Proposal

 

Filling in the Space 

Abstract: 

    Through the exploration of what it means to reconnect with ones own soul, I capture what it means to hold the world and its people with gratitude rather than extraction and extortion. I draw inspiration from Buddhist philosophy to understand greed and suffering in it's relation to the industrialized politics and culture that surrounds us. 

Artists Statement:  

    Where is greed birthed? And how long does it take to take form? There seems to be a big morality gap taking root within the world. One which asks each person what is the thing that takes priority: humanity as a collective or oneself? But how does the greed of one person affect every single living thing around us? How does it seem to seep into the cement of which we walk and divide us through values and selfishness. How can a single person believe they are more deserving of the land they live on than the brothers and sisters beside them? Why do people take until there is nothing left? The answer is one which can only be found deep within, beyond what is logical. When one feeds themselves with only what is tangible, it doesn't feed their heart, their soul- it feeds the ego. Money, cars, multi-million dollar houses and designer clothes. It serves us fleeting moments of happiness and inflated pride, but it will never fill the empty space where the soul resides and until something does, it will never be enough. The severed gap between humanity is plagued by lack. Lack of internal awareness, lack of knowledge, lack of compassion, lack of understanding and ultimately, the lack of sowing the seeds for ones own soul. Until people (and billionaires) learn that they can't fill the empty space in their hearts through wanting and taking, the gap between humanity will only become more devastating. 

Inspiration sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evil-deeds/201110/is-greed-ever-good-psychological-and-spiritual-perspectives-selfishness#:~:text=Where%20does%20greed%20originate%3F,always%20wanting%20and%20expecting%20more.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zg7297h/revision/2#:~:text=Many%20Buddhists%20believe%20that%20the,from%20the%20cycle%20of%20rebirth..

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Proposal:

    For my project, I would like to explore reconnection to one's own soul through visual and perhaps auditory means using either a combination of both photo and video or a video montage encompassing the exploration of reconnection to one's spirit. Buddhist ideals play a huge role in my philosophy surrounding what it means to be grounded, present and therefore connected to the heart. Traditional buddhist scripture describes greed, ignorance and hatred to be the origin of all evils and suffering within the world, only able to be healed by the four noble truths: The Truth of Suffering, The Truth of the Origin of Suffering, The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering and The Truth of The Path of Cessation for suffering. Essentially, the end of suffering can only be found through acceptance of both pain and what causes pain, reflection of worldly pain and presence and accountability within the behaviors of oneself. (i.e Are you creating suffering for yourself and others through your own actions and behaviors). With this being said, I would like for my photos and/or film to play into metaphysical images- for me personally, I find myself most connected to my heart and humanity as a whole when I am in connection with earth and nature. This would include loving or peaceful human intervention within nature, exploration of light and glow in relation to feelings of 'otherworldliness' or 'magic', organic textures (close ups revealing the soul within each living thing around), ambient and natural sounds, possibly poses representation forms of meditation and perhaps imagery of industrial human life and creation to create a clear contrast and fully explore what it means to balance connection with the soul and self rather than just striving to fill the ego. This idea connects to McKenzie Wark's The Beach Beneath the Street through it's critique of the 'spectacle'. Wark described a society in which life and fufilling experiences is replaced by images, roles and routines. The Situationists within the society strived to save the idea of everyday life from the dullness of spectacle through different types of creative play. The Situationist's goals was not to escape the world they live in but to see the world in a different light, similar to how my project strives to break through capitalist necessity to work as much as possible (through nearly intangible means if you are not already wealthy) in order to get as much as possible. The thing I want to convey most is the feeling of peace and connection one can feel by looking at the world with gratuity for what it carries, rather than asking yourself how much you can get. 

Visual Research: 

My Photos:

Found on Pinterest:

Production:

    My timeline is Friday until Sunday to shoot material while editing at the end of each day. I will be in Wisconsin for the 4th of July weekend which is perfect for the shots I want to take so I can work with trees, wildflowers grass and the lake. I plan on using an older digital camera, the ExilIM for video and photo use, I may use my iphones nightmode to capture shots with the glowing moon as shown in my tester shot above. My budget is very reasonable as I have most of the materials I need in order to do my project, I may buy vaseline to create a more ethereal type of glow in my photo/video. This is about $2.49 at Target. I have the wardrobe I would like to use and I will be taking mostly self portraits with self timer or my boyfriend, Jack, as a human tripod. My other model will be Jack himself and potentially his sibling as well.