For Storytelling

Round Robin

1.

2.  Skyward eyes miss what’s below.

Busy with telescopes in the clouds, Johnny was invisible below the treehouse.

“Soon...” he whispered.

3.  “He’s so weird” the kids wisped. “I bet his mind is empty.” But he couldn’t hear them over             all his thoughts. 

It is fascinating that such deep stories can be told in a picture and 20 words. I feel like the round robin gives us an opportunity to have these collective, small bursts of creativity, that can turn out to be quite beautiful. It was interesting to see how the stories progressed as they went through each set of hands. I didn’t imagine where the story would end up, when the idea originated. The first idea seemed the most difficult, and the later rounds became easier to write. It was as if the first Idea was a little spark and once it caught, it was easy to put wood on the fire. The beauty of collaboration is that you have to give up control. Most of the best art is produced when it is created with restrictions because it causes the artist to think outside of the box. When several artists work together that's that much more box to think outside of.

One interesting result of this project was that upon sending off the latest story to the next person, it was rare that the next story would convey what the original author believed to be the important or interesting aspect of the story. Some stories meant to be taken literally were read by the next person as containing a deeper meaning. Other times, the story was meant to be deep, but the next author took the story at its surface. Regardless of the author’s original intent, the next story was often surprising and enjoyable. Each string of stories goes off in a direction the original author most likely did not imagine. These results exemplify the idea that stories are more creative when working as a team.

In the article about the Exquisite Corpse by DJ Spooky, he talks about how fragmented, varied puzzles reflect more accurately the collective memory of our culture and how we as a whole progress. Perhaps this idea could stand a few more test runs from us, but the point is valid. It is simply a silly thing to assume complete control over anything, let alone a creative process, and indeed when a person freely gives up what control they have they not only have an opportunity to be presented with new, interesting points of view, but also insight into other people.

Spooky compared the exquisite corpse and other similar methods of creation with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein—as accurate as any comparison could be in two senses. Firstly, in the literal sense, it really is sort of a mismatched and vague representation of a story-isn thing, which is beautiful in its own right. It is also a figurative compilation of numerous consciousnesses, opinions, experiences, and interpretations. A “living” thing,” according to Spooky, as “‘text’ is never inanimate”—an entity of sorts built up from the minds of five independently thinking people.

While writing these blurbs, I felt that I was building up part of a community.  As a collective we have our own personal beliefs and experiences, but then putting it together is like a realization of how we fit together as people.  In a community, when new people come in contact, lives are changed and a person has a choice to take different paths in their life.  This process is similar to when a character beat is formed within story.  Now within this exercise, it as if we are introducing the characters developed in the stories to a new person, who has their own perspective and experience to change the life of this character forever.  Mimicking this natural process allows the story and characters develop more naturally.  Just as we do, the characters have the opportunity to be influenced by the introduction of new ideas.   Then the community grows the with the development of new characters and the introduction to new ideas to each of us as creators.  

For Colombian Music

Music Mosaic

            I’ve based this series of water color paintings on the song, “Los Musicos” by Juan Carlos Quintero, from Colombia.  In these images I wanted to explore the interaction of instruments and their different sounds through line, color and form.  When creating these water colors, I wanted portray a warm feeling, because the sound of the Spanish guitar, drums and rain stick transport me to the beautiful jungles in Colombia.  I also wanted to portray movement, because in Colombian culture, music is closely linked with dancing. 

            In “Los Musicos” there are many layers of instruments that create the sound of the piece and throughout the song different instruments take their turn coming to the front of the music.  Therefore in my paintings I wanted to feature the sound of the rain stick, the guitar, the drums, and the small instruments like the chimes and triangle.  For the representation of the rain stick, I used blue dots.  While with the remaining instruments, I used curved and straight lines to show consistent rhythm it gave off, or the movement of the sound that feels free of a steady composition. 

            For the background of each painting, I wanted to represent either the constant movement of the piece with movement in the paint as well as the layers of sound with the layering of color.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZlwXlFouPM

For Mona Lisa Smile

Thinking and Writing

In 1952, Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) is hired as the new professor at Wellesley College, a conservative women’s college.  However, her views of art and women’s education are far from conservative.  As an independent and unmarried woman, working to get a graduate degree, she presents a fresh view on life to her students, who are brilliant and open to learning.  Mona Lisa Smile, a film made in 2003, features Katherine as a character that represents the increase of women seeking higher education in 2000.  Though the premise of this film is to focus on a progressive woman in society, supporting characters represent the conservative values of the time.  It seems as though all odds are against her, as it seems for women seeking a degree in 2000.

            The film begins with strong image of empowered women: the halls of the college filled with young girls dedicated to learning and the role of president filled by an esteemed woman.  Then when Katherine walks into her classroom the first day, her students have read and memorized her entire syllabus.  However, as the story progresses, we find that these students aren’t as dedicated to their education as initially represented.  Several of the girls get married and their progression stops there.  These representations undermine the potential of the modern woman who works for equality.  Katherine faces this issue directly in one of her class lectures, but her argument receives a weak response from one of her students, Joan Brandwyn (Julia Styles), who expresses that she has the desire to have a family and does not want to miss out on that experience, after Katherine proposes to Joan that she can still study at a nearby university while her husband attends school as well.  Katherine expresses her vision of her student’s potential, but this is something not as important to her, nor the majority of her students. 

However, the years leading up to 2000, there had been a steady decline of the percent of mothers who do not work outside of the home.  In fact, that was the year that it met a record low, since 1967.  It almost seems meaningless how this is brought up as an argument against feminism since it has been a pattern developing among women for several decades.     

            The underlying theme of infidelity in marriage shows itself as supportive reasoning for a woman to work towards independence with an education and the only way a woman can break free of the traditional family life dream.  Clearly, when a man is able to work for the family, it is his duty to do so.  In the setting of the 1950s, this works, because after World War II, the economy in the United States was flourishing and the need for two providers for a family was not present.  By contrast, making a statement about infidelity as a scapegoat from a traditional family in order for a woman to have independence and further her education reveals that the traditional family limits a woman from having personal aspirations.  Additionally it shows that only a negative force is what gives a woman the opportunity to further her education.

            Though the story of Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst) serves as an expose of the affairs business men have when they are away at work, not only is it a generalization, but when Katherine begins her affair with Bill Dunbar (Dominic West), the Italian professor, it shows that women are just as guilty for getting involved with their co-workers.  It is as if marriage and the workplace just do not mix.   Such a conclusion oversimplifies the issue and unfairly represents women who wish to have a family as much as she has the desire to have a career and an education. 

            Mona Lisa Smile presents an interesting commentary about women’s rights to get an education, however presents the notion as though it is an unpopular choice in society.  During the 2 hours the film runs, an audience witnesses a cast made up of several well-known female actresses, meant to portray a powerful message about feminism and the power of women.  This message is difficult to see clearly, not only because the director and writer are both men composing their view on the topic, but also because the themes in the film are weak arguments presented surrounding the idea.  Having a family and infidelity surely are not the inhibiting factors for a woman to accomplish her potential in the workplace while still having an influence in her own home.