Open Studio

More feedback to ponder at an open studio evening, where all grads, faculty and locals are invited to see what us grads are up to in our studios. I took the opportunity to set up all three large drawings so far and suspend them, also connecting them. Each drawing contains disconnected wires and it seemed they could all be strung together, so I used old typewriter ribbon to attach each one. It seems to work in a strange and dusty, impossible way. I like the idea of old wires still trying to hold together that can't quite connect or communicate.

Here are images during the daytime of the setup:

It was difficult to tell what the lighting would do after dark, and we soon found out that the fluorescents (big surprise) were a bit lacking. So we played with spots (I was sure I was going to set the tracing paper on fire, but just kept an eye on things) and found dramatic lighting to be much more suitable. It worked best as lit from the front and sort of underneath.

There was some decent feedback, but mostly I think that people were fascinated by the projection of typing hands inside the velvet accordion box. Most just wanted to know how it was working, and several liked the strange effect of projecting onto red velvet. Some even thought it was a bit creepy. One person had an interesting thought that there is something slightly humorous, perhaps deadpan (like the animation) about the suspended phone, but that is not found at all in the typewriter projection. So once again, what is it that I am trying to get at? Is there humor involved? Is it completely serious? I for one keep thinking it seems a bit morbid, but perhaps that is just me.

Still lots to figure out. More notes after a studio visit.