This week not only sped by extremely fast but contained many curveballs. In my experimental drawing class, we were forced to draw two drawings which were supplied by three stencils we previously created. For myself, I am very critical on my art work. I enjoy creating and seeing where it takes me, but for the most part a large amount of planning and understanding of materials goes into my 2D art work. For example, by second drawing was created by a large amount of tape and watercolor. I usually work with oil paint when I’m painting, so this was much more difficult for me to achieve the effect I was trying to build. This creation, which is below, is a beautiful use of color and simplicity, yet with the effect of eye movement which is exactly what I wanted to demonstrate. This assignment was very enjoyable, but ultimately a challenge to let go of my very analytical personality.

Not only did I experiment with paint and 2D formations of art, I also enjoyed my time focusing on my classes. Last weekend I spent most of my time either in the studio or home studying for future assignments and tests in both classes. For example, the amount of time I spent studying allowed me to take my philosophy quiz and feel rather confident in my results. In addition, I noticed some very clear yet hidden truths about my friend group which makes me urged to fix or adapt more to these changes.

Ultimately this week was very productive, allowing me to perceive my artistic abilities in a different light.

Check out our group blog post!

Bridging the Gap group post

My group and I decided to use the poem, To This Day, written by Shane Koyzcan. This poem describes the internal and physical struggles many children and young adults are faced with from bullying. My small chunk of the poem depicts a woman, who is forced to live with a beautiful birthmark which covers most of her face. Throughout her childhood she is bullied and in turn believes her existence is damned. I wanted to use photography as my medium, which allows me to better illustrate the contrast between darkness and light, including the depth within the piece. Through this photograph, I wanted to allow the audience to reflect in a more personal attitude, from seeing flawless beauty to the scars of past experiences, this photo allows for a more varied interpretation.

Group Video

My five documentations are this photograph, a drawing of the scene, a sketching of my thought process before the photograph, a list of the various locations I planned on taking my pictures, and my thought process to come up with the various ideas which led me to take the photo.

This week entailed very elaborate group work, in addition to unpleasant allergies. Earlier in the week I began to have bad sinus problems, which resulted from the very large change in atmosphere, from Texas to New York, my body is not equipped with dealing with the season change. This made my weekend very hard on my body, but manageable as I stayed in bed as much as I could. When thinking about my health, I never expected to have such a reaction to the pollen and air here in Alfred, which will be an uphill climb trying to remain content with such physical annoyance. Other then my bad experience with allergies, I will day this week was enjoyable. My team and I came up with a very beautiful demonstration for the group assignment. We used the poem, To This Day, which details mental health for children and adults based on their external and internal factors. I’ve known this poem for 6 years, and was thrilled to hear from my group they’d want to use it for our performances. Ultimately this week was difficult, but has made me contemplate future plans in order to embrace everything New York weather has to offer.

 

Check out our modified installation here!

Group System NEW Installation

 

Territory name: The Ascent

For our video we decided to explore the staircase connecting the Marlin Miller Preforming Arts Center and the football field. On this staircase we decided to have me, Asia Fisher, be the photographer. As I filmed, my group partners were crawling and climbing up the stairs in a very random and non organized way. While creating the installment, we collected the materials presented around the staircase; leaves, stems, bamboo, sticks, etc. With these items we decided to create a staircase wrapping around one of the poles by our initial sculpture. In addition, we then added stems and various other earthly objects to the top of the pole to create a tree resemblance. This can also be considered as a heavenly force, being as it is above us in both video and real life.  We then added string and levied some of the branches from the pole on the ceiling to create depth within the piece. Next we added red from our uniforms to show the connection to us and the piece.

Video

The themes we used to build this installation are Consumption, Community, Spirituality, Infrastructure, and Service, all of which have built and dramatically created the town of Alfred. All the objects we have collected have been either litter or objects we have found naturally. The purpose behind our installation is to demonstrate the connectivity within the town of Alfred. Not only did we build a tree from found stems and leaves, but also we built the stump from cardboard and used ink to create texture and movement within the piece. The idea behind this installation is to draw beauty and a congruence to and from all the themes we illustrated. For myself, I had the theme of community where I used the open library at the corner of Main Street and W University street. I collected books and objects from this library that best represents the community throughout the town.

Austin Hampton, who had the theme of consumption wrote, “Walking around Alfred and campus I collected cups and trash and cigarette butts to properly represent consumption. The reason I collected these items are because ever since I’ve gotten to campus I’ve noticed how much trash is just lying around in the grass and by the sidewalk. Littering is a huge problem not only on this campus but around the world.”

Savannah Wenning, who had the theme of infrastructure wrote, “Infrastructure is a huge part of any community, including Alfred, New York. Since this is a college town, the universities, the buildings within them, and all of the establishments within the town are a very big part of the infrastructure. In order to create this installation, I had to find something to accurately represent the importance of the infrastructure in this community, so I found flyers and brochures that represented Alfred within the college and the foundation that keeps this town on its feet. This included brochures from the clubs, restaurants, galleries, etc that I found to be important elements. We placed the crumpled papers throughout our installation and the roots of the tree because the infrastructure is the true foundation of a community.”

Teaghan Murphy, who has the theme of service wrote, “Alfred University is known for the diversity of their students and the wide variety of locations that they originate from. Weather these students come from different areas of New York, a different state or an entirely different country, Alfred does all that it can to make students feel welcome. Some of these services that Alfred University provides are the Institute for Cultural Unity, student involvement groups, clubs, and so much more. The wellness center is also a helpful place for students to go talk about being homesick and a place where they can go to receive all the help they need.”

Kathryn Maher, who has the theme of spirituality wrote, “I collected sticks from the wooded area behind Kanakadea Hall. The same day, I went out to Walmart and bought yarn. To combine the two, I broke the stick apart and fashioned them together with the yarn. This conveyed a message about creating something beautiful out of nothing. Much like the creation of Man in Christianity.”

Together, we all combined our objects and created a piece of beauty. It’s not a map of which connects the town, but shows the relationship between each theme in relation to the town of Alfred.

My world has shifted, diverting my instincts to unknown beliefs and actions. The distance from my hometown to Alfred combines multiple flights, hundreds of dollars, and yet, the price of change has not negatively affected my happiness to be here. For myself, I have learned throughout my life what I want to gain post college, especially who I want to become. This statement is very ambiguous, allowing every individual to partake in a different definition. For myself, the use of clay in my life has helped me dictate my future and emotional content. Being here, at Alfred University, has given me hope for my future and what will become of me.

All in all, throughout the past three weeks I have met some of the most pure, enjoyable and charismatic individuals I’ve ever had the chance to get to know. My family, top left and right quadrants in the group above, call me everyday and consistently wonder how I’m handling my classes on top of being so far away from home. Personally, I do miss my family, but for myself the distance helps me grow and figure out who I am.

Over the last few days, while touring the small town of Alfred, I noticed the relationship between not only communities but its infrastructure as a whole. My topic is community activities, which can be seen by the night life combined by both Alfred University and Alfred State students, along with a unity throughout the town. While observing the town of Alfred, I noticed many similarities to my home town and the community presented here. Not only does this town have a population of four thousand, but most of the individuals who live within the town are primarily students of both AU and AS. The main representation of the community I found would be the open library off of Main Street, offering books, apparel items, beauty products, etc., through a reciprocal attitude. This library shows the open relationship between college students, faculty and staff, and with individuals who live within the town of Alfred. My photos are below of this unique experience.

 

While trying to figure out which part of Alfred’s community would best showcase the very open and non-conformitive relationship, I made a detailed list of the various locations around campus. From athletic games to our foundation class, even the night life of students from both schools, I decided to represent the small yet distinctive  location which houses culture and unusual objects. When I pass this stand I see individuals who are different races, cultures, and perspectives stop to observe this portrayal of identity and unity within Alfred.

While viewing the Alfred group map, I realized how distant our individual ideas upon Alfred’s geological location seemed to be. From the mountain range which consumed Alfred State, to the beautiful demonstration of the castle, we each used our unique artistic ability to best transform our location onto the map. My parter and I had a relatively close location to one another. I was located across the street from Baressi and she in front of Scholes Library. This short distant made the decoration limited yet we included both objects in the creation: flowers on her side and drawings of snails on mine. Although while viewing the complete map as a whole, and how impressive many cultures turned into, the simplicity of ours was beautiful and unique. The pictures of our project are displayed below.