Happy Hour

This is my take on an experimental video - whether it actually is "experimental" is another question. As I have stated before, I've always enjoyed documenting things that go on around me, so I chose to integrate this aspect into my video. I decided to focus on the idea of "Happy Hour" because I think it symbolizes a break from this "age of anxiety" that McLuhan speaks of. It is a moment that allows us to interrupt our schedules and abandon our worries. More or less we join others for a good time and forget about our homework due the next day. Shooting this video reminded me of McLuhan's thoughts on our new world of technology, "Ours is a brand-new world of all-at-once-ness. 'Time' has ceased, 'space' has vanished. We now live in a global village...a simultaneous happening. We are back in acoustic space. [...] We have had to shift our stress of attention from action to reaction."  While I am documenting the actions and decisions of others around me, I am also partaking in them by choosing what to shoot/focus on, and thus I am really just reacting to it all. Through media (video) everyday movements and actions are turned into forms of art - and simply just reactions.

Extensions, The Medium is the Massage, McLuhan.

(The blog is an extension of the _________ )

 

Auguste Rodin - Filmed Sculpting in his Studio 

How cool are these!? I've always loved imagining the artist making his artwork. Now I don't even have to use my imagination! Here are a couple snippets of artists at work (not sure how real or staged these are, but still pretty cool).

 

Claude Monet - Filmed Painting Outdoors

I originally found these videos here.  

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Introduction

I tend to stumble on what to say about myself in these sort of assignments. I don't think I have grown enough as an artist to really know who I am or what I would want to say as one. But I will try.

Colosseum, Rome, Italy, 2014

My name is Chloe. I am currently a senior studying psychology and studio art at Lawrence University. I am half Italian, half American. 
I grew up in Rome and speak the language fluently; however, since moving to the States for college I have felt a great detachment from my Italian identity. I think, at times, I portray this loss in my artwork (especially in photography).

I take a lot of pictures of these two:

I have a fascination with documenting life around me. I take what some may consider way too many photographs with my iPhone. I want to be able to have a physical record of everything, basically. If I don't have my phone on me I will immediately regret it, not because I can't text or call or facebook, but because I can't photograph things. (*side note: my phone is currently in a ziplock bag of rice because it's waterlogged, so you can probably imagine how I am feeling rn.) I feel like many of you can probably relate to this, since we live in a time when documenting our daily (mostly mundane) routine and then posting it all over social media is pretty normal. On the other hand, some of you may really not agree with this kind of documentation because it can take away from the actual moments you're in. I don't know. Anyway, what may be different from some others is that I really, really value these tiny photographs. I don't delete them easily because keeping memories with me makes me feel a little more whole. All in all, I think that partly losing this chunk of who I am has really urged me to try my best to keep hold of what I still do have. Does that sound corny? It probably does.

Cardinal perched on a snowy tree, 2013

 So, I really enjoy photographing (both digital slr and darkroom) and I feel like it's a meditative form of expression. Sometimes I take photographs to remember, sometimes I take them to express a feeling, but most of the time I stumble upon things I see beauty in and want to capture them. As someone who tends to be hyper-aware of (and easily distracted by) everything, photographing really focuses me in on things occurring around me and makes me feel a little less scattered and a little more connected.

 I could probably say a lot more about what art means to me, but I find it difficult to formulate what I want to say through it. Mostly, I photograph to convey what I see and hope to elicit a certain feel. I think/hope that the photographs can do the rest of the talking. Another corny ending to a paragraph!

Dall'Alto, Winter Light, January 2015

Prologue

I think writing a blog is pretty much like keeping a diary, and I must admit that I've never been quite good at that. I don't always find it easy to express myself through written or spoken word. It isn't because I don't think I can write well, no. It mostly has to do with the fact that I incessantly edit my sentence structure and word choice. I re-read every word until it loses its meaning, and then I'm stuck trying to find a better word that can more accurately capture the "actual" sentiment I am trying to convey. I mean, let's take this post as an example. I think I've written about 8 drafts of it now. But I keep erasing, changing things around, and then getting sick of it all and starting over again. THUS, I HAVE DECIDED TO WRITE IN A STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS, just as dear Virginia Woolf once did. If you see a grammatical error, too bad. This is my brain rambling and my fingers aren't going to stop and my eyes will not look back at previous sentences, otherwise there will be no project 1 posting!

- CMS

I'll end this with a photograph I took a couple years ago of the most important beings in my life.