Final Project - Artist Statement

Overview

All it takes to start a waterfall is one drop of water. Combined with another drop and another, what once could hardly wet a square inch, can now change the face of a mountain. Our desires and actions are the same. The more we add to a sea of actions, the more we can help change the world. This piece aims to facilitate reflection and introspection. Sit down, relax, and begin to explore your desires. How will you change the world?

Background

This is a continuation of the midterm project I created - Blue Colored Lenses. I wanted it to expand the concept of water and to create a different way of reflecting on our day and how we interact with the world.

Description

This piece should emulate the sounds you hear while in the shower, the gentle pouring of water over one ear and not the other. The obstruction of sounds in the outside world - where there are small snippets of someone talking outside of the 'shower curtain'.

Statement of Purpose

This piece is intended to invoke reflective thinking. It's supposed to relax and create an environment of deep thought. I would like the viewer/listener to walk away with a new sense of purpose and of where they are going, what they want, or how we can change the world.

Influences

I have a few influences that helped form this project. One of these influences is Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit, a novel by Vandana Shiva, and Tapped, a documentary about the privatization of bottled water. These two pieces have influenced my view of water and the privilege I feel that we have in regard to the ease of access to water. Furthermore, I am also influenced by an old Spanish song "Casas de Carton" which is a song about the sound of rain on the roof of a house. These are just some of the things that helped me develop the overall motif for this project.

Fit Within Larger Notion of Aesthetics

This piece is a continuation of my first piece, so it is an iteration of it. However, it is very different in its use of only water - not interactions with it. It creates a different soundscape.

Materials & Methodology

I used Garageband to edit the sound files that I found. I recorded the shower going, a faucet, trickling of water in my aquarium, and the sound of an actual waterfall. The page is a template, however, I created the image myself in illustrator (which I am so proud of). The image represents the idea of recording underwater.

Outcomes

I really enjoy my piece, however, I still would like to add more sounds that include the outside world: vibrating phone, someone talking, soft music, etc. To help create the soundscape just a little more.

Self Reflection

For the most part, I am happy with my piece and I feel like it reflects what I wanted. It integrates and mixing all of these sounds that happen in our lives that revolve around water. I also enjoyed the effect that is integrated in the piece, it sounds a little muffled and distorted but not so much that you can't determine what sounds are within the piece.