the PROTO show

Final projects for installation class are due in just a couple weeks (gasp!) and our teacher, Matt Lynch, decided it would be super-fun to squeeze in a gallery show (he has an entertaining knack for this- I assume it's his way of preparing us for last minute opportunities that arise in the "real" world).

Matt found these lovely old flashcards with Proto brand tools on them; this image inspired the name of our show

The class decided that rather than choose a completely new idea, which would take a lot of working time away from our final projects, that we could display prototypes of our final work. These prototypes might vary between miniatures, maquettes, Photoshopped images, and works in progress. Ideally, they would stand as more than just sketches, and have artistic merit of their own.

The flyer I designed for the show. Nice and simple.

I am collaborating on this project with two other students: Daniel Lawson, with whom I've collaborated on several projects, and Steve Shack, a new friend who has brought a unique set of skills from his experience as a set builder and lighting technician at the music/performing arts college (CCM).

The Big Idea:

The idea for our (final) project is to fill a room with miles of lovely white cotton string. The string is a metaphor for memory. Some areas will be tangled and tight, others will be loose and fraying. Connections will vary between random and deliberate. Some areas will be completely obscured by string while others are sparse and open.

We wrapped various canvases in string and secured them to the wall. We see these blank canvases as portals, like the eyes and ears, which allow information into the mind, while the web of string represents the connections made in our minds as memories are formed. I think. It's just a prototype, people.

So, for our Proto project, we had a small corner of the 840 gallery to ourselves. We took advantage of a well-placed spotlight because we liked the shadows the string made on the wall.

Close-up! We made those egg shapes by wrapping Mod-Podge soaked string around balloons, allowing it to dry, then popping and removing the balloons. Thanks mom, for teaching me that technique years ago  :).

I'm not sure what the egg shapes are supposed to represent. We really liked the shadows that they created on the wall.

 It will be interesting to see how we re-use these elements in our final project. The awesomeness of this proto-project is that we worked through a LOT of technical issues and artistic concepts, so our final piece will be a lot stronger.
I love that we used cheap raw materials which will be re-used in future projects. Our budget for our final installation will be less than twenty dollars each. REALLY CHEAP!

I recorded a terrible little video. I said I wasn't good with technology, didn't I? We liked the shadows that were created when we spun one of our little string balloons in front of the spotlight.