Art portphotio #1

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[slideshow_deploy id=’2218’]

 

The theme of my 6-photo-portfolio is loneliness. Loneliness, in my opinion, would be my one word adjective to describe “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka (aka Jimmy Hoffa). The whole metamorphosis was a metaphor for how he felt and although he experienced many negative emotions, non was more apparent than this one. Aside from his sister, Gregor felt no attachment to another person, and even she could not take away his feeling of being empty. I decided to put my slideshow into an order from the beginning signs of loneliness into basically a depression due to the lack of connections to society. This progression goes along well with the idea of a metamorphosis and even more with the dance interpretation that we saw as a class which gave a slow progression from human, to sub-human, into ultimately a bug. The idea of a cockroach furthers the idea of finally ending  up curled into a ball or into a shell of sorts as you finally give up and accept the fact you will be alone. Loneliness is a very strong emotion because even with hundreds of people around you, interacting with you (like the subway photo), you can still feel totally alone inside. This emotion feeds and powers off of a persons mindset, which is much stronger than reality in certain cases and make you feel very seriously like a cockroach. In my slideshow I tried to show a progression of physical curling up into a bug, finalizing in a “monster’ (a dog in reality) hiding in the shadows. What is interesting is that many times someone’s loneliness can drain loved-ones around them and only leaving the affected person, or them actually passing away, is the only way to return to happiness. That seems to be the real idea of the story and proven by the closest individual, the sister Grete, being the center point of a crucifixion-like freedom at the end of the dance interpretation.

I really like this idea and hope that this slideshow and response serves as my own interpretation of “The Metamorphosis”, with Gregor as the main character.

Sound Sculpture Transformation — Combatting Depression

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   Combatting Depression

By: Austin Fischer, Rebecca Drabczyk, Aishwarya Bhatia

     Our sound sculpture works to depict the transformation from life to death and the emotions that occur while this happens.  Originally, we wanted to take the story of someone in real life who had committed suicide, like that of the Victoria Secret creator, who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge after he found out the company he recently created and sold had topped a billion dollars.  In the end, we decided to create our own story.  We worked to illustrate the various feelings associated with the events that ensue in the life of a fictitious woman.

     The story begins with a middle-aged mother with three kids.  One day, she decides to go to the park with her children.  While her kids are playing, her youngest daughter hears a nearby ice cream truck and runs ahead until a rashly driven car strikes her down in the middle of the road. In an abrupt moment, the woman’s dreams are sabotaged. Her temporary happiness is substituted by an unwarranted alarmed feeling. As she begins to recollect, one by one, what she has witnessed, she faces deep bouts of panic and depression. After all, a part of her had ceased to exist. She laments her helplessness and contemplates suicide.

The woman spends a month attempting to put her life back together.  However, she is unable to overcome the grief and sadness of her daughter’s death.  The mother then decides to revisit the park where her daughter met her untimely demise.  In an emotional rage, the mother drives off the side ramp of the Golden Gate, plummeting 750 feet below. With such a detailed scenario created, it made the task of accompanying the varying sections of the story in sound relatively easy. There becomes a clear and distinct transformation from life to death and contentment to depression that ultimately leads to a family’s demise.

Works Cited:

After Effects Template Glass Shatter. YouTube. Max After, 30 Oct. 2009. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8cau0oxjnw>.

 

Car Accident- Sound Effect. YouTube. YouTube, 5 June 2012. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr2JdkPKJyo>.

 

Eminem. “Stan.” By Dido Armstrong, Paul Herman, and Marshall Mathers. Rec. Nov. 1999. The Marshall Mathers, LP. Eminem and Dido. 45 Kings and Eminem, 2001. YouTube. YouTube, 24 Dec. 2009. Web. 06 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOMhN-hfMtY>.

 

Flatbush Zombies. Prod. Eric A. Elliot. N.d. YouTube. 24 July 2012. Web. 06 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEqGwwYGQAo>.    

 

Free Children Playing Sound Effect. YouTube. YouTube, 1 Sept. 2011. Web. 06 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvlkPJkmYPg>.

 

Heartbeat-Sound Effect. YouTube. YouTube, 30 July 2009. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eFn8Cgcx8g>.

 

The Ice Cream Truck Song. YouTube. YouTube, 28 July 2008. Web. 06 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZB6WXDuM1g>.

 

Scary Sound – Funeral Bell Tolling. YouTube. YouTube, 26 Apr. 2011. Web. 06 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKTIe6piDOI>.

 

Floyd, Pink. “Time.” By Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright. Rec. 1972-1973. The Dark Side of the Moon. Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd, 1974. YouTube. YouTube, 08 Aug. 2012. Web. 06 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWTLUmUjo8A>.

 

Vivaldi, Antonio. “The Four Seasons.” Cond. Antonio Janigro. Perf. Jan Tomasow and Antonio Heiller. Rec. 1957. The Four Seasons- Spring- Allegro. 1957. YouTube. YouTube, 19 Mar. 2009. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2cIUu-sS7w>.

**Eportfolio would not let us submit the file, I forwarded the file to Dr. Wollman before 6.  Sorry for the trouble.

 

 

Metamorphosis Curate

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As I read the Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and saw it performed in a dance at the Joyce Theater, I was given a view of the daily life of an ordinary man, Gregor Samsa, and his grotesque transformation into an insect. A metamorphosis can be defined as change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one. Gregor’s life epitomizes change and throughout the story the minor characters also change.

When I think of metamorphosis I imagine a cycle, just like in school when a child watches a caterpillar transform into a beautiful butterfly. After reading the story I could see that Gregor and the Samsa family went through a cycle from: beginning, routine, change, shock, exile, and finale. A cycle that would probably begin again as in the story Gregor dies and his sister Grete is looked at to take his place. The order in which these photos are displayed are in order to convey this cycle.

This gallery consists of photos from: Joeleen Moy, Hanna Utkin, Khrystyna Melnyk, Nicholas Arniotes, Samantha Chiu, Nicolette Belitsis

Sound Sculpture: A Transformation into Evil

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The basic properties of human nature have been debated for centuries.  Since the origin of philosophy, great thinkers have been debating whether we are inherently good or inherently evil.  Today, the general consensus seems to be that we all balance these two properties: that we have the capacity for greatness or depravity.  But if this is true then what determines if someone is good or evil?  One theory, and this is the theory that inspired us, is that people become evil after evil enters into their lives. For example, someone who goes through a truly devastating experience could have a tendency to view the world from a darker perspective.  Evil people aren’t born evil – they are transformed by evil circumstances.

This is the theme we explored in our sound transformation.  We wanted to portray the idea of good transforming into bad.  Our sound sculpture starts out with a plain and monotonous tune; a representation of how some people come to view their own lives as plain and monotonous.  Then there are the calamitous tones of thunderclaps and church bells that represent catastrophe.  After this, a sense of loss is evoked through soft Japanese guitar strumming.  Then come offbeat, electrified drums – alone, they would seem like a normal, everyday beat, however, the drums’ mismatched nature demonstrates that our character is frazzled and can’t control his/her “beat” of life anymore.  An overarching evil sounds comes through, and by the end, our character has transformed into a “monster.” The applause at the end signify the completion of this transformation and the character’s acceptance of a new and darker personality.

FictionJunction Yuuka. “Akatsuki no Kuruma.” By Yuki Kajiura. Suit CD vol.4 Miguel Ayman x Nicol Amarfi. Victor Entertainment, 2004. CD

Joc, Yung, perf. Bout It (Step Up). Summit Entertainment, 2006. Film. 6 Oct 2013.

West, Kanye, perf. Monster. Kanye West, 2010. Song. 6 Oct 2013.

by Cheng Dong, Mariel Heyboer, and Jeremy Brown

Sound Sculpture: Gregor within us

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Our sound sculpture represents the main sections of Gregor’s life throughout the story: his initial monotonous life, transformation, the aftermath as well as death, and Grete’s new beginning. As his family’s financial supporter, Gregor is solely focused on his work and constantly fights against time. The opening music, the beginning of Electronic by DParker, was repeated multiple times to reflect Gregor’s routine. The sound of the alarm clock shows the distinction between his life before and after the metamorphosis. To represent the actual transformation, a crinkling and crunching sound was used to mimic the uncomfortable crawling of Gregor as a cockroach. The screaming symbolizes the horrified response of his family to Gregor’s transformation. Similarly, the lyrics “Don’t get too close. It’s dark inside. It’s where my demons hide. It’s where my demons hide.” from Imagine Dragons’ Demons portray the family’s isolation from Gregor and Gregor’s internal conflict. As time passes, the family adapts to Gregor’s change. By choosing three slow piano instrumentals, we showed the readjustment of the Samsa’s life. Although chaos still exists, they partially accept the inevitable truth. The mixture of the three dramatic piano samples embodies that peaceful chaos experienced by the three other family members. Finally, “I watched it begin again” from Taylor Swift’s Begin Again demonstrates Gregor’s family moving on after his death and their new focus on Grete’s future.

Gregor from Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis, served to be our primary inspiration for the sound sculpture. Although more extreme, his life reminds us of our own – pressed for time and following rituals with little to no change. All individuals experience some sort of transformation that may or may not have a large impact upon them; in their lifetime, they will eventually  face hardships and obstacles that will modify their character. By reflecting upon this theme, we as the audience can connect to Gregor’s internal struggles. In order to create a relatable sound sculpture and make the personal connection more clear, we implemented songs by popular artist such as Imagine Dragons and Taylor Swift who listeners can easily identify. Even if the listener cannot specifically pinpoint the actual song title or artist, they will be familiar with the music and recognize that they have heard it before. Having heard the songs, the audience will feel a personal relationship to the sound sculpture and therefore, Gregor’s story.

By. Karen Choi, Katie Wang, Ariel Yuan

Works Cited:

Adele. “Turning Tables.” 21. XL Recordings, 19 Jan. 2011. mp3.

Adele. “Someone Like You.” 21. XL Recordings, 19 Jan. 2011. mp3.

DParker. “electronic.” Al Natural. 20 Feb 2012. mp3.

Imagine Dragons. “Demons.” Night Vision. Interscope, 28 Jan. 2013. mp3.

Röyksopp & Sundfør, Susanne. “Running to the Sea.” 2013. mp3.

The Smiths. “Asleep.” The World Won’t Listen. Rough Trade, 23 Feb. 1987. mp3.

Swift, Taylor. “Begin Again.” Red. Big Machine. 22 Oct. 2012. mp3.

Metamorphosis Mini Exhibition

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While reading Metamorphosis, I noticed many different types of pain which led to different outcomes in the story. The most noticeable pain is Gregor trying to adapt to his new body and learning how his body works. The second, is the family and how they have to adapt to not having a stable income in anymore and having to work to support themselves. The third is the pain when Gregor’s father throws apples at his son and it shows how the family is no longer what it used to be and that Gregor is, in actuality, the bug that he morphed to be.

I also think there were many effects of this pain. Gregor was trapped; he couldn’t do anything about his body and the pain he was causing his family. He knew that his family depended on him for help and support and suddenly, he became something he didn’t have any control over. He could no longer provide the support that his family wanted.

Pain could be both mental and physical and I think the one character in the story who experienced both was Gregor. He was in pain, trapped in a body that wasn’t his, he witnessed how his family suffered because of this, he couldn’t do anything to stop it, and he just had to wait for his torture to be over. This isn’t something that is easy to understand so I think that’s why it is an interesting topic to think about.

Credits: Jake Greenberg, Ed Mordechay, Carmela Ruffo, Marc Saadia

Metamorphosis Mini-Exhibition

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For me, Metamorphosis could be split into three sections. Part A, Part B and Part C. In the beginning (Part A), Life for the Samsa’s, and especially Gregor, could not have been more simple. They all had their routines that they performed day after day. This idea of this was epitomized in the opening scene of the dance, The Metamorphosis, that we saw in the Joyce Theater. What disrupts this precise schedule is Gregor’s sudden transformation into a cockroach.

Enter Part B. Part B to me started off as just a mess of confusion and mayhem. Everyone was just so stressed out and confused by the entire situation. I think that this part hit its peak during the scene towards the end when Gregor escaped from his room and scared the three men.

Finally, in Part C after all that had happened, Gregor dies. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief for the family, knowing that there is no longer a giant bug living just a few feet away from them. That final scene of the story served as sort of closing for Gregor’s life as well as permission for them to finally move on with their own.

 

Credits: Michael Goldberg, Joeleen Moy, Nicolette Belitsis, Adona Pjetergjoka, Marc Saadia