Artist critique

Lauren performed a three hour piece infront of cannon hall that caused me to reevaluate my own feelings connected to her piece. For her piece, she stood outside under a tree. She was in all black except for a teal tutu and ballet slippers. Attached to her were strings that were strung through loops on pieces of wood which were attached to the tree above her. There she stood motionless with pieces of thick white string attached to each one of her limbs. Next to her hung he proposal which invited the onlookers to manipulate her by pulling on the strings, which were attached to her body and caused her limbs to move.
Lauren's performance was one of the pieces thet invoked a strong emotion from me. Lauren's piece really gave off the sense of hopelessness. She hung limply in the shadows in dark colors with a blank expression on her face. Just how her body seemed so lifeless gave an impression of losing life and hope. It did help the mood by having another morbid performace piece beside her. This lack of hope and control was explored even further by letting anyone have full control of her body by letting them manage the strings. The strings were such a bold white color that it was great in contrast to the dark gloominess of her. This illustrated the strong power the handeler had over her.
Over all I think her piece was very meaningfull. It felt as if she was facing a fear of being manipulated, which is a fear that I think everyone can relate to. By giving random passerbyers the ability to interact with the performance I think it really took the piece to the next level and really helped capture the meaning of the piece. The placement under the tree seemed to fit the idea of hanging as a marianet doll but also gave an eerier reference to someone hanging themself. I believe the piece was really interesting. It gave the viewer something to relate to instantly, but then the more it was observered, the deeper and even more interesting the piece became.

Laundry Monologues - video

The Laundry Monologues

My performance was to show the different characters attached to each article of clothing. I covered myself completely with other people's clothing. I read monolages from each person which represented their specific attachment to the clothing. By doing this I wished to create a character and new persona with each new speech. By covering myself completely from head to toe and rendering an awkward (cramped and confined to a small laundry basket) position I hoped to eliminate my own personal identy from each new one I was portraying.

performance porposal

I, Alexa Gruschow, will be engulfed in other peoples' clothing. The articles will be sewn together encircleing all of me. I will sit or reenact a monalog from the person which the clothing comes from. The monalog will relate to the clothing. I will be able to move around within the sphere but will not be able to leave my designated area which will be on the lawn in front of powelle.

sonic postcard

We were trying to convey a day in the life of a student. It starts out with the idea of a dream; then going to a morning with the character waking up from the dream.

Kinetic Sculpture: Look Ma, No Hands!

This is a bubble-making device made for kids, by adults. The wand comes up, you blow bubbles, the wand goes down.






















































You don't get your hands dirty, and once you've finished you're left with some delightfully colorful paper:


















































Here is a video of how it works:

Cardboard Automata

My automata is based off Buddhist meditation.I have Buddha in the center that rises and falls while the surrounding clouds move forward and backwards.

Face the Day

I recorded how much makeup I applied throughout the day. It is a daily routine that I repeat almost every day. I measure time based on how often I needed makeup and also when i looked in the bathroom mirror which was when I usually put on makeup. I showed this routine by having a life-size photo of my face and then plastic sheets covered with the layers of makeup.