PLACES
Mt. Tam – My escape, my go to sunset spot, my favorite local view, where I was taken on my first real date with a boy
49 Rue du Four – Our apartment in Paris. I do not remember growing up here, but I have seen photos. We visit very often. Many family heirlooms have become permanent resident of this three bedroom 4th floor apartment in the center of Paris’ 6th arrondissement.
16 Mt. Alvernia Rd – My grandparents’ house in Massachusetts. I remember spending many Summers here when I was a young child. The Summer was too hot and too sleep comfortably but the AC Unit was too loud. My grandmother would help us make popsicles out of orange juice. There is a playground next door that I loved. I would sneak through the hedges that decided their back yard from the catholic school to which it belonged when the front gates had been locked for the Summer.
730 Santa Fe Ave – My home, where I grew up just outside of San Francisco. Despite my parents temporary separation this house has stayed this family’s most permanent of all our residences.
1809 Apex Avenue – The Garbutt House. Equally magical as it can seem haunting. I have spent quite some time living here with my boyfriend when I visit him in Los Angeles. He will be moving out of the mansion soon. I found heaven in the dustiest reaches of this concrete palace. I found heaven in Sam. I will never forget the fantastical romance movie Sam and I lived there together.
Bootsy Bellows – Where I met Sam.
Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley – The french school I attended though elementary and middle school.
Concord, MA – Where I attended boarding school through high school. Sometimes my memories from my time at Concord Academy feel like they’ve come from different people. I lived many experimental lives during my high school career. They have all lead me to where/who I am (solidly) today.
IDEAS
Choreograph a dance piece that can be performed identically in all spaces from varying moving angles and vantage points that when edited together showcases a fluid expression of movement that exists identically in varying environments. I am unsure what will inspire / serve as the base for this choreographic piece. I am envisioning a variety of ensembles in different fits and textures – they will all be monochromatic in a way (color) chosen to best contrast the scenery in which they exist.
- I could play with the idea of virtual self and projection in this project. How could I project myself into these places (pre-recorded dance, same choreo.) and how does that compare to me being there physically?
If I could draw or paint as well as I wish I could – or at all – I would do a series of self portraits in which I place large mirrors in each of these places and draw/paint my current self in each, regardless of the proximity to which I have found attachments to these places. Unfortunately, I cannot draw, nor can I paint, though I suppose I could try my best to do so. They would be more quickly executed (i.e. one sitting) pieces.
Aquire the means to take an “aura photograph” (google if unknown) in each place and do so. Perform deeper research into the meanings of aura photographs, what colors represent, etc… and develop a key to be paired with the final images, explaining the feelings picked up in my “aura” in each.
Stand in or in front of each of these places with the sign inviting passerby’s – though some locations may have very few – to draw and or paint on me (my body as the canvas… who is the artist here?) as they please, offering as a prompt, their response to each location. The final result will be portraits of myself shot in (even if painting occurred outside of) each location chosen once I have been completely covered by those who have stopped to cover me. Obviously certain locations will have higher foot traffic and thus be more ideal for this idea. Though the final project will be a series of still images, I would like to have, as an additional/accompanying piece, a time-lapse for each public demonstration (performance art?) to serve as a behind-the-scenes look at the series.
