Projection

I really enjoyed working on this project. The quick pace meant it was relatively low-stress, and a little more playful, if less refined in its final formulation, than the body assignment. Overall, though, I was pleased with the outcome and the collaborative process. I do think the view of the project from the exterior was quite beautiful - definitely evocative of a blizzard - and was interesting in that class members became performers, participants in the piece. However, a number of aspects of the project could have been improved with some more time.

The project was not particularly successful in communicating our initial idea (courtesy of Sara) of exploring meditation and breathing through light. In order to better assert this aspect of the piece (which is still present in the subtext of the piece as is) we might have (as noted in class) chosen a different soundtrack. I was the member of the group that selected and "mixed" the sound for the piece, and my original desire was to find a calm wooshing wind sound that could easily be associated with breath, but I was unable to find the exact noise I was looking for. I settled for a more violent gust of wind, which is probably the source of the blizzard associations made by the majority of the class (along with the white colour of the fabric and the light projected upon the piece). Other possibilities for sound that could be used instead of the sound chosen, and that might produce a more meditative mood, include rolling waves, a more appropriate wind sound, or actual breathing (although my personal opinion is that actual breathing might be to obvious and make the piece seem like a space designed for yoga exercise rather than a piece of art [this statement would probably prompt a great deal of debate in our class, but for now, I'll leave it as is]). The problem with choosing different sound would then be that the blizzard associations might disappear, making the view from the outside less interesting. Anyways, the sound is certainly something to think about and an aspect of the final product that I would probably be tweak were we to do the project over again.

Another portion of the piece that I think all of us would probably liked to have altered is the distance between the walls of white fabric. We wanted the walkways to get bigger and bigger as one moves towards the back of the piece in order to mimic the expansion of lungs, the process of enlightenment, etc. The walkways did work in this way, but had we had more time, space, etc., we probably would have made this gradual expansion a little more obvious.

The final major aspect of the work that requires improvement (although there are many more small changes that could be made, such as using fabric chosen by us specifically for the piece, rather than found, approximately appropriate fabric) is the space at the end. This is a point that was mentioned during critique and that troubled us during construction. The space lacks resolution (though we attempted to add this, first by placing a chair in the final compartment - which came off as extraneous - and then by projecting light through the back wall). What should one do when one reaches the end? What is the significance of the final space? Does the light represent death? Enlightenment? Should it be there at all? Would pillows on the floor be more effective, encouraging participants to recline, relax, and meditate? Meditate about what? Their own breath and subsequently their bodies, their mortality? These are just some of many questions that could be explored in greater depth if work on the piece were to continue.