Ongoing Weekly Assignment 5/12
By Brianna Acuesta (05/12/14 12:45:26)
Related animals: Dog, Goat, Octopus

This past week I visited the goats at Coal Oil Point with some friends and attempted to collaborate with them without documenting it and just experiencing it. I still want to create something involving the octopus at the REEF but the glitch photography, something I’ve never tried before, is proving to be more difficult than I anticipated. It’s not just because of the actual editing, but also because I have to take pictures of the octopus while also documenting her (seems like a she to me) movements. I’ve tried having someone write them down for me while I photograph her but it seems impersonal because I felt like I should be the one noticing her emotions based on her movements. I tried afterwards to record her but that seemed impersonal as well. I’m learning that collaborating with animals with the goal of creating something artistic can almost take the magic out of the interaction because I don’t get to experience the interaction since I’m so caught up with capturing it. Anyways, I collaborated with the goats and picked them up again and got an idea about maybe bringing paper with me and putting it up against me. There are two goats that constantly jump on me so that they can chew my hair and my shirt, and I’m thinking that I can put the paper over me so that they get their dirty hooves on the paper instead. I would then use the marks made on the paper to copy over to a canvas and paint something inspired by the goats with the marks as the center of the piece. Since I’m not originally a painter and I haven’t experimented too much, I’m not sure how difficult it will be to copy over the marks using paint or to even paint around that, but I’m hoping to visit the goats on Wednesday to get started. I’m really glad that we were able to visit the goats because I would not have been able to come up with an idea incorporating goats.
Also, I’m still considering a side project with my dog, Mango, because I’d like for the class to see how sweet he is at home. I’m still considering just a simple photography that documents how adorable, cuddly, and loving he is with my husband and I. I think that this would still be a close form of collaboration since it’s a side of him that no one in class will ever see and it’s very close and personal. I’ve already begun to take pictures so that is the closest to a project that I’ve started so far.


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