one is pretty funny to me because it reminds me of an anime character – a reaper that loved his sweet apples haha

and finally this piece that just screams “a kid-like drawing can be art, too!”

Again, I was in a rush to take these picture, so I wasn’t able to note down a lot of the artists and titles of the works…

As you can see, for the most part, all that I did was gawk at art pieces, forgetting to note down names here and there, and be overwhelmed with the different directions that these artists can take on over the years since I’m obviously a noob that doesn’t know how to “properly” appreciate art.

Surprisingly though, I had a lot of fun seeing pieces that really amused me (especially that one that reminded me of BTS haha) and this experience has really helped me get my facts straight: an art fair is SO much more different than a museum or gallery what with all the attendees moving to and fro as if it was a palengke (idea stolen from our class discussion because I can’t remember who said it).

I’d say this was a very worthwhile class assignment.

That should be imposed on all art-related majoring students.

 

Also, while I’m still eligible for it, I might as well relish in the students discounts I can get (whenever there is one) on entrance fees to art exhibits.

 

Can of Dices

2/25/2017

That pitch I talked about, the one with secret codes and stuff

After contemplating the ideas I came up with in my previous post and the feedback from my professor, I sort of realize that only one out of the three ideas was fleshed out in my head – I’ll be referring to it as the secret code one from now on.

As a recap,

The second idea I came up with would be a play on language.

As in, a literal play on language.

I remember having “invented” secret codes with friends as a kid to hide rather useless things from adults. The idea sprouted from watching videos of Nina Katchadourian’s pieces on language.

The art work would be a framed handwritten piece of literature (most likely a self-written poem) that would sound jargon when read in our standard English with a coded answer sheet (either displayed or peaking from behind the frame). When the audience tries to decode the message, it would, again, sound gibberish.

The art work would be centered on the concept of people and foreign language – be it deluding ourselves to “understanding” meaning or to allowing confusion to inhibit us from meaning-making. Something along the lines of “hierarchy” in language – whether it’s “intelligible” enough to understand or not.

I haven’t decided if it would be better to use the alphabet or if using illustrations would fit better with the whole “foreign tongue” idea.

To further flesh out the concept behind this idea – why I chose the ways in which the piece will be produced and presented:

1.  Why present text as a visual piece (framed pa man din) rather than as a literary piece?

While researching for related pieces of art to help me explain my concept of language and its ambiguity, I came across a youtube video featuring guest speaker Ruben Cordova, Ph.D. on a talk about wordplay in the art of famous painters including Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp. In his introductory speech, he quotes Jack Flam on a photograph of Paris in 1935 featuring a kiosk covered in advertisements.

Text worked as an applique to visual art in the early French period. The inclusion of text, not of the text included, was meaning-making in itself.

“. . . the unprecedented ubiquity of printed words in the world around [us] . . . these words increasingly tended to be free floating, disembodied, unhinged. There were just words everywhere.”

The presence of all these commercial texts on photographs, at first dissonant, became a looking glass in which people viewed society. Advertisements, placards and store signs covered the walls of Paris and only when people looked at photographs do they show interest in this. The text is used to draw attention to an underlying (or blatant) message that the photographer wants to convey.

Cordova also mentions Stephane Mallarmé’s Un Coup de Dés Jamais N’Abolira le Hasard or A Throw of the Dice will Never Abolish Chance in 1897 regarding its linguistic complexity. A page taken from the 21-paged poem:

Of course, I already can’t understand the poem right off the bat, given that it is in French. With assistance from another source, Mallarmé’s Un Coup de Dés piece unexpectedly becomes a vital source for me to base my work on.

The way we interpret text varies greatly when we look at it versus when we read it (as my professor has mentioned in class.) The difference lies on our brain’s interpretation based on literary stylistics versus visual stylistics. As discussed in my fine arts class, when we read text, our brain processes the different meanings it denotes and the different connotations based on context clues on the text itself, across other texts and in real life society. When we look at text, the brain processes the form: text font, spacial placement, and other visual aspects of the text.

If we think about it, poetry already encompasses both of those elements. What difference does it make, then, when poetry is presented as a visual art piece than as a literary piece? For me, it lies simply on our perspective regarding literature and visual art. It’s just that we mostly ignore the fact that a poem can be a visual piece as well, so when it’s framed and presented as a visual piece, it’s just to emphasize that visual aspect alongside the literary aspect.

An analysis regarding Mallarmé’s Un Coup de Dés piece talks about how the text’s “difficulty stems from its multi-directional verse form, its diction, and its pictorial typography.”Mallarmé’s manipulation of space and font attracts and detracts attention to and away from certain elements of the text. In a way, he uses the not only literary devices but also visual aspects to control how the text is read.

2.  Why make both the content and translation jargon?

A lot of artists love to play around with meanings and confusing the audience into formulating theories based on context clues collected from interconnected works from the world of the artist. It’s not just present in visual works that include symbolic text in their paintings or photographs. This is most definitely present in song lyrics and music videos we listen to and watch everyday.

Picasso’s Guitar and Wine Glass from 1912 perfectly exemplifies the artist’s love for complexity, ambuguity, irony, and mystery – exactly the concepts I want to employ in my own work.

The painting was already a hodgepodge of what is supposedly a woman, a musical sheet, and a guitar but then we see that there is a newspaper clipping containing an incomplete French phrase of “let the battle engage” and “le jou” to which Cordova illustrates several interpretations of the painting as a whole regarding the different words that the phrase “le jou” could have formed.

If the obscurity of that single phrase led Cordova to so many interpretations regarding the purpose of such an intentional ambiguity, what more then if the work offers a translation that leads to greater ambiguity? This is where I plan to work around regarding meaning-making in the literary aspect of my work. 

Marcel Duchamp, on the other hand, incorporates interconnection between his other works with his Apolinere Enameled (Guillaume Apollinaire) in 1916-17.

Aside from the multilingual disparity in his wordplay, Duchamp creates an interlocking web of ideas and meaning between different works that compel you to reference the other works to formulate meaning on a single piece. My use of a cheat sheet for the secret code plays along these lines, albeit in a one way interpretation. (Now that i think about it, a two-way interpretation – using the text as a cheat sheet for the secret code itself – may be possible to work with, as well.)

3. What about “hierarchy” in meaning-making in language?

I think the best way to explain this would be through the medium of pop music. Pop music, as discussed in my previous fine arts class with regards to Clement Greenberg’s Avant Garde and Kitsch, is regarded as a lower form of “art” compared to spoken poetry, musical numbers, etc due to the fact that it caters to the “plebeians”, a.k.a. mababaw lang yung meaning para maintindihan nila.

The problem there would be that the music industry, along with the emergence of music videos, have started to become increasingly symbolic and creative with their presentations, creating layers upon layers of interpretation for their productions. A foreign song, for instance, would entail international fan to translate it to their mother tongue to be able to understand the lyrics in addition to interpreting the underlying message beneath apostrophe’s, analogies, metaphors, and other figures of speech used in the lyrics. (Not yet including the complex symbolism found in music videos, but that will entail an entirely different approach than what I’ll be discussing for now.)

For example, one of the most internationally popular Korean boy groups at present is BTS. Not only do fans love their music, but they are also known for the complex interconnections between music videos and music concepts that the fans love to theorize about.

Romanization	Korean	Translation
“ireum, ireum!” sorry bae “bareum, bareum!” sorry bae “diksyeon, diksyeon, diksyeon!” sorry bae “Oh, face not an idol..” sorry baesumswigo isseoseo I’m sorry bae neomu geonganghaeseo I’m sorry bae bangsonghapnida I’m sorry bae Errthing errthing errthing Sorry bae jigeum naega naeneun sori bae nugungaegen gaesori bae kkaneun paeteon jom bakkuji bae jiruhaejillakae boring bae ijen niga an miwo ijen niga an miwo sorry bae bugi dwaejulge gyang ssege chigo mareo geurae haeboja samulnori bae nan goemul, neomu gireo kkori bae eochapi neon nal ssoji bae geureol baen pyeonhae dongmurwoni bae neodo wonhajanha ssibeulgeori bae niga nal silheohaedo you know me niga nal silheohaedo you know me mupeulbodan akpeuri joha nan neol molla But you know my name I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr I wanna get jam time swil teum eopsi batneun spotlight Ahh you wanna be my life? gulmjurin nomdeureun nae chongalbadina hae gopge jeophae nae meosdaero dobaedoen mudaero yeonhaeng da gyeolbaek (okay) But manjok moshae jeoldae yeogie na olla jeo wie nopge nopge nopge geurae bangsigeun dareuji gopssibeodo ganeun gil han ttamssik baneujil mot hal geomyeon maedeupjieo ijen an dwae ganeungi pogiraneun bareumi I love ma rule nae brodeulgwa haneun il geudeulmanui rigeuui peulleieo nan geu wi gamdogi doel teni da doel daerohae 1VERSEe ieo nan deo keun geurimeul geuril teni pyeongsaeng geu wichieseo jjuk oechyeobwara ‘Dream come true’ myeongyewa buneun geuge anya you da gyeolguk nae balbadak chyu keullikhae, nan cat da mouse golla X chyeo like kaws nan naenyeon ipju ma house eseo nae brickgwa high five nuntteugo bwara nae yamang gwi daego deureora cheoeumija majimagi doel mal I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr Back back to the basic Microphone check Call me baepsae hogeun ssenkae geurae rap gamee nan daeinbae doege haeihaejyeotdeon Rap mandeureul gaengsaenghaneun ge nae cheot beonjjaeui gyehoek hashtag Sucka betta run inseuta sok gang gang geugeon gyae insaengigo nae insaengeun mwo maeilmaeil Payday, paycheck sonmok wien rolex Click clack to the bang bang Click clack to the pow I’m so high eodil neombwa niga doumdatgireul haedo son dahgien nopa kkwaena meon chai jeoldae mot bwa neoui ttongchadeurui kongkkakjireul mongttang beosgyeonoheun daeum joeda nongrakhan dwi songjangi doen myeonsang wireul so fly Click clack to the bang, you and you swipge eodeun ge hanado eopseume neul gamsahane ni insaengi eojungganhan ge wae nae tasiya gyesok geureohge sarajwo jeokdanghage mianhande apeuro nan deo beol geonde jikyeobwajwo budi jebal geonganghage I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr	“이름, 이름!” sorry bae “발음, 발음!” sorry bae “딕션, 딕션, 딕션!” sorry bae “Oh, face not an idol..” sorry bae숨쉬고 있어서 I’m sorry bae 너무 건강해서 I’m sorry bae 방송합니다 I’m sorry bae Errthing errthing errthing Sorry bae 지금 내가 내는 소리 bae 누군가에겐 개소리 bae 까는 패턴 좀 바꾸지 bae 지루해질라캐 boring bae 이젠 니가 안 미워 이젠 니가 안 미워 sorry bae 북이 돼줄게 걍 쎄게 치고 말어 그래 해보자 사물놀이 bae 난 괴물, 너무 길어 꼬리 bae 어차피 넌 날 쏘지 bae 그럴 바엔 편해 동물원이 bae 너도 원하잖아 씹을거리 bae 니가 날 싫어해도 you know me 니가 날 싫어해도 you know me 무플보단 악플이 좋아 난 널 몰라 But you know my name I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr I wanna get 잠 time 쉴 틈 없이 받는 spotlight Ahh you wanna be my life? 굶주린 놈들은 내 총알받이나 해 곱게 접해 내 멋대로 도배된 무대로 연행 다 결백 (okay) But 만족 못해 절대 여기에 나 올라 저 위에 높게 높게 높게 그래 방식은 다르지 곱씹어도 가는 길 한 땀씩 바느질 못 할 거면 매듭지어 이젠 안 돼 가능이 포기라는 발음이 I love ma rule 내 bro들과 하는 일 그들만의 리그의 플레이어 난 그 위 감독이 될 테니 다 될 대로해 1VERSE에 이어 난 더 큰 그림을 그릴 테니 평생 그 위치에서 쭉 외쳐봐라 ‘Dream come true’ 명예와 부는 그게 아냐 you 다 결국 내 발바닥 츄 클릭해, 난 cat 다 mouse 골라 X 쳐 like kaws 난 내년 입주 ma house 에서 내 brick과 high five 눈뜨고 봐라 내 야망 귀 대고 들어라 처음이자 마지막이 될 말 I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr Back back to the basic Microphone check Call me 뱁새 혹은 쎈캐 그래 rap game에 난 대인배 되게 해이해졌던 Rap man들을 갱생하는 게 내 첫 번째의 계획 hashtag Sucka betta run 인스타 속 gang gang 그건 걔 인생이고 내 인생은 뭐 매일매일 Payday, paycheck 손목 위엔 rolex Click clack to the bang bang Click clack to the pow I’m so high 어딜 넘봐 니가 도움닫기를 해도 손 닿기엔 높아 꽤나 먼 차이 절대 못 봐 너의 똥차들의 콩깍지를 몽땅 벗겨놓은 다음 죄다 농락한 뒤 송장이 된 면상 위를 so fly Click clack to the bang, you and you 쉽게 얻은 게 하나도 없음에 늘 감사하네 니 인생이 어중간한 게 왜 내 탓이야 계속 그렇게 살아줘 적당하게 미안한데 앞으로 난 더 벌 건데 지켜봐줘 부디 제발 건강하게 I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr	“Name, name!” sorry bae “Pronunciation, pronunciation!” sorry bae “Diction, diction, diction!” sorry bae “Oh, face not an idol..” sorry baeI’m sorry bae because I’m breathing I’m sorry bae because I’m so healthy I’m sorry bae I’m broadcasting Errthing errthing errthing Sorry bae The sound I’m making right now, bae Is all dog noise to someone, bae You should change your bashing pattern, bae It’ll start to get boring, boring bae I don’t dislike you anymore I don’t dislike you anymore, sorry bae I’ll be the drum, just hit me hard Let’s just try it, samulnori, bae I’m a monster, my tail is too long, bae You’ll shoot me anyway, bae In that case, a zoo would be more comfortable, bae You want it too, something to chew on, bae Even if you don’t like me, you know me Even if you don’t like me, you know me I like hate comments more than no comments I don’t know you But you know my name I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr I wanna get sleep time Without a chance to rest, we’re receiving spotlight Ahh you wanna be my life Those who are starving, just be my human shield Contacted softly and got spammed on my accord Haul to the stage all innocent okay But I can’t be satisfied just being here I’m climbing up there, high high high That’s right, my method is different I take on the road no matter what Sewing stich by stich If you’re not able, put an end to it There is no possibility Of pronouncing “failure” I love ma rule, the work that I do with my bros Players in a league of their own I’ll become the supervisor above them So come what may Following 1VERSE, I’ll draw a bigger picture For the rest of your life, Continue screaming from that position Dream come true Honor and wealth isn’t that you Everyone chu on my foot sole after all Click, I’m cat, everyone’s mouse I choose and put an X like kaws I move in next year ma house And high five with my brick Open your eyes and look at my ambition Lean in your ears and listen This will be the first and final words I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr Back back to the basic Microphone check Call me a crow tit or badass Yes in this rap game, I’m the generous one To rehabilitate the rap man who began to slack Is my first plan hashtag Sucka betta run gang gang in insta That’s their life, My life is just day by day Payday, paycheck, rolex on my wrist Click clack to the bang hang Click clack to the pow I’m so high how dare you covet Even if you run up to it, it’s too high for you to reach The difference is pretty big, you can’t see it After shattering your delusions About your shitty cars And once everyone’s done toying with them So fly above your face that became a corpse Click clack to the bang, you and you I’m always thankful, for not earning anything so easily Why is it my fault, that your life is noncommittal Keep on living like that vaguely Sorry but continue to look Because I’m gonna earn more from now By all means please healthily I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr I love I love I love myself I love I love I love myself I know I know I know myself Ya playa haters you should love yourself Brr

Above is the lyrics to BTS’s Cypher pt. 4, upon reading the English translation, it is clear that the lyrics is a protest against bashers and an empowerment of musically talented idols. Aside from that, we usually interpret the lyrics on the surface level. Apostrophe to certain brands such as rolex (which is pretty common in their Cypher series), repetition and alliterations seem to be used for the sake of the sound or catchy-ness (though it is a very important aspect in both music and poetry.)

That may be true, but as with other art forms, music a tribute to the personal experiences of the artist/song writer that coincides with a general idea we have in society. Lyrics may have underlying contexts that only people with an experience as close as possible to that of the artist would be able to get. Not all of us may notice, mainly because of the different in culture, society, and experiences we have. In that case, the issue lies with misunderstanding of the context instead of the lack thereof.

Another piece from BTS that many fans praise for both the music and the video is Blood, Sweat, and Tears. (Please) watch the 6 minute video before proceeding to get a better understanding of what I am about to discuss. Also because I want to spread the love…

Romanization	Korean	Translation
nae pi ttam nunmul nae majimak chumeul da gajyeoga ga nae pi ttam nunmul nae chagaun sumeul da gajyeoga ga nae pi ttam nunmulnae pi ttam nunmuldo nae mom maeum yeonghondo neoui geosin geol jal algo isseo igeon nareul beolbatge hal jumun Peaches and cream Sweeter than sweet Chocolate cheeks And chocolate wings But neoui nalgaeneun akmaui geot neoui geu sweet apen bitter bitter Kiss me apado dwae eoseo nal joyeojwo deo isang apeul sudo eopge Baby chwihaedo dwae ije neol deurikyeo mok gipsugi neoran wiseuki nae pi ttam nunmul nae majimak chumeul da gajyeoga ga nae pi ttam nunmul nae chagaun sumeul da gajyeoga ga wonhae manhi manhi manhi manhi wonhae manhi manhi manhi manhi manhi manhi wonhae manhi manhi manhi manhi wonhae manhi manhi manhi manhi manhi manhi apado dwae nal mukkeojwo naega domangchil su eopge kkwak jwigo nal heundeureojwo naega jeongsin mot charige Kiss me on the lips lips dulmanui bimil neoran gamoge jungdokdwae gipi niga anin dareun saram seomgiji mothae almyeonseodo samkyeobeorin dogi deun seongbae nae pi ttam nunmul nae majimak chumeul da gajyeoga ga nae pi ttam nunmul nae chagaun sumeul da gajyeoga ga wonhae manhi manhi manhi manhi wonhae manhi manhi manhi manhi manhi manhi wonhae manhi manhi manhi manhi wonhae manhi manhi manhi manhi manhi manhi nareul budeureopge jugyeojwo neoui songillo nun gamgyeojwo [J/JM] eochapi geobuhal sujocha eopseo deoneun domanggal sujocha eopseo niga neomu dalkomhae neomu dalkomhae neomu dalkomhaeseo nae pi ttam nunmul nae pi ttam nunmul	내 피 땀 눈물 내 마지막 춤을 다 가져가 가 내 피 땀 눈물 내 차가운 숨을 다 가져가 가 내 피 땀 눈물내 피 땀 눈물도 내 몸 마음 영혼도 너의 것인 걸 잘 알고 있어 이건 나를 벌받게 할 주문 Peaches and cream Sweeter than sweet Chocolate cheeks And chocolate wings But 너의 날개는 악마의 것 너의 그 sweet 앞엔 bitter bitter Kiss me 아파도 돼 어서 날 조여줘 더 이상 아플 수도 없게 Baby 취해도 돼 이제 널 들이켜 목 깊숙이 너란 위스키 내 피 땀 눈물 내 마지막 춤을 다 가져가 가 내 피 땀 눈물 내 차가운 숨을 다 가져가 가 원해 많이 많이 많이 많이 원해 많이 많이 많이 많이 많이 많이 원해 많이 많이 많이 많이 원해 많이 많이 많이 많이 많이 많이 아파도 돼 날 묶어줘 내가 도망칠 수 없게 꽉 쥐고 날 흔들어줘 내가 정신 못 차리게 Kiss me on the lips lips 둘만의 비밀 너란 감옥에 중독돼 깊이 니가 아닌 다른 사람 섬기지 못해 알면서도 삼켜버린 독이 든 성배 내 피 땀 눈물 내 마지막 춤을 다 가져가 가 내 피 땀 눈물 내 차가운 숨을 다 가져가 가 원해 많이 많이 많이 많이 원해 많이 많이 많이 많이 많이 많이 원해 많이 많이 많이 많이 원해 많이 많이 많이 많이 많이 많이 나를 부드럽게 죽여줘 너의 손길로 눈 감겨줘 [진/지민] 어차피 거부할 수조차 없어 더는 도망갈 수조차 없어 니가 너무 달콤해 너무 달콤해 너무 달콤해서 내 피 땀 눈물 내 피 땀 눈물	My blood, sweat and tears My last dance Take it away My blood, sweat and tears My cold breath Take it away My blood, sweat and tearsEven my blood, sweat and tears Even my body, heart and soul I know that it’s all yours This is a spell that’ll punish me Peaches and cream Sweeter than sweet Chocolate cheeks And chocolate wings But your wings are wings of the devil In front of your sweet is bitter bitter Kiss me, I don’t care if it hurts, Hurry and choke me So I can’t hurt any more Baby, I don’t care if I get drunk, I’ll drink you in now Your whiskey, deep into my throat My blood, sweat and tears My last dance Take it away My blood, sweat and tears My cold breath Take it away I want you a lot, a lot, a lot I want you a lot, a lot, a lot I want you a lot, a lot, a lot I want you a lot, a lot, a lot I don’t care if it hurts, tie me up So I can’t run away Grab me tightly and shake me So I can’t snap out of it Kiss me on the lips lips, Our own little secret I wanna be addicted to your prison So I can’t serve anyone that’s not you Even though I know, I drink the poisonous Holy Grail My blood, sweat and tears My last dance Take it away My blood, sweat and tears My cold breath Take it away I want you a lot, a lot, a lot I want you a lot, a lot, a lot I want you a lot, a lot, a lot I want you a lot, a lot, a lot Kill me softly Close my eyes with your touch I can’t even reject you anyway I can’t run away anymore You’re too sweet, too sweet Because you’re too sweet My blood, sweat and tears My blood, sweat and tears

When taken separately from the music video, the lyrics of Blood Sweat and Tears loses a lot of context taken from the video. In a way, that makes it seem just as “shallow” as the previous example i gave, limited only to the personal experience of the artist that is open to interpretation.

When equipped with the music video (as with my literary piece being equipped with its cheat sheet) then emerges the context clues that gave rise to the numerous interpretations and theories formulated by fans. The most prominent theories are those regarding Abraxas and the god’s connection with one of the members depicted to have ripped off wings, etcetera etcetera, along with the other videos released along with the same album and across other music videos from their previous albums.

Without the producer’s input, it is unclear if the works and albums really are meant to be interconnected or taken separately, and meaning-making is yet again, left in the hands of the audience, with a cheat sheet to base their answers upon but without instructions.

—

Analyzing works related to the concept I wish to push helped me a lot in deciding what I want to do with my piece, but also gave rise to a number of irresolute decisions.

What I’m sure of:

1.  the piece will be poetic – meaning my secret codes will have to be based on the alphabet and not illustrations/symbols

• also, will be framed (to the wall, or hanged… depends)

2.  will still be using a cheat sheet – will most likely present it separately, no longer as a find-me item

3.  the concept of ambiguity + irony because of the hierarchical perception in language – so jargon on jargon

4. definitely just one page long (a4 or square, doesn’t really make much of a difference, right??)

What I’m not sure of:

1.  how to present the cheat sheet – will it be separately framed? or do i place it back to back with the poetry piece?

2. jargon on jargon sounds like a pretty cool title but then if I’m going to work on the concept of misunderstanding, i don’t think I’m supposed to tell them straight up that what they’re trying to decode is gibberish…. so title-wise, I’m still lost

3. type-written or hand-written? I’m leaning more on the handwritten side, not sure with the style, font, etc – will probably work with it for visual aesthetic purposes but if ever, the style will be to reinforce the idea of “foreign language”

4. the content of the piece itself – ung surface level and interpretation one – based on my own words sa analysis, i think it would be better to make the content sound personal (poetic but kinda like a letter-ish?)

5.  as i mentioned earlier, the idea of it being a two-way interpretation – using the text as a cheat sheet for the secret code itself – or layers upon layers of interpretation (too complicated??)

I definitely missed some important points, but like

. . . . .

. . .

.

that’s all for now, folks (lol)

Can of Dices

2/21/2017

 

Picking up where I left off – the art pitch

I talked about pitching art ideas in my previous post, right?

Well, I have three here.

The first idea I wrote down on paper plays with the concept of the interlocking individual and community.

I will have a white canvas (of a size I have yet to decide on) wherein different people will leave their fingerprint/s on the canvas via paint (most likely using watercolor). The output I want would be a fingerpainted color spectrum (colors of which I will have to mix most of them myself = time consuming), similar to the google image below.

The idea came from a set of videos featuring mechanics and audience interaction as the major compositions of the art works. Since I don’t have enough resources to pursue such an ambitious (for me, at least) project, I decided to focus on the interaction portion – including the audience in the art making itself.

What I want to convey in a canvas of fingerprinted color spectrum of different shapes and sizes is the individuality of each color shade and fingerprint, and at the same time, the communality/unity of all the colors blending into a spectrum and of all those people having contributed and left their mark on the final art piece.

The second idea I came up with would be a play on language.

As in, a literal play on language.

I remember having “invented” secret codes with friends as a kid to hide rather useless things from adults. The idea sprouted from watching videos of Nina Katchadourian’s pieces on language.

The art work would be a framed handwritten piece of literature (most likely a self-written poem) that would sound jargon when read in our standard English with a coded answer sheet (either displayed or peaking from behind the frame). When the audience tries to decode the message, it would, again, sound gibberish.

The art work would be centered on the concept of people and foreign language – be it deluding ourselves to “understanding” meaning or to allowing confusion to inhibit us from meaning-making. Something along the lines of “hierarchy” in language – whether it’s “intelligible” enough to understand or not.

I haven’t decided if it would be better to use the alphabet or if using illustrations would fit better with the whole “foreign tongue” idea.

The third idea I came up with is on beauty and how it is both fleeting and constant, ever-changing and never-changing.

“Clumps of dyed hair, chipped off painted nails, strips of false eyelashes, and a mess  of makeup wipes covered in worn makeup stains on a frame with a 1st place ribbon.”

Something like this work taken from google (by an ebhaesche.wordpress.com account).

It would be ridiculous to see such things framed on a living room wall, right?

When we frame photos, it’s usually to glorify or to commemorate a certain image for an amount of time. Beauty and makeup – we consider them to be fleeting.

Beauty standards change all the time – we throw away trends we consider laos na and replace them with “new ones.” But somehow, one way or another, these “new” standards are actually recycled from the “old” ones that were trashed.

—

All three of these ideas probably sound like I’m just playing safe – that I’m too petty to be bothered to make a striking art work that fights against inequalities and such, but as I’ve said previously, (just let me quote myself here haha)

I’d say I may be beginning to understand the flexibility of the term “originality” and “relevance” thanks to my professor’s and classmates’ inputs in class discussions.

Things will not always be relevant to everyone. Things can also be not relevant to the majority. Heck, it can even be relevant to just one person – me (of course, with the billions of people in the world, that is likely impossible).

A least, that’s how I understand relevance in art as of now.

Can of Dices

2/9/2017

First few weeks into Fine Arts Research class…

First off –

HI THERE, I’M CANDICE.

Obviously, this being my first post in this blog, you – whoever you may be – do not know me. Duh. So click here if, you know, want to know what kind of human is eating away your precious time.

“Fine arts research” doesn’t feel too far off from the investigative project researches I had back in high school. As incomprehensible as coming up with an original art work may have sounded like to me just a few days prior, it seems like it’s not all that different of a process from coming up with a science proposal influenced by numerous pre-existing research journals.

I’d say I may be beginning to understand the flexibility of the term “originality” and “relevance” thanks to my professor’s and classmates’ inputs in class discussions.

I assumed that the class would have been lecture-driven, something along the lines of digging up art history and commentary for inspiration, given that the course title is “Research in the Fine Arts.” I didn’t really expect to have to come up with an impromptu pitch on the very first day of lecture. (It wasn’t that bad, actually.)

Although at first it seemed that the class was too lax to be called a research class, I’m pretty sure I have a better understanding of what “research in the fine arts” is now than if the professor had presented research procedures on PowerPoint.

Taking in the comments and suggestions from both professor and students, it’s beginning to sink in that art really is always a work in progress. Our initial ideas will most likely be too idealistic to be executed, be it in mechanics or in the strategy used.

The initial pitch will have to be revised over and over and over again.

And when we do arrive at an acceptable output, we’re still going to have second thoughts on the finished product.

Like with any other research, I suppose I will need to gather up any and every resource I can find that may be able to help me conceptualize a realistic and tangible output. The process of art-making, especially with one that is tied to a class deadline, needs to be set with a time table to ensure that every step is accounted for. And most importantly, I need to have my heart in my work. I need to be interested in it and have fun making it, not just because it’s a requirement I need to fulfill for a class.

This is what I ought to do.

At the same time as I am typing this, though, I’m having doubts over my own resolve to take art seriously what with all the workload I have now when it’s only the start of the semester…

Can of Dices

2/3/2017