Take a Walk Around Oak Bluffs

When I interpreted the photo [from stop 1] I felt Inspired and excited about using a different angle for creation. I am surrounded by wild horses on the Island where I live. They are such noble creatures full of strength and passion. The photograph evoked a dreamlike power and fantasy accompanied by drive, ambition and childlike fun. The first things that came to mind were the sound of horse’s hoofs, snorting nostrils large beating hearts, and the gamble we make with lovers. I set the rhythm of the song to the horse’s heartbeat. The repetitive lick ‘chase motif’ came next, then came ‘The king of hearts’ lyric inspired by the size of Xanthus’s (the largest stallion the my island) heart and how his mares vie for his unpredictable attention. The rest was almost completely unconscious. This song is about every girl I’ve ever chased and who’s ever chased me as well as tipping my hat to those extremely strong and independent women that have helped shape me as a man.

The music I interpreted [from stop 2] seems upbeat and happy but has these dark and depressing undertones. The reference to gambling brought me thoughts of depravity, shallowness, lights, false power, and Vegas, which has this larger-than-life vibe; a sense of false possibilities and sugar-coated hopeful promises where under the surface it’s pretty horrible and rotten. I imagined the life of a character I called Lola who’s from a rag-tag town in Nebraska or Kentucky. Her lifelong dream is to be a star and she’s come to Vegas to fulfill her destiny. She’s met and placed her faith in a charismatic, powerful but destructive man. In my image, I wanted to capture this woman backstage, about to go on, and feeling alone and scared. I imagine she’s giving herself a pep talk. I wanted to create a scene of anticipation and voyeuristic heartbreak around watching something beautiful and vulnerable on the brink of destruction. The location I chose to photograph in was an abandoned club around the corner from my studio in NJ. I chose to have my character coming out of drastic shadows which to me, represents the reality that things aren’t all shiny and pretty as they may seem on the surface.

I’ve always wanted to see what art tastes like. My first reaction to the photograph I interpreted [from stop 3] was that it was full of sensuality. I thoughts were of red, sultry, exotic, and cultural things. I knew I wanted to use a ribose red base and put sultan raisins and fruit in it. I wound up with a sexy honeybush base with blackberries, sultan raisins, lapacho and rose hips.

Drinking the tea [from stop 4] I imagined a place in the American countryside. I imagined a woman and a man, a house and a tree. The couple is content living very monotonous, repetitive, predictable lives. I imagined the man as being very macho but with a humble side.  I saw him sitting on a red couch wearing a white T-shirt. The woman I imagined to be noble and strong. My challenge was to try to represent the relationship using only myself. The chair came to represent the relationship.  My movements came to represent the couple in their simplistic; normal repetitive lives with occasional life surprises here and there.

The feeling we all three immediately got from the dance [from stop 5] was a feeling that has fascinated us for a long time: ‘Boredom’.

In the silent film, we saw a dancer struggling with his boredom. He moves around restlessly in his chair, tired of repeating the same cyclical motions again and again.  His struggle gets fiercer with every second. His is a very rhythmical, well-orchestrated struggle.

Being from the Internet generation, the three of us have very short attention spans. We bore easily. Being bored is something a lot of people have negative associations with. But for us, these are moments when our imaginations can run wild. The outcome of our interpretation is a flag raised in celebration of our boredom; we accept and embrace it as a natural part of life. For us, the “Bored” flag we created is a symbol of a time in which to play and create.