So my project pretty much kicks ass

I just wrote my artist statement, I am not quite sure it is what an artist statement should but, but it makes me happy. I hate going to museums and the artist statement is so undescriptive that it doesn't give me any hints to what the artist was thinking. I will be looking at a painting, seeing something odd, wondering what the artist was thinking, beccause I think that is what is most interesting. What was going on in the artist head that made him or her do what they did. But in museums most artist statements just give us the title, artist, materials and where it was created. I mean if you give me a blank canvass, with a blue square on it, that's fine, but please at least give me hints as to what you were going for! And I get that everyone is suppose to interpret it as they will. But I want to do that, and then know what the artist intended on doing. Also all art should have a title, if you put the time and energy into creating something. Have the decency to give it a name!

So now I am listening to Ani Difranco and channeling all of the awesome energy in knowing that my project is DONE. And all that stands behi

nd me and the end of this semester is finishing another paper....but that is doing nothing for me and my energy. I hope that I continue to take pictures next semester. I am afraid that with out assignments, or goals or some one to sit down and say "here, look at what I did" I won't get much use out of my camera. But then again I make all my housemates sit down and have "kristen photo time." 

Ani Difranco

I fight with love

and laugh with rage.

You've got to live light enough

to see the humor

And long enough to see some change 

:-)

Side story about cons: 

So ya actually out of my eight friends at stonehill (ya 8 pretty much sums it up) Out of me and my 3 closest friends, three of use wear cons. Which is really funny considering we always make fun of packs of girls who all wear Ugs. But its ok we have decided that 

cons > Ugs

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY

So in this hectic time of year the only time I could get myself, in conjunction with my two friends to the T was sunday. And it just so happened that mother nature was not too happy sunday. I think what we got at least a foot of snow to add to the foot that happened a few days earlier. But of course that didn't stop us. So we cleaned off the foot of wet snow from my car as it was sleeting on us. It took us about 5 minutes to get out of the spot because despite what you may have heard my pontiac red grand am is not exactly an off road vehicle. (the red color, despite the cool points does NOT help in the snow.) But we made it to the Quincy Adams t-station. And actually the intense "wintery mix" happening outside probably helped because there weren't many people on the T. (but don't worry the people were there did stare at us wondering what in the world we were doing....but that's nothing new for us.) So we rode the t up and down for like and hour and a half, and magically I shot three rolls of film. It was freezing, it was windy, it was wet. But it is SO all for the art. :-)

life is insane

i'm at work right now


and all i can think about is how i am going to possibly do a ten page final, an eight page final and my photo project


i will be so happy when this semester is over

Oh I forgot.....

These are the lyrics that sort of inspired my final project/political statement


Shameless - Ani Difranco

i cannot name this
i cannot explain this
and i really don't want to
just call me shameless
i can't even slow this down
let alone stop this
and i keep looking around
but i cannot top this

if i had any sense
i guess i'd fear this
i guess i'd keep it down
so no one would hear this
i guess i'd shut my mouth
and rethink a minute
but i can't shut it now
'cuz there's something in it

we're in a room without a door
and i am sure without a doubt
they're gonna wanna know
how we got in here
and they're gonna wanna know
how we plan to get out
we better have a good explanation
for all the fun that we had
'cuz they are coming for us, baby
they are going to be mad
they are going to be mad at us

this is my skeleton
this is the skin it's in
that is, according to light
and gravity
i'll take off my disguise
the mask you met me in
'cuz i got something
for you to see
just gimme your skeleton
give me the skin it's in
yeah baby, this is you
according to me
i never avert my eyes
i never compromise
so nevermind
the poetry

we're in a room without a door...

i gotta cover my butt 'cuz i covet
another man's wife
i got to divide my emotions
between wrong and right
then i get to see how close i can get to it
without giving in
then i get to rub up against it
till i break the skin
rub up against it
till i break the skin

they're gonna be mad at us
they're gonna be mad at me and you
yeah, they're gonna be mad at us
and all the things we wanna do
they're gonna be mad at us
they're gonna be mad at me and you
they're gonna be mad at us
and all the things we want to do

just please don't name this
please don't explain this
just blame it all on me
say i was shameless
say i couldn't slow it down
let alone stop it
and say you just hung around
'cuz you couldn't top it

art + politics = AWESOME

"An ad designed by Canadian agency Émergence and originally used in Quebec is causing an uproar in Italy. The ad (pictured at right) shows a baby with a hospital bracelet reading "homosexual." The regional government in Tuscany has recently put the ad up on billboards in a region-wide campaign to end homophobia.

The ad has sparked criticism from the conservative community and the LGBT community, with some arguing that it may communicate that homosexuality is a disease. One thing is certain - Émergence has stirred public interest, and it's not the first time. "






I like this. I like things that push people's buttons. I think that art and music should push boundaries. Because if it doesn't than what is it, a nice landscape, a nice love song. But what is the point? Art should make the audience have a reaction, good/bad, anger/joy. Love it all, just don't bore me.

final project time

This final project has become quite the process. First I just wanted to tell a story a story about a boy and a story about a girl. Then my actor weren't copoperating so I had to alter that. But then I was thinking to myself, what art, what music what ANYTHING do you like best? My favorite music, favorite art, favorite freaking TSHIRT is connected to politics in some way. So I thought that I might as well make a statement with my own art. When the boy part of the boy meets girl story line didn't materialize my friend jokingly said, why don't you use two girls. And I thought, huh that would be quite the twist. And the rest sort of just materialized from there. My final is still going to tell a love story. Full of what most love stories have, the meeting, love, doubt and love conquering all. But with a purpose. It will be a statment about all love, gay or straight. And the beauty of every kind of love. I also decided, to add to my statement, I needed a song. What better artist to include in my statement but ANI DIFRANCO.


Side track on Ani D. She is basically my hero in not so many words. In the early 90s she was offered a sell-out big corporate contract. She rejected that and started her own called "Righteous Babe Records." Beyond that she has been a large part of the women's rights movement here as well as the human rights movement abroad. Plus her lyrics kick ass and take names when it comes to FEMINISM, Civil Liberties, GLBT Rights and basically liberalism in general. Ok enough of the Ani rant.


So I think that I am either going to include lines of the song "Shameless" with the photos, or just be playing it. Or both.



I just hope no one takes extreme offense to my work. Or to be blunt just sees it as like "hot lesbian action." Actually I would be with someone taking offense to it, just as long as they don't disrespect it. Whatever I am probably just some crazy bleeding heart liberal trying to save the world. anyways. lol

Lee Friedlander; The Narcisist

So I was browsing some of the photo books on the third floor. I really liked looking at the photos from earlier in the 20th century. I think mainly because right here and now we don't get to be in that moment. I like the photos capture a specific moment in time that most likley will never happen again. Even when I look back at my own digital photos from a year ago the appeal is capturing the moment and the feelings that that event creates. So I really like looking at old photos where the setting looks different and the people are strange and unlike people are today. Last year I think it was at the MOMA or some museum they had an exhibit of the very earliest photography from the mid-1800s and I loved looking at the people. It was kind of morbid, but to think that they are long dead and dust in the ground it was intesting to see that moment captured forever in time.

BUT anyways the photograhper's work that I choose to pick one picture was Lee Friedlander. The book I found of his was entirley of self portraits. So basically it was a book of himself, most of the time his head, or his shadow in conjunction with the rest of the scene. As I was flipping through the book I really couldn't help but laughing. Not that the pictures were particularly funny, or that this was a particularly funny man, it was just that this guy loved himself so much that he had to put himself in 50 plus photos. I get, self photography, by definition is a portrait of the photographer. But the majority of the photos was either his shadow intruding onto the otherwise seperate landscape/narration of the photo or it was his body, or just his head sort of randomly placed in the scene. And for some reason I just found that extremly funny. So since there are so many, and most of them whether I like them or not made me smile I decided to pick two, one I think works as a self portrait and one I think does not.

This photo in particular, while I think that some of his shadow pictures really worked, I really really just dislike. First of all, I am just going to say this is werid. Plain weird. I don't like how his shadow is on the woman's back. I think it looks creepy, and not in a good way because most of the time I am all for edgy creepy shadows. But for me this just doesn't work. I really like the idea, of the mystery and "why is he behind her, what's he going to do?" But I don't like how his shadow merges with her body. It creates a werid overlap that I don't think is visually pleasing (not that all photos have to be visually pleasing) but in this particular instance it just doesn't work. Other than that I love city photograph, and I love the street and the buildings and the noise of it all. I just can't stand his shadow on her back.

This photo, which was taken in 1969 I think really works. I like how it is almost two different photos. The line of the mirror divides the frame into two different equally important pieces. On one side you have Friedlander. Who is obviosuly taking the picture that we are looking at. What is intesting is that you usually can't see the photographer at the moment he is taking the picture. So I really like this dual frame thing he has going on. I also really like how his face is mostly covered by his hand and the camera. I think this combinded with the outline of the car behind him creates a really visually pleasing shot. On the other side of the frame you have a completley differnt scene of what seems to be a parking lot and some sort of religious/patriotic thing. It creates a totally different feeling than that of the other side of the frame. First of all it is much farther away than the left side. There are no people and it acts much like a landscape. I just think that over all the constrast of the two sides makes for a very intesting photo. One that would definatley catch the audience's eye. Beyond this It is just much more visually pleasing that the first photo, which I still despise.

But beyond liking or disliking a photo, the entire book together still makes me laugh. Some of the photos are just so ridiculous you ask your self WHY in the world did he do that. So I including some of the more ridiculous ones.

I wonder how this one wouldn't make people laugh. It is so ridiculous.

I really like this one too. It makes me feel like I am in a movie scene.

Ugh. Just like the first I can't stand this one. I don't like the overlap of the head and the trophy. I don't think it is visually pleasing at all.