Ideas for Art Projects By Rachel Fleming (04/19/14 18:35:48)
The lectures and discussions I heard at the Interrogating Methodologies event gave me food for thought. I had some very creative ideas for projects with animals while the panel was being asked questions. I thought about what kind of art I wanted to accomplish. Do I want to make a statement about animal rights? Do I want to make art as a tribute to a connection I shared with an animal? Do I want to make something aesthetically pleasing? I was drawn to the idea of making something small and structural with an animal. Perhaps the animal would make something it usually makes during the course of its life using tools I provided, but being unaware it was making art in the process. I like the idea I found of giving caddis fly larvae jewels from which they would construct their bodily casings.
Then I wondered, what animal would I use? Well, what animals do I have available? I was immediately aware that I did not want to make something using a common animal like a dog or cat. I wanted to think of something unique to do with a unique animal. I realized I had several options at the REEF. I also thought about what animals I had available outside that I could just catch and use temporarily. I didn’t want to use anything that could be dangerous or that would be controversial if subject to even mild stress. I thought of insects, mollusks, arachnids, and other invertebrates.
So, I made a list:
• Ants
• Caterpillars
• Butterflies
• Crickets
• Worms
• Beetles
• Snails
• Abalone
• Octopus
• Nudibranch
• Aphids
• Crabs
• Anemone
• Barnacle
• Mussel
• Sand fleas
I even thought of a few vertebrates:
• Frogs (and tadpoles)
• Birds
• A friend’s snake or toad
I wondered if there was any way to use biomineralization, but decided I would probably need to know a lot more about the process to use it. Even then, it would probably be too intrusive.
Then I thought about making a species “perform” without realizing it was doing so. For example, I saw a video on Youtube of a “duck slide,” in which ducks would climb up a ramp and reach for food in a trough above a slippery slide. If they slipped, they would slide down and get back up for more food. This, to me, was an art form. However, I decided that no interspecies connection could be made, and that this probably wouldn’t meet the goals of the course. It would be entertaining for the final exhibition, though.
I also thought about using a small flying bug like a gnat as a performing species. I once observed a gnat on a paper while I was studying that would adjust its position when I gently blew air toward it. The gnat would face the direction of the air flow, probably to minimize its disturbance. I thought this was fascinating. It can probably be repeated with many gnats, if I first mist their wings so that they cannot fly around. If I then apply a soft breeze in one direction, I may be able to get them to align in unison. I could then change the direction of the breeze so that they appear to be “dancing” by changing direction. This may or may not work, though. It would have to be an experiment. The interspecies connection relies on the fact that we can empathize with the gnats and understand why they might want to reorient themselves when exposed to a chill breeze. We can feel for them.
Then I began thinking about ideas that have to do with each species I had listed.
Ants: With ants I could potentially find a way to map their trails and replicate their movement. However, this has probably been done before and was the most obvious thing I could think of. I then thought of subjecting the ants to a decision, such as choosing between crossroads. We can emphasize with their decision making. Also, food preference is along the same lines. We can probably predict as humans which food source an ant would go for (although, our intuition about sugars and fats being tasty isn’t always accurate across species…cats, for example, don’t like sugary foods. We human needed high-energy foods for survival at several points in our evolutionary history).
Caterpillars: Again, food preference, or I could map their trails. I then thought of something very interesting. What if I could make art out of the patterns they leave on leaves? What if I could control where they can and cannot eat on a leaf to make a carving, like on a jack-o-lantern?
Butterflies: Do butterflies have a flower preference? What if I removed nectar from a certain kind of flower. How many times will they try receiving nectar from this certain kind of flower before they “give up” and move onto something else?
Crickets: This one would be interesting for me, since I dislike crickets more than spiders. I would be forced to make a connection with crickets. There are plenty around, and they are in pet store, so obtaining them wouldn’t be difficult. I could wait for them to molt and then make a small sculpture using the molts to emulate an interaction I observed from the same crickets. I don't know what the significance would be, though.
Worms: Also numerous. I can get an ant farm and fill it with dirt. I can take photos of the patterns they make while underground. I could even influence where they go, perhaps, to make patterns. There is probably some connection I can make between the worms and myself as I make it, or some resemblance between the worms and humanity. Sounds cheesy, but there might actually be some decent metaphors I can draw from it.
Beetles:
There is a type of beetle I observed on the tips, and only the tips, of a certain kind of bush- coyote bush one morning. Maybe there is some metaphor I can make between the beetles drive to be at the top of the branch and the drive of humans to make it to the tops of mountains (or careers). Then again, I'm sure there's some evolutionary advantage to this behavior, such as gaining warmth or finding a mate.
To be continued…
Beach hoppers sound like a good idea too. There are plenty of those nearby.
I also thought about making art out of my scientific process of discovering reactions or preferences of animals. Would my hypotheses say something about my connection to other life forms?
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