Midterm

The video I got was about Mary Reid Kelley, an American artist who grew up in South Carolina. When I picture art what automatically comes to mind are paintings and drawings. However, art can also be plays and films/videos. Kelley directs and acts in her own films. She is a storyteller. She also uses her family members, like her both younger sisters and brother-in-law to act in the plays. In the video, the sisters said they were always creative growing up. They would perform these elaborate plays and Kelley would coordinate how the play went since she was the oldest. Kelley always researched and read books; she thought that learning new things was good. She thinks she got that from her parents since they also were historian majors. During the video I noticed she had a sculpture in the background, so plays are not the only thing she focuses on. Her art is different from other artists because she gets to perform/experience her work of art.

One of her films titled, “The Syphilis of Sisyphus” is a black and white video. The film is in black and white. Her customs are really cool. Her characters customs and including herself are always masked and are also in black and white making it look like a skull but also like a clown to me. She covers her whole eyes with big black buttons, which she can see very little with, but thanks to that she was able to perform. Kelly also loves makeup and it’s her favorite part since she gets to draw the work on her face. This is an awesome type of art because instead of drawing on a paper/plain surface, she gets to decorate her face. Kelley also loves encountering paintings and looking at them overtime, implying sometimes feelings can change after viewing them at different times. She also sketches her own customs for her film. And thanks to technology, she gets to sketch the setting in 3D on what is suppose to go on the green screen. Thus, her film ends up look cartoonish. 

Kelley’s films are based on historical tableaus. The materials she is using to help create this fine film are cameras, scripts, customs, makeup, green screens and technology. Makeup is another form of art she uses. Her film’s background/green screens have some sketches and drawings.

I think her work of art is successful because films have rhymes and puns making the audience more interested. They are historical narratives and the characters are telling a story at the same time a few jokes. Her artwork is influenced by women’s live that in the struggle of liberation through politics, war and other historical things. She likes to see how politics plays a major role in shaping a women’s life.

Yes, the video made me think differently about the way artists work because it does not necessarily mean “art” is one a paper. Art can come and many forms and this include films. Kelley’s art makes us laugh, visualize and actually feel the emotions. Her artwork is unique and captures people’s attention. What surprised me were her customs that not really common. When I first saw them I even thought they were scary. After seeing her videos I understood her videos are not suppose to be like everyday things we see but type vintage. I actually like her idea of thinking out of the box it’s a fantastic way of expressing herself.