Thursday, October 16, 2014

Semior Seminar Final Plans for Project

Hello fantabulous people,

I settled on a topic for my senior seminar piece and it is "Passing"! What? "Passing" as in "death", but I did not choose "death" because it sounds way too depressing. I am interested in this for my topic, because of the experience I had with loosing my mom. (It's about to get sappy.) A handful of years ago, my mom's cervical cancer overtook her and she was left to rest in peace. It was not some quick event where she was gone in the blink of an eye. Her cancer dragged on for years and her deathbed awaited her for months. Leading up to the time she died, she was bony, her hair was frail, her skin was crusty, and her eyes were shriveled. All she was able to do was breathe. It was traumatizing to see the very person who gave you life, suffering and awaiting death. After her death I mourned for several years and today I still struggle with holding back tears. But as I have had time to process this detrimental event, I realized that I no longer wanted to see "death" as a negative, gory thing. Instead, I wanted to see "death" as an eye-opening, magical experience. After my mom's death I realized that there are more important things in life such as happiness and curiosity, and cherishing what you have. So for my thesis project, I plan to bring a new perspective to the viewers eyes, where they see "death" as a surreal and beautiful form.

Not only did I look into this topic from a personal standpoint, but also a cultural viewpoint. I looked at how different cultures interpreted death and if they viewed death as a beautiful departing of the soul. One culture that I was really fascinated by were the Ancient Egyptians. They called the essence of human life the "Ka" and they interpreted it as a hawk that departed the body when dead. They considered the departure of the "Ka" as what declared the death of a human being. The Ancient Egyptians were pretty spiffy.

So I was able to compile all of feelings, thoughts, research, and inspirations to come up with a sketch for what I want my project to look like.
The piece will take on it's own shape, where it is not painted on a canvas or any other rectangular surface. The figure will be arching and facing upwards and will have a bony, yet organic look to it to mimic the image I remember with my mom. Below the body will be wire and beaded details fizzling down to show the decay of the body. Above the figure will be the soul being drawn out and creating a new form for itself. Overall I want it to have light pastel colors and have a very delicate and organic feel to it.

I still am having trouble with pushing this sketch even further. I know I have the ability to step further outside the box, I am just having trouble on where to place my foot. Suggestions, feedback, and criticism are welcomed.

Alright, Bye Fantabulous People!