Milestone I

Title 

Views by Katrina Angeles

Abstract 

Selfies have become a big thing today within the youth and even extending to the older generations which makes it one of the main focuses of the present. People have taken photos of themselves for the purpose of getting likes to boost self esteem and to maybe call for attention. Selfies have seeped into the art world in terms of the photos being taken in front of the actual art work itself. Though it may not be wrong to take their photos, most have forgotten to actually appreciate the work that is in front of them and instead have taken the photos to show their followers just how cultured they are. This installation art will show that art should be appreciated and that not everything has to be picture perfect. Through the artwork it will allow the viewers to take their selfies but in return will display them in a distorted way in order to make they understand that there is more to the work than a mere selfie.

Framework

The past year or two, the art world has gained popularity but not the attention wherein they viewers are interested in the art. People have become more engrossed in the idea of having a background in their photos that will boost an “added cultural capital” and will show their followers that they have “high quality taste” in art. The main example of this is 2017’s Art Fair: with the dozens of people attending, some were there to appreciate the art, some to actually purchase, and most of them there to take their Instagram photos. I found nothing wrong with those who took their photos at safe distance from the art but there were some instances where it became frustrating. In one case, there was a college-aged looking man who stood extremely close to a Ramon Orlina sculpture of a nude woman and took selfies maliciously mocking the body. Another example is from an artist friend who showcased her work in the Art Fair. According to her, there were people who took selfies with her work at one point those people started touching the work as well. Here, the urgency is needed because people need to be aware of the struggles one goes through to produce an artwork and that it should not be used as a mere background; the art should be appreciated first and not forgotten.

The plan for this project is that it will be an interactive installation art with a mirror broken into patterns to show the viewer in a distorted form and on it will have white lights that will depict a phrase that will incorporate the feeling I have to those taking their selfies: possibly the phrase “It’s not you, it’s me” because I see that those people see nothing wrong with what they are doing yet a lot of the art majors and artistic people see wrong in it. I chose this medium because I believe installation art will give me enough space to express myself instead of a 2 dimensional painting and I chose to make it an interactive one because since the topic is on selfies I want the viewers to go beyond being an observer but actually part of the art itself.

Methodology

The mirror will show the viewer and it means to encourage the viewers to take their photos. Breaking the mirror and placing them in a pattern will make themselves distorted which aims to show that not everything is made for selfies and that it will not make their photo picture perfect. Lastly, the neon light will be placed to show a phrase depicting frustration behind selfies vs. art.

The following are pegs:

Output

The output will be be an interactive installation art with a mirror broken into patterns to show the viewer in a distorted form and on it will have white lights that will depict a phrase that will incorporate the feeling I have to those taking their selfies: possibly the phrase “It’s not you, it’s me” because I see that those people see nothing wrong with what they are doing yet a lot of the art majors and artistic people see wrong in it. This will be exhibited in the FA Exhibit Hall from March 27 to 31. The work will encourage viewers to take their photos while realizing that art goes beyond a simple selfie and is not just another background to be used. As for the measurements for the work, the mirror will be 15×15 or 17×17 inches, although it may depend on the space I have in the exhibit, and the rest of the components will be based off of that.

Method of Data Collection

The plan I have for data collection is that I will update the blog as much as I can showing the ongoing process of my work. I will include photos and possibly videos of myself working on it or narrating the progress. I also plan on collecting reviews from the people who have seen my work in the exhibit.

Process and Timeline

Since my work will comprise of trial-and-error due to the patterns of the broken mirror, I have given myself a large amount of time to do the work and if in case there are delays along the way I will have ample time to make up for it.

Materials needed: 

• 1 mirror*
• white neon lights
• glass casing (if needed)

*I have yet to decide if I want to make 3 different mirrors but considering the space I listed it down as 1