2.19

Did: Thesis 2nd draft (4+ hrs)
Met with Patrick to discuss printing options (1 hr)
Small group crit (1 hr)
Recovering data from hard drive (2+ hrs)

Discovered: To be honest, this week has not been extremely productive for me. I became really overwhelmed by a technological problem with my hard drive. It totally freaked me out and I need to do a better job of backing up my work asap. My hard drive malfunction, in combination with the need to finish the 2nd draft of my thesis and prepare for my cousin's wedding which I am photographing today has prevented me from being really productive with my IP work. I am hoping to get back on track before the upcoming break because I am planning on photographing in my grandma's pool in Largo, Florida. I'm really excited to enjoy some warmer weather, but I would also like to produce a lot of new images... I need to get back into a productive mode.

I do think that the small group critique this week was really helpful for me. It became apparent again that viewers do not necessarily see a connection between my images and marine pollution. Instead they see pretty images that look like weird organisms. My group suggested that I try taking some images where the milk jugs might be slightly transformed but more identifiable as milk jugs. If I combine images that look more like milk jugs and the images that I have been making in a projected loop, I may be able to make it appear as if the milk jugs are being deconstructed. I like the idea of trying to visually show the process of plastic breaking down. I think I avoided photographing the milk jugs as milk jugs in the past because I was worried that I would make work that would be too literal. I didn't just want to throw trash in the pool and photograph it. But I am excited about the idea of slightly manipulating the milk jugs and photographing them as if they are going through the process of breaking down and becoming the abstract-organic-looking sculptures that I have been making. We shall see... I think it is worth a try...

Amanda also suggested that I look at Cornelia Parker's work. I recognized her piece "Hanging Fire Suspected Arson" (1999) but I really liked this image of her piece "Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View" (1991):


I think this piece could provide some great inspiration for the installation of my work...