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Concept Statement

Collaboration is the word most often associated with music in modern day society as the subjects of media, technology and celebrities are the sustenance which feed the general public in this fast paced, corporate world. The chance for someone to be distracted from their own life, job and dramas to be spectators of another person or cultures drama is far more interesting and, when combining two or more of these factors (Collaboration), the outcome is a greater reward. However, going back to basics, the general definition of collaboration expresses the combination of anything from people, cultures, objects and historic events which all combine to form a better result. Following this path, I delved into the basics of collaboration and back to the basics of human sustenance for survival: food.

My performance piece is a combination of multiple clips of myself consuming different food and drinks without any added visual or audio effects. Through editing I have emphasised certain sections of each clip where there is particular audio or visual occurrence to represent the collaboration between my body’s mouth and tastebuds to the food and drink. These sections are emphasised in order to exaggerate and increase the effect of my reaction to the food. I created these nine separate clips from nine separate instances of myself consuming food where I felt I would be impacted due to the specific and differing tastes, textures, level of energy it provided and the cultural background of the particular nourishment, which is a collaboration of different food in of itself. I seated myself in a corner of a room with a small black table as to provide no other distractions other than the simple action of myself consuming and reacting to the nutrition I had chosen to provide myself. The ideal presentation of my piece was to have these nine tiled clips of separate televisions with their respectful food and drink placed in front of them for the audience to consume which would provide an interactive experience to the audience in which they could experience the body to food collaboration, firsthand.

Beginning my thought process to collaboration, I initially decided upon the medium of performance in which to convey my concept and ideas. As a starting point I chose to google collaboration in an attempt to find a direction in which I could head towards. The most frequent result that popped up was related to music as it was during the famous MTV Video Music Awards and so I was directed to the award for Best Collaboration and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance as that was what enveloped collaboration in music. Inspired by these media examples for collaboration, I began to venture into creating my own performance which would loosely relate to Collaboration through the song choice and then further depict collaboration in a visual aspect with a music video; I would collaborate with objects, myself and possibly other people to create a representation of the audio. However, as I progressed with this idea, I became stuck in relating the collaboration of audio and video I would perform as a more developed concept.

So I delved into further research of performance art and found the artists Bruce Nauman and Andy Warhol and I discovered their method in which they used and collaborated with objects. From this new influence of performance art, I learnt the possibilities in which my piece could incorporate collaboration in objects through manipulation rather than the sole relationships between different audio and video to produce a greater product. As a result, I began my creation, inspired by Andy Warhol’s performance: Andy Warhol eating a hamburger and explored the concept of collaborating my body and its sense of taste and feel with food. Although I settled upon this idea, I still felt connected to my initial idea of music, and decided to place a certain emphasis upon the natural audio and video of my performance.

Altogether, in consuming food, I aimed to direct the audience’s attention to the collaboration between the body and food with the sense of taste. Through the willing collaboration of taste, there is a positive reaction and vice versa, demonstrated in the video and audio. As I progressed with my piece and research further into performance art with food and the act of consuming food, I began to also notice the collaboration behind the motive to eating particular things and I try to portray this within my emphasised, repeated clips.

Bibliography

Zhu Yu: China's Baby-Eating Shock Artist Goes Hyperreal. 2015. –

http://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/zhu-yu-china-s-baby-eating-shock-artist-goes-hyperreal/%0A

Mandatory Chaos: Andy Warhol Eats a Hamburger. 2015. –

http://mandatorychaos.blogspot.com.au/2009/08/andy-warhol-eats-hamburger.html

MTV Video Music Award for Best Collaboration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2015. –

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV_Video_Music_Award_for_Best_Collaboration

Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2015. –

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Pop_Duo/Group_Performance

Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2015. –

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Pop_Collaboration_with_Vocals

#cofa1002 #collaboration #assessment2final

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#collaboration #cofa1002 #Assessment2final

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After continuing to look further into performance pieces of just artists eating I came across this very sickening albeit unique artist. Zhu Yu is an artist in Beijing who is better known as a cannibal as he presents works of art alluding and also literally eating human beings. This simultaneously grossed me out and intrigued me as I had begun formulating the idea of eating as a collaboration between the body and food and this artists had made it a body and another body but not in a sexual way....EW RESOURCE http://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/zhu-yu-china-s-baby-eating-shock-artist-goes-hyperreal/%0A

#cofa1002 #collaboration #Assessment2Research

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Furthering my research on food and eating related performance art (trust me i’m not just doing this because i am hungry), I came across this piece which I found really powerful in its portrayal. The act of a forceful feeding is similar in representing the challenges of collaboration and beginning to delve into the similar theme of cooperation. 

I just found this interesting and helpful in my general creation of my concept statement. 

#cofa1002 #collaboration #assessment2research

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After witnessing Andy Warhol’s performance piece of himself eating a hamburger, I was intrigued by the idea of a performance consisting of food in which it could be a medium that may be interesting to use. TO realte it back to collaboration, I began to think about the many different perspectives in which food and actions associated with it could acheive collaboration. This included eating, tasting and manipulating food. 

In this experiment, I carried out very similar procedures to Andy Warhol’s piece in which I ate emotionlessly whilst trying to incorporate collaboration. I had done so bleakly through collaborating different foods: chips and sauce, oreos and milk, burgers and fries and coca cola and fries. Although this experiment began as a simple example, it gave me the idea of how taste could be collaborative to the human body which also ties into humans and desire in a similar way. 

This collaboration between the body and food may be displayed through where the combination of smaller parts; taste buds and food, could create a greater outcome of having delicious sustenance for a human body. This is inspiring me to go further with the idea of food and taste in collaboration. 

#collaboration #cofa1002 #experiment2

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In watching Bruce Nauman’s Manipulating the T-Bar I found a new inspiration in the ways of collaborating with objects in the medium of a performance art. Watching this video, I realised the simplicity of any form of movement, interaction and manipulation of an object simply could be a form of collaboration. Combining my research of Andy Warhol eating a hamburger I can see that I can also interact with these objects in unconventional ways or even begin an action/gesture without the intent to finish it to generate a form of collaboration with the object. 

I sped further through the video and realised he did not use the same audio for the video as from the video but from another recording. This gave me the idea of possibly doing the same process in which I collaborate audio and video but have them both as separate recordings - however still having both related to the sound of myself interacting/manipulating/collaborating with the objects. 

#cofa1002 #collaboration #assignment2research #Brucenauman #manipulatingthetbar

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I continued my research looking into performance art and was searching for inspiration as to how to perform my final work. In doing so I found Andy Warhol eating a hamburger. 

When I first found this and watched it I was furious and questioning everything that was going on. Obviously I shouldn’t have expected more but it was quite a shock to view a performance so... emotionless. However, as I watched the entire video I realised how brilliant this simple performance was and how it could really be portrayed in so many different ways. 

In relating it back to Collaboration, Warhol collaborates with the objects of the bag, serviettes and ketchup and also with the food - the hamburger and its components. His simple acts of interacting with them and doing so in such an emotionless fashion and also using them in almost the most unconventional way! 

(SPOILER) I mean I was SO confused and furious that he didn’t finish the burger, that he removed the bun only to place ketchup next to the burger AND he removed one bun just to fold the other bun and continue eating it as a smaller burger piece! (SPOILER)

These simple collaborations with objects and food, with which he used not necessarily conventionally and to produce such an abstract and vague effect without the use of any external sound was just amazing! It has really impacted on the direction I may want to head towards in order to convey collaboration. 

RESOURCE:

http://mandatorychaos.blogspot.com.au/2009/08/andy-warhol-eats-hamburger.html

#cofa1002 #collaboration #andywarhol #hamburger #assessment2research

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After returning to concept of Affect and Body Politics from week 3, I realised the strong community and use of collaboration in creating an artwork which addressed social issues and the politics and micro-politics in society. Without collaboration, these acts of rebellion and change would not be able to be heard and present a new path for society to evolve and transform into a greater outcome. 

This led me to search for controversial songs which were able to affect society through their use of collaboration in artists. I did not find a collaboration in artists but through the song: Another Brick In The Wall by Pink Floyd I found another form of collaboration. Behind their already obvious collective group against education, they created a music video portraying a collaboration of schoolkids to deliver the message of the poorly constructed and limiting education system. 

This video is very inspiring to my research as it provides an example of collaboration used within the video portrayal and strengthens my ideas on conveying a social issue in my artwork to delve into the collaboration of a social rebellion. 

#cofa1002 #collaboration #pinkfloyd #anotherbrickinthewall #affect and body politics

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Experiment 1 - Editing two of me

So in the attempt of learning more about video editing in creating a better video, I learnt how to produce a video where two of me are present. I’m aiming to utilise this effect with a much greater quantity of me to make a ‘collaboration of multiple selves’. In ding so I’m attempting to create a solution to the challenge of cooperation in collaboration. By making all separate parts me, I can create something where the agenda of each individual is the same and the outcome is the same. However, I do realise whilst this benefits in producing an outcome, it also limits the pathways I can acheive. I’ve thought about this and will be attempting to collaborate with objects, materials, people and maybe even animals. 

SO this is me lip syncing to See you again by Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa. It’s pretty bad lip syncing and you can sort of clearly see where I have two separate clips together. But It was a good first attempt which I can improve on and hopefully incorporate in my final work. And yes i don’t know some of the words LOL. 

(Sorry for bad quality)

#cofa1002 #collaboration #seeyouagain #lipsync

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Collaboration within Music

In researching the possibilities to showcase collaboration in music I was captured by the recent VMAs through the great deal of controversy that occurred in the event. (Kanyeforpresident!)

After doing some further research I discovered the category of Best Collaboration in which I was intrigued as to what songs would be the nominees and the winners of such an award. I was further interested as I searched up the Grammys for their own interpretation of the award and found they no longer had a set ‘collaboration’ category but an all encompassing one: “ Best Pop Duo/Group Performance”. 

This was very interesting within my research as it provided a number songs which directly related to collaboration and their respective performances allowed for inspiration in ways of portraying collaboration - in combining both audio and a physical representation. 

#COFA1002 #Assessment2Research #kanyeforpresident #collaboration

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When I realised the 2nd assessment did not have a specified medium I was ecstatic as I really wanted to present some form of performance piece! 

SO searching for collaborative performances I went to one of my current favourite youtube artists and looked at her collaborations in song covers. This interested me as songs sung as covers already portray a different articulation to the original but when two people combine to cover a song, the outcome can be as amazing as this^!

Although it is just a starting idea, I do believe i could somehow incorporate a piece of audio in my performance art where there is a collaboration of singing or even in instrumental such as the art form of acapella!

#collaboration #acapella #Assessment2research

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Concept Statement

Collaboration has always been defined as a progressive method in producing an artwork. As individuals come together to develop their ideas, smaller segments can join to become a whole entity with a stronger meaning and purpose. However, my poster explores the capabilities of both collaboration and the challenge it may face through miscommunication between the segments. These challenges connected with this development through sharing, delves into the twofold nature of beings, that I was influenced through the anthropology theorist, Martin Buber. This double sided perspective was also influenced by the artist Marina Ambromovic whose exhibition featured an interaction with herself where the audience would see her as a physical entity and a second, deeper woman.

So how do I explore the advantages and flaws of Collaboration and still result within an artwork which benefits from either side? I have used the method of tiling whereby creating a symbolic representation of joined, individual pieces. My poster consists of four segments of A4 pieces which combine together to create its A2 format through the use of packaging tape. This tape partnered with my centrepiece symbolises the method of “Collaboration” where smaller parts create my greater final work.

Simultaneously, my four individual segments represent the flaws and challenges which Collaboration faces in producing an artwork. I believe that unless Collaboration is intertwined with Teamwork, flaws will reveal them easier and thus demonstrate a hindrance. My poster consists of four A2 parts each representing an individual entity, idea or perspective which is expressed through the colours, position and fonts of the letters. Together these letters would create the expected virtue: TEAMWORK to represent Collaboration, however, they are communicated through singular motives.

Personally, I feel my poster allows myself to highlight the twofold nature in which many aspects of being and interacting with beings employ. In everyday life, individuals explore their perspectives and venture through their choices in decisions, completely ignoring the negative space or opposing side to which their decision creates.

#cofa1002 #collaboration #finalassessment1

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Two sides of ONE poster?!

#cofa1002 #Collaboration #FinalAssessment1

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Experiments #1 and #2

 In these experiments I began to explore my idea involving the tiled letters to create an abstract poster of TEAMWORK. 

My first experiment I Photoshopped what would be 5 different sets of pictures which would all connect to form a piece of collaborative artwork as my poster. I think I began to get too obsessed with the word COLLAB due to my side focus of “TEAMWORK” and hence tried to involve COLLAB everywhere. Needless to say I chose not to carry on with this as my final work as it seemed to have just too much going on... and the quality of the photo was probably not going to turn out right. 

My second experiment involved a much more basic collaboration where I focused back to TEAMWORK and formed a simpler design, although following the same divided poster. I felt this was too simple in it’s design and almost looked like an advertisement encouraging a small child to vandalize with bad spelling... or maybe that’s just me. 

Either way, after these two experiments I do feel there is a way to combine these two initial efforts for a Collaborative Artwork and create my final poster... Just maybe not on Photoshop, while my skills are quite bad... 

#cofa1002 #collaboration #teamwork

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When i noticed about the idea of collaboration relating to the combining of different perspectives and platforms, it immediately made me remember a key theorist I had been learning about in my Sociology class. There we have a reading from Martin Buber, which explains his important point of the distinction of I-Thou and I-It in the difference between Identity and Relation in everyday being.  As he understands it, “I” can only exist when it is connected to Thou or It and could never be totally isolated. In the passage above, my lecturer, Andrew Metcalfe, uses the example of an isolated island which seems to be separated from everything but even so he makes the connections and shows how Connection logically precedes Separation. 

Using this information of how Separation and Connection are altogether generally ‘connected’ within everyday life and being, I began to experiment with how this may occur in communities, groups and teams which must collaborate to create their ‘artworks’. Incorporating separation and connection within my poster, I began to think about the different ways of conveying the idea of something Separated and yet at the same time Connected. 

P.S. Martin Buber is a really hard theorist to understand and even now I’m quite confused about what he says about I-Thou and I-It after this point but I’m glad I understand that much !

#cofa1002 #collaboration

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Week 3: Affect and Body Politics

We examined the challenging works of Chris Burden in his ‘artwork’ called Shoot. In my opinion this work of ‘art’ had multiple angles of complexity and can be seen to be debated, especially as it involved the actual protagonist becoming injured as part of the work itself.

This week in class we were given the following brief as a group;

Choose one aspect from your list and design a collaborative sculpture, garment or set of masks using rudimentary materials. How do these objects alter, challenge or question the ideology that affects behaviour and the body? 

As a group we decided to go with idea of ‘emojis’ featured on keyboards within smart phones that are used very regularly by many. Our group discussed the idea that these emoji’s masked out actual behaviours, expressions and opinions and could often create a desired reaction from the user but not am ‘actual’ reaction. From ‘rudimentary materials’ we created masks of the emojis by simply printing them off the internet and attached these to our faces to mask our actual feelings and to create an expression that is believeable for the audiences. The emojis successfully portrayed a certain image to the public as desired by us as artists. This task was fun and interesting to see people in the courtyard a little bit confused.

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When I began to research deeper within to what Collaboration really could hold for different individuals trying to create a piece of artwork I headed to moodle and sure enough, there is a week whereby we will study ‘Collaboration and community’ in the COFA1002 course. Naturally, I opened it but sadly it did not have the powerpoint for it yet but I don’t think my time was wasted entirely. I looked through the small blurb of what we were to expect from this week and the words that stuck out were:  Working together allows us to test, develop, modulate and reflect our ideas across multiple PLATFORMS and PERSPECTIVES. In a world that’s increasingly networked and in which consumers and producers are NO LONGER SEPARATE, collaborative communities are the foundation of creative production and innovation. 

This new focus upon the multiple mediums and perspectives I can undertake when creating this poster was quite refreshing as it opened up a variety of ideas. 

As a result I began to brainstorm ideas of a poster constructed from different parts and perspectives to form itself. The radial design I psted before also directed me in this direction of a Tiled Poster or just poster constructed from separate parts. 

#cofa1002 #collaboration