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Something Brutalist is in the Village

 The idea of a global village personally hinges on the direct impacts of technology, resulting in more deeply intimate interactions, and at a larger scale than ever before—and only increasing in its pervasive attacks. This new world and culture requires us to match the levels of actualized involvement to the intellectual involvement; meeting this as individualistically as so much of the mass does leaves us unable to reach the totality of integration. Regardless of an individual’s adaptational capability, the harsh boundary of individual versus Other remains despite the exposure; the stories don’t impact us, and with so much capacity for achievement (benevolent or malevolent) partnered with newly-relevant globally-faced issues, we must learn to completely conceptualize the true reality we have created and reside in. We must learn to acknowledge our perspectives in relation to the wider world, allowing ourselves to be affected by and thus completely exist within the global village. 


During the planning process of this particular project, I felt especially aware of the parameters and subject in relation to imbued meaning. I wanted to, per usual, address individuality amongst and in relation to all else, without enforcing the idea of a message existing in its full truth as presented. I don’t want to cramp my own natural project progression with too many restrictions of preconceptions, nor do I want to reduce the impact of the viewer’s interaction with the piece by providing the perceived mastery desired during an interaction with art. I’m also supremely concerned about media literacy in our world, so I don’t want to present something that doesn’t cause them to question. 


But I did want to incorporate fascism, since it has achieved omnipotence in relevance. Western attachment to hyper-individuality I view exclusively as a direct creator of points of collision, sharp angles creating points of opposition, and therefore weakness. I wanted to encourage consideration of one’s own point of view within the wider picture, and their interplay. I took influence from brutalist and other artistic movements stemming from periods of fascism, the technology of the immersive Van Gogh exhibits (ask me about it later, but they could have done so much more with the application of that technology), geometry (the weakness of angles thing), and symbolism of/various fascist movements in general. For sake of clarity, it ended up, shockingly, being focused on Nazi Germany fascism. 


I think one of the reasons this project drew me in so deeply was its connections to my long-standing interest in the necessity of interrelation upon the creation of reality and life. A few years ago I put out a questionnaire about current events, and compiled the responses into poetry. I never finished the zine (shocker!), but I’d like to do a follow up and challenge myself to either illustrate and publish or simply publish without. Anyway… At the beginning of the year I also mentioned that my passion lay strongly in mixed media art, and new applications of media and technology. I desperately want to get my hands on an EKG I can write software to translate to sound and visuals! This was my first experience, and I just had a blast dipping my toe into mixing technology into my work, rather than fantasizing about doing a project like that “some day.” 


I’ve also done a ceramic project during COVID making “hold-a-hand” mugs that inspired the way I considered the physical reaction between the viewer and the piece. I wanted them to lift the opening of the structure to ensure each one had a unique perspective. I also have a project I dream of incorporating speakers in a walk-through immersive exhibit that play different parts of spoken word, and that would hopefully portray different meanings depending on the path… but I digress. Somehow, thinking of that inspired my lack of backing sound, instead choosing the remind the viewers that it is their circumstances that shape their experiences. Brutalist architecture is obvious in the construction, and I really like how it’s shoddily constructed yet still clearly within the parameters of the genre—portraying weakly constructed, stark places of power. In this case, the media is the message, and the message is the power. If you look closely, the plaster and paper mache applications change throughout the structure as well, to me hinting at the manner of dissonance during the construction of fascist movements, interpersonal interactions, or even the media being consumed. Pollock also converted me and I exploited methods similar to his for the base of the structure. 


The video was inspired by my great-grandpa. He was a guard in the Nuremberg Trials on America’s side, yet so liked by the Nazis on trial that one of them, an architect I’ve forgotten the name of, gifted our family with a drawing of a home layout. I like to believe that’s where my value of mutual respect and understanding come from. Okay stop, I am NOT a Nazi sympathizer. I do believe that nearly every point of dissonance between myself and Others, even our Orange Cult members, is rooted in fear and upbringing. Anyway, that brought me to the idea of compiling footage of fascism mirrored against footage of successful protests. And all of that? Brought us to the completed project: that I’m yet to name. 


Please check back either at 7 pm or upon the email if received earlier and you’re on the edge of your seat if you’d like to see the visual since I’m finishing up the video and then have to document it all. I don’t expect a grade, I just wanted to show you and hear feedback if you have any :) 


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