Genealogical Artifact Revision

Insert the following in the Artist's Statement between the fourth and fifth paragraphs:

Many films exemplify the significance of a certain object.  In The Lord of the Rings, the ring is not your average gold wedding band - it is a magical ring filled with remarkable power created for evil.  For the purpose of showing significance in objects, it does not matter what the ring does, or what it has become.  What matters is that it is a regular object that has taken on an entirely new role because of context and because of people. So, too, has my moose collection taken on a different meaning.  They are not just "moosies," but have taken on a different meaning because of my interactions with them.

Genealogical Artifact

Being a child means playing and having fun.  That's certainly what my childhood was like - playing and having lots of fun.  When I was born, I had two brothers; one was seven and the other was five.  As I grew up, I always loved following them around and "playing with the boys."  I'd even have crushes on all of their friends.  But because I had brothers and no sisters at the time, I became the girl that still resides in me today - a tom-boy some days and a total girly-girl others.  I loved sports and playing in the mud, but I sure loved mom dressing me up pretty, doing my hair, and making crafts.  Crafts are where I'd like to begin my story.  When I was about five years old, mommy bought me a stuffed animal moose.  My moose was so cute with her big nose and tiny, little body.  The only problem was the poor girl didn't have any clothes on!  Well I remember, one day, grandma coming to visit, and boy, did I love to do crafts with her.  In pure excitement, I showed grandma my new favorite stuffed animal.  I even told her how I named her Cinnamon.  Looking back, I don't know why I chose Cinnamon to be her name, but it's a name that has lasted for nearly seventeen years.  I got the biggest little-kid grin on my face when grandma said my little moose needed a dress.  If I knew grandma, I knew she knew just how to make a dress.  She had made me dresses tons of times!  And I was sure a moose would be no different.  I looked through all of mom's fabric until I found the perfect material.  Then grandma sat me down on the chair next to her, got her sewing kit, and led me through making the dress.  That was the first thing I had ever sewn in my life, and I was definitely a proud little girl because of it.  This is one of my very first memories, and one that has certainly made an impact on my life.  Ever since that night, I have collected as many "moosies" as I can find.  Anyone who knows me knows a stuffed moose is the perfect birthday or Christmas present for me.  And, starting with Cinnamon, I have named all of my moosies after food-related items.  Collecting these has morphed into something that is so much a part of me that I had to bring a bunch to college.  Four years into school, I still have eighteen moosies lined up on my bed that I sleep with every night.  It might not make sense, but it's important to me.  Cinnamon changed my life in a funny way.  She is just a stuffed animal, but she began a tradition.  Her and that little dress are so important to me that I left her home so she wouldn't get ruined.  But I have many at school that help me feel right at home, like that night seventeen years ago.

For my genealogical artifact narrative, I wanted to be able to tell my life story through something that is very important to me.  I have many objects in my life that have been significant to me, but my stuffed animals tell about my childhood and the growth I have undergone.  These stuffed animals are more than objects; they represent who I am and why I am who I am.

In Pablo Neruda's "Ode to Things," he speaks about so many things that most people take for granted.  He talks about how much he loves the little things in life, like scissors, thimbles, and plates.  I love this because he draws attention to things that people do not usually put high significance on.  I wanted to draw similar conclusions; that something so trivial can mean the world to someone else.  Most people would probably look at my moose collection as crazy, weird, or just be indifferent to it.  But to me, that collection means love, family, adventure, childhood, growth, and so much more.

I shared my narrative with one of my brothers; he very well knows what these stuffed animals mean to me, and he also has added greatly to my collection.  After talking with him, it was amazing the memories my words sparked.  I thought it was very interesting that this conjured up memories that I had not even thought of.  Talking with him was a great testament to the purpose of this assignment, to reflect on life, recreate memories, and form new ones.

My brother very much liked the idea of writing my narrative in a young point of view to bring the reader into my perspective of the event.  He felt this was a useful and playful way to communicate the message of youthfulness and growth.  I purposefully strayed from using larger words that children would not know, and instead used words that children say all of the time, like little, mommy, and tons.  I also purposefully referred to my mom and my grandma as "mommy" and "grandma" instead of "my mom" and "my grandma" to bring the reader more into the story.  I wanted to remove having them specifically belong to me so that the reader could feel more a part of the situation.  Another tactic I used to recreate my life, childhood, and growth, was to call them "moosies" and not just stuffed animals.  I have forever called them "moosies," and I wanted to stay genuine to my personality.  I never liked calling them the correct plural term "moose," as a child, so I put my own style to the word.

Ultimately, I wanted the reader to feel a part of my life and experience a snippet of what I have experienced, and continue to experience.  I want people to understand that it is the smaller, simpler, and seemingly more insignificant objects and things in life that are the most important.

Process Piece

The world is full of so many wonderful and amazingly unique sounds.  Consider everything you do in a day - take a shower, eat food, or walk from location to location.  Every movement comes with a distinct sound, whether our ears register and pay close attention or not.  Noises make our surroundings come alive.  Think about it - if you watch a horror movie without the sound, is it really so terrifying?  Definitely not.  Sound effects and music scores help draw in audiences without them even realizing how they are being manipulated.  Just as in a film, surrounding sounds play a subtle but vital role in every-day living.

In an effort to express human life through process, we chose to document a typical morning of a girl getting ready for school and walking to class.  Not only did we want to record a universal event, but we wanted to communicate the theme of the passing of time.  Everybody has deadlines to meet.  What happens before the deadline is the individual's call, as long as they make it in time.  Our process piece shows a girl working against the clock; however, when it matters most, she delivers just in time before the bell rings. 

Just as in the viewings for class, we also wanted to show the contrast of both mundane moments in life, as well as how grateful we truly should be for these little events.  In "My Mom the Taxidermist," the daughter tries taxidermy with her mother, even though she is a vegetarian.  This process is so special and touching because it focuses on a mother-daughter relationship.  The importance of these events, like the bonding in this piece and the seemingly insignificant task of getting to school on time in our piece, is highlighted because they are specific processes in which humans grow.  Both are not momentous events, but both are vital when determining important moments in ones life.  Alarms begin everyone's day.  We all have to climb out of bed, even if doing it somewhat drudgingly.  And showers (hopefully) are a daily routine that everyone should partake in.  These sounds are a representation of the processes everyone goes through that are taken for granted.

Every process we, as humans, go through have specific sounds attached to those movements.  This is why in a movie if something could be making a sound, then it should be making a sound.  In the Disney Pixar film Wall-E, every sound is rerecorded and layered on top of other sounds for a full effect.  We wanted to layer sounds like this in our process piece to give a more realistic representation of life.  Sounds are everywhere, and never is there one sound.  For this reason we chose to overlay the ticking clock on top of other sounds.  The ticking clock also connects to our theme of racing against the clock, and ultimately coming out on top.  The ticking ends right before the final bell of class, signifying her success in this race against time.

Thick Description

The First Spot

Walking to that little brown bench,

I feel a sense of relief.

That spot – the first spot –

I’d been to

was my first spot on campus.

Life forever changed.

Memories forever made.

My brother and I

toss a football

happily on a spring afternoon.

I come back to that refuge.

I see a vision

of a little girl, and her loving big brother

Playing in the

wispy

soft

wet

green

grass.

Life is perfect.

Life is no longer perfect,

but that spot – the first spot -

gives me hope

of a future

as happy as that day

with my brother.

A gentle breeze

makes the flowers

     dance

in the wind.

I love to dance.

And today, I will dance with those

beautiful

vibrant

flowers.

The sun catches the

glitter on the

beautiful dancers below

and sets them on a

       stage

for me to admire.

A stage I know will be

mine

one day -

that day -

when the future is perfect.

I don’t want to leave.

I can’t stand the thought.

This place,

it’s my future.

It’s my past.

It’s my present.

It will always be in

my heart.

I will never leave

even though I must go.

Four paths intersect

at my bench,

by my dancers,

on my stage.

But four paths also

leave.

So much has led me

to this bench.

A life of laughter,

pain,

sorrow,

but never regret.

So many choices lie

ahead of me.

Which path to choose?

Either way, I choose

to follow the sun.

      The sun

will make me shine

like those

beautiful dancers

by my bench

at that spot – the first spot -

when dreams

came alive.

 

Every time I visit my spot, a flood of memories enters my thoughts.  In all of Provo, this is my sanctuary where I go to sort through thoughts, gain peace, and find God.

I deliberately chose to write my thick description in the form of a poem.  Every time I visit this place, the atmosphere feels dreamy, much like Hirsch’s “Edward Hopper and the House by the Railroad.”  Though not every aspect of the poem is happy, like mine, they both still have an aspect of fantasy and surrealism. Thoughts come to my mind like ideas flow through a poem.  Each word has a very specific meaning, just as each thought that enters my mind.  I wanted the words to accurately portray those thoughts that are so purposeful in their confusion.  This poem reminded me of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” His painting is so beautifully crafted in a dream-like manner with both structure and freedom.  Every brush stroke has a purpose, and yet the painting, as a whole, seems very whimsical.

My place is a spot on campus less traveled by.  In the bustling of students, this spot remains calm and peaceful.  It is a beautiful garden next to a plot of grass, and nestled in the middle is a modest, brown bench.  The first time I set foot on BYU's campus, my older brother brought me here.  It was the middle of spring and the flowers were in full blossom.  We tossed a football around, which is one of our favorite past times.  I wanted to include this in my thick description because it symbolizes youth and innocence.  Just as my poem explains, this first time I was here, I felt complete joy and happiness like the blissfulness of youth and innocence. 

I wanted my poem to trace my life journey, from the joy of childhood, to the realities of adulthood.  Being an adult has many joys, but definitely comes with its challenges.  My poem shifts from a simple memory a child would have to a recognition of metaphors, in which only adults could understand.  I gave the elements around me, such as the flowers and the sun, personalities to make the place come alive like it does for me.

Four paths diverge and meet at the garden where I like to sit.  I think about this often as I ponder my past and what is ahead of me in my future.  I have gone through a lot in my life, and these events and trials have shaped me into the person I am today and have brought me to that bench.  Similarly, I have so many options ahead of me, just as there are so many paths to choose from.  Each path I take will lead me to a drastically different outcome, but I strongly believe that whichever way I go, it will be a good one.  Still, however, those memories and those places I visited will always be inside of me as my journey continues.

Music Mosaic

**To listen to the music for this piece, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQS1owXaEWw**

We all know Martin Luther King Jr. by his speech, “I Have a Dream.”  These four words have become iconic in America today, and symbolize a nation united in morals and values.  Peter Forbes notes that King did not say he had a plan, but rather a dream.  “He spoke of his deepest values without offering strategy and tactics.”   

My Music Mosaic relates to the “dream” we may all have in our life.  Though reality proves dandelions are weeds, they have become a symbol of hope as you blow your wish into the wind for something greater than yourself to fulfill.  We all begin our lives with these hopes, these wishes, these dreams, for our future – that the wind will blow us on a great path.   

The pictures I chose show a variety of surfaces we come in contact with every day.  These surfaces reflect what we would look like if our inner thoughts and feelings were brought to the “surface”.  Sometimes we come across wonderful fortunes, in which we look bright and happy, and are permitted and excited to continue forward with life, while others show our screams for help and our tears that fall to the ground.  Wherever we might be, however, each one of us has a vibrant garden full of opportunity to strive for.  We might be pointed in the right direction, or we might have no idea where to turn, because everything looks the same.  But if we keep that wish alive, we will find our path.   

The animated Disney movie, “Cinderella”, parallels the idea behind my Music Mosaic.  “A dream is a wish your heart makes,” says Cinderella, as she works hard to find the good in her difficult life.  Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream and my Music Mosaic’s wish both reflect the desires of the heart, that Cinderella so simply and profoundly tells us.  In the end, some people see their dreams fulfilled.  Cinderella married the prince and lived happily ever after.  However, some people do not directly see those dreams come to life, like Martin Luther King Jr.  But each of us have a legacy and an impact on the world - each of us help that beautiful garden grow and flourish - whether we see it in full blossom, or whether we are the nurturers who give it the chance to grow in the first place.