September 30, 2019

This week I decided to work again with video, attempting to get varying shots and to structure the video differently. I took a longer video of incense burning to allude to the passage of time, much like historical still lives. I articulated this shot with shots of me discarding ephemeral objects like receipts and packaging as well as leftover drinking water into a houseplant. These represent ways in which I attempt to maintain my space daily. A more quiet video intersected still with bits of anxiety, I think this video was successful in reflecting rituals of everyday, layering my need to slow down with my need to catch up. I also like how the video hints at historical subject matter while integrating contemporary consumer objects. While I don't find this video to be as exciting as the last, I like the direction that my work has expanded into.

I also took photographs this week. Taken in my own home, I wanted to go back to a sense of naturalism found in objects that were already there. Even if I do end up creating more composed/intervened with still lives, I think that taking these photographs was a great way to observe more closely the objects--both banal and strange--that I arrange/accumulate in my space.

I'm having a hard time getting into Henri Bergson's Matter and Memory, though I still think it is a relevant text for my research. I will continue to revise his text or perhaps, first, texts about his text.  I will also begin to research from the angle of consumerism, collection, and the impact that modern consumer culture has on the mind/home, as we determined that this is certainly a layer to my work. Additionally, I intend to spend some time looking at the works of other video artists.