Tessa Larson

 Since I need to do one more reflection post, I thought I'd do it on my Final Project. Instead of just reflecting on it more, I'll try to also think about how I might revise it further (along with what I liked with how it turned out and thinking about the process of creating it). Firstly, the decision to take a video of the video was a sort of experiment that wasn't necessarily planned. However, I really liked how it created a sort of swaying movement that that connected the choppy repetitious loops. I was thinking about this because of a the feedback I got when presenting, suggesting adding more elements in the animation that are continuous across the video, rather than the whole thing looping. I really like this idea because it fractures a discernible sense of time and adds an interesting layer of chaos and irregularity. This idea reminds me of those 'spot the difference' videos or even in horror games where the light is flickering and suddenly a monster appears.

Routine Moments- These simulated environments are an invitation to pause and really look at everyday conventions, suggesting absurdity and vacancy in constructions of normalcy and comfort. They are my own take on the sort of environment/ASMR themed videos all over YouTube (which can range from simulating a cafe on a rainy day to specific universes from books or films). Unlike those videos, mine are somewhat unpleasant, as I was reflecting on mental health struggles and emptiness in the routines that I use to get myself to get out of bed, to get work done, and to occasionally convince myself to leave my room. A few general notes: The quality of the videos is purposefully grainy; I took a video of a video as I thought it would add an interesting effect that better reflected the themes of my project. I also liked how the grating repetition/loop of these environment videos combined with the The Desk Study is based off of hours spent studying at my desk and struggles with focus, depression,

 Laurie Simmons 's photography work with dolls has evolved over time to different levels of hyperreality. Starting out with a focus on doll houses and the artificiality of the suburbs, she has added layers of complexity through engaging with niche subcultures (learning of them through the internet) and how they reflect and challenge reality, simulations, and social constructs. This progresses to a point where the viewer is unsure where reality begins and ends.  Simmons, Laurie. Music of Regret I. 1994. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/ARTSTOR_103_41822003865381      

       It’s really interesting to see Alexandra Bell’s process and how she takes a newspaper page and works with what is there and not there (naming unnamed whiteness, stripping text down to the essential information, analyzing photo choice and layout, and such). One of my art classes went to see her exhibition before the talk, but something about how she described her process, verbalizing the details, shed new light on it and makes me want to go back and look at them more. I love when I can see the process of an artwork laid out, as it invites viewers to think about how the artwork got to where it is and eliminated the artificial ‘objectivity’ (instead, I feel that exposing process helps the viewer realize that the artist is not some mystical magician that conjures up the artwork all of a sudden- but rather engages in a slow process of creating and refining and thinking, etc.). I also recognize that this is a key part of the Counternarratives series, as she directly discussed workin

Thinking about my project with Baudrillard's concept of the 'resurrection of difference,' I hope to make my project fairly accessible: choosing really simple and recognizable spaces (there is always going to be some level of cultural knowledge needed, but I'm looking at ones that are widely familiar). The interesting twist is that I hope to depict these familiar spaces in an unfamiliar way. I'm trying to make environments that are so standard and 'real' that they seem false and empty.  As far as actual progress goes, I've gotten most of my basic sketches down and have some ideas for what style I'm going to aim for (along with plenty of reference photos). I have an animation software downloaded as well, which is what I'm using to draw the images.

 It was a bit of a crazy week, so progress has been slow but here are my thoughts and updates so far: I'm currently in the phase where I am deciding what environments to depict and how to depict them. I want to create a little hyperreality bubble – a little moment in each animated scene, – so I have to be careful about how I compose each area and what detail I include (the details and objects are really important, as I've been considering alongside Baudrillard's writing about "artificial resurrection in systems of signs" and iconography). However, rather than just making it mundane, starkly realistic simulation, I want to add certain hints that something is a bit off. This is because I find in all this discussion of simulation, individual perspective/perception plays a huge role (in a simulated room, for example, everyone will probably notice different details and perceive the space differently, so I wanted to address that as its own simulation of sorts). As someo

 I'll admit that the main factor in deciding what to do for the first project was me wanting to work with animation, which is a newer medium for me, on my new iPad. When I was brainstorming ideas, I took note of the YouTube 'ambiance' playlists I often have in the background, and started to think about it in relation to Baudrillard's simulations. I'm interested in exploring these digital simulated spaces and how the visual (often a still scene with selected moving elements that loop, such as a fireplace, rain, or someone turning the pages of a book) and the audio affect the listener and how these videos are are commonly used. As someone who has strong emotional responses to environments or spaces (in my mind, remembering a place mostly involves what specific emotions it made me feel), I want to explore the very real responses to these simulations through some specific themes I've been thinking with in my work lately: daily rituals and awareness, comfort and the