Julianna Q.

My name is Julianna, and I am a second year student in the BCAHW (Bachelor of Creative Arts Health & Wellness) program! I chose this program because I was torn between studio/fine arts and psychology, and I thought that this degree was a really cool blend.
‘I’m a really big reader and I love disappearing into a good book. I love writing, painting and going hiking to cool spots with friends.

Documentary Response

After watching the documentary surrounding the life and work of Marina Abramović, I felt thoroughly shocked. Every piece of her art pushed the human body and mind past the point of exhaustion. She had several audiovisual works spread throughout the gallery exhibition, as well as other artists, whose job was to recreate Marinas pervious works. The most impactful piece in my opinion, was having the two artists fully nude, standing in a doorway. Only the brave could pass though, and even they might have felt uncomfortable. I thought this was a really successful piece. I can however understand how this might be slightly controversial. People don’t always like feeling uncomfortable, and this particular piece could strike up the debate of “is this even art?”. These facts aside, I believe that this piece communicated something deep from within the artists soul.

There were a lot of interesting things about performance art depicted in this documentary. I think the level that Marina, Ulay, and all of the hired artists, went to to achieve their desired outcome was much further than I anticipated. There was a clear goal in Marinas mind, that was unclear to her audience, but they were willing to play ball.

”1 km forest”

Leaf walks have been a huge part of my life, and they change a little bit every season. Spring and summer tends to turn into “flower walks” or even “stick walks”, and this was always a way my mom kept me busy as a little kid. When I was younger, it was something we could do together, and take a break to ground ourselves in the midst of our busy schedules. When she passed away, I stopped going on these walks for a little while, because there was no one to hold all the little things I found in her pockets. I realized that whenever I was feeling stressed I just really wanted to go on a walk, but for a while I couldn’t bear to collect things as I went. I recently starting finding really beautiful leaves near my new house, and I decided to pick them up and take them home with me.

New York Times Reading Response

This is an incredibly personal kind of exhibit. Participants and viewers are able to “submit a movement”. This can be something they do, or in most cases, the movement or habit of someone who is no longer with us. This could be something as small as a hand gesture when the person is upset, or the way they used to hug someone. There is a lot of opportunity for vulnerability with an exhibit like this. As the actors preform the movements in real time, the viewers can feel the palpable intimacy in the air. This is an incredibly unique kind of art, which makes it so beautiful.
I loved when there were two actors / artists involved in the movement. This added an element of connection between two people that are most likely strangers. There was one movement that struck me in particular, and it was the act of two people sitting and one of the actors slowly moving their head to rest on the other persons shoulder. It was filled with love and tenderness and the way it was portrayed was so intimate. The people closest to me are so very important, and over the years I’ve known them, I’ve been able to read them like books. My best friend’s eyes widen when she gets complimented, as if she’s surprised. I don’t know why she would be, but it’s like she doesn’t quite believe what she’s just heard. My sister talks with her hands all the time, and when she’s getting upset, she tends to flex her fingers before cracking her knuckles. It’s most likely a response to stress. My roommate also talks with her hands a lot, but when she gets stressed she shrugs her shoulders and rolls her neck a lot. I highly doubt that any of them realize these movements, but I have had the pleasure of being a part of their lives and learn what makes their brains work.

Art Gallery Walk

I was unable to attend the field trip to the gallery in Toronto, but I was able to look a little closer to home. I walked to the Art Gallery of Guelph (the AGG) and took a tour of the different exhibits there. The main exhibit was called “Earth Bodies”, which had been curated by Erin Szikora, although there were other smaller exhibits on the upper levels of the gallery. Each exhibit was contributed to by several local and indigenous artists from the area. There were many different kinds of art in this exhibit. Everything from sculpture and painting, to an audio-visual experience. With such a wide variety of works, there were so many to compare and contrast with one another. There were two different sculptural pieces that I really loved, and I thought they would be interesting to compare. The exhibit on the upper level was called “Looking in/looking through”, and was curated by Casper Sutton-Fosman. It was a unique blend of photography and sculpture that really captured the viewers attention, despite the dimly lit room. A piece that really stood out to me was a small sculptural piece of glass, named and created by Charline Dally, “water is transmitting the message”. The small glass sculpture could fit in your palms, and was placed strategically underneath a soft light, that made the surrounding area sparkle and dance. This was an excellent example of curation, because the way this room was put together showcased extreme unity and flow. Your eyes move around the different pedestals with ease, before focusing on the different images on the walls. Personally, I love sculptural pieces, and I often find myself gravitating to glasswork. Mainly because they are often beautiful and abstract, but also because they are on the more naturalistic side of artwork. The freeform shapes and loose edges are quite stimulating to my brain. Leading from that concept, another work that really stood out to me from the main exhibit was an example of pottery. Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona, who had more than one piece in this exhibit, created “Sun Dog”, a stunning example of painted ceramics, that stood out due to its unique shape and designs. It was placed in a glass box on a small podium, so the viewer could walk all the way around and enjoy the work from all angles. There were two other vases in the same space, all placed in front of a large painting, that covered the back wall. The floating podiums allowed for viewers to walk all around each work, taking them in, while feeling immersed in the space. This was an excellent example of curation, because it made the viewer feel as though they were participating in the art, and like they to were swirling ceramic designs. The AGG never fails to delight anyone who walks through their doors. They effortlessly transport visitors to the realms of the artists and offers new perspectives on real experiences.

One Feat, Three Ways

Video #1 – (The One Shot) Although we each took a video similar to this, making eye contact with the camera and saying “I love you” repeatedly, we decided to submit Leah’s. This video was shot in one continuous and uninterrupted take, so there are some moments where Leah end up breaking character. We wanted to look at facial expressions, body language and tone when completing this assignment and how they change as time goes on, even though the initial phrase stays the same. I will admit that the first few seconds were incredibly uncomfortable, to watch and to say. Saying “I love you” is really vulnerable, and even a little silly, especially when it’s in front of your friends, and you’re speaking to an inanimate object. As the video progresses, she becomes more comfortable, and you can see her facial expressions slip into something more intimate. With the entire video (something like two minutes long) being unedited, you can see everything across her face. This makes the video more interesting in my opinion, because the viewer can see the entire process, which would be lost on someone if the video had cuts and edits.

Video #2 – (The Sequence) The second video has the same concept, however we experimented with some really cool editorial features. We used all our videos and overlapped all of them, as well as changing the opacity of each of our faces so that all three of us are visible and our voices can be heard. This changes the act of saying “I love you” from something singular, to something more profound. Hearing three different voices overlapping actually sounds a little scary at times and there are a few times where all our faces line up and it looks like there’s a fourth person on the screen. In reality, its all three of our faces combined. It’s a little eerie but overall a really cool outcome of our edits.

Video #3 – (Rotoscope) In our third and final video, we looped our best takes and edited our facial expressions, mostly around our eyes. Eyes are windows to the soul, so it was really interesting to see when all of us were at our most vulnerable, how each of us looked slightly different. We also edited over the video, with subtitle-esque words written across the screen. There were some points where one of us emphasized a word in the phrase so we made sure that that was obvious with our words.