Workshop
Workshop
I made the presentation for my workshop idea but ended up not attending the session. So, I will share it on here instead. I came up with the idea for everyone to create a new character for their favourite film or tv show. We would spend the first half writing and brainstorming ideas separately, writing a description and backstory to create the character. Then come together and pick our favourite one. Then as a group we design what the character would look like and how they would fit into that chosen film or tv show.
Research
Kat napiorkowska
Kat is a Polish YouTuber based in London, England. She has gained popularity there for her short films, including mental health discussions. i watched a few more of her videos after last week, focusing on depression. I like how natural the video flows with the voice over.
Benny and Joon, directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik
Benny & Joon is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film. Sam (Johnny Depp) and Juniper “Joon” (Mary Stuart Masterson), find each other and fall in love. Benjamin “Benny” (Adrian Quinn) Pearl and his mentally ill sister Juniper “Joon” Pearl live together following the accidental death of their parents. Joon joins a poker game at the house belonging to a friend of Benny’s named Mike and loses a bet that commits Mike’s eccentric cousin Sam to live with the Pearls. Joon aids Sam (who is illiterate) when he is struggling with writing to his mother. Left alone, Joon and Sam kiss. Benny goes on a date, but Benny abruptly ends it because he wants to get home to Joon. Benny, Joon, and Sam go to a park, where Sam starts doing tricks with his hat, attracting an appreciative crowd. Benny stays at the park to reflect and sends Joon home with Sam, where they make love. Sam then tells Joon he loves her, which Joon reciprocates. When Benny makes suggestions to Sam about his comedy routines, Joon becomes agitated and makes Sam explain that he and Joon are romantically involved. An angry Benny throws Sam out, yells at Joon, and shows her a pamphlet about a group home that would be a better home for her. Joon starts hitting Benny and screaming, and he pushes her away.
While Benny is away, Sam arrives. They pack suitcases and get on a bus, but Joon soon begins to hear voices in her head and argues with them, in great distress. Sam tries to soothe her, but she becomes more agitated. The bus is stopped, and two paramedics restrain Joon. When Benny arrives at the hospital, the doctor tells him Joon does not want to see him. He finds Sam in the waiting room, and they argue. Later on, Benny finds Sam, now working at the video store, and asks for his help. They go to the hospital. Benny apologizes to Joon, persuades her to consider getting her own apartment, and tells her that Sam has come back for her. Joon tells the doctor that she would like to try living in her own apartment. The siblings reconcile and Sam and Joon are reunited. Later, Benny brings roses to Ruthie. He takes another bouquet to Joon’s apartment but leaves the flowers in the doorway when he sees Sam and Joon are busy making grilled cheese sandwiches with a clothing iron.
The story is one about love , but also madness and the struggle of mental illness. The film adds humour to the dark theme however, with Sam cooking grilled cheese sandwiches with an iron and playing a poker game in a snorkel Mask. The film also touches on Benny and Joons relationship, suffering with separation anxiety and benny devoting his life to Joon in order to keep her out of an institution. It is implied that Joon is schizophrenic, although the screenplay doesn’t ever say the word out loud. Joon experiences auditory hallucinations, has a stable routine and takes medication on a daily basis.
Joon is an artist who paints abstract paintings of her emotions and hallucinations. I was brought up on this movie, and was one of the reasons I wanted to be an artist. I identified with Joon, feeling isolated of my own accord and using my art to communicate.
Even though it’s a film, I am inspired by Joon’s art work and her daily routine. hopefully I can incorporate my own abstract paintings into my project and make them part of my daily routine.
Project
This week I went back to work and took photos of my daily routine behind the bar. Working behind a bar is mentally draining, and when I wasn’t working, I was drawing doodles of how I was feeling. My goal next week is to finally get into the project room and look at my collection of 5 photos a day and try incorporating some background sounds or music while I’m observing them and figure out what steps I want to take next. I have been inspired a lot by a previous artist I researched, John William Keedy. I took inspiration by photographing brushing my teeth and scenery I was surrounded by when I went on a drive to clear my head after a panic episode. And playing around with filters to try depicting my mood when the photo was taken.
I have also done some more sound recordings for background noise.
Reflection
My project is looking the same every week, I would like to spend more time now on painting, maybe even experimenting with a collage pattern of my bad days and my good days.
A good post, I wonder how the workshop idea related to the Everyday or the Thai curry workshop – do try to keep those links in this exercise. Great to see some more of the collections of images, drawing adding a really strong dimension, these collections, archives of your life are building up to be really interesting and precious, as witnesses to a period of time, a mindset, an attitude, a chapter of your life. They are testament to your existence, quite literally. As we discussed in the tutorial, maybe rather than adding another medium perhaps the exciting bit now is in the arrangement, the curation of the archive and as we discussed – the possibility of inviting others to arrange and curate the archive..very interesting possibilities..much can come form this body of images.