June 19, 2019: Famous Convo Reflection

Famous Convo Work Reflection: 

I have learned that reenacting a famous performance is more difficult than it may seem. I struggled to mouth the words Vito Acconci did in his work titled “Theme Song” due to the nature of his words. At the start, I thought it may be simple to ramble about deducting the viewer but as I was recording footage, I found it rather difficult to come up with unsettling phrases as he did. 

If given the chance to film the famous convo project once again, I would change the following:

• I would adjust lighting in the room better so that I’d have to do less color correction throughout the film. 
• I would consider different color lighting to enhance the footage itself. If I were to have used dim white lighting, the audience would clearly be able to see the makeup and gore. 
• I would adjust volume of music slightly to make sure that it is not as overbearing, as I would need the audience to hear what I have to say. 
• I would change the positioning of my body to mimic that of Vito Acconci’s. I feel as though I was too centered in the footage and not laying down on my side as he did. 

June 18, 2019: Famous Convo Piece

“Theme Song” (1973 Part I by Vito Acconci re-enacted by Victoria Padilla

June 17, 2019: Rough Draft Reflection

Rough Draft Reflection:

For Project 4, I would alter my rough draft in the following ways:

• I would adjust the audio so that the sounds of nature and splatting of paint on the canvas are more apparent. 
• I would attempt to crop the video footage so that it is completely proportional. I feel as though it looks a bit slanted and that is due to the fact that it was wrapped around a tree branch above me. 
• I would consider adjusting the speed of the clip so that it stays within the range of 3-5 minutes. The video is 11 minutes as it is and if it is sped up correctly, it will appear to be a time lapse. 

June 18, 2019: Splash of Grief

Splash of Grief

Victoria Padilla (b.1999)

Splash of Grief, 2019

Film

Artist Statement 

Grief is dealt with differently as it varies from person to person. Though there are stages which have been defined as part of the grieving process, there is no specific order for this. D.A.B.D.A symbolizes the stages of grief and allow us to better understand what a person may be going through when grieving. Denial, acceptance, bargaining, depression, and anger are the stages that we may experience when grieving. It is not unlikely to go back and forth between these stages when facing grief. 

“Splash of Grief” is a performance piece where I am expressive of how the grieving process has impacted me over the years. By using the colors purple, red, blue, black and green in my work, I am using color symbolism to define each stage. Throughout the duration of the video, I can be seen going back and forth in between different stages as one does not follow a particular order through the grieving process. 

 April of 2016, my mother was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer which had spread from her breasts, to her spine and within her chest. 363 days later, she lost her battle to cancer after fighting as hard as she could. My younger brother who was 9 years of age at the time while I was 17 years of age had to grow up much sooner than expected. We were orphaned and left to grieve without the love and care of the only person in our lives that had tried her best to support us. 

At the end of the Spring semester of this year, my uncle fell comatose and I fled town the moment I was informed. I spent a week along side of him with his eldest son and doing so opened up a lot of old wounds and memories I thought I suppressed well enough up to that point. Being at his bedside, talking to him and trying to bring him back reminded me of the emotions I felt when my mother was at the point of no return and the feeling was too familiar. After his passing, it was difficult to fully understand how inexplicable incidents happen as quick and as unwarranted as they do. 

Since my mother’s initial diagnosis in April of 2016 up to present day, I have struggled to shake the feeling of grief on a daily basis. I am convinced that it will not go away, but I know I will learn how to manage the emotions and thoughts that come along with the grieving process in due time. “Splash of Grief” was a therapeutic method to help channel the emotions and thoughts I have suppressed for quite some time. I feel as though expression through therapeutic methods are helpful, as they help you acknowledge and reflect on what is often times suppressed. 

June 13, 2019: Brainstorming for Project 4

For Project 4, I would like to do action painting. I have a few separate locations I am deciding between. I would like to create the work in an open space, preferably an open field where a mess can be made. I was deciding between Kanapaha Park, University Garden at UF, or the sunroom in the townhome I live in. Though it would be convenient to work from home, it would be best to not make a mess. I hope to express myself through action painting and hope to create a work that eludes to mental health or grief in some way, shape or form. I am unsure as to how I will come to a decision. I am leaning more towards working in nature if the weather permits it.

 

June 13. 2019: Famous Work

For this assignment, I chose to reenact Vito Acconci - Theme Song (1973). I changed my appearance and mouthed the same words Vito Acconci did, while smoking a cigar in lieu of a cigarette. Originally, I was going to make it so that my face would be peeling off,  however, once I started doing my make up I thought it might be creepier to reenact if it were as something I really dislike. From a young age, I’ve always disliked clowns. For this piece, I chose to do my make up as a clown and gazed into the lens to make the viewer uncomfortable. Reenacting the piece alone was a bit discomforting but I managed to get through it. Below are some images of my take on Vito Acconci’s Theme Song.

June 12, 2018: Critique Reflection

Throughout critique, the commentary I received was overall helpful and would lead me in the right direction for a further iteration of the film. If I were to create a further iteration of this film, I would make the following changes: 

• I would make sure that the point of view of the viewer is first person. In some shots, the camera is angled slightly upward and makes it seem as if the video is being taken from above versus straight ahead. 
• I would overlay audio better and make sure that the audio is logical and consistent in terms of where it is placed. 
• I would try to crop scenes better than I did in this iteration of the film. There were instances where the screen had to be zoomed in to avoid capturing a foot that sneaked into the frame and I had to crop it in a way that cropped every angle versus the bottom panel. To avoid this, I would try to better learn the software to avoid inconsistency in my frames. 
• I may be more considerate of the viewer and omit sounds if they are not necessary. The morning sickness scene sounds disgusting and makes the persons nausea seem real.