As a starting point for my final project, I wanted to write an abstract piece of poetry as inspiration. I started jotting down different emotional states that seem to be present at the time. I was extremely overwhelmed with work, not getting enough sleep and stressed. So with journal in hand, I wrote about being lost and losing sight of my “path”. The one positive thing that seem to help guide me through this stressful time was the creative writing that I was exploring and realizing that I was listening to a familiar voice; my instincts.
Exercising these thoughts and emotions on paper, I developed a short piece of writing. After looking over the material, revising and feedback given in class, I found many short stories within the text. Written phrases extracted and developed could be made into a whole piece’s on their own. I found that a short sentences or just a few words gave inspiration for creative possibilities.
As a choreographer I’ve been interested in the unconscious language, memory and time. I’ve been curious to know how I can play with the expectations of the audience and try to convey time as nonlinear form. Our minds drift in and out constantly, thinking of our memories from our past, the present and future. I want to have this same kind of feeling in my work. Can time escape us; drift away during a live a performance?
With this final assignment I wanted to try to implement some of these ideas. How can I play with time, memory and narrative? I gave myself parameters to only create 25 to 30 seconds of video, hoping to create a sense of “floating thoughts”. I used different words and phrases from the original writing as a starting point. I didn’t want the video’s to have an exact relationship to the text necessarily, only that in some abstract form one could find a connection. I wanted this abstraction to represent more of our unconscious language.
In the end I’ve created a four-minute mini exploration, communicating “floating thoughts” through the use of video. Working through this process I’ve been able to understand and answer some questions I’ve been having with my choreographic process. Even though the final video doesn’t stand up as a masterpiece, I’ve come to some understanding in my own work. I guess that’s all one can hope for!
Wondering down the path, no idea where to go.
Lost, confused, unable to see the light at the end of the road.
Just keep going.
Just keep going and you will find the way.
Trust that your…
The light reflects off the branches of the trees.
I can see through the branches into the dark.
There’s a shadow.
I see, hear something familiar.
Memory of the past.
I see the bright green eyes in the dark watching.
What can it be?
Who can it be?
Can I trust myself to find the way? Lights glare off my windshield, blinding my sight of what’s to come.
So many question! Do I…
Trapped.
Keep moving.
Keep moving and you will see.
The moon is bright and full in the night sky.
I can see the beams of light piercing through the trees.
I can see.
Wondering down the path, no idea where to go.
Lost, confused, unable to see the light at the end of the road.
Keep going.
Just keep going and you will find the way.
Trust that your eyes will be able to see again.
The light reflects of the branches of the trees outlining every curve of the trees body.
I can see through the branches into the dark.
There’s a shadow in the dark.
I see, hear something familiar. Is it my memory of the past? What am I afraid of? Am I afraid of who I will become or who I will not become?
The shadow in the dark gets closer. I see the bright green eyes in the dark watching me.
What can it be?
Who can it be?
Is this shadow of the dark here to help guide me through?
Can I trust myself to find the way as I wonder down this winding dark highway? The cars lights glare off my windshield, blinding my sight of what’s to come.
So many question! Do I……
I don’t know what else to do.
If I stop, I will be trapped,
Trapped on this dark highway.
Keep moving.
Keep moving and you will see.
The moon is bright and full in the night sky.
I can see the beams of light piercing through the trees.
I can see.
Skinned knees, lights reflecting off of a piano, the moon turning white, black, red then white again, my hot breath on a cold winters night, big brown eyes and a wet snout, clusters of light outlining the buildings, mosaic patterns of color that turn into an image of a dancer, a women irritated from exhaustion, a poem written by a old friend who has found love, symbols with the meaning of memory, numbers the resemble hope, a woman’s will to survive, a girl’s dream to love again.
I had some difficulty with this particular project for some reason. The writing that I created was based on a dream that’s set in a beautiful forest in the middle of summer and of course the biggest limitation that I was presented with was the weather. Being that it is winter and I live in the middle of Illinois forced me to think more abstractly. The reason why I like this particular dream was that it was so vivid and it brought an emotional and physical response and I felt that the story would create an interesting video for this particular Aesthetic Writing assignment. After much consideration, I decided to take aspects and or inspirations from the dream and create a video based off those particular inspirations. This brought me to a more abstract perception of the project steering me away from a narrative, which I enjoyed. Once I decided to take a more abstract point of view I took the more inspiring images from the writing and shot video based on those images.
Dancers rolling on the floor articulating their spines, a happy dog playing with her best friend, a bright pink sock keeping the toes warm, someone’s heart breaking when hearing bad news, a beautiful green granny smith apple, snow falling so slowly as if time seemed to stop, a half naked body laying on a baby grand piano, the headless dancer, a glass staircase, red and green lights glowing in the night sky, writings of memories past, an ankle swollen and bruised, a blank page, skin the shimmers like silver, Egyptian black scarab.
Drawing by: Andrew Jones
I see a forest. I can feel the warmth of the bright sun on my face.
Tall tress
Green grass
Butterflies
Flowers of all colors everywhere
The air is clean and fresh.
I walk through the meadow towards the woods feeling the cool wet grass from the morning dew under my feet.
I walk into the forest alone. Shafts of light pierce through the tree’s branches. The trees are tall and full of life.
I walk farther in.
I hear…..
Water?
A river.
I see her.
Big, deep brown eyes
Long white hair
Her long slender arms and legs. Her bare feet pointed.
She smiles at me and touches my face, whipping my tears away.
I’m scared.
My fear and sadness wash out of my body and forms into a white cloud. She gathers the cloud and puts the cloud into a wooden box. She gently places the box into the river.
I stand there watching the box drift away.
She grabs my hand and guides me to a small table covered with a white cloth. A silver goblet sits on the table. She takes the goblet into her hands and asks me to drink. I clasp the goblet with my fingers. Bringing the goblet to my lips, I can see the gold liquid inside.
I drink.
I feel the warm liquid run down my throat and I start to glow.
