Final Major Project Proposal Grey

Progress and Achievement In foundation I’ve learnt that a good outcome stems from extensive and in depth research. An initial idea can change and evolve. I’ve learnt I have a strong interest in sound and typography, as well as the use of time in narrative.

Context I decided to pursue my interests and analyse language in narratives. I was specifically keen on researching how language can be broken down to ultimately lose all meaning. I thought about how T.S. Eliot, in his Hollow Men, uses repetition and tone to create nonsensical language. I also chose to investigate Spoken Word poetry, which ultimately lead me to performance artists such as Tino Seghal, whose work I saw at the Venice Biennale. The way he resists assigning the work meaning, allowing free interpretation, reminded me of Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett, major exponents of the literary genre called Theatre of the Absurd.

Project Proposal Aims, Methods and Realization

With this project I seek to challenge our understanding of stories. The archetypal pattern of a story includes a beginning, middle and end. By taking away the end, the story remains unresolved, hindering the communication to the audience. The story loses all meaning; it stops making sense. I want to play with auditory sequences and visual sequences, analysing people’s reactions to abrupt and unresolved endings. I want to give the audience the tools to make certain assumptions and then not meet them. I’ll try to break down language to its bare minimum, till it becomes gibberish. I want to question what nonsense is, and why intellectuals from all over the world return to it time and time again. I’ll analyse common stories and fairy tales and try to place them in the real world, where happy endings unfortunately aren’t a given. What if Cinderella was stuck cleaning fireplaces for the rest of her life? The audience of Waiting for Godot stops waiting for Godot half way through the play, when it realizes that he will never come, and if he does, it will be an utter disappointment. I want to look at stories in unconventional ways, more as sequences in time. A leaf falling, an eye blinking. Ultimately I want to capture the intermediate stage of a process, that’s neither black nor white, neither here nor there, that feeling of indecisiveness and possibility. Through a series of interventions I want to cherish the moment just before the end and enjoy that rather than its consequences. I could record these and make a short film. I could find real world heroes and bind their diaries in a book, showing that it’s the struggle that made them who they are. Anybody can live happily ever after. That doesn’t mean they’re a good story.

Evaluation Most of my reflective work will be done on my blog (http://apennye.myblog.arts.ac.uk/ ). This is where I will do my thorough weekly reflection, as well as shorter, inter-weekly, updates. I like to take notes and record information by hand, which I will then scan and upload.

https://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter#t-54276

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuKEZlYUf6c#t=14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knF5WY_d1KU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjp8Ms2t19Q