So this week we looked at work in our thesis groups and were asked to comment on two presentations. First, I really enjoyed what Steph showed that she had been working on. Her little toys that were comprised of sort of found objects mixed with anamatronic toys really highlights here use of mixed media and collage like video work. It is almost as if you can see her video work through her dolls because they are so similar i composition and technique.
I thought her ideas towards the presentation were also coming along nicely. She expressed interest with creating cabinets or cubbie holes to allow the viewer to explore a kindergarden like setting and encourage interactions with the objects. I raised the question to her though that there needs to be a clear definition of the line where playing and rearranging and even taking part these objects ends (if there even is a line that is). This is because the nature of the toys, being that they are fragile in nature and rather delicate seem like they could almost be interchangeable with the other toys presented and this may pose a problem when i comes to people interacting with them.
The next work we looked at was Alex's photos of her surfer friends. I really responded to the compositions of the close up photos and i thought that the texture of the faces and sand were easily the strong points of the pieces. One thing that was raised was how exactly she was going to show the connection between her photographs and the subject matter, which is looking at this close group of surfers and their culture. She expressed interest in incorporating drift wood, which I thought was an excellent idea for bridging that gap. This would provide us with so reference, all the while still being discreet when it comes to the subject matter.
