This course has definitely been interesting, to say the very least. There has been a lot happening with the lockdowns and the pandemic and everything that’s been going on that it’s sometimes hard to focus on the work and assignments and what I’m putting into and getting out of this unit. Thankfully, this has been an extremely accomodating class and I’ve been enjoying coming in twice a week and looking at content everyone else has done and creating my own.

Something that Smiljana said to me this week has really resounded in me. She said something along the lines of with the content we have been filming and producing, she never would have thought we were limited in our filming locations. It was like we still had full access to the world. I think that’s the thing I love most about art; there’s always a way around something. Creativity is all about improvising and adapting, and just because something isn’t how you planned it to be right from the very beginning, doesn’t mean it won’t be as good as your initial vision for the piece will be.

I think it’s important to think about art and the relationships that art creates in a time like this. Relationship between text and media, between image and sound, between artist and audience.

One thing that has stuck with me this semester thus far is the non representational theory (and yes, it feels like I’m copping out a bit because it’s what I wrote on for my last assignment, but it’s something I can’t help coming back to). Just the idea that everyone’s experiences and different lives mean for them to interpret something differently, art can be seen as this living, breathing Rorschach Test (or an inkblot test, as it’s more commonly known as). It’s so interesting that people can interpret things completely differently based on their own experiences and I’d love to explore that more throughout the rest of this semester. I, personally, love delving into the psychology of people, and evoking something from an audience that they don’t initially think will be evoked. The human mind is a complicated and terrifying thing, and I am so fascinated with the kinds of art that aim to unlock that potential, and open the audience’s brains up like a book and take a look at what’s inside. Films such as Lord of the Flies, Silence of the Lambs, even Fight Club (to an extent) explore the human psyche and audiences always leave those theatres or viewings having resonated with something in that film.

Now obviously, not everyone resonates with the same thing, which is perfectly okay, in fact, it’s encouraging. To be able to create something that resonates with different people in different ways is an art that some day I wish to accomplish. I think that this will best be done with Non Representational Theory and can truly evolve to be something magnificent.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the future group work to come this semester, and I think I’m paired with a really great group of people that I can really work well with, which is absolutely fantastic. I want to try and sprinkle elements of Non Representational Theory in the final project, whether it is extremely overt or subtle and not something you catch until much afterwards, I haven’t decided yet, but I think it would be a great way for me to demonstrate my knowledge, understanding and interpretation of the course content.

I will wrap it up here, but I have really enjoyed this class thus far, and I think in this short amount of time I have learnt things and remembered things that will stick with me and appear throughout my work for many years to come.

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