Typically, my preferred art form involves pen/pencil/paint and paper, so this workshop was definitely on the top 5 list. The objective of the workshop was to utilize charcoal, paint, & ink with rocks, sticks, leaves, and our body to paint.
The Workshop
First, we collected rocks, twigs, leaves, and sticks from outside. Once inside, we
warmed up our bodies by dancing to songs that Harumi picked. We then had complete control over what we wanted to make. Some people used their feet as a brush and "danced" on the paper on the floor. Others, like me, used our hands on paper on the wall. Leah and I worked together on our piece. We first used charcoal and made large, aggressive strokes on the paper. Harumi instructed us to be more playful and exaggerated in our movement, as the focus in the workshop was not on the actual final product, but on the body movement and process of creating the art. We then used ink and the collected materials to paint. My favorite tool I used was actually the plastic bag that we collected the materials in. I found that when you scrunch it up, you get a nice sponge-like effect on the paper. Leah and I then got really messy and took to painting with our hands. We dipped our hands in ink and let it drip on the paper, then we grabbed handfuls of black powder and threw it on the paper. The videos of the powder in slo-mo were really pretty, but were too long to add. We also used tape to create geometric lines to bring some structure to the work.
Extension
I started exploring the relationship between the body and art in the same way that we did. Artist Heather Hansen uses charcoal, just as we did, to create art. I love how her pieces are both performative and also produce a final product. In the video, you can see the more performative aspect of her work.
However, the images of her work are also amazing. I've put them below.
Unlike the pieces we made, these have more repeated movements, as evidenced by the overlapping lines. You can also see the circular-shapes from her arms and legs. I like how she has more white space than ours. I think we really focused too much on making a nice final piece as opposed to the process of moving our bodies in cool ways.
The following pieces by Tony Orrico is another body performance art piece. His work really reminds me of those circular stencils that you'd use as a kid. It's so interesting how he keeps his body still and moves his arms around to make these shapes. Its like the human body is a stencil when you extend your limbs.
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