CONJUNTIVA

What my work “CONJUNTIVA” proposes is to transmit a pseudo mirror image, where the viewer can also see himself reflected while watching the work. The choice of the eye as the protagonist of the artistic work is no coincidence. The intention of this choice is that the eye observes us looking at it and the work. “CONJUNCTIVA” invites the viewer to be active and connect with it by moving the mouse across the canvas, there are no instructions on how to move it, the viewer can move it as they wish, quickly, slowly, abruptly or relaxed, they can also choose to move the mouse accompanying the music or not. There are no set rules, you can even not move the mouse, but each movement will trigger a different animated pattern. The choice of using only one eye is to represent how we do not always pay enough attention to the things around us and that when something does not show us a dynamic stimulus in a short time, we tend to divert our attention.

Technical, aesthetic and conceptual development

When I began to consider the meaning of my project, my first idea was to make an animation that accompanies a song, something similar to the visuals that VJs make. I began the search for a sound material that represents me, that is dynamic and has small rhythmic subtleties that help me create different patterns. I managed to make a work where different animations are triggered depending on the section of the song but I was not satisfied with the result. Analyzing some artistic styles in more detail, some characteristics of “happenings” caught my attention, especially a definition that I found in the text “Happenings - an art of radical juxtaposition” by Sontag, Susan. (1962) where he defines “happenings” as “animated paintings” and clarifies that “the happening operates through the creation of a network of surprises” that is related to the phrases in the text “Happenings in the New York scene” by Kaprow, Allan. (1961). They mention that “happenings materialize in an improvised way” and that “they have no plot or philosophy.”

These excerpts motivated me more than to find meaning in my work, but to ensure that anyone who participates in it can find their own meaning. Note that for that to happen I would have to abandon the idea of ​​creating different actions that would manifest following a linear script. But they occur based on what the participant does. The actions that happen in my project do not have a clear philosophy, they are not much more than rotating lines and different colors that give a surprising effect to the viewer when linked with them.

Clearly this is not a “happening” since, for example, according to the aforementioned text by Sontag, happenings “take place in a space full of objects that can be built, assembled or found, or all three at the same time” but it shares other notions such as that “a certain number of participants, non-actors, execute movements and manipulate objects antimonic and in concert with the accompaniment of sometimes words, music and lights.” Or that “the action is directed in any direction it pleases and the only control that the artist exercises over it is limited to making sure that it continues to vibrate well.”

To conclude and summarize, I was influenced by the active participation of the public in the “happenings” as well as the surprising but controlled nature of this. These characteristics greatly influenced me when creating “CONJUNTIVA”, a work in which each person can choose how to interact and will have a different experience.

Literature

“Los happenings - un arte de yuxtaposición radical” de Sontag, Susan. (1962). “Happenings en la escena newyorkina” de Kaprow, Allan. (1961).