Samantha's RCA Process

I was really excited to create this short video clip. Integrating a variety of different sounds helped with the overall tone and mood. I wish I had gotten more poses and angles, but it was raining and the mask is very fragile, so that was not possible

If I were to move forward with this, I would definitely make more masks and capture more actions and angles.

Overall, I’m happy with how many different avenues I’ve explored. I wish I had had this mindset earlier in the process, because it has been so freeing.

I’m starting to view fashion in a very different light. I’m interested in exploring fashion from a more, “immersive” angle. I have been reading the V&A’s book on Alexander McQueen, and I think one of the many factors that made him so successful was the fact that his shows were such a sensory experience. For example, his Joan of Arc (1998) collection included moving lights, fire, and music. A lot of his work was a performance. I think including these aspects would make my personal practice evolve and engage more viewers.

Today I started re-collaging over one of the original masks that I didn’t care for at the beginning of my process.

I really regret to say that I threw the scraps of the other mask away after I used it in my attempts at digital collage.

But… today I was thinking about the piece I had seen at the Tate Modern by Romare Bearden and how he has influenced my work. On my digital croquis I was playing with scale (like he and Nick Cave do) and color. I thought it may be interesting to take some of these elements back to the 3D realm. I started collaging over my mask with very loud colors, and it definitely created more visual intrigue.

As I was ripping up my papers, I was thinking about how Bearden took his reality (as a black man living through the Civil Rights Movement), and used collages as a method to re-imagine how life could actually be and communicate his reality or story.

I was listening to the sound of the paper ripping.

I was thinking about Olafur Eliasson’s immersive exhibition that I had seen (how he utilizes all of the senses).

And this idea that media bombardment is not just a thing you look at, it’s a space you’re in. It’s where we live, how we live, it’s what we smell, what we see, and in a way it is part of who we are and how we live.

And this all culminated with the idea of creating a short clip of a person ripping the mask off themselves. It is kind of symbolic in a way of somebody freeing themselves from this media bombardment. In my group we talked a lot about what our, “resolution” is and we decided that we wanted to promote this idea of critical thinking when the public is viewing advertisements.

So I think in the video I want to have my model pick up a newspaper after she rips it off her face, and she will read the newspaper and look content and less serious because she will have this newfound knowledge.

This way, the video clip is me using my materials and my subject to re-imagine how people could live and be. (perhaps my model will relax and slouch a little when she is reading the paper).

Note to self: think about the how the audio will change at this point in the video.

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I’m still exploring the idea of identity and media bombardment as I create collages. I’m liking them and also regretting having torn apart and trashed my original masks.

This whole assignment is giving me crippling anxiety. I am such a craft/product person, and it is very foreign for me to spend so much time researching. I have found the time valuable, as I have researched so many different artists and concepts, but not being able to quantify all of my work with a well-made product is driving me crazy.

I do, however, feel like my visual research skills have developed immensely.

Here are some pieces I’ve made. I don’t know how, “realistic” they are, but I think they address my concepts in a more figurative way than the original masks did. I also think there is more room for interpretation (which could be good or bad).

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