Tessa Larson

 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 ...