Senior Seminar Ideas

Hello beautiful people,

For my Senior Seminar project this year I plan to challenge myself and explore topics relating to human interaction and the essence presented in living forms.

 I am very interested in the characteristics of living things. What constitutes as a living thing? Are there any characteristics that extend beyond that, such as an aura? I started to delve further into what an aura actually is and I came across bioelectromagnetism which is the study of the interaction between electromagnetic fields and biological entities. I found this to be very intriguing and I wondered if every action people do is impacted or translated, even in the most diminutive way, to our outer natural living environment. I had the idea to create an environment where the viewer felt intimacy in a space but could also interact with certain elements within it.

I also wanted to explore interactions and similarities between humans and plants. I have come across many studies that indicate that plants share the same characteristics as humans. There is science to back up that plants have their own communities, they help each other in dangerous situations, they fight for territory, and they can even feel human presence. Wait, do plants have a mind of their own? Do plants have an energy presented in them too? How can people interact with plants? Just the thought of plants doing something else, besides growing, opened my eyes to the abilities our environment presents to people, and we do not even realize it.

An artist with a similar idea captivated me; her name is Kate MacDowell. She creates porcelain sculptures of natural elementsR merged together with people. She likes to take body parts and transform them to where they are a part of nature.
http://www.katemacdowell.com/

 

 

 

 

Another sculpture artist has a similar concept too behind his work. Willy Verginer is a wood sculptor who works with the whole human figure, and creates gestures and certain connotations through body language. He also adds surreal, natural elements to certain body parts showing a deeper meaning.
http://www.verginer.com/eng/index.php

 

Lastly, I wanted to do a topic that was very close and personal to me. I have always drawn to the idea of people having an aura. I believe it is because when I witnessed my mom passing on I saw something beyond her decaying, lifeless body. At the brink of her death she was struggling to breathe, every bone could be seen, her eyes were shriveled, her skin was green and dry, and I felt like if I touched her she would crumble. But as I was sitting next to her, I witnessed a very tiny smile that took all of her energy to fall upon her face. Immediately, I was overwhelmed with this giant flow of energy passing through my body. Minutes later she was officially dead, her body cold, purple and her energy completely gone. I want to be able to share the beauty of witnessing something so phenomenal. How can I give someone this experience? I want them to contemplate about where this energy goes. Is it transferred from person to person? If so is it in small increments or in one life changing event?

I have all of these good ideas and the direction I want to lean towards, but I am having trouble with creating an intimate, phenomenal experience with the viewer. I want the audience to interact or become part of the art.

 One artist I have found very inspiring is Swoon, she does wheat paste street art and is interested in the interactions between people along with their background stories. She has a very raw style that emphasizes lines and she likes to incorperate delicate patterns too.
http://shop.swooninprint.com/

Here are my sketches for my ideas behind my project.
My brain is still scattered. I know
I want to either merge these ideas into a simpler form or narrow them down. I would really like some feedback on this.

 

Bye beautiful people!!!!!!!!!!!