Artist's Statement
This was one of the most fun and stimulating of our projects so far--some of that may be vanity, because it's fun to think about yourself and talk about yourself, figuratively, but I also think it's the joy of stealing. Huh. So maybe not a whole lot of morally straightforward fun behind it, but fun nonetheless.
I've already quoted this in a past artist's statement, but it fits too well this week to go underutilized: "Good artists borrow, great artists steal." We've been able to be pretty forthright about our stealing this week, but I would submit that everything we do draws on already existing sources. That's not a bad thing. As we saw in the Remix clip we watched, some of the best music can come from "stealing," or influences, and I've had the chance to hear a lot about that from my Dad, who is a musician and knows about a lot of the copyright battles that have been fought over the years. Even Isaac Newton said his work's significance only came because he was standing on the shoulders of giants, and T. S. Eliot, one of the greatest poets of all time and someone who had a lot to say about the creative process, said something similar. But I digress.
When I was deciding on what aspect of my identity to focus on, I didn't want to chose something obvious, like my religion or my gender, though those are both significant parts of me. At the same time, I didn't want to go so obscure that it wasn't actually something I strongly identified with. I got to two ideas from there: my left-handedness and my being from California. I really feel strongly about left-handed issues, but tellingly on the issue, there just weren't that many related texts I could draw on, let alone remix. California, however, erred in the opposite direction. There are more songs about California than any other place, I would venture to guess. That made it difficult to chose one thing to be my base, but I settled on "Take California," by the Propellerheads. I chose it because the song itself already had a remix vide that would go really well with what I was planning to do: shove as many California songs as I could into one celebratory mess. I didn't even fit a quarter, in case you were wondering, but I was able to include my favorites, ones I've been listening to my whole life, as well as a couple new ones I discovered happily this week. "Take California," for example, I've been listening to my whole life--my Dad loved that album, and I remember dancing weirdly to it with my sister in the living room. "California Girls" by the Beach Boys was on the very first album I ever bought, "Sounds of Summer," when I got it with a Target gift card at eight-years-old. I also included some samples from a conversation I originally recorded from last week, but never used, that was 15 minutes total of just my roommates and friends and I chatting. At one point, my roommate asked me what my favorite place was. My answer shouldn't be surprising, after hearing the beginning of the song, and I liked putting in this proof, and my own voice, as an expression that I truly do feel strongly positive to my geographical roots. That I was able to link this with music, one of the first art forms I ever enjoyed, made it even more special, and including so many songs that I've listened to further personalized it to me.
My favorite reading this week was the one about how texts become real. It made me want to read the whole book it came from, which in fact, I now have on hold at the library. I've read the Velveteen Rabbit and been touched before, but what Jenkins talked about is more far reaching even, because it touches on what we do everyday, not just once in a lifetime, when we consume. We are not mindless, not indifferent observers, but active participants in the creation of the impact of art. When I thought about using "Take California" in the framing of my own identity, I worried slightly about its perceived accuracy. I'm not really a hip hop or remix person, though that is to some degree relevant to me. However, it's what I've contributed to the power of that song in my own life that I think matters here, and I can trust the viewers to synthesize its attributes with other seemingly contrasting songs used in the piece. As I was researching this topic a little extra on the side, I came across a Ted Talk that was super relevant, and as interesting as it was a little extreme. It was called "Embrace the Remix," (link below) and talked about how everything was a remix. I really enjoyed it, and it inspired me to be more bold with the things borrow or steal even when the assignment or goal isn't borrowing or stealing. So watch out, world, there's a new bandit on the street.
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