Katie's 4-D Projects

(Some clips from the short film -- the video is too large for the blog) Doors are entrances, but they are also exits. Windows allow one to see from the inside out, but also the outside in. If a person enters a building through a door, they usually have to leave through that same door. An open door exclaims cries of hope whilst a closed one mourns lost opportunities. Windows allow glimpses into a beautiful world but can separate two hands longingly reaching for one another. The door and window can be beginnings or endings, depending on which perspective one takes… For this video, I decided to compile video clips of doors and windows (from either buildings or cars) that I had taken at some point over the past year. I overlaid them with Emily Dickinson’s poem, “A Door Just Opened on a Street,” which highlights the duality of these everyday items.

      For this project, I wanted to give my classmates a space where they could write a letter to someone saying what they've always wanted to say, but never had the opportunity/ability to do so. Maybe this was due to loss, falling out with a person, or awkward tension. It could be a letter of gratitude, of sadness, of anger. I wanted to give each individual the space and agency to process something that they needed to express outwardly. There is something very significant about materializing one's thoughts onto a physical sheet of paper and pretending that they are directly addressing a specific person, but with zero intention of the person actually reading it. I encouraged each individual to pick out a writing device that might represent the "emotional" tone of the letter. I set a five minute timer, and once they were done writing, they could pick one of the envelopes that I handmade out of old magazines. I purposely made envelopes that could not be sent as a cathar...

      For my meet in the middle project, Marco and I decided to install an "art gallery" in the middle of campus... but it was actually ducks looking at miniature paintings in the trees, stairs, and bridges. It garnered a lot of attention and is intended to make passerbys reflect on spaces they pass by on the regular. It also raises questions of proportion, especially looking at how tall the tree was compared to the ducks and paintings. 

 Music and Memory I have been thinking a lot recently about how intertwined music and memory are. I knew for this exercise that I wanted to do something that would be personally meaningful to me and involve some aspect of social connection. Thus, each day of the week, I decided to call one of my family members and ask them to tell me about a song that has a special memory tied to it. I gave no other specifications. The experience was truly wonderful. I would usually sit outside on my balcony and write down the story that they were telling as they spoke. Some of the stories were silly, some more serious. I realized that I had never heard of the stories tied to these songs, and it prompted me to reflect on the fact that despite knowing someone your entire life, there is still so much to learn.  "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral" from Mamaw "Sunny Days" -- from my mom  "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You" and "A Mighty Fortress" from Pappaw  "More ...

Measuring Histories: My Mamaw's Cherry Pie     Throughout my childhood years, my dad's parents lived in a small town called Fallston in Harford County, Maryland. They lived in a beautiful house on a plot of land that was home to an apple orchard, among other flowering plants and trees. I will always remember the afternoons spent baking fruit pies from scratch with my Mamaw. She has a signature recipe for both apple and cherry pies--a visit to Mamaw and Papaw's house would not be complete without at least a slice of pie a day.  I called Mamaw on the phone to ask for the pie recipe, and she was overjoyed to provide it. This collage is a recreation of the specific ingredients that go into her recipe. I wanted the feel of the piece to evoke both childhood nostalgia and a grandmotherly-aesthetic at the same time.   

      The central question that Gabe and I were working through as we did this Changing Light in Transparency project was, “how can we make the unseen seen?” We thought about the things people tend to look at through these paint studio windows, which are typically the people occupying the area outside and then the nature itself. However, there are so many other creatures that are present, but completely missed by the human eye. We thought about what it would look to enlarge various bugs that could be found in the area (we even saw a butterfly flying around as we were planning). We also wanted to incorporate a whimsical, childlike feel to the window stickers, perhaps reminiscent of the Very Hungry Caterpillar.