5 Proposals

5 ideas, 5 projects, 5 experiences that I'd like to work on? Let's see...

I: Art Installation

I have always found it quite interesting when art explodes out of the canvas into our world. It is an experience within itself to fully explore an installation art piece, to spend some time in a world created by art. That idea might be a tad romantic, but it is very true. Take a look at the installation art around campus-the cube for heaven's sake. We've got intense participation in spinning the cube, the pedestrians feel connected to the art because they are able to interact, to participate, and observe directly with the cube. Installation art is a fascinating area that would be TONS of fun to work on. I'd love to work on an installation art piece within Bursley, outside of Bursley, or anywhere, really! And the installation doesn't have to be limited to just physical materials-soundscapes, performance art, or related performances can enhance the experience as a whole! It's an incredible artistic experience that would highlight creativity and collaboration!

II: Open Musical Performance

As a "classical" musician, I'm often dissappointed by the stigma that surrounds my art. It seems that people think the art is "above" them, that the music is only playable by the supremely gifted and the "special" among us. That is complete crap. Music, particularly western art music, has never been more open to anyone! If you bother to look, there is a tremendous amount there that can be played with, regardless of skill level! I want to propose a concert, but a special kind of concert, one where the performers aren't elevated to the level of gods. I want to create a collaborative piece that anyone can join in on at any time, and anyone can leave at any time. A specially creative jam session that is rooted in improvisation, but structured enough so that we won't make something that sounds "bad." I want to emphasize the fact that anyone can sing, hit the piano, and hit drums. We can have participation from everyone if they know what to do and feel comfortable doing it. When it becomes more about the music and less about the individual structured notes, we can have everyone involved and it will be fantastic musical and artistic experience.

III: Video Game Design

I'm the farthest thing from a "gamer" but I truly respect and admire the medium as an art form. That being said, I'm also aware that over half of the marketplace is filled with commercial games, games that aren't focused on artistic value, but instead upon making a profit. I propose we change that. With the variety of talents in Living Arts, it wouldn't be hard to program, write, design, compose, storyboard, and create a fantastic game. It would actively involve all of our members, since anyone can have valid ideas about anything related to the game. Plot points can be focused on just as much as the music, logistics of gameplay just as much as the programing code. I love the idea that we could create something that would really appeal to our age group that also had intense artistic value!

IV:Art Gallery 2.0

Taking an inspiration from darkroom, I'd like to create an art gallery that was more than an art gallery has ever been before. The focal point of the gallery would be the art itself, of course, but extra elements can enhance the experience as a whole. We can play with lighting, placement, sounds, pathways, and all of the other elements of the gallery itself. It would be interesting to design the space just as artistically as the art itself. With our artists, we've got art, with our musicians, we've got music, with our actors, we've got performance art, with our engineers, we've got design elements. We've got everything. The question would be, would the art still have precedence, or would the experience take over? Would everything blend together in a collective artistic chaos? Or would the works which inspired the space maintain their solitary power? Very interesting questions, we would just have to try to find out.

V:Multi-Media Movie

Along the same vein of the Art Gallery 2.0, what if we were to apply the same ideas to the movie-going experience. What if the soundtrack to a movie was live? What if you had to crawl through a space to get the next part of the movie? What if supplementary pieces of art filled the space- at one time distracting you, but at the same time adding to the experience as a whole. What if we had live actors come out at points? What if we took a storytelling element and used it as the way to connect across all of our individual disciplines? What if the story was non-linear, or heck, non-plot based? What if modern dance was the exposition, a movie the middle, and music the climax? What if we were to play with the form of this tradition-based experience and trick the audience into physically experiencing the movie. Woah. What if?

Wallet 3000

You want fashion? You want simplicity? You want a portable money holding device? Then meet your new best friend, the WALLET 3000: A series of fashionable but practical polka dots that can be attached to any fabric, anywhere! They store your money in a convenient pouch, while all the while looking too hip for words.

The Ramen Noodle Experience

     How might we improve the ramen noodle experience? We are both the advertisers and the consumers, in a way, so this should be easy, right? Right?

     My group's first concept when it came to the complete ramen noodle experience was the iphone app. The pinnacle of hip, cool, and functional, the iPhone marketplace seems like a great place to introduce the rebirth of ramen. It is frequented by those pesky college kids (our market audience) and is cheap and easy to use. We chose to model our app off of the handy Michigan App, available at the iTunes store for free. We liked the idea of a multipurpose app, with several features for everyone. Anyone can enjoy this engaging application. For the young and the young at heart, we have the ramen games! Play a variety of digital games including that college favorite, ramen pong! For the appreciators of the delicate and delicious taste of ramen, we have the cookbook option. The cookbook is full of a variety of wonderful ramen recipies, sure to brighten anyone's day. Finally we have the Ramen Truck function. Press a button, and the Ramen Truck begins to head your way. A modern day decendant of the ice cream truck, the Ramen Truck is the snack of choice for the coolest college kids. What's more, use the Ramen Truck function to track the Ramen Truck! Now there is no more waiting outside in the snow for that warm, delectable ramen. With the locator function, you know exactly where that Ramen truck is and can walk outside to greet the Ramen Man with a smile.

     The app is a wonderful idea to spread the good word of ramen noodles, but another marketing technique might be necessary. For this we have the Ramen Superhero movie. This cultural juggernaut of a movie is certainly to be the biggest box office success since the introduction of talkies. The plot focuses upon the quaint driver of the Ramen Truck, Ramen Man. Everyone love Ramen Man for giving them the wonderful gift of ramen, but little do they know that he is secretly the superhero RAMEN MAN! RAMEN MAN is the hero of all heroes, the savior of the world and of all time and space. He goes around helping anyone in need, aiding all that do good and all the while, he spreads the delicious word of ramen. This movie is unclassifiable by human genres. It promises to be a thriller, a romance, a superhero story, a rags-to-riches story, a romantic comedy, an action extravaganza, a pointed social commentary, a broadway musical, a political drama, a prominent work of historical fiction, and a comedy. Explosions are a prominent character in the film, often noted for their subtlety and romantic subtext.

     Our final proposal is perhaps the most useful to our corporate patrons. We plan to revamp contemporary airline food and replace it all with beautiful and steaming hot ramen. We want to associate the ugly art of flying food with the beautiful and fine art of ramen noodles. Soon, the frequent traveler will grow to love the greatest food in the world as much as we do. Let's replace all of that bad stigma associated with airline food! What's up with that?

Flight Artifact

 We were told to create something, anything. An artifact that had to do with flight. OK, great, flight. Kristen had said that she wanted to collaborate on a song, I thought it was a great idea. A straight ahead cheesy flying song, one part hilarity, one part parody, and one part guilty pleasure. Then in my english class, I stumbled upon the poem "The Windhover" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. It was a  gorgeous poem that had this enthralling quality about it. It was an ecstasy, an ecstatic declamation, a world of flight in this bird. Then I had the great idea. What if I were to read the poem aloud and have musicians spontaneously respond to me. Jack Kerouac did a similar thing and release three albums of this material. Great idea. Better yet when we got Rachel involved. Now we had saxophone and guitar, a strange pairing, but one that has a beautiful interaction. This recording was the first take. I wanted to make sure the musicians didn't fall into a pattern of regularity. They had the poem read to them once, then it was time to record. Not the best recording technology (garageband all the way!) but certainly good enough to see the intent.

This was a lot of fun to do, and explored some serious ideas that I'd love to delve into more. The idea of a spontaneously responding musician. The idea of ecstasy as it relates to flight. Vertigo. Falling. All these great musical and poetic ideas that can combine to make some of the most moving material. Is our piece the greatest? No, it is a little rough. But does it bring about some seriously intriguing topics? Yes it does.

 

 The Windhover

Voice: Corey Smith

Guitar: Kirsten Carey

Tenor Sax: Rachel Mazer

The Windhover

Gerard Manley Hopkins

 

To Christ our Lord

 To Christ our Lord This epigraph dedicated the poem to Jesus while echoing the Latin phrase, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, the Jesuit motto meaning “To the Greater Glory of God.”

I caught this morning morning's minionminion favorite, darling; also, an underling or servant, king-

    dom of daylight's dauphindauphin prince; a French historical term, along with “chevalier”, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding

    Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding

High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimplingwimpling rippling wing

In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,

    As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding

    Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding

Stirred for a bird, – the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!

Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here

    Buckle!Buckle! to bend, attach; prepare for flight or battle. The verb could be descriptive of the bird’s action, or it could be the speaker’s imperative. AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion

Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!chevalier French word for “knight” or “champion”; pronounced Chev-ah-leer, to rhyme with “here” and “dear”

     

   No wonder of it: shéer plódshéer plód slowly, laboriously, and without break; these accent marks, inserted by Hopkins, tell the reader to place more accent or emphasis on those syllables when reading aloud makes plough down sillionsillion Fresh soil upturned by a plow (“plough”)

Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dearah my dear Compare with the same phrase in the poem “Love (III)” by George Herbert, a poet Hopkins admired.,

    Fall, gallgall to become sore, crack, or chafe themselves, and gash gold-vermilionvermilion a vibrant scarlet color.