Process Piece

Artist's Statement

        When we first started thinking of what project we wanted to do I naturally wanted something with tons of interesting sounds. This took my mind to similarly visually interesting subjects such as sushi making, musical instruments, or factory conveyor machines. I wanted a sound that was out of the ordinary, something that would be difficult to pick out the origin. I realized I did not have the time nor the means to accomplish such ideas and in a last minute effort decided to go with a plan B; a simple trip to Walmart. I have to admit, following my brother around the store with headphones, a camera, and a mic made me look ridiculous, but I was surprised at how entertaining the results were. After a little reflection I figured out why.

         One of the viewing we had assigned to us was Dean's family scripture study. I remember how hilarious I thought it was. Why did I find it so funny? because it was so familiar! I had countless nights with my family that ended up in like that one. The footage itself was not spectacular in any way. The material was not a novel idea or life changing. He simply presented a truthful experience that many people in Mormon culture have shared and along with it came humor and enlightenment. In the same manner I feel that our process piece gave us an opportunity to see (or rather hear) an extremely familiar process in a new way.

         We had a long script written out for the voice talent (my older brother) to act out, but while editing we realized that there was much too much footage and several minutes had to be cut out. Initially I wanted to cut out all the ambient noise and keep all the humorous lines, but I thought about one of the other viewings we were assigned. On the ROUTINES website I was so impressed with the sound design of all his work. I particularly enjoyed the clip of him tying the shoes. Again, there was nothing spectacular about it, rather I loved the often unnoticed sounds of leather stretching and laces as they rubbed the eyelets they passed through. This same idea went into our editing process. We loved the ambient noises of Walmart. The check out was particularly funny to listen to. It made me think about what technology has done to modern society. although that was not the intent of the video it was a valuable insight I gained from it.

         One other source that helped in the creation of this piece was a documentary I watched a while back on Netflix called Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It was cool to see the amazing dedication it took to make the amazing food, but what made it so impressive was seeing  the entire process unfold. That's when I realized the power behind process pieces. No one could have ever guessed the effort that went into such a small dish unless someone took the time to show the process behind it. In the same way I feel that no one will really enjoy the beauty all around them until they look at the mundane through a different lens. That's what this little trip to Walmart was for me. Enjoy!

Tiny Stories

Artist's Statement
       This whole idea started formulating in my mind when I helped a friend take his old sofa to the dump to be deposed of. I was amazed at the crazy things that we humans throw away, and decided that it would make good subject material. Who would have thought that garbage would make interesting art? I certainly didn't think about it until reading the essay by Annie Dillard called "Seeing." She spoke poetically of finding inspiration in the smallest things. I tried to think of recent adventures in my life and grand events that would be worthy of artwork, and then suddenly realized what she was trying to tell me. The magnificent is rarely found when we are looking for it, rather we are often surprised by it when we are open to it's grace. I revisited the memories of that garbage dump and was hit with a dash of inspiration. 
       I have always been a fan of satire works such as Animal Farm, Gulliver's Travels, and The Jungle. Messages that speak boldly of injustices or wrong doings, but in an entertaining and thought-provoking manner. I wanted to involve such satire in my project yet utilize the "eureka" moment I had at the city dump. I decided that my short stories would reverse the roles of my experience, placing the appliances as the owners and humans as the garbage to be used and abused as the appliances pleased. This interesting reversal would be a vehicle for another comparison. I thought of common problems we have with the things we buy. Things such as false advertising of products, factory defects, and items becoming obsolete. This would be sure to get the audiences attention since everyone is likely to have come across such problems at one time or another. As I was drawing these short stories I was reminded of another satire called "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift. His satire also belittled the value of human life in order to bring across his political point. My message is not so much political as it is a statement against modern society's values. I decided to take a look at commonly ostracized groups of society (the elderly, obese, malnourished, less fashionable, and the handicapped) and contrast them against current society's idealized person, then tie them to one of the common product problems I mention above. I really appreciated the photography of Joel Sternfield. His imagery captured the story behind each location and the intended message. I felt strong imagery would be important to my tiny stories as well. I tried to make the illustrations as blunt and simplistic as the words that accompanied them.
         A story in less than 30 words seemed ridiculous to me, but after reading some of the Twitter short stories by @Veryshortstory I realize how much could be said in a tweet-sized story. I hope that the combination of straightforward language and simplistic illustration share my point of view and reveal the message I baked into these tiny stories.

Music Mosaic

Artist's Statement

Buried deep down inside every one of us is the longing for adventure. We long to go to the unknown, and see what we have never seen before. For me this is particularly so. Perhaps I can attribute this to my upbringing in a military family. I never lived in a particular place longer than 3 years. Now, I start to get a little antsy if a stick around one place too long. My Father, as a military pilot, has seen the globe, traveling to almost every continent and many countries on his deployments. Each journey he came home to his excited family bearing gifts from the foreign lands. This, no doubt, also kindled the fire of adventure in me at a young age. Peter Forbes suggested that these stories carry weight not only from one generation to another, but across many generations and through nations. He continued to explain the powerful influence of stories. A perfect example of this power is Martin Luther King Jr. when he spoke to thousands in his legendary speech “I Have a Dream.” Forbes points out that Dr. King in a courageous attempt to motivate opted not to pound the pulpit and demand change, rather, he spoke beautifully of a story that could be. This common dream motivated individuals, families, communities, and a nation to act. Stories like Dr. King’s changed the course of history forever. This same influential power was wrought on me as a boy as my father regaled me with his adventure-packed tales. I was helpless against its power, and the desire to form stories of my own has only grown throughout the years.

               My music mosaic is a reflection the influence of my father’s stories on my life. The photographs were taken in a series of road trips my wife and I took as we moved to Provo from Hawaii. At the start of each journey is an excitement. Unknown roads and beautiful destinations lie ahead. Then once we got on the road that excitement quickly died as the hours of pavement and tunnel vision had its toll. Thus the pictures I chose to include show excitement and repetition. Just as I felt boredom and the repetitious yellow lines would overcome me, a new and magnificent vista would rise above the horizon. Again the fire would rekindle and the image would engrave itself on the pages of my own stories.

               The music, performed by Andy McKee, called Art of Motion also matches the feelings of our road trips. It begins with fast picking and tapping of the guitar. As I listen antsy feelings resurface. Yet in the middle of the song there is a peaceful lull. The fast finger picking dies and a repetitious bass string follows. I can see the yellow lines passing again. Finally the song picks up again and the “magnificent vista” of the song bursts out again. The song ends suddenly leaving a desire for more. I will always seek more adventure.



As I envisioned this project while listening to the music my mind merged the images of the road passing before me and a film strip doing the same. Thus I felt it would be appropriate to show the repetitive nature of the song and my experiences on the road trip by compiling the pictures into a film strip.
     The song can be heard at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWC9s3hH-cw
I also posted the individual pictures to see them closer and the emotion in each one.