DIRK

-->

Artist’s Statement: Historical Story Script

            Because this story is a period piece – it required a fair amount of research so we could accurately portray the events that happened hundreds of years ago. This included researching the actual story of Dirk Willems and reading multiple accounts. We then used these stories to create the story we have written. Part of the research included getting real names that were used in Holland during that time. Some of the names – like “Burgomaster” were actually part of the true account and who was a real person who told the guard pursuing Dirk and who fell through the ice to bring him back after Dirk saved him. The Judge listed in the screenplay actually sentenced Dirk to death. Dirk’s sentence was almost verbatim of the actual recorded account that was verified and confirmed by the town clerk of Asperen. The original sentence was wordy so we did some editing to shorten the sentence a bit.

            We chose to portray this story as a drama because this story is serious, heavy and dark. We wanted to approach the screenplay in a mood conducive to that style instead of it being a comedy for example. We also chose to make this story from the perspective of a guard – Meerten. This allows us to have a more objective perspective rather than if it were from the perspective of Dirk. This other perspective also allowed the story to be reflective of the whole event rather than just having Dirk die in the end and that be it. With Meerten tying everything together, we see how much someone suffers when they go contrary to their conscience or moral duty. This helps humanize the whole story as we can relate better to a man like Meerten who has flaws – like us - but goes through significant character development rather than Dirk who seems unflawed. This is also is a timeless story – one that applies to us today. Although we may not have to make the same moral decision as Meerten, we do have to make similar moral decisions that challenge our personal beliefs and standards.

The Suspenders

The Suspenders

            When you make your own clothes, putting loops in the pants for a belt is a lot of extra work. That’s why suspenders are so convenient, they just clip onto the front and back of the pants and are easily adjustable for a preferred tension – at least that’s what the Hutterites think. The Hutterites are religious groups who have separated themselves from the world in many aspects. They stem from the Protestant Reformation in the 16^th century and are akin to the Mennonites and Amish. They live in colonies that range from 60 – 150 people and have essentially lived the law of consecration for hundreds of years – since 1536 in fact. I first learned about the Hutterites in elder’s quorum and was fascinated by these people. So much so that I called up the Spokane, Washington colony – did a little convincing – and eventually ended up living and working with the colony. The first thing you’d notice about a Hutterite from just looking at them is how they dress. The women look like pioneers from the 1800’s with ankle length dresses and bonnets, and the men go around in black pants and suspenders. It was only natural that I would join the colony style by growing a full beard, and wearing suspenders too. Having never owned a decent pair of suspenders – or really ever had the need, I didn’t own a pair and was grateful when one of the young Hutterites offered me ones he often wore.

            We did almost everything in suspenders – because that’s just what we wore. We pollinated canola plants with bees, repaired a car, built fences, wrapped wire, helped build a new school and church, played volleyball, soccer, golfed with a sledge hammer, hunted, ate, went to church, and almost died or got really hurt a couple times in those suspenders to which the comment was “another day on the farm”. Those suspenders became an icon for everything that was “The Hutterite” way. And in that environment it was perfectly normal – if you tried wearing suspenders here at BYU, you might never get married.

            At the end of my stay, I had drawn close to these people and had great love and admiration – a people with a special place in my heart. I had become so attached to the suspenders I had worn almost the whole time I was there, I didn’t want to give them up. Or rather – I had become so attached to the people, and the suspenders reminded me of them so much that I didn’t want to give them up. Graciously – the friend who lent me the suspenders let me have them. “Compliments of my mom” he said in his extremely thick Hutterish accent that was sometimes hard to understand, as his mom was the one who made them.

            The Hutterites live a peculiar lifestyle that is centered around Jesus Christ. They give up all personal possessions for the benefit and welfare of each other and the colony. They are a people who strive to be like Christ in everything they do – even sports. They are a community in every sense of the word – a community who work together, play together, worship together, live, love, and thrive together. They are the closest thing to Zion I think I’ve ever seen – and they do it all in a bonnet and suspenders.

 

Artist’s Statement:

I chose the suspenders because they are a significant symbol of my life. I wear them in part because they remind me of some of the greatest people I’ve ever met who have in many ways put me to shame about how often or how hard I try to be like Christ. The colony eats every meal together in a big dining hall – so you can imagine what it was like walking in there looking like…well, like someone that wasn’t a Hutterite. I didn’t dare look up as I could feel everybody in the room was looking at me. It was almost as shocking the next morning when at breakfast I had acquired some suspenders and was wearing them. I found out later that everyone was happy that I had put on suspenders and was becoming “one of them” – at least to some degree. After a while I had grown accustomed to wearing them – and actually thought I looked pretty cool. It was no longer awkward throwing those things on and snapping them onto my pants and I didn’t feel out of place – even when they would get snapped. Although the suspenders symbolize an entire lifestyle and people for me, it’s interesting that something so powerful in my mind is actually commonplace for everybody else and is only used for practical reasons. On the back and inside of my suspenders, written in whiteout ink is the name “Erik”, who is the guy who gave them to me and is one of the better friends I made while living in the colony. He was one of the best examples of who a Hutterite is and we remain close today. Although the suspenders symbolize a colony and people, they also are a physical representation of my friendship with Erik that I presume will last the rest of our lives. This is similar to the article I read in our reading about Daphne who plays the violin because those things represent her. I would hope that my experience with the Hutterites have left a lasting impact on me – and the suspenders are a representation of that for me.

Process Piece: Creating a Song

Process Piece: Creating a Song

http://soundcloud.com/shawn-davis-13/process-piece-tma112_writing-a

Artist's Statement

            The idea is to accurately represent in a couple minutes what goes into creating a song. To do this we chose a band that would be able to show this process. Before the recording session we acquired some audio recording equipment and planned with the band when we would record them. This band has a song they are currently working on, but isn’t completely finished. So we decided we’d record them playing what they do have finished, and also the process of them adding to the song.

            After we acquired the equipment, we set it all up. We had one microphone set in the center of the five-person band that would record everything. This allowed for us to capture all the sound in the room, rather than putting microphones on one or two people. We thought it would be good to record for 30 minutes or so as the band played what they did know, and what they didn’t. We then took notes for those thirty minutes as to what happens when so we could go back and reference those notes to edit it down into a couple minutes in post-production.

            Because we had the detailed reference notes of what was happening at which time, we were able to go through and choose the parts of the recording session that show the creative process of creating a song. The idea is to show good beats/rhythms that the band created, but also show mess-ups and discussion about the song that helped the band create more of the song together. We then took those segments and edited them together into a 2-3 minute piece that shows the creative process a band goes through to create a new song.

            I like Dean Duncan’s documentary piece called “Scripture Study” because scripture study is definitely a process. I don’t think kids remember what they learned in scripture study as much as they remember that is just happened and was part of growing up – and were told it was good. The recording of a musical song is similar in that it too involves a great deal of mess-ups and not so perfect practices. But the idea is that through working through the process, you end up with gold in the end.

Thick Description Video Accompaniment

Thick Description

This holy house in the hills comfortably sits between tall trees that create a boundary – protecting everything inside it. It is common for the temples of God to sit high in the hills or on the mountains. It was on Mount Sinai that Moses spoke with God, and on the Mount of Transfiguration where Peter, James, and John saw and received amazing things. This place in the hills that has such value and is like a temple - is my grandmother’s house.

            Up in the hill sits this house that is holy to me – and specifically inside this house is a living room situated between an antique dining room and a well-used and lively kitchen. This room has square windows – higher up on the wall that you can only see out of when you stand. Looking out the windows is an incredible vast view of Provo with Utah Lake spanning across the land in the distance like a broad paint stroke that’s cuddled in by the mountains behind it. The evening sun shines through brilliantly - illuminating everything with a golden hue. As my grandmother sits near the windows reading with her unsteady hands, she – herself seems to be transfigured – glorified – illuminated by the evening light that causes her pure white hair to glow. This is a place of peace.

            This is a place of peace, and rest. Pretenses have no place here. You are who you are here, and it is a beautiful respite from the pressures to be something more than you are – whether you try to be or not. The people that live here are humble enough to know they don’t know everything, but they are intelligent, educated, extremely experienced in global issues because they are so well traveled and read and so give meaningful thought and advice on many topics. They are in large part what make this place so beautiful.

            This place seems almost a world apart in contrast to the BYU Provo lifestyle. People in the valley are at the genesis of their lives filled with energy and optimism, but as I “ascend” the hill, it’s like moving through a century over the course of a few minutes. In this home I’m confronted with the realities of life – of age, experience and wisdom where although I am in the presence of someone who’s experienced time, they seem to live outside it. And although they seem to live outside of time, they know the inevitable awaits them and they are not afraid. Rather - ready to embrace their next phase of life – even death. Here, I can ask questions and receive an honest answer.

            This place and the people here are old enough and experienced enough to take delight in the simplicities of the world. Life is not a mystery here, it is subtle and has significant purpose, and it is slow, methodical, constant and enduring. It is not the center of attention, but a quiet reality set in the hills. This place and these people have been exposed to so much of the world that new things aren’t really new – or at least that’s my perspective of them. Rather, things are just different as time goes on. The magic of technology is bewildering, but not overbearing as the valuable things in life are always kept in perspective. It is a place of quiet significance that always sits at the feet of a grandeur mountain as a constant reminder to be still, and know that God is God.

            Sometimes I can go there, and not have to say a word to anybody – because slow silence is beautiful. The couch I lay on for a nap isn’t long enough for me, so I have to drape both legs off to one side in an unexpectedly comfortable position. My grandmother quietly sits in her chair and reads. The silence is comfortable. To me - this is holy ground.



Artist's Statement:

It was a great joy to do this assignment – primarily because I had to put myself both physically in this special place, and mentally when I wasn’t to accurately describe it. By writing this description, I would put myself in that place, which would inevitably bring back memories and feelings from which I would draw to express this location. So it was enjoyable putting myself either physically or mentally in this place to relive – and then articulate my feelings. I go to my grandmother’s house at least once a week – usually for Sunday dinner. By being there it helped the detailed and accurate descriptions come to me as I wrote the description. Because I am there so often, I didn’t have to plan a special time to go – in part because I go there every week, and also in part because it has such a vivid and powerful impact on me that I only needed to think about the place – and specifically the living room to bring back the memories and feelings I needed to create the description.

            In the description I describe the place as my grandmother’s house but later on refer to what seems to be like other people that live there. I understand that this may be somewhat confusing but I don’t feel like it detracted from the description and so left it how it is – but I feel I should clarify here. My grandmother does live there, but I have an aunt and uncle that live there too who take care of her and are a large part as to why this place is so special. My grandmother is very well traveled, but my aunt and uncle are currently still traveling a great deal – and so I feel they bring a living feed of information to the house that is in part what makes them so valuable to me. They are a current source of information regarding humanitarian work all around the world and are what I feel people who contribute to my education and understanding of the world.

This was an interesting experiment for me to see how music affects my photography. I normally don’t listen to music when I shoot so it was interesting to see how the music moved me to shoot and look for things to shoot that maybe I otherwise would not have. The collaborative effort before the project helped me define what I was looking for and eventually gave me the idea to complete this project as I did. The main word that I felt represented the music was “urban”. Having that focus allowed me to go into an urban setting, listen to my chosen music and shoot away, which turned out to be fun and emotionally rewarding. The theme I felt as I listened to the music was how there is human emotion amidst the emotionless (the urban setting). Whether I was naturally inclined to shoot patterns within the city or if that was evoked by listening to the music I wasn’t sure – maybe a bit of both – but the music gave me a feel of rebelliousness, which I equated to the “emotion” within the “emotionless”. The emotion represented itself in different settings – and not every picture I took had the emotion I was looking for but was rather setting the art piece up for the emotion to come. I think the emotion came from the human elements within the shots – with the exception of the parking garage that looks wavy from one angle. Most of the pictures are of patterns within the city, but every once in a while you come across a person in a shot, or a hand, or something done by a person against the pattern which creates an interesting juxtaposition of the two worlds. The arrangement of the pieces was also under the influence of the music. As I listened to the music it caused me to arrange the pictures in a way that I felt somewhat followed the music. For example, when a part of the song would come, my eye would naturally look to a picture I felt represented the emotion being portrayed in the song. All in all it was good to experiment with how music affected my photography.

Music for music mosaic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVqAdIMQZlk