Visiting Artist Response 1

The visiting artist from January 26, who is a metal smith, spoke about his lecture called The Business of Surviving as an Artist. At first, it seemed like a nice review about his inspiration and his pieces. But then he went into his whole history ranging from his work experience to his family experience. It was so drawn out that it was very difficult to focus because it felt like he was repeating the same things. He spoke a lot about commission pieces rather than the business side of things. He said how he was commissioned, but never actually went around to saying how he gained these connections nor how to handle commission work. He spoke a lot about his art process, which was interesting, especially with the models he had to make, but it didn't fit into the theme of his lecture, which was The Business of Surviving as an Artist. It also went overtime, going from 12:00 - 1:40. It wasn't until 1:15-1:20 that he went into having problems with his client who refused to pay him. It was intriguing, especially since it was the city who was refusing to pay him, but the ending to the story was really unclear. It felt too rushed, but I didn't know what to make of the information that was given to me.  Then, after his presentation was done, he held the audience back even longer to tell them his words of wisdom, which I can estimate would be like 2 minutes maximum, but it took over 5 minutes for his words of wisdom.

Overall, the content was interesting, but it didn't relate to his overarching synopsis of his lecture.

[Project 1] Proposal

My concept revolves around the phrase "I am your mother". It sounds endearing at first, like when a mother holds their child for the first time and coos it towards their child. It becomes a phrase of "this is who I am" which will be reflected in the beginning of my film (brighter, possibly pastel colors, lighter atmosphere). But as the film progresses, the film will shift from a nurturing mother to a person who doesn't have that same nurturing nature. For example, a mother showing off her children for the sake of their reputation. This causes a wedge between their relationship (a falling out). The phrase "I am your mother" is then used to justify the mother's actions. It demands respect, it demands authority over the child. The film goes at a faster-pace at this point. Various images are on the screen (i.e. ultrasound baby, heart beat sound, close-up of one eye opening, etc.) on a dark screen. The sound is more distorted. The words "I am your mother" doesn't feel unified; it becomes more of a "ransom" note with different fonts making up the words. The words take over the screen. Then, nothing. The phrase "I am your mother" returns on screen, similar to how we started, except instead of a light background and dark text, we now have a dark background with light text (same font).

“I’m your mother” is an overused phrase. It demands respect. It demands that we obey because “she is my mother”. But really, it’s a way to make people feel bad, to feel guilty. In a sense, it’s a “brainwashing” phrase. It’s so terrifying having this phrase so ingrained in our society that other people can relate. Just because they gave birth to you doesn’t automatically mean they have your respect. Respect is earned. So the idea that a child has to follow every demand their mother makes when their mother doesn't show them any real compassion is incomprehensible.

[Project 1] Concepts and Ideas

   

I tried to draw inspiration from song lyrics, just random quotes such as "build a friend like you" or "we are the last disease." But my mind continuously went back to the idea of forced biological relationships (specifically mother/daughter relationships). 

So I began to think of the negative effect that unhealthy mother/daughter relationships can have. For instance, displaying a child as a trophy to others as if their accomplishments is somehow reflected on her. Or, another example, when the mother begins to dress up her child like a doll. And certain actions similar to these can put a wedge between their relationship. Instead of showing affection, she focuses purely on how everyone else will view her child and herself: a show for everyone else. And what is the typical line that mother's use on their children? "I am your mother, I gave birth to you."

And this line always bothered me. As if mothers are entitled to their children because they gave birth. Relationships are created based on experience and actions, not by bloodlines. That particular line is so daunting because it's as if their children are indebted to their parents for choosing to have intercourse, to have a child. And that line just becomes suffocating.