Mental Health Intervention Project
How are you doing?
Think of someone important to you.
Tell them you appreciate them, and ask them if they are okay.
When was the last time someone checked on you?
How does that make you feel?
How are you really doing?
*What is your project? Why you have chosen this topic and form of outreach?
My project is an expansion of my performance art intervention from November 20th, 2024. My topic is that of mental health, and is explored through short instruction and interviewing. This is important to me, as mental health is an aspect of life that should never be overlooked, yet often gets lost on both a personal and outward level. Dr. Maura Reilly states "these are not issues from the past. This is now" (Reilly). I chose to have a personal and recorded form of outreach, as this allows for the ideas related to the topic to be felt by both participants and audience in a way that feels honest and vulnerable.
A poster has been placed in the NJCU Visual Arts Building in multiple places; specifically in areas where the "GET PAID" posters used to be. These posters are by one of the windows, in the computer lab, and on one of the billboards with people having said that they noticed it's message; this change would give the mental health posters a higher likelihood of being discovered.
*What is your message for the audience?
My message for the audience is to pay attention to mental health. You can help the people you care about, and it's also important to make sure you're okay too. There is no shame in either action, and should be encouraged. The candid parts of the video are kept in order to drive a theme of reality; mental health should not be ignored as it is a part of life.
I plan to reach an audience by both having people participate and by having my video available for viewing online. Active participation increases this engagement, and the availability of both posters and instructions make this a project that can be recreated by anyone.
Reactions to the project were positive from participants, noting the topic and how it is explored. Several participants said that the format is "sneaky," creating a situation that seems calm at first with an easy question followed by simple instructions. Then, they are hit with questions related to their own mental health and are put in a position of vulnerability. The footage that was taken was done so with consenting parties.
*How does this project fit into your professional aspirations and your portfolio?
I simultaneously have a personal interest in video creation and art, and also am taking a degree in graphic design. Creating this project helps me in these fields while also allowing me to explore an emotional topic that I am passionate about. The typographic elements are related to my pursuit of a degree in graphic design, while video editing also helps me round out my portfolio by expanding into other fields.
*What artists or other projects have influenced or inspired your own project? List 4+ artists that connect with your project with brief explanations of why they connect or inspired your own project.
Yoko Ono was a big influence on this project because of her instruction pieces and willingness to insert herself into her work. Cut Piece is one of her most popular and profound pieces. Beyond themes of vulnerability, I took into account the feeling of black and white footage and purposefully used this color grading in my own project, even if Yoko Ono's footage is a product of its time. Her book Grapefruit also played a role in choosing to do a partial instruction piece. These themes are explored in Eva Gallagher's Passive Objectification: Vulnerability in Yoko Ono's Participatory Art.
*What research has helped you inform this project?
"A great deal of activism and political art is directed toward criticizing what we don't like. Occasionally it suggests the steps we might need to take to change things. But sometimes the best way to bring the world we want into being is to act "as if" it is already here." (Duncombe and Lambert 102). Part of what makes my project is the idea of acting as if something is already there. The message of spreading mental health awareness and checking in on your friends is demonstrated by documenting my own journey of checking on my friends' health and asking them questions, much of which was not used in the video.
 |
| One of my friends, a fellow student, has multiple candid interactions throughout the video. |
My project is an expansion of a previously explored topic. I used the footage I had already obtained, as well as new footage from both active participation and candid footage to use for filmmaking elements. Duncombe and Lambert state "one of the biggest mistakes an artist can make is to fool themselves into thinking they can create outside of culture. They can expand it, turn it inside out, and refute it, but the one thing an artist cannot do is create outside of it" (146). By choosing to include candid footage, I am documenting within people's actual lives and using the footage to enhance my work instead of ignoring this facet of life.
 | ||
Mental Health Poster
|
References:
Dr. Maura Reilly - "What is Curatorial Activism?"
No comments:
Post a Comment