Reflection

I absolutely love this piece. Its so different and so far out there. For this project i really thought outside the box, this is one of the most conceptual pieces i have made. This piece is about how we treat our bodies and nature poorly. As i walked the line i saw all this garbage and beer cans, and we pour this stuff into our bodies without even thinking twice. We destruct our minds, body’s and nature.

 

 

A Line Drained of Good

Mixed Media

Shannon Pollock

 

I started to stumble upon empty beer cans and wrappers; there where small piles everywhere. I thought about these simple beer cans and wrappers and this simple word drain. Back in the “older days” we were more in touch with our self. There wasn’t so much technology and evil in the world; we weren’t so brain washed. Now we have filled our bodies and mind with bad. We drained our bodies for the worst. People these days eat terribly; we consume so much fast food, soda, chemicals, preservatives and alcohol within one day. We pour evil into our children and teach them violence when they already have to grow up in a world that’s full of evil and violence. We listen to music that talks about the evil in the world and portrays it as being ok. The music glamorizes abuse, rape, death and killing, abandonment and disappointment. We allow ourselves to become negative with these thoughts and pull away from the good in the world. This evil can be found anywhere and on this small portion of this earth I found so much. The line is only five feet wide and a mile long. We have millions of those measurements everywhere with this same destruction of our bodies and nature. Nature and simplicity is where everything started from and we rely on it greatly, yet we treat it like shit and allow evil and negativity to get to it. We destruct it and drain it of all its positive and natural beauty.

 

 

How to Make a Human TapeForm

Materials.

1. 5 rolls of clear extra strength packing tape
2. 1 roll of plastic wrap
3. Scissors
4. Human body

 

Steps on how to make the actual tape form

1. First wrap the entire body with the plastic wrap in the desired position, but do not wrap the head yet.
2. Next wrap the body with the packing tape; its easier if you do one body segment at a time. Make sure you cover all the plastic wrap and  dont make the tape to tight. Repeat this step two more times.
3. Once the entire body is wrapped but the head you can now wrap the head in plastic wrap if its ok with the person. Be mindful that they still need to breathe.
4. Once the body is fully wrapped, you cut a seam down the back so the person can get out. Make sure you cut a seam along all body parts such as legs and arms.
5. Now you tape the seam back together and leave a small opening if you wish to fill the body with objects.
6. If the tape form doesnt seem sturdy enough you can do extra tape layers once it is off the body.

Project

Making this human tape form was a lot more interesting then what i thought it would be. The process was also a lot harder. But in the end it turned out mad cool. My idea for this project has on grown, now not only am i filling this form with beer cans and cigg boxes i also want to draw the line on the body and mark where i found these piles of cans. The body will now act as a map of evil on the line. The thing that interest me most about these piles on the line is that we are not only being self destructive but we are also destructing nature by leaving this garbage everywhere. That’s why im representing this garbage within the human body.

Here are the process pictures.

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Ideas for Project

1. Tape cast a human and fill it with beer cans
2. make a human our of beer cans by gluing them together
3. make a drain of evil

 

My final idea.

To create the human figure out of tape and fill it with beer cans and cigarette boxes. The meaning behind this is that we consume so much evil ad it becomes very apparent and shows in people.

The “evil” objects will be trapped within this tape human showing that we have trapped evil into our own bodies.

• shows the lack of care we have for our bodies

 

Representation

• Tape- being trapped within
• Clearness- we can see who does it by how they act
• Form- humans; we are the ones doing it
• Objects- evil or bad

Drain On The Line

As I walked the line I started to think about what the word drain ment to this line I came up with a few  ideas;

1. Electricity; the lights are draining the line of its energy in the literal term.
2. Rain going down the street into the drain.
3. The roots are draining the soil of its water.
4. Kenetic and potential energy; it take energy to walk the line especially up the hill and i gain some energy back when i walk down the hill, first the line drains me of my energy then i drain the line of its energy.
5. Writing this information down about the line is draining my pen of its ink.
6. Rain draining down the hillside of the woods of the line.
7. The clouds over the line are draining the line and sky above of its potential light.
8. All the rain is drained into the center of the line due to the hills on both side.
9. The leaves are becoming drained of their green color due to the lack of sunlight; photosynthesis can’t occur. They are changing colors now.
10. The trees rotting, they are becoming drained of life.

 

All these ideas about how the word drain pertains to the line are rather cool in my eyes but nothing stuck  out to me; then the true idea of the meaning of drain to this line came to me.

 

As I was walking the line and thinking about the word drain I started to think really deep, I had to look outside the box. There is only so much literal drain on the line. Then I started to stumble upon empty beer cans and wrappers; there where small piles everywhere. I thought about these simple beer cans and wrappers and this simple word drain. At that instant a huge idea came into my head and the power of it was like no other. Back in the “older days” we where more in touch with our self. There wasn’t so much technology and evil in the world; we weren’t so brain washed. Now we have filled our bodies and mind with bad. We drained our bodies for the worst. People these days eat terribly, we consume so much fast food, soda, chemicals, preservatives and alcohol within one day. We also let our children of today watch rated R movies and play violent video games at the ages of 5 or probably even younger. We pour evil into our children and teach them violence when they already have to grow up in a world of evil and violence. We listen  to music that talks about the evil in the world and portrays it as being ok. The music glamorizes abuse, rape, death and killing, abandonment and disappointment. We allow ourselves to become negative with these thoughts and pull away from the good in the world. When I went to walk the line, i left all my negativity, bad, and evil thoughts and feelings behind. I walked the line with a clear and positive mind. I had a positive ora around me, I only allowed happy and positive thoughts and energies to enter my body and mind. Nature and simplicity is where everything started from and we rely on it greatly, yet we treat it like shit and allow evil and negativity to get to it. We destruct it and drain it of all its positive and natural beauty.

 

 

Word Definition

Drain

Dictionary definition;
drain; verb (used with object)
1. to withdraw or draw off (a liquid) gradually; remove slowly or by degrees, as by filtration: to drain oil from a crankcase.
2. to withdraw liquid gradually from; make empty or dry by drawing off liquid: to drain a crankcase.
3. to exhaust the resources of: to drain the treasury.
4. to deprive of strength; tire.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/drain

My favorite definition here would defiantly be number three. I feel so much from there few words, and they have so much impact behind them to me. They almost empower me; I’m not sure in what way yet.

Urban Dictionary definition;
1. lowest possible of human life, below a hermit.
2.the bitter taste that drips down the back of your throat and settles in your mouth after you snort cocaine.
3. something cool, kickass or to rad for its own good.
4. to take a piss.
5. a hole thru which a persons life essence flows in the process of dying.
6. to take a puff of a cigg/ joint or blunt.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drain

Wow! I never knew one word could have so many different meanings to people. I have never heard of the urban definitions listed above, I would love to know where people come up with these meanings for such simple words and in a way make them super complex. It really fascinates me.

My definition of the word drain; to completly take all that one has of his or her spirit and energy, to whipe out there energy completly around there body. To eliminate ones chakras and they become out of tune with the world around them and within their self. To clear out their understandings and to no longer be able to connect with the power of energy.

Exploring The Line (homework)

Exploring the line was actually really interesting. At first I didnt want to do it, but as i got deeper into the woods i felt like a real explorer. I started to notice everything around me and lost all sense of time and location. There are so many small details we walk by everyday and we dont take the time to notice the world around us. I really appericate this activity a lot. Also on my “hike” i let my mind just wander; there for i did exploration #20.

Small Thoughts

• where am i
• lots of trees; stumps, half trees, broken trees, bare trees, full trees, old, young, green, colored bark, short, tall, dead, rotting, standing up, laying on ground, firewood ect.
• what kind of animal poop is this
• how much further
• my legs hurt
• its muddy
• peaceful
• quiet
• who else is out here
• green
• life and living
• death
• the valley of the insane
• im hungry and hot
• whats beyond that hill

Through out my hike i took many pictures and just observed.

Personal Territory Tour

Personal Territory Boundaries

50 Things

1. 8 trees
2. 4 benches
3. 6 big rocks
4. twigs scattered on ground
5. leafs
6. grays
7. ciggirette butts
8. fungi on trees
9. cars
10. breeze
11. spider webs
12. black tarp around bottom of trees
13. faint green line along bottom of big cement wall
14. 2 spot lights; brown and tan
15. 2 old ciggerette boxs
16. broken fired cerimic piece
17. white mushroom
18. weeds growing up through gravel
19. eroded away curbing
20. yellow leaf
21. smoothed big rocks
22. tan/yellow pain spill on big cement wall
23. cracks in the wall
24. water erosion
25. little sun
26. shaded
27. cool
28. quiet
29. uneven ground
30. cold cement
31. 5 bikes in bike rack
32. people smoking
33. pink tape laying on a piece of gravel
34. blue wrapper on gravel
35. broken glass
36. snail on cement wall
37. paint or some material on cement wall, making a slight human figure
38. tin foil
39. moss
40. smooshed gum on side of rock
41. green look to rocks
42. water line on rocks where it runs off
43. sharp edges on cement
44. stubby round fat rotten stick on ground
45. zebra print pattern on a tree
46. green leafs
47. segments of where cement was put together
48. metal bars along part of balcony
49. potato bugs
50. caterpillar
51. bumps on curbing

Exploration 8

See “cracks” photo

Exploration 11

25 pieces of gravel ; various sizes; various colors, red, grays, whites, green; various textures. See “Gravel” photo.

Tour Guide

Directions to Personal Territory

1. Walk out of Cohen Studio and down the few steps.
2. Veer left toward Main Street.
3. Stop at the edge of Main Street; check for cars, then walk across the street so you are now on the right hand side of the road toward the stop light.
4. Once at the stop light turn right; you should now be on Alfred University’s campus.
5. Continue to walk over the bridge, and cross road of the parking lot entrance.
6. Once on the other side of the parking lot entrance you will see a sign that is curved that says “New York State School of Ceramics”, walk behind that sign.
7. Once behind the sign refer to the Personal Territory layout of the site for the boundaries.

see photo of layout

 

 

Exploration 41

Exploration #41

• Pencil sharpener
• Phone jack
• White board

Exploration 37

Exploration #37

• Number of heart beats in a minute
• Clocks second hand
• Pictures changing on computer screen saver
• Number of text messages in a minute
• Blinking of the eyes
• Rotation of the fan
• Foot steps up the stairs
• Passing of the clouds
• Sunrise to sunset
• Cars driving down the street
• Typing on the computer