The video

Overall, my body as a site project ended up being visually very nice. I wasn't sure about the audio. I liked the song, "Undone- The Sweater Song" by Weezer and it fit the rhythm of the photographs landing on the table. It might even be cool just to have a conversation going on in the background or city sounds. The video is submitted without sounds because I can't publish the video with a song from Weezer on Blogger and it also shows that a lot of different sounds could fit with the visuals. I am still looking.

Inspiration

I found a really cool art installation that I was able to use for my Body As a Site Project. It is right our outside of the campus of UW Tacoma. Wooden "tiles" or planks are painted with words or letters and placed around the steps. People who have passed by have set up the words/letters into sentences or phrases. It is extremely interactive.

Final Thoughts

Other Avenues

Sketches

Sketches for the Body As Art (Site) Project

Body as a site

I decided to narrow down my topic to I am statements. I started with "I am" on my hand then gradually wrote more and more to the I am statement. Speaking of statements..

Artist Statement

I am using body paint (face paint from Joann Fabrics) to write statements on my body. I am documenting my writing using photography and editing the photographs to add color or to change the colors. I want to create a sense of a message board or even graffiti on a wall. I started with the statement, "I am" and kept on adding to the statements or crossed them out to make a new statement. I want to display the labels that I give myself and give a message of change and growth. The purpose is to use my body as a living canvas to show the facets to my personality and the changes in my life.

History in context

The Mattress Factory

Sometimes names just stick around whether they are accurate or not. In the case of a building, the name could be inspired by history but may not be true. On the University of Washington, Tacoma campus the building named the “Mattress Factory” building may not have been a factory after all but instead a warehouse for the bedroom furniture.
The “Mattress Factory” building was built in 1912 for the F.S. Harmon & Company furniture manufacturer. F.S. Harmon & Company started its manufacturing business in Tacoma in 1909. The company manufactured mattresses, tables, chairs and desks. The Harmon Company also designed and manufactured furniture for the classroom, including cabinets for portable lab equipment as well as for teacher storage.
The original Harmon Company building was built in 1909. It now houses the Harmon Brewing Company (in an obvious connection to the history of the building) and other restaurants on the ground floor. In the middle of the building, it has offices and on top it has loft apartments. It also sports a set of “ghost” signs or hand painted advertising that has been preserved on the north and south side of the building. On the north end the sign says, “Harmon Mfg. Co.” and on the south end it reads, “The Harmon”.
The Mattress Factory building also had advertising on it and today the ghost sign reads “Sluberite” which is a reference to a brand of mattress. It is clear that the “Mattress Factory” building was part of the F.S. Harmon & Company manufacturing center because a pedestrian bridge connected the two buildings. Today, the bridge is a set of balconies (one made from the top of the bridge and one made from the bottom) on the Mattress Factory and a sealed hole on the privately owned main building. According to the walking tour for UW Tacoma, the bridge was taken down in 2000. Now this is where the history of the building and the name contradicts each other. The UW Tacoma and the Tacoma Library describe a different use for the building.
According to the construction history provided by the UW Tacoma, the Mattress Factory building was never actually a mattress factory but instead was used for storage and sales space. The Tacoma Library labels the Mattress Factory building as the F.S. Harmon & Company warehouse.
The Mattress Factory building is a combination of two different warehouses. The triangular style of the building is called “flat iron”. The shape of the building is visually pleasing with trees lining the walkway and vines crawling up the side. Inside there are massive wood beams and metal staircases that have kept the industrial feel to building. The combination of the two warehouses creates a maze of levels and stairwells, which has created the need for bright signs to direct students to their destination. A stairwell was also added to side of the building with the recent renovation. The renovation of the building started in 2002 and completed in 2004. The Mattress Factory is 64,097 square feet and today houses classrooms, offices, student services, career counseling and the student government.
The name, “Mattress Factory” rolls off the tongue more than Mattress Warehouse so it is understandable why the name was chosen. No matter what the past purposes of the building were, it is important to recognize the effort of the city of Tacoma and the University of Washington to preserve and to incorporate the history of the campus into its modern use for education.

History in place

First off, I think I got distracted by the concept of the balcony. I really just wanted to showcase the people that walked the hallways in the mattress factory. Second, the different fabrics looked visually better than plain white but yeah they aren't from a mattress. I thought that it would work because of the many different textiles and material that F.S. Harmon made. If I would do this again I would probably take out the balcony all together and have some sort representation of the workers in the mattress storehouse. I could also have the feet floating across. Again, I really struggled with this project because it is all in a certain context. The average person would not relate to a historical project unless there is a sign that showcased it. I almost wanted to put up a newspaper article about the Harmon company or even my paper to give the context. It seems like a balancing act. If you give too much information, the piece is too complex but not enough and there are just footprints on the floor.

I did impress one of the workers at the cashiers office. Score!

Mattress Factory

I was thinking about creating a footsteps that "walk" out of thin air on the balcony and down the hall. This could indicate the walkway that does not exit anymore between the two Harmon buildings. I am going to try to sketch it out to see if it could work. I could definitely make the footprints but the floating ones will be a challenge.

art in place, history all over the place

I don't know why this project seems so weird. I can research anything but to put it into an art context leaves me with many questions. How do I convey a whole bunch of history into one object, art piece or installation? How do I get people to see what I see? How do I get access to the balcony that is locked and guarded by the cashier's office? Why does the cashier's office have to be behind unbreakable glass?

human in slow motion

I really liked the end result of this project. I felt that I was creating one tableau after another. I also felt a little like those human statues that hang out in Seattle. I was planning on doing the project for longer than I did but the heat of the day was a little much. Plus I wanted to see the other projects.

human in slow motion