Kjustl Colloquium Presentation

8/10/2019 Kjustl Colloquium Presentation

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A Dangerous Stepping StoneTo Darker Deeds


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the Do


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Humanbeingshaveacomplicatedrelatwiththedollandthepuppet,stemmintheirfearofimagesmadeinhumanlikespeciallywhencreatedinminiature


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The dolls psychological incriminations and the extentor limitations of their power can be explored throughnotions of the uncanny first identified by Ernst Jentschin 1906 and elaborated on in relation to dolls bySigmund Freud in his essay called The Uncannyin 1919.


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I believe that the doll, designed tobe manipulated, can seem to become anindependent source of life even whenthe viewer is offered agency over her.

I will attempt to illustrate thisby creating dolls that function withpull strings, thereby an extension ofthe string-pullers power, yet have,in the narrative, a life of their own.


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I will be attempting to attribute agency to the dolls I am by employing the idea of power and surveillance in the nar

I will show the dolls acting out in the narrative throprojected animations and book works. I will show the dwatching each other in the installation with surveillanto thereby illustrate their power over each other.


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InthiswayIwillattempttobreat

helifeintothesesm

andhopefullytriggerirrationalf

earswhichcanpoten

elicittheuncanninessIintendto

provokeintheviewe


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core conceptsthe uncanny and the gothic re


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The

uncanny

stateisonethat

is

familiar,

yetstrange

atthesam

etime.

Itprovoke

sa

cognitive

paradox

ofattrac

tionandr

epulsion.

This

isapotent

andpowerf

ul

mechanism

Iwish

toimplica

te

inmywork

.


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Unsettling themes of the uncanny and the gothicinterest me as groundwork for this project, as doesan investigation of Baudrillardian idea ofsimulacrum and simulation.

I am researching gothic themes put forward by the

romantics of the modern period between the 18th andearly 19th c.in art, literature and film as theyturned away from the rational to the supernatural,

and proposing a postmodern invest

into the ideas of simulacrum as th

to the doll and its image.


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This project aims to explore the uncanny in itsnon-specificity,express something uncanny in spatialform and draw upon the theory of the uncanny formulatedby Sigmund Freud..


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In his essay on the uncanny Freud took as the startingpoint the nature of the German word das Unheimliche,

meaning literally, unhomely.

For Freud , unhomeliness was not merely the simplesense of not belonging. Unheimliche was the fundamentalpropensity of the familiar to turn on its owners and

become defamiliarized, derealized, as if in a dream.


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The uncanny experience unnerves us. We do not trust it becauhyper-familiarity or disturbing unfamiliarity; its twistedof reality.

Freud suggests that an uncanny effect is often and easily pthe distinction between imagination and reality is effaced.class of the frightening which leads back to what is known offamiliar.


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Installation builds on theories of the uncannyand explores intellectual uncertainty about space.

Sculpture based on the human form references theuncanny in particular when questioning whetherobjects are inanimate or alive.


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I will also be referring to 20th c. gothic revival shortstory writers, such as Edgar Allan Poe and Patricia Highsmithillustrators, such as Charles Addams and Edward Gory, andfilmmakers, such as Tim Burton as inspiration for the

written and illustrated dolls character psychology,haunted houses and scenarios for this work.

I am interested in investigating and capitalizing on theimpulse that fuels the contemporary obsession with the gothinarrative as its shadow is cast over aspects ofpopular culture.


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This project is also informed by texts such as:Contemporary Gothic by Catherine Spooner, 2006

The Uncanny by Nicholas Royle, 2003The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely by AnthonThe Madness of Puppets by Kenneth Gross, 2009Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, 1883Shock Headed Peter (Struwwelpeter)by Heinrich Hoffmann, 1845


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I propose to create and examine examples of the uncanny asspatialised and materialized by installation work involvdolls and their haunted houses in digitally augmented spa


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thetesting theo


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A 1:1 scale installation project to experiment withI will explore for my final thesis exhibition will the end of November in St. George the Martyr AnglicaThe Music Gallery at 197 John St.It is called:

I Think She's Dead


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i think she's deadthe narrative


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Project Description:

I Think Shes Dead (Little Criminals in the Theatre of P

toying with the tactics of the panopticon. The Tower-Man i

constituents of The City have Him in their constant view. Th

fiable, that The Tower-Man is looking at them at any moment.

always be so. While they perform their tasks, he is the surv

of aptitudes. In hospital, school, factory, shopping mall an

simplest expression in The City. The Tower-Man watches while

to their crimes and character they are separated in their sm

house, a window. Who is the See Being, The Tower-Man with hi

presence? Who indeed! Does it really matter, some say. Any o

chine! It does not matter who he is or what motives animate h

ponder the perversity of those who take pleasure in their p

and punishment. The Forest surrounds The City and The Winge

watch as The Lone One is hunted. She escaped last October.

The Inhabitants of The City reside in the Houses of Certaint

The Praying Lady inhabits the High Hospital.

The Scholarly Brute inhabits the School of Sharper Focus.

The Faceless Workers inhabit the Factory of Much Mechanics.

The Acorn-Headed Fancy Dressed & Accessorized Lady with the

Shopping Mall of Many Goods.

The Blackguard inhabits the Long Prison and so also does the

The full description, notes and image

www.kajustl.blogspot.com

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i think she's dead

dolls and sculptures

sketches and models


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dolls and sculpturesin the installation


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dolls and sculptin the installat


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dolls and sculptin the installat

the tower-man will ha

camera, glass front a


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i think she's dead

location


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St. George the Martyr Anglica&

The Music Gallery

District:South (former City of Toronto and E

Architect and year:1844

Henry Bowyer LaneGothic Revival197 John Street, Toronto, On

The remains of the original 1844 chwhich burned in 1955 include:the Bell Tower, the Rectoryand a quiet memorial garden.

The church facilities now includea worship space and fellowship hall


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The Music Gallery

St. GeorgetheMartyr Church

sanctuary


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The 1855 tower door geometry will be mapped onto the

Houses of Certainty. This bell tower is all that remains

of the original gothic architecture.


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gothic window geometry for the dolls

Houses of Certainty

c o l l e c t i o n sf tifi i l


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of artificialgothic fonts


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i think she's dead

mapping the spacethe surface


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Movement and Lightingto gaugealso gageFunction: transitive verbInflected Form: gauged also gaged; gauging a

1 a : to measure exactly b : to determine the 2 a : to check for conformity to specificatio

Wind Velocity, human and inhuman

I Think Shes Dead relies on natural and artifici

the voile cardboard tree cut-outs, hanging dol

uncanny effect it strives for will be produced by

the space through subtle changes in wind veloci

velocity of the space through experiments with g

of fabric and attached weights. I will be using f

the effects of natural air-flow through the san

onto a graph to determine the best possible combi

uncanny effects I propose to conjure or imply in


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9to

11

am

12t

o4pm

8to

10pm

Light from the

East Windows

measured with

light meter

for 400 speed film

expected sunlight

Nature of Light and Artificial LigI Think Shes Dead relies on light and the absence of

obscure its visual sensibilities and concerns of cont

light and the level of its intensity serve as visual gu

in the installation as well as affecting the uncanny

suggested.

Candlelight is positioned along the outside walls aro

alter. Shadows are prominent and cast out from the s

emphasizing their shape, texture and volume. Back ligh

viewer from behind the objects from two projectors and

Shadows are cast toward the viewer as they enter the spa

the front of the sculptures in shadow. Back lighting w

cent tree cut-outs seem to glow as well as create a str

light and dark areas of the room.

A concern for the project is the natural light that will

glass windows during the day. I will be mapping their

with a light meter and photographic evidence.


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i think she's dead

mapping the spacebeyond the surface

Beyond The Surface


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Beyond The SurfaceClairvoyant Investigation, Paranormal I

and the Haunted House Effect

Clairvoyant1. a person who claims to have a supernatural ability to per

beyond normal sensory contact.adj. having or exhibiting such an ability.def. from 17th century French with clair meaning clear and

vision is used to refer to the alleged ability to gain infobject, person, location or physical event through means othhuman senses, a form of extra-sensory perception.

I am interested in capitalizing on the impulse that fuels

obsession with the gothic narrative as its shadow is cast over

culture. Paranormal investigation and metaphysical research

part of the contemporary quest for the uncanny and gothic revi

Dead relies upon storytelling and thwarted viewer expectation

uncanny feeling. I will be engaging in a series of stories abo

als and the research of my project in order to provoke uncannin

The wooden lath I will be using to construct the sculptures ca

Certainty has been rescued from the interior walls of a haunte

tuary of the church I will exhibit his project in will be exami

ant, who will host a seance in it, and its inherent power areas

I will be conducting EVP research and digitally examine the space


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Orb Theoryis based on the findings o

investigations and research. The o

home digital photography in the mi

whelmed the field of paranormal in

of orb and orb-like phenomena appea

photographs submitted as proof o

ghosts and the supernatural.

Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) acaptured sounds that resemble speec

result of intentional voice recordi

leged communication of spirits thro

corders and other electronic device

for speech and hearing can be found

Hz range, however EVPs are recorded a

frequencies.


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RESEARCH QUESTIONS


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HowcanInaturallyandsupernaturallyengagetheinstallatitoevokeafeelingoftheuncanny?

Howdothepsychologicalconceptsofthedoubleandthemirroworkwithinadigitallyengagedenvironment?


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How can I use the doll to exploreor elicit a feeling of the

uncanny in the viewer?

Whatisparticuconceptoftherelationtothe

WhatfuelsthecontemporaryobtheGothicnarr


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How can I best employ my research into facialexpression and body language to reveal or conceal

psychology and character traits in dolls withaccentuated or obscured features?


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A character operates as a stand in for real human relations thand seemingly autonomous.

By implying a narrative onto the doll, will I then imply life


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A Dangerous Stepping StoneTo Darker Deeds

Documents

Kjustl Colloquium Presentation