Week 6 — Art Activity — Intermedia
I chose to show my appreciation for something which has always been there for me, the forest. Descriptions of these areas vary, they can be, dense, sparse, and simple or unforgivingly complex. The greenery is beautiful but, it demands your independence if you’re alone and builds or tests bonds through teamwork in groups. I could’ve drawn a tree or a forest on paper or painting a tree with a heart behind it but, this has been done so many times already. I knew I wanted to draw a tree as the only thing on my mind lately is the fires which ravaged millions of acres of forest. This assignment I chose to use a paint pen as my utensil and my Jeeps window as a canvas. I chose my Jeep because for me it’s a bridge between man, machine, and nature. To me the Jeep is a portal for the outdoors because it goes where other vehicles cannot; I enjoy my seclusion and for this reason the jeep is the perfect means of transportation. Planning the piece it was my intention to be a little more organic with my means; I had the idea to use ash from the fires but all of the trails were closed and I couldn’t get close enough to use these materials. After my first plan fell through, I thought sand would suffice in place of ash. I was willing to get sand and throw it onto my “canvas” and draw with my finger. Unfortunately, the sand local to my area has rocks in it. In other words, I’d prefer not to lose a window. Finally after a few hours of wheeling in the hard packed dirt I had a decent amount of dust on my canvas and I thought I would be able to draw; however, after I drew my piece it wasn’t even visible as the dust wasn’t enough.
The last two are the final iterations and although it is a simple piece it conveys my endearment to Mother Nature. The lines are bold, and the entire work was finished in as few strokes as possible. Nature wastes no energy neither should I. The work is visible from afar and understandable through multiple languages. The message, love nature. Although the fires have burned something sacred, time heals all and the foliage will return. Furthermore, it shows that not all 4 wheelers are abusive to these environments. I can assume some people think off roaders stomp wherever they please but, this isn’t true. I feel as if most of the drivers I meet believe in leaving places better than they found it. Although a jeep has mud terrains and ground clearance doesn’t mean the drivers want to destroy nature, they just want to explore it. This assignment is something I struggled with thus, I believe I did a mediocre job. I wish I was able to come up with something more creative, but I just haven’t been able to grasp the concept of intermedia art. I do believe it conveys the message I want it to but, I’m open to other interpretations of the message.
