Minute 51 (by Sequana Birkel)
This edition of minute 51 is rather abstract; it might not be very close to the original video visually, but emotionally. It represents my response to it. I saw the Scream mask, Ghostface, from the horror film franchise Scream.
Vergänglichkeit. It could be translated with limitedness, something not being permanent and constantly dying. My presentation is an approach to illustrate Vergänglichkeit. I illustrate its meaning by showing a specific form of decay and alluding to death with the mask. This face, this mask, represents and personifies death.
What did I do? I cut out a stencil and sprayed it onto the concrete in the street I live in, a relatively busy and crowded one where many cars and busses travel. I used chalk-spray paint, which is water-based and thus non-permanent. Over the course of four weeks, I took pictures of it and recorded its process of decay. Technique-wise, I combined street art with auto-destructive art.
In the presentation, I show the different states of my artwork. In Phase 1, the chalk paint seemed very permanent to me, as virtually no difference is visible. In Phase 2, a little bit of difference is noticeable; the third picture, for instance, shows some signs of the time that has passed (which was around one week at that point). Phase 3 shows how the mask slowly dissolves. Over the course of time, engine oil was spilled over the mask, thus, external influences eventually effected it. The fourth Phase is the last phase I documented, the last picture being the final photo I took. Now, the non-permanency is visible. To starker show the contrast, I put the first and last picture taken on a slide.
I combined different media and materials to create another form of decay, adding to minute 51 by creating something that is just as vergänglich as film, leaving it to eventually fade and die. This text was written at the end of July, thus over two months after I have sprayed the mask and I can confirm, it is still there, still dying but also changing, constantly re-inventing itself.
Vergänglichkeit. It could be translated with limitedness, something not being permanent and constantly dying. My presentation is an approach to illustrate Vergänglichkeit. I illustrate its meaning by showing a specific form of decay and alluding to death with the mask. This face, this mask, represents and personifies death.
What did I do? I cut out a stencil and sprayed it onto the concrete in the street I live in, a relatively busy and crowded one where many cars and busses travel. I used chalk-spray paint, which is water-based and thus non-permanent. Over the course of four weeks, I took pictures of it and recorded its process of decay. Technique-wise, I combined street art with auto-destructive art.
In the presentation, I show the different states of my artwork. In Phase 1, the chalk paint seemed very permanent to me, as virtually no difference is visible. In Phase 2, a little bit of difference is noticeable; the third picture, for instance, shows some signs of the time that has passed (which was around one week at that point). Phase 3 shows how the mask slowly dissolves. Over the course of time, engine oil was spilled over the mask, thus, external influences eventually effected it. The fourth Phase is the last phase I documented, the last picture being the final photo I took. Now, the non-permanency is visible. To starker show the contrast, I put the first and last picture taken on a slide.
I combined different media and materials to create another form of decay, adding to minute 51 by creating something that is just as vergänglich as film, leaving it to eventually fade and die. This text was written at the end of July, thus over two months after I have sprayed the mask and I can confirm, it is still there, still dying but also changing, constantly re-inventing itself.
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