I used an iPhone camera to record a time lapse of my process. It ended up being much faster than I wanted, not allowing me to see the details or funny faces, so I slowed it down on iMovie, which created the stop-motion effect you can see in the video. The process I recorded is me doing my sisters’ hair. I am the oldest of eight children and have four little sisters, one who is fifteen, and then three who are close in age at the end, ages ten, seven, and five. Roxanna, the fifteen-year-old, prefers to not have her hair done at all, so I only insist on it occasionally. Becca, Lucy, and Hillary, however, are more willing to sit for me and we experiment with many different styles. I’ve been doing this for years so I know exactly who has the most sensitive head (Becca), who has the spunky personality for a messy bun rather than a ballerina bun (also Becca), who chooses an “Elsa braid” over “Anna braids” (still Becca), who needs the big elastics because her hair breaks the small ones (okay, that one’s Lucy), and who wants two buns so her hair is wavy the next day (that one’s Hillary).
The reading from Barney talks about contextualizing and engaging with art, not just observing and discussing it. Additionally, this chapter talked about authenticity and “art of its place and time.” In my piece, I took something that I do often, that is a big part of my life, and that is of its time and place. In the mornings, on this place on the couch, is where I usually sit and do their hair. There are different purposes to art. Some process pieces could be more instructional, showing how to do a task or create something. Mine could have been about how to do the hairstyles, but I chose to film it from a distance. My piece is meant to demonstrate a routine in my house, my relationship with my siblings, and to capture this moment of time in my life.
Barney also talks about art making as research. To bring this project to a theatre setting, and art as research for a theater setting, someone could study this video to learn more about how children move or sit or behave to prepare for a role as a child. Or they could take this piece and overlay a conversation on top of it to practice script writing. Or they could create a devised scene based on the events taking place or the characters in the video.
Students in a theatre class could create their own video of a process to instruct someone on how to build a set piece or prop, how to put on specific stage makeup, or how they analyze a script. Groups could use art as research by finding paintings or songs or essays that connect with a character in a play. They could use authentic art (art of its place and time) that they find around the building to create stories about the students of the school, or to use as a starting point of a devised piece.
I like your ideas on how what you did could be turned into a theatre assignment to record a process that could instruct someone else on how to do that thing. That and your thoughts on art as research I think are spot on. The wonder I had about your piece was what I said in class. What would've an audio clip done to your intention. You talked a lot about your relationship with your sisters and how you wanted to show that. What would've happened if it was an audio of you doing their hair? What would we have gained? What would we have lost?
ReplyDeleteAbbie, I love that your piece was so much more than a hair tutorial. It was something much more personal. Like Daniel said, it is interesting to consider what an audio piece would bring instead of visual. However, there is something sweet about the ritual of you doing your sisters' hair on that bench every Sunday; the physical action has meaning. It reminds me of Professor Jones' forum where she talked about the power of physical action and the physical connection we have with others. With the speed of the video, did you find you were able to fully capture what you wanted to capture, namely the interaction between you and your sisters?
ReplyDelete