My name is Arianna, but some people will tell you it’s Arabella. People call me Eli because I tell them to. I was a Business Major going into this year, and came out of it a Fashion Design BFA student who wants to major in film so badly that she’s going to kill herself taking 21 credits for three semesters and 18 for the rest to double minor in it.
In looking back on my work (the work I’m proud of, at least), I find a major thematic tenet in it is the feminine experience; especially in relation to beauty, transgression, and sexuality. From my first studio project on body dysmorphia in which I made four masks showing an increasingly more distorted face from 100s of drawings I did, to an earlier studio project on body dysmorphia, to multiple later Space & Materiality projects on female sexuality and trauma, to my ultimate second semester Studio/Sem final paper and project about female monsters and the standards imposed upon women.
I also seem to be more partial to the color pink than I ever thought possible. I learned so much this year in school and out of it: how my work ethic was in serious need of reform, how to become a baby NYC club kid in two weeks or less, how to take photos and work in 3D in more mediums than I knew existed and use the entire adobe suite and cast plaster and make baskets and design a piece of clothing and what camp is and how to pose for pictures and write a screenplay and how much coke is too much for one night and work a laser cutter and model in 3D and code and learn from your insanely talented friends, and… yeah, you get the picture. I found my courses to be extremely cross-disciplinary because my brain forces them to be more than anything else (and because some classes had the same projects as others), I’m wired to make connections between things. I found myself able to work in countless new mediums from different classes and apply them to others, but I was disappointed by the actual academics or lack thereof, which I’ve since tried to reconcile with my own personal studies.
I’m very heavily influenced by theory and literature so I try to apply my reading and writing to my studio works as much as possible. My ADHD has really hindered my working process because I put off work until it’s too late to work to my full capacity, but with the help of medication and reflection on mistakes I am forcing myself into a better, way more productive era.
3. HIGHLIGHTS: Inhabitable Space Project “Under The Skirt”, Space & Materiality / Final Project+Paper “The Feral Woman”, Seminar/Studio 2
PLANNING: Intricate, detailed plans. Absolutely slapped, would only make technical changes. Started in advance. / Long-term ideas with no real planning, saved it for the last possible second. Happy with how it turned out but disappointed because I know it could have been better, and I wanted it to be.
OUTCOME: A bitchin’ 3D piece that I hope Louise Bourgeois would be proud of, see LP post linked above for all info and videos. Photos are in the gallery above but only video really does it justice. / Defining an archetype and designing/writing for a character I will definitely use in the future. Character design photos included above, script written for studio here. SOFIE SCENE (1)
THINKING: These two highlights represent my conceptual principles, aesthetic ideas, and were both projects that showed me I was capable of more than I thought I was. I have yet to be fully satisfied with a project in terms of knowing I did my absolute best, but we’ll get there.
4. CONCLUSION:
Hoping to majorly improve my craft in any and all of filmmaking, screenwriting, fashion design/styling, and performance. I apply everything I learn to each other regardless of whether it’s related and I’m constantly learning academically, but more than anything I need to and am forcing myself to work harder and more consistently so I can actually achieve what I want to.
