Final : My Improbable Monument

The week that we were suppose to be busy planning and constructing our Improbable Monuments. I was sitting in a hospital room with Pete. Still, I was thinking about what I wanted to create for an I.M and I still had no idea where to even start.

Twice a day, Pete and I would go for a walk around the hospital halls so he would be able to get circulation in his legs, and we would always walk past this very interesting plant.  He didn't know what it was, but luckily his Dad did. A ficus tree. "Duh." Well, that ficus tree sent me into a frenzy of ideas. It was one of the most interesting naturally occurring plantation that I've seen.  But there everywhere, and I missed it.

So, I stuck to what I believe in the most. People believing in themselves to follow their dreams. Sounds easy enough. But it rarely occurs.

My Improbable Monument is.....

You have to be believe, and have faith that's IT'S POSSIBLE.
My concept is simple...

My Inspiration....

* As I stated earlier in my blog, my first inspiration came from the clock in "The Curious Case of    Benjamin Button."
* Loving the texture and the look of the ficus tree, I wanted to also incorporate that.
* Of course, interactive. People feel a closer relationship to an image or sculpture if they become apart of it.
* Film - need I say more...
* And above all else, I wanted the community to come together through this monument. That they may all celebrate as one, and no longer be divided.

Taking all that,  this is what I came up with for my  My Design Elements...

The base would be a ficus tree 15' high. It doesn't show it very clearly in this illustration, but I would have all three tree trunks intertwined as a ficus tree does.

More like this....

The three tree trunks would symbolize...
* Courage - because you need to have courage to do what you long for, especially as an artist. That no matter how others think about it, if they don't understand, if they try to discourage you. You need to have courage to go forward.
* Passion - without passion, why bother. Do what your passionate about otherwise you'll never be happy. And as I said in my presentation, you can't create passion, but it was always shine through your work.
* Determination - Having the courage and passion to do what you love is never easy, that is why you need determination to drive you there. No  matter what adversities you face.

These three; courage, passion, and determination, entangled into one, becomes INTEGRITY.

Next is the glowing sphere to represent unity (not having a beginning or an end), immortality because it will continue to shine, and hope because all others will see and become inspired to do the same.

Now, the interior....

From the base of the tree will be a small opening. The space inside will only be 3' in diameter, just enough space for one, and possibly two people to enter. When you do enter, there will be lights that will shoot up to the top of the tree, and voice of small children in many different languages will say, "When I grow up, I want to be a______"

After my in class presentation, I was asked, "why the light show." I wish they would have asked that question in class, because it represents the beginning seedlings, the first start of a bud that nourishes and grows, becoming something greater then itself. As water is so vital for a tree to grow, so is dreams to our salvation, shooting up to the heavens, making us stronger and more able to accomplish anything.


And when you are struck by inspiration, it's completely solitary. It's within you alone, and you can't explain that feeling to anyone. You may need the support of others to fulfill that dream, but it's entirely up to you to make it into a reality.

This is how I want to showcase those realities....

Have the sphere will open up to be a 20' x 17.5' screen to project films on. The speakers will be placed in the outstretched branches, and this is to commemorate the many that have done great things.

When I was creating this, I watched "Glory" for the first time, and because of that. I think my first film I want to be show is "Glory" Those men had shown "Courage", "Passion", and  "Determination" to it's fullest extent of the word.

Growing up in Minnesota, and spending much of my time in Museums in High School, and after when I moved to Minneapolis.  I want my monument to be placed in the Sculpture Garden at the Walk Art Center in Minneapolis.

It's a beautiful place, with the most interesting and amazing modern art sculptures. The garden is free to the public, so anyone can enjoy it. I also want it there, because in Minnesota, we celebrate the seasons. Our summer is hot and green, our fall, crisp and colorful, our winter, cold and white, our spring, warm and blossoming.

I want my monument to be apart of that celebration. In the winter, the monument will be closed, but the sphere will continue to glow amongst the snowfall. In the spring, maintenance will need to happen. The Summer, the first movie will be shown, and then end of fall will the last.

I also want the movie to gain more outdoor activities with food vendors, crafts, and games. And when night falls, the movie begins.

How much will all this cost?

About $111,000 + maintenance (20 years)....~ $150,000

This maybe improbable now, but I definitely want my monument to come to fruition. That is one my dreams. And after the class presentation, I received great encouragement to make this happen. One student even said, "the only problem I see, is that I would want this monument to be placed everywhere."

improbable monument...idea

Stressed out for not having a clue what I wanted to do for this project. I asked Pete, my husband,  "what do I care about the most?" " I'm lost!" He told me, "You care about living your dreams, and live them with passion no matter what." Of course, I dismissed this right away. Saying,"What?!"  "How can I do a improbably monument with that??"

Take a few days, and I thought it was perfect.

If we all have the courage and confidence enough to just go after what we want to be, to fulfill our dreams, I  believe this world would be a different place. 

This is my idea thus far sans images....

I want to build a structure. The outside would be large, strong and organic. Much like a tree trunk. At the top, the "trunk" will branch off like "fingers" balancing a very large round glowing bulb. You would be able to go inside this "tree trunk," and on the interior walls would be flashes of different color lights streaming up to the top, and many voices of small children saying, " when I grow up, I want to be a....."

Also, I want the large bulb to be constructed where it could be opened and spread out (much like an actual representation of a globe map), so films could be played on this, now extended screen.

This is my idea thus far, and I really like it. I think this will be my improbably monument, to those who want, and to those of have,  fulfilled their dreams.

improbable monument....thoughts

I watched the film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" The opening sequence was of a man, a blind man, a man who's son had left to fight in WW11, a man who was commisioned to make a clock for the city.

His son had died in the war, and when the man did the big reveal of the new clock,  it went backwards, counter clockwise.

The man did this on purpose, he said if he had the power to turn back time, maybe all those men and women from the war would now be alive, that maybe his son would be with him now, maybe this war wouldn't have happened.

I thought that was absolutely beautiful. That was his monument.

Right now, I have nothing....

Monument Intervention

I did not chose a specific monument to work on for the intervention project. What I chose to do, and feel so strongly about, was making a video projection about the destructive nature of Black Friday. Black Friday is a first hand look of how manipulative corporations are to lower income families. It saddens me that they can be so easily seduced by cheap prices, and in-turn, cheaply made products. And what has come of it? Chaos, violence, and even death.

Isn't that what an intervention is really about? Giving truth to those who are blinded by it, and making the statement loud and clear.

My original idea was to make this video and display it on a Walmart or Target building on Black Friday, when people are standing in line at 3,4,5 o'clock in the morning. That was my ultimate goal. However, since this project's deadline was earlier, my collaborates, Hanada, Patrick, and I choose Sunday, the 14th, on the Mens' Macy's building in Union Square.

Since the project was my idea, I planned out what we should do and when to do it on a google spreadsheet for all of us to view and add. We stayed on track for the most part, and in the end we did accomplish creating a successful video. On the other hand, the actual projection was not.

Hanada, and I scouted out a place the week before, made sure everything was in working order, and we felt confident we could pull it off. However, when it was show time, we didn't realize how bright it would be from all the street lights. The projection was not successful, but we were glad we weren't asked to leave the Macy's store.

But thanks to the Hilton security guard, we were able to project from there. Again, not very bright or clear, but at lease we did it!

Would I do it again? Absolutely! I was determined to project the video as much as we could, but without a power outlet, that couldn't happen. But I'm now in search of buying a projector, a very powerful projector. It was definitely a high for me.

Coming home, I was determined to still get our video seen and our message heard. My husband suggested putting music to the video, he picked a great song, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." We laid that underneath the video, put it on youtube, and forwarded to everyone we know. Hanada, and Patrick has done the same thing. So far, in the last hour, there has been 37 views (and it's 1am). Hooray!

I would love to do this again on Black Friday.


Black Friday Projection from Jessica Johnston on Vimeo.

the "Black Friday" video

Culture Jam

"Walk Like a Dancer. Feel like a Dancer."

This is a poster that I would make, duplicate, and posted on as many places that would allow me to.

I want to spread the message that even the simplest task as walking correctly, can and will help you clear your mind, concentration, attack the problem or situation, and give you more confidence.

It's been scientifically proven that walking helps stimulate the brain as well as being a great cardiovascular exercise, but you don't need to walk miles everyday for this to be effective. What we need is to implement "walking like dancer" with every step you take.

I chose to put this up on Google Earth at the Minneapolis Walk Art Center, because someday I would love to have a gallery show there with, "Walk Like a Dancer. Feel Like a dancer." It would be performance, interactive, as well as video.

The Walker Art Center is where I fell in love with installation, and it's my home town.

Walk Like a Dancer.kmz

I found this just now..... Had to share.

Skyy sex logo

It was late at night, and my husband and I were driving home when I caught a glimpse at this Skyy Vodka Ad. I couldn't believe how blatant sex was promoted in this ad.

My remake of this ad isn't much of a stretch of the imagination, but it certainly is my take on it.

Here is an adbuster ad I saw on youtube. Wonderfully done!



and this one definitly get's the point across....

Random Inspiration

It was difficult for me to come up with a random set of rules to give in an art medium that would be interesting to either myself or my partner. I consider myself an artist, but as a filmmaker and that is what I know best. I contemplated my own discovery on ways I create moments on screen, and how I could implement that process to the given assignment. First, I realized that the process and inspiration is very random. Inspiration can hit you anywhere, with anyone, at anytime. Also, I felt that as artists we just try to answer questions that we feel that is relevant to our selves personally or on a much greater scale. We, as artist, usually have one message, one clear statement that we want to say, and that is how I came up with my random system.

I formulated questions given at random times to Patrick, my partner. He had to answer them the best he could as the question was given, as did I.

Here are the questions....

1. What genre was the last movie that you saw?
Patrick's response : Thriller "The American"
My response : Drama/Crime "The Town"

2. If there was one message you could share with the world, what would it be?
Patrick's response : "Were there is no vision, there is no hope"
My response : "Live with passion and love"

3. What is your location?
Patrick's response : At his desk 2nd floor of his house.
My response : Working, at the wine bar.

4. Ask the person you last talked to what their favorite name is.
Patrick's response : Mika
My response (I had to ask the barista) : Minerva

From these questions/ answers, I and Patrick (unknowingly) collaborated on two short films.

His is called "No Vision No Hope"


No Vison No Hope from Jessica Johnston on Vimeo.

Mine is called "Live Passion Love"


Live Passion Love from Jessica Johnston on Vimeo.

And here is Patrick's News Chance piece. Can you guess who it is?

 

I was surprised to find out that many people did know who this man was. It's Bret Favre.  I guess no matter how hard to try to recreate yourself, people will always see the real you.

I also pointed out that when he wasn't in his uniform or on the field, he never looked very happy. Maybe that's why he kept changing his mind about retiring. How can you leave something that you love, even if he is getting too old to play.