Project 4: Embody the Myth

Assignment

Project 4

Embody the Myth:

The goal of this most independent project was to fashion a personal update of a favorite myth.  It started in Seminar with the definitions of Myth as a point of reference and possible return. Does the term Myth suggest truth or falsehood? Is it ancient, urban or other?  Can it be all these things at once?

Students transformed experiences of research individually or collaboratively, locating their myth’s roots in space, memory, culture, and then re-interpreted/re-imagined it in another time, past, present and/or future.

In Studio the advantages/correlations between certain physical, symbolic shapes/materials and cultural narratives were considered.

Research in the field, online, in traditional centers and via processes focused on content and form as well as historical and personal transcription, incorporating 2-D, 3-D and 4-D strategies in relevant combinations. Different materials, methods and associations were left open, but at least two dimensions were required for the final exhibition.

Final Piece

Process

I am excited to begin work on this project. This will be my first real painting for Studio, and only my second at Parsons. I plan to paint a chimpanzee looking at his drowning reflection in a pond, and the reflection will be a human (a self portrait). This is a retelling of Narcissus to embody the idea of narcissism as the root of anthropocentrism. This is a timeline I have created for this week. I had originally wanted to go to the Bronx Zoo before tomorrow’s class, but I had a bomber jacket due for Space and Materiality yesterday (my first garment!) and so my weekend was packed. I still plan to go this week, as Even though the sketch and first layers of the painting will be done, observing the apes will still be relevant. It is more of a mental thing for me, as the visual component can be referenced just as well from the Internet. I also had a chance to see many Narcissus flowers, as they have recently been planted around NYC for the Spring. I did not know that Daffodils are the Narcissus flower until I began researching for this project, and I am pretty certain I want to make a simple, conceptual sculpture for the second component of this project. I am also excited to create the narrative for Seminar. The gist of what I am thinking so far is: an ugly ape sees his beautiful reflection in a pond and stares at it until it drowns; he then wastes away and the Garden of Eden springs up in his place.

Some Narcissus flowers I observed on Columbia’s campus

 

I found the Useless Machines exhibition at the Bronx Museum of Arts rather underwhelming actually. Most of the machines, though they were “useless” did have some sort of intended function or at least kineticism, but most of the machines were not even functioning as intended. Also, the lighting of the exhibit felt poorly done, as everything seemed to be rather consistently lit, not allowing for the machines that light up themselves to have any impact on the viewer. Beyond realizing that lighting will play an important role in displaying my final project, the visit to the Bronx Museum did have one other takeaway for me. The pieces that Breck, River, and I gravitated towards were the interactive surveillance ones by Peter Campus (pictured above) that let us stand in front of the camera and see our images on the screens. This is a form of Narcissism, as we find the image of our selves to be at least more entertaining and engaging, if not more pleasing.

I also got a chance to visit the Bronx Zoo over the weekend. This was more directly relevant, as I got to observe great apes. Though they are gorillas and I plan to paint a chimpanzee for my painting, observing how their musculature and mannerisms both reflect and differ from those of humans’ will be helpful with this painting. Further, I found it interesting that the gorillas did not seem very interested in us, but when Breck put on an “Our Planet” scene featuring wild gorillas and placed it in front of the glass, the gorilla seemed very interested and fond of watching the documentary. This again shows a fascination with ones own species, reminiscent of a form of Narcissism.

  

Here are a couple of sketches I did to sort out the composition. It is based off of Caravaggio’s take on the myth of Narcissus. I eventually decided to break the cyclical metaphor that is so blatant in Caravaggio’s composition, as I think Narcissism, or Anthropocentrism, will have an end — a catastrophic one at that.

This is where I’m at right now. There is a lot of work left but I feel like I am making good progress. I plan to paint through most of the night. So, tomorrow, I plan to have most of it done, save some final touches.

For my second component to accompany my painting, “Anthropocentrissus,” I decided to use autosexuality for a metaphor for extreme Narcissism. I wanted to take a risk and to literally project myself onto the piece, as I know that I, unfortunately, am a component contributing to Anthropocentrism. I also liked that my second component quite literally “embodied the myth.”

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