INSTALLATIONS
What is Home? Project
What is Home? Project
Artist Statement for
What is Home? Project:
How do people think of home? Are
we moving away from the homestead, towards other factors in our life that make us feel "at home"? Is Home a place, people, feeling, food, pet or something else? As we think of this, what gives us / the U.S., the authority
to say other people's definition of
Home is not correct?
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The What is Home? Project was made for the Red House Exhibition for Helicon Art History Club. This exhibit was called Red House because the gallery was a Airbnb rented Red House, but I wanted to do more with the idea of being in a house, a place some people equate to a home.
In today's political climate, there seems to be more controversy over who calls this country Home and whether they should call another country Home even if they don't know it well.
Instead of directly diving into the political issues, I wanted to see what people thought of when they think Home.
I purposefully laser cutted a acrylic, opaque, house with the question What is Home? vinyl cut on one side with the instructions *place cards on the other side. The cards were seen by a back light that showed the viewer that others had participated, but did not show the previous answers to them, as to not change their opinion of Home.
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During the one night exhibit people gathered around the back of the acrylic house to read the answers and discuss, since the piece started a conversation, forcing people to feel grateful for what they had, therefore it was a success.
Hello Project
Artist Statement for
Hello Project:
I care about your well being, and how your day was. I also feel that there are so many different lives here at Stamps, it's nice to take a closer look into them, even if it's just how their day was. When you add to the "WE" you add to the collective of individual lives that make up Stamps. We are Stamps.
"How was your day?” my mother would ask me every day after school, and eagerly listen to my answer. Whether it was a dull or passionate response, she always wanted to know. This simple question was how I knew she cared about me. I care about the people that go to University of Michigan, and like my mother, I want to know about their day. This densely populated campus houses thousands of lives with different problems, successes, and day-to-day activities. I often find myself getting sucked into the idea the world revolves around me; when I am sad it feels like the whole world will crash down with the sadness I feel.
Who is the viewer? What do they like? What do they not like? Do they not like the institution but want to be taken seriously? What do they fear? Do they fear the unknown? Do they fear the impending future? Or do they have an irrational fear of something like moths? After all these questions there’s always one more; why am I interested in people’s choices? It’s pretty easy to get caught up in your own world, with your vision of empathy only extending to those you know. For me, however, it’s the idea of how many people I don’t know, with lives I know nothing about, that interests me the most. This thought process has heavily influenced my art, leading me through countless mediums with the main intention of creating art that is created by the people who interact with it. I want to merely design the tool they use to create the art.
However, when I think about the lives that are happening simultaneously, with positive events and sad moments, it grounds me and makes me appreciate the diversity of interactions felt in a lifetime, whether they are good or bad. Knowing more about your communities lives brings your community closer together. I wanted to share this basic spectacle to my educational community, Stamps, by encouraging them to fill out a simple hand-sized card form that asks them “how was your day” and “anything on your mind.” In order to let the people who fill out the card understand why I wanted to know about their day I added a statement:
I care about your well-being, and how your day was. I also feel that there are so many different lives here at Stamps it’s nice to take a closer look into them, even if it is just how their day was. When you add to the “WE” you add to the collective of individual lives that make up Stamps. We are Stamps.
The addition of the statement to the stamps hallway (which is often used as gallery space) tells people that their contribution is not only valued, it is art. With the hall only being used by teachers to put up work by their students they want to show, it adds value to every addition. While each response adds meaning, and also adds to the piece, the poster asks a simple task of writing and posting about their day for everyone to see. There are instructions that let the contributors know that they do not have to add their name if they do not want to. This allows the responses to be whatever they want, while being anonymous. When multiple responses are posted, the variety of experiences and radical differences and similarities bring the diversity within Stamps to light while also showing people that are struggling, they are not alone.
Jell-o Project
Artist Statement for
Jello Project:
Theory:
The number of cuts to the Jell-O will rise exponentially once the first cut has been made. Interaction encourages interaction.
I wanted to explore ways students can relieve stress in fun ways. When I thought about jell-o, I knew it retained its original shape of its container perfectly, only being changed once it was touched or cut. When it is cut, there is a satisfying yet concerning feeling since it cannot go back. This project was a symbiotic study of people, for people. I wanted to see how people would react to the jell-o while giving them an outlet to let off steam during class. The results have been recorded and edited.
before vs. after
