smile for me daddy: for K Albro

I feel like my project may have been a little cocky in some sense. Maybe it was too planned out. I had originally planned to show two pieces for the last crit, but Brett accidentally bumped my unsteady plaster mold with her big booty ( just kidding, about the booty thing that is) and it came crashing to bits, which was expected in some ways but still a bit of a bummer. On the plus side, seeing the remains of the cast kinda proved the point I wanted to make with that piece about how we don't leave behind any trace of ourselves except in what we affect. The story is all there on the floor, splattered across Emily Gordon's space. I left the crash site untouched and plan to melt my ice feet on it anyhow, as something of a private piece/experiment. Is that cocky? Quirky?
As for the blindfold piece, I just stood back and let people talk about their experiences. I set the piece up on the lift for sculpture storage over by where the sink is in studio. I had people climb an unsteady ladder in order to view the blindfolds, which were hung from the ceiling using clothes pins. The pins reinforce the idea that the "blindfold" is merely a piece of fabric, but that it has so many connotations associated with it: Pin the Tail on the Donkey games, sex, medical healings, executions, war, etc... depending on the light streaming in through the windows the piece gave off different 'essences'. During crit, it was rainy outdoors, so the blindfolds seemed ominous and somber, one of death and the threat of hangings. Maggie snuck a peak during the morning when it was lovely outdoors, and she said she got the feeling of adventure and tree house play. So, the piece got various things across. Still, despite the different meanings associated with blindfolds, the constants are submission and trust. By having the viewer climb up the ladder, they become the active participant and thus become submissive to me as the artist. The ladder works in the element of trust: you have to trust that the ladder will hold you up, or that, at the very least the person spotting you won't allow you to fall. So, you experience the same heightened sensibility without actually sporting the blindfold. I made casts of my eyes using glue, and thus continued the exploration from midterm crit's project. It all tied in really smoothly, but maybe a bit too smoothly? Do you know what I mean? There wasn't this sense of hesitancy there. It was a bit too confident. For now I'm playing around with photos of the blindfolds: self portraits in a way . I think I want to get two dimensional, but with a twist of sorts. I'll just go with it as usual.
~Nicole