Ahhh we meet again, time to blog away. This week has been good. I really am enjoying art school, it has been both challenging and great fun. Once again Contextual Studies has had me going 'Huh??' and 'Ohhhhh, now I understand' So at the same time it has been a hard thing to get my head around and simple at the same time, well some things I understand and some things I dont. Beacause sometimes all I hear is big words, but some how Grant has a way of explaining it and making it all simpler and understantable. Then the little light bulb in my head goes 'ding'.
This week in the lecture we heard a sound work called Earthworks by a New Zealand artist, Phil Dadson. It was a work that involved 15 people from different places, they were asked to record their surroundings at the same moment. Then I started wondering what would have happened if one of them forgot to do it at the time they had to, and then did it like an hour later or something, would Phil Dadson notice?? Hmmm.
We then learnt about something called 'acoustic space' and watched a section from 'How Art Made The World' What we watched was about the Aboriginals way of telling stories, which brought together image, sound, movement and the body. It actually all reminded me of this show I went to see called 'Stomp' which is a unique combination of percussion, movement and comedy, they are coming to New Zealand. They are definatley worth the money. And now I have just remembered another group that I have seen called 'Blue Man Group' which is a trio of three anonoymous men dressed up in blue latex and black suits and play percussion instruments, they are completely mute and rely on sound to communicate.
Toward the end of the lesson we watched a short movie called 'O Tamaiti' I later researched and learnt that 'O Tamaiti' meant 'The Children'. And that is exactly what the short movie was about. The movie was rather sad and moving. It was about the life of a struggling Samoan family living in New Zealand, already they are out of their comfort zone or away from home. The film isnt about the struggles of the parents, but about the struggles and responsiblities of the children in the family. I found it very interesting how the director chose to not reaveal the faces of the adults or parents. Which showed to me that the adults were very anonymous and strangers to the children, the director was also probably trying to show the disconnection between the parents and the children. Through out the film the adults didnt do the usuall stereotypical roles we expect them to do, but the children were the ones doing it instead. Especially the oldest child, who barely even looked 10. He took on most of the parental responsibility, looked after his younger siblings, fed them, bathed them, etc. I also started to wonder why the movie was in black and white...I think it has something to do with time and making this movie look timeless. Somehow made the movie seem real and makes the audience realise that this just doesnt only happen in short films but it happens in society, which also deals with the representation of Samoan, Maori, Pacific etc. It was also ingriguing as to why the director chose not to have verbal communication. This probably shows that the children don't necissarily need verbal communication because this is just part of their everyday life. The only sounds heard was the sounds of everyday life. Sound was heightened and over exaggerated, this could mean that New Zealand was an unfamiliar place for them. But we could identify what was happening becasue of the sounds, if we were to close our eyes whilst watching this, our ears would be able to vaguely tell use what is happening.
Watch: Its brilliant.
Good Kerrie you have picked up on my previous suggestions without even reading them - are you some kind of psychic? Whatever, this is a strong entry that interweaves observation and reflection. Would Phil Dadson know? Probably not, but then I think his chosen participants would be on time. keep up the good work, grant
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