AKE

floating as suicide

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:42:06 -0400

I am currently working on an animation that presents the idea of floating into nothingness as a means of suicide. What does this mean? It is the opposite of how many of us consider suicide— falling. But with floating, this presents an opportunity for reflection. Not just by providing more time, but by allowing the person to reflect on the world from a different perspective (above). This person is allowed the opportunity to look below (much like how we imagine death to feel). It is a preview, almost. But is this scarier or more peaceful? Why is suicide associated with immediate death? If pain and uncertainty is removed from the equation (the death will be painless and the attempt will be successful), is immediacy necessary? If death is truly what the person is seeking, is time for reflection something to be treasured? And if not, what about this time difference is more or less closely linked to what this person is seeking?

shadows

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:35:20 -0400

I am interested in the idea of shadows. It seems we find great meaning in shadows when it comes to actual works of art (paintings, photographs, etc), however, we often take them for granted in our everyday lives. Why is there such a strong association with something so easily disregarded? What does a shadow really say about us? That we are existing in this world, we cast a shadow. Shadows are also so metaphorical— often people regard a shadow as powerful and intimidating, but why? A shadow is nothing more than a lacking of light? I am currently exploring ideas with shadows that contradict their source. This is an interesting concept to me because it gives the shadow more of a force. The shadow no longer is dependent upon the source, but instead, provides insight to that specific object or being.

Railroad Pennies

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:31:08 -0400

I love so many things about the idea of pennies being flattened by trains. There is a mix of mechanical with organic and chaos with control. The result is an object that is a tangible representation of an event that occurred. The time and place is completely controlled and regulated (by the government, really). And the result is completely chaotic (there is no real control over the specific form that the penny takes after it is run over).

The Sky: a constantly changing landscape

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:26:44 -0400

I am constantly inspired by clouds and changing weather. Clouds provide a constantly changing landscape that we often take for granted. Varying shapes, shades, and compositions can be discovered just by looking up.

"Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens."

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:30:42 -0500

—Talking Heads “Heaven”

I love this line! And the song is awesome. Everyone has that one concern about heaven— sure, it’s pure bliss, it’s the equivalent to an eternal orgasm x100000000, it’s everything you ever wanted. But eternal bliss sounds a bit boring. Life is a compilation of the highs and the lows, so to imagine only highs seems a bit uneventful. So the questions remain: Does heaven exist? And do you want to go there? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Beautiful Destruction Loi Krathong is a festival of lights held...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:18:36 -0500

image credit http://www.wishlantern.co.u

image credit www.templeofthai.com

image credit www.wikipedia.com

Beautiful Destruction

Loi Krathong is a festival of lights held in Thailand annually. Huge groups of people gather and release these rice paper lanterns (releasing their worries and burdens into the sky). I saw floating lanterns for the first time in the Summer of 2010 at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee. Hundreds of these lanterns are released into the sky and the visual effect is incredible. They float gracefully up into the sky very slowly and smoothly. It reminds me of fireworks, but this spectacle is so quiet and calm. It’s absolutely breathtaking. Like the coin trees, this event balances the personal with the communal— taking an individual’s personal concerns and joining them with the troubles of every member at the event. It is a translation from burdens to beauty, literally lifting that which weighs us down and releasing it as a weightless, decaying and eventually vanishing light. As the hundreds of lanterns float higher and higher, it looks as if they have transformed into stars, filling the sky with a temporary constellation. And finally, they disappear into the darkness, and the calm, collective release ends not with loud bangs or sparkles, but with each individual’s relinquishing of their worries to be replaced with a feeling of awe and power.

INSPIRATION This is an image of a “wishing tree” or...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:02:26 -0500

image credit wikimedia

image credit flickr user alx chief

INSPIRATION

This is an image of a “wishing tree” or a coin tree. People would hammer the coins into the trees hoping to heal themselves of sickness or to make a wish. For some reason, I find these fascinating. I just can’t figure out what I plan to do in response to this tradition. It is a living plant filled with inanimate objects that humans consider valuable. But it’s also a living growing tree filled with the hopes and dreams of hundreds of people from many years ago. It’s amazing that this collection of wishes can be so permanent, unlike a wishing well. I also find it interesting how each one of those coins was physically lodged into this plant by an individual person with specific hopes and dreams. I love the translation from intangible to tangible—wishes to a hammered, mangled coin. But also, the physical record or mark of the past. The intention, similar to a religious icon, is fascinating. And the fact that this beautiful object is created through collaboration, a collection of hundreds of personal thoughts translated into an installation work of art, creates a community of the hopers and dreamers.