VISA 0120 Foundations Media: Computation + Art

Life in the urban environment is stressful. A multitude of problems like pandemic outbreaks, examinations and deadlines, succeeding in the working world and many, many more are constantly putting a strain on our minds and bodies. Without proper care and relaxation, it would leave us exhausted and drained of the zest for life. Han-soap is specially designed to provide soothing relief, a source of detoxification and de-stressing. With a unique DIY kit packed with all-natural, lush and edible ingredients; the recipe for refreshment is up to you. The ingredients combine to make a wide array of body scrubs, facial masks or exfoliate to suit your tastes. Han-soap will alleviate the tension from your hectic life and do it with delicious fragrances and a little pizzazz.
It truly is food for the senses.

My project strives to be a bastion of support to the students at Brown; to lighten the mood through the public engagement of therapeutic art. The idea is to create a source of relaxation that is safe, fun, non-toxic and just the smell alone is enough to soothe a burdened shoulder or two.
The audience makes the soap themselves using easy-to-follow recipes and I would provide any assistance if need be; or there may be some convenient take-home kits too. The end result is then conveniently packaged and portable to be shared and enjoyed.

Here is the link to the slideshow of the project – a step by step process of setting up my booth and of people experiencing the project!
Han-Soap Slideshow

Make Your Own Soap Click for PDF

For my project I wanted to focus on the process of therapy or the feel-good-emotions of the audience while engaging in my art piece. Being a period of high stress and anxiety for everyone in Brown (exams, projects, graduation, post-graduation-no-job-in-bad-economy worries) I feel it would be an effective concept to soothe the mood of students here.

My initial experiment was a punching stand where people could vent out their frustrations. The surface was drawable and people could write or draw whatever is causing them so much stress and be the focus of attack. It would be placed in the Science Library where people would be cooped up for hours frantically studying and worrying, hence an apt location to stress relieve.

However, it wasn’t practical to build such a huge structure (due to fire safety reasons) and my lack of skills in building a stable and strong enough stand to withstand the force. Here was a mock-up I did which actually functioned pretty well as a knock-around punching bag on a bed, made of bubble wrap, a gallon of water and some tape.

My other experiment was a projection of a message to the seniors to reflect their time remaining in Brown and to cherish the last few weeks in college. A projector would be mounted on a window facing Thayer Street from the Science Library. It would be hooked up to a laptop would be able to customize a projected message. However, some of the messages could be misinterpreted as bomb threats or some similar security scare, hence it may not be the most wise of public art experiment.

My final experiment for the week was portable therapeutic art pieces. This was a take on the stress ball, where the comforting squishy feeling of kneading the object helps to relieve stress. I used the glove as the object, as the shape of the hand is familiar and act as a literal source of support through the tough exam period.
The objects used:
And the extremely satisfying and tactile outcome:

Urban Play

This interactive piece focuses on the theme of urban play. It puts the user in a free form urban space where the paths in daily urban life are constantly tread. However, with a click and hold of a button, the very same paths are illuminated with wild and exciting variations and a whole new perspective of urban life can be discovered via freerunning. However, it is important to constantly reinvent one’s perspective in the urban environment or be stuck in the same cycle all over again.

I chose to concentrate on the piece Urban decay, let’s play. The essence I want to capture is constant reinvention, a fresh perspective on your urban environment and life.
The activity of freerunning which I highlighted in the stop-motion video embodies such qualities. While people commute to and fro in the city, the drudgery of everyday life dulls their mind. Urban dwellers desire for a comfortable cycle; where the same routes are tread day in and day out, until the paths are well worn and defined.
All one needs is a new outtake on life! At the click of a button, the very same routes are exciting, vibrant and full of risk that were previously undiscovered.
And there should be constant renewing! Or the person would fall back into the same old cycle, albeit in a slightly different color.

Inside out contrast

A mash-up video of how a person appears via body language may not be coherent with what’s on their mind.

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Kurt Kren – born 1929, Vienna, Austria.

courtesy of www.canyoncinema.com

Kurt Kren began filming by shooting short experimental 8mm films in the early 1950s, before switching to 16mm in 1957.
Kurt Kren’s films have been noted for their rhythmic, structural, serial and mathematical qualities that transform the material into an abstract, yet documentary-like quality. He has been noted for the innovative use of a multitude of techniques including alternating between positive and negative film, complex cutting rhythms derived from formulated mathematical diagrams and extreme multiple exposure. Kurt is noted for recording slivers of reality and edit it in such a way becomes unrecognizable to the viewer. To appreciate and admire his films is not just interpreting the meaning of the film, but to sense the films as real and physical.

© FIPRESCI 2006

In his film Selbstverstummelung or self-mutilation, Kurt Kren portrays self-infliction of harm in a surrealistic drama that I found haunting and sickly captivating. Blades, scissors and other sharp instruments are slowly inserted into the actor (Brus) in what seems like a ritualistic self-operation. This visual shock effect is punctuated by the slow, torturous pace of the actors covered in white plaster and the creepy, yet calming soundtrack.

In my concept, I choose to concentrate on the mash-up. In a similar vein of Kurt Kren’s films, I would want the viewer to not just recognize the techniques used (such as rhythmic cutting of film) or perceive what the message behind the film is; but rather perceive the film as real. My idea for the film is a juxtaposition of 2 differing sets of video to make a coherent film where what the body language of a person belies what really goes on in his head.

Sources cited: http://www.canyoncinema.com/K/Kren.html

http://www.hi-beam.net/mkr/kk/kk-bio.html

Easy Does It

In my concept of time passing slowly, it goes by especially agonizingly slow when you’re asking someone out. The tension is palpable and the awkwardness of the moment is nigh impossible to bear.

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F-fast foward

My idea of time passing quickly is over the event of meals. Be it with loved ones, friends and family, I find it can never be long enough if the company is great. Most of the moments zip past us without us noticing but a few fleeting moments are captured by our memories. Like an endearing song, we forget most of the lyrics, but no one forgets the chorus.

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Sound Dub

For the last video I wanted to play around with the concept of mash-ups, where existing material is taken and reshaped to form entirely new pieces. Mash-up is predominantly found in music, where 2 or more existing songs are remixed to form a reworked, unique beat. This video takes speech from the footage that I have to form new, wacky, sometimes inappropriate dialogue.

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The human body and the urban world we live in continually decay.

It is essential that we remain young-at-heart and create an enjoyable environment in such gloomy times. If our perceptions of our bodies and material reality are purely superficial, decay is something we dread; rather than something we should embrace as a natural progession of life.

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