Round Robin

Artists' Statement  

This assignment really put the idea of creativity into perspective. Creative writing classes often teach that nothing is truly every "original," because inspiration is gleaned from all over to help produce new ideas. It was fun to write small stories back and forth within our group, as we were eager to see what the next person was going to come up with. None of us could imagine out pieces turning out the way they did, yet we were all very impressive with the short stories that were "telephoned" off of our initial ideas.

Some of us were nervous to see what people would think about our work, what would be added on, and if someone would go in a completely different direction than what was originally imagined. DJ Spooky states, "The remix, as always, is what you make of us. Juxtapose, fragment, flip the script—anything else, simply put, would be boring" (DJ Spooky). Collaborating with others fuels our creativity and pushes us to think outside the box. It was really amazing how you could see the different personalities of the creators in each installment. A lot of the story remained cohesive within the series, but then some would take a wild turn and change the narrative in a surprising way.

When the first story was conceived, there was an infinite combination of elements that could create the next installment, and the path that was created by each parties is the perfect mixture of choice and chance. Each story went through a different order of people in the group. If the order had been any different, we would have gotten another collection. This project was the anti-auteur, as we weren't the only authors of these stories. Chance, order, what time of day we chose to write, what he had for breakfast, our interactions that day—these were all collaborators on a set of seemingly un-affecting stories that ended up representing all of everything.

Having a 20-word limit per story serves as a kind of mediator for the project. Because of our restitution in this assignment, each word had to be carefully considered, and anything superfluous was cut. This allowed us to really focus on the plot lines and help us channel our creativity in that direction. 

This assignment had us step out of our comfort zones—our short stories were inevitable put together with out own personal thoughts and feelings, and we had to watch that story change on a fundamental level. This was a good thing because, after all, the nature of film lies in collaboration, and requires a filmmaker to do what we did in the assignment—let of of our personal biases and desire for our creative output, and revise and reimagine each other's work to create something unique and special.

Written by Rachel, Nathanael, Emily, Addison, and Morgan

My Contributions 

Rachel's Story, Part 2

His new clothing line, Bloody Valhalla, proved an international success. It even prompted the Viking régime to gravitate towards commerce. 

Nathanael's Story, Part 3

"Comatose vs. Cripple," she explained. "That's what I want the newspapers to call this lawsuit."

Morgan's Story, Part 4

Steven shook his controller with frustration as the screen flashed GAME OVER.

Addison's Story, Part 5

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but she wasn't it. Didn't matter, though. They were finally together.

My Story: The Mermaid

Part 1

The little mermaid swimming deep within the crystal sea,

Cried over graves of gallant ships marked by their own debris.

Part 2: by Addison

While the little mermaid was occupied with the wreckage,

A vicious shark came to deliver her a not-so-pleasant message.

Part 3: by Morgan

 He said: "I'm afraid I've eaten your mother and father,

Now I've come to eat you, so don't be a bother."

Part 4: by Nathanael

The shark had devoured the poor damsel's parents, and as he approached her he considered something witty to say. 

Part 5: by Rachel

"I think I've got something stuck in my teeth. It's probably your parents."

The Creative Process Visualized: Artist Statement

Annie Dillard, in her essay “Seeing,” beautifully describes how she experiences the world. It is so different from my own perspective, I wish my lens could align with hers and I could focus on the thousands of details I’ve missed every day for the majority of my life. I see things in steps and processes, completely at home in the straightforward and the chronological. I even have a narrative approach in this project, but in honor of seeing things in a different light, I have tried something much more outside of my comfort zone—a stab at the abstract.

I’ve been told Jackson Pollock’s paintings are a translation of jazz music. In some small way, these collections of images have been based on that approach. Not by visual inspiration (nothing here is like the works of that great painter), but by finding inspiration though melody. Memories, an instrumental piece composed by bensound music, reminds me of a difficult journey I’ve taken a hundred times: the creative process. For me, the song is divided into eight different segments, and each part reflects how I feel as I try to finish any project. The images below are the steps visualized.  

http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/memories

First, captured through light piano music, is the feeling of curiosity. I’ve seen something new, or something old in a new light, and my mind takes it in to process.

New Light

Then, the idea, like the melody, begins to form. Everything at this point is bright and big and there are so many vague possibilities I can hardly process them, and all I really have is a concept.

A Single Drop

The beat gets stronger as this concept becomes a project. It’s hard work, and I realize that my ideas lose their color somewhere between mind and paper. I have to force myself to organize those free floating images, turning untranslatable chaos into something tangible.

Get It Out

The piano comes back in, and the melody is more complex. I’ve been building on that fragile inspiration, but not everything is fitting the way I envisioned.

Pieces

Now nothing is working. The music becomes melancholy and gray, and I feel disgustingly untalented. Abandoning the project seems like the best option.

To Be Or Not

My mind is exhausted, and if I’m going to finish this, I have to remember what inspired me in the first place. By now the memory is less than picture perfect, but there’s a repeat of melody like my new determination.

Foggy Rekindle

What else is there to do but push through it all?

Against Myself

As the music and my project conclude, I have no idea if anything is good or even if all the effort is worth it. But now it’s time to share what I’ve made. I suppose the universe in some way gave me the inspiration, and it’s only fair to give it back.

Giving Back

Out of the Woods and Into the Tabloids

She lost him.

She lost him, but found herself, and somehow that was everything.

These are the words that bookend Taylor Swift’s newest music video, Out of the Woods. Her fourth collaboration with director Joseph Kahn, the video has received positive reviews from critics, praising its cinematic quality and stunning visual components. The video’s overall style is different from some of Swift’s previous work, and with its stylistic approach, it opens itself up for plenty of interpretation. Which have been made, certainly, but the overall approach to the material is a much more commercial one than a dive into the artistic. A pop icon of several years now, Taylor Swift’s image has been famously characterized by her long line of ex-boyfriends. Equally well known is her habit of pulling lyrical inspiration from her personal experiences—mainly those relationships. Thus, the question surrounding her newest music video is not “what does this mean” but rather, “who is Taylor talking about?” This leaves the self-proclaimed message and personal expression of Swift’s music video marginalized by the media’s reaction to her public persona.

An article in fashion magazine Elle opens their analysis of the video like this: “At first glance/watch the video has a simple message: She lost the boy (maybe Harry?), got out of the woods, and found herself. Huzzah!” The article then continues to speculate about the lyrical connection between Taylor and “the boy” (Harry Styles, a OneDirection boy band member being the most popular candidate) listing a series of words and images that match the couple’s past moments in the public eye. The details are surprisingly thorough. The color of Taylor’s dress in the video is extremely close to the one Swift was wearing when she broke up with Styles; the jewelry she discards could be referencing the necklace he gave her; the release date of the video corresponds with their first public kiss several years ago.

The careful examination stops there though. Once this article, and many articles like it, have proven to their audience that yes, Harry is the answer to the question everyone’s been asking, the case is closed. Now that mild curiosity has been satisfied, there’s no need to dwell on the video any longer. And yet, even Swift’s stated message has been swept aside, glossed over in favor of tabloid gossip. “Huzzah!” is the declaration, as if to say finding yourself is something that can be achieved all in a day’s work. The potential for deeper meaning is completely ignored, which is surprising since merely listing the events of the narrative shows that Taylor’s struggle to “find herself” is hardly an easy one.

The video opens with Swift standing alone on a beach as vines being to grow and surround her. This creates a forest wherein she is chased and nearly attacked by a pack of wolves. From then on, she transitions from harsh condition to harsh condition in a series of different elemental worlds. She faces storms, drought, ice, fire, and the almost constant presence of vines that wrap themselves around her body. When she finally emerges “out of the woods,” her physical appearance has completely changed. Mud stained and more than a little worse for wear, she returns to the beach, were she approaches the older version of herself and reaches out to reconnect.

The analysis of this piece could be endless. What symbolism is Swift trying to portray through the use of contrasting elements? What are the purposes of the vines that stalk her, and why do they only disappear once she has returned to the beach? Perhaps instead of her blue dress referencing an ex-boyfriend, it’s there to symbolize purity or a sense of innocence. We know Taylor is telling us that this is the visual interpretation of how she found herself, so surely it's safe to assume there is more here than a reference to a boy.

That’s not to say the song isn’t about one of her past relationships. It very much is. Taylor said herself in a music session presented by Nashville Chapter and the Producers & Engineers Wing that her lyrics were based on a relationship experience. With that preface, it’s easy to jump into the guessing game of “which one, which one?” However, the key elements of that relationship are the inspiration behind the song. Swift says that she was writing about the intense feelings of anxiety she was dealing with and the knowledge that whatever she was involved in was terrifyingly fragile (“Listening Session With Taylor Swift”).

The arguments made by Elle and the slew of other blog posts and magazine articles aren’t necessarily incorrect either. Their links between the couple’s relationship and the music video are uncannily accurate. The point, however, isn’t about whether or not the song is about a past lover. That is already inarguably true. The troubling thing is that analysis hasn’t continued past this conclusion. Is this about a boy? Yes. Is she directly referencing him? Quite possibly. But ask what she learned or how she grew and no one seems interested in answering.

Perhaps, however, this has more to do with the roadblock of Taylor Swift’s own celebrity image. Her signature trait of referencing her boyfriends in her music have caused a large portion of the public to play a game of “spot the ex” instead of looking for additional meaning behind her work. It’s difficult to say who’s to blame for this, whether Swift has brought it upon herself via her artistic process, or whether media has influenced what we think of when we hear “Taylor Swift.” 

Regardless of the origins of her persona, however, the effect is the same. The majority of Out of the Woods interpretations have reached shallow conclusions, leaving its message untapped, and limiting the personal connection between artist and consumer. We cannot know Swift’s personal journey of overcoming anxiety and finding self-awareness unless we develop a deeper analysis.

Works Cited

Bailey, Alyssa. “4 Sneaky Harry Styles References in Taylor Swift’s ‘Out of the Woods.’”

Elle.com, 2016. Web. 9 Jan. 2016.

< http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a33001/taylor-swift-harry-style-

references-out-of-the-woods/>

“Listening Session With Taylor Swift.” Grammypro.com, 2015. Web. 9 Jan. 2016

            <https://www.grammypro.com/professional-development/video/listening-session-taylor-

            swift-1989-part-2>