FMX 463 | Taylor Whitesel

I thought I would first start out with the materials needed for this installation.

• There are two projectors. Each one comes with a laptop provided by yours truly.
• An extendable stand for one of the projectors along with a table with a table cloth over it to prop up the other projector.
• An old TV. This one will have to be carefully transported!
• A bench to act as a stand for the TV
• A circular table.
• Three picture frames along with a tac for each one
• A foldable futon
• Snacks (lol)
• 2 extension cords just in case

Instructions:

First things first, would be to set up the stands. Take the TV stand and prop it up against the wall . Then take the TV and place it right in the middle. The three picture frames will be hung up approximately 4 feet above the tv with the right and the left frame at the same level and the one in the middle to be placed a foot higher creating a pyramid like shape.

The projector stands will sit about 12 feet away from the TV. (The first will be 10 feet while the second one will be 12.) The first one will have the projector projecting onto the TV. The table cloth will go over this table. The stand behind it will be about 2 and a half feet taller than the first stand and will hold the other projector projecting onto the frames.

Lastly, the couch will go right up against the first stand/table and the table will be in the middle between the TV and the couch. Snacks will be placed on the table in the middle. Also, if needed, use extension cords if not near an outlet!

I think that nostalgia is such a powerful emotion/feeling. It’s something that is different between every person, but it’s also something that can also overlap a lot and I find this whole idea very fascinating. Trying to create this for my project was there for very interesting and fun for me. I decided to go with an environment that replicates a day home from school or just a day home as a kid. A place that takes you away from all of the stress and worries everyone faces as adults and takes them and encapsulates them into a place of good, easy times filled with nostalgia. I think it’s something that everyone needs, especially with all of the finals and projects that every student has going on around this time.

While I don’t think it turned out to be as interactive as I planned it to be, I think it overall, the outcome was ok. I really wanted to sell the whole nostalgic environment so in regards to that, I think I did a pretty good job. The videos I think were the best part of it and really did a good job at being relatable to everyone who viewed it. Since we are all for the most part around the same age, a lot of the content on tv brought everyone back some which was the overall goal for this project.

After all of these very unique project assignments, I think I definitely have a whole new appreciation for installation and I had a lot of fun with this class!

So, today I managed to setup my environment and it turned out pretty much exactly how I wanted it to. I did, however, run into a problem with the midi controller again. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get it to work for me. So, instead, I’m just going to have all of the videos playing on loop. It’s the best that I could do and it still gets the point across.

So I ended up going to the store today and got some perfectly sized picture frames!

So, a couple updates for this final. I have good news and bad news. The good news is, I’ve found some of my materials, the bad news is, some of them don’t work the way I thought they would. So about a week ago, I ordered a universal MIDI remote in hopes to connect it to madmapper and make a functional remote control that could be interactive with the viewer. However, when opening up the package, there was no receiver included, let alone any receiver that I could buy online that would connect to my computer. So, I think I’m going to have to try something else. I’m thinking about just using an old playstation controller since that still gives off nostalgia and it’s a lot easier to use. I’m pretty sure there’s a connector out there that allows you to connect a ps2 controller to your computer.

I did, however, find a perfect bulky, old TV for my environment. I found it off the street, but whatever. Art comes from crazy places sometimes haha.

For this last artist research, I really wanted to find an artist that I could look to for inspiration and ideas for my final installation project. For a refresher, I am planning on creating an installation environment that plays off the idea of nostalgia and how it compares and contrasts from others’ by replicating a day home from school. I find the whole idea of nostalgia very interesting, especially when dealing with art and I am sure I’m not the only one. That’s when I stumbled upon Mike Kelley, an Installation/Sculpture artist who deals a lot with nostalgia and “Repressed Memory Syndrome” in his art.

Mike Kelley was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1954. He received a BFA from the University of Michigan, and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. He creates a wide array of art forms ranging from sculptures, to wall-size drawings, to multi-room installations that re stage institutional environments. His work tends to exemplify nostalgia and questions the legitimacy of “normative” values and systems of authority. One piece of work of his that really stuck out to me was his Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction which was built off his “Educational Complex” sculpture project from 1995. In this exhibition, he creates an environment that best replicates memories from his childhood and growing up in an institutional school culture. I thought that this was such a good example for what I am trying to do in my final. The picture below is very similar, design wise, in how I want to set my environment up.

This one below is of the original “Educational Complex” sculpture that replicates similar ideas, but also deals with “Repressed Memory Syndrome” when taking into consideration of all the school shootings that had spurred around that time (i.e. Columbine).

Artist Statement:“I still think the social function of art is that kind of negative aesthetic. Otherwise there’s no social function for it.”

For this final project, I decided to focus further into the idea of nostalgia and how it compares to others’ by creating an immersive environment that engulfs the viewer in a typical day home from school. I really liked this idea of nostalgia and how it changes from viewer to viewer and I wanted to try to create an environment that not only replicates my growing up, but I’m sure relates to a lot of others as well. This was something that my partners and I touched on with our last project and I wanted to take it a step further. My goal is to create an environment that really makes the viewer feel like their home and I will be doing this through many methods of projection and interactive elements.

For ideas for my environment, I was thinking about re-creating a living room that has a couch, a table, and a tv, with photographs on the wall. The projector will be behind the couch and projecting possibly one of two things: Either home videos of my childhood or a bunch of old commercials that would play during my childhood. While, this one I think would work better, I understand that copyright is a big thing in this class, so I’m fine with the alternative. I would like to hang another projector from the ceiling to project onto the table along with a bunch of childhood snacks that are available for everyone acting as an interactive element. Another idea I had for interactivity in this installation is having a functional remote control with the use of midi controllers. This might be a little harder, but I know that it can be done.

Timeline:

• Wednesday-Sunday 11/21-11/25: Get supplies from home
  • Old TV
  • Pictures
  • Videos
• Tuesday – 11/27
  • Work on Midi Controller option
• Friday – 11/30
  • Work on creating the environment
• Wednesday – 12/05
  • Get snacks
• Friday – 12/07
  • Set up and work out kinks of installation
• Thursday 12/11
  • Check out projectors and set up/get ready installation

Materials

• Fouton
• Old T.V.
• Snacks
• Picuture frames
• Two Projectors

The whole initial idea of our project was to focus on the nostalgia of the season of autumn. Living in Florida is amazing because us northerners get to escape the dreaded season of winter. We don’t have to worry about shoveling our driveways, scraping off our cars, and making sure we leave for school or work extra early if the roads are bad from the latest storm. Unfortunately living in Florida also means that we miss out on the season of fall. Even though most of us that flea the north to come to UT to escape the cold, Fall is something that’s irreplaceable. The changing colors of the leaves on the trees, the smell of freshly baked pie, and the excitement of the approaching holidays is something that Florida just can’t mimic. We decided to turn our installation into the season of fall as best we could because of this.

I think overall that this installation turned out just the way we wanted it to. The enclosed space really gave you a waft of “fall” right when you walk in and we were also able to incorporate all five senses which was what we wanted to do. My task for the project was to get old home videos to project to give a hint of nostalgia to the viewers and were displayed on both walls.

So we started setting up. Here is the beginning of our fall environment!