Stephen+Finnegan+-+Body+Project

media type="youtube" key="7FXkAowa6Yo" width="425" height="350" "Life Through Body" by Stephen Finnegan

For this project most of my inspiration came from a personal philosophy that I feel strongly about. In life our body acts as a sort of vehicle and medium which we use to experience and move through the world. In that light, it can be considered completely separate from the mind and soul which together form the essence of our individuality and persona. However, without the aid of our bodies, our mind can never progress through life enough to experience and detect the situations and sensations which develop the core within us we value so much. On that note, it can be observed that within society there is increasingly a larger emphasis placed on expediency and efficiency, especially for children and young adults. It is this influence that puts more strain on an already inexperienced and immature mind, ultimately forcing them to move relatively blindly down the paths preset by past generations and current social systems. Such focus begets great progress but eliminates, most if not all, peripheral awareness. Only when we reach a place of "silence" or peace in our lives are we able to stop and see where we are, reflect on where we came from and speculate on where we may be going. In this video I have filmed myself in a "Point Of View" style walking all over the city, it is dark and the view remains focused on my feet as I move. Occasionally I will stop, and the view will shift into a brighter video revealing my surroundings. However, after I am interrupted to a certain degree I begin moving again and the view shifts back to my feet. While the main point of this video is the idea of movement and focus versus reflection, every part from the sounds and lighting to the way I move and where I walk is also meant to represent other aspects within life. As with anything else the intended message and presentation in relation to the actual reaction and interpretation can range greatly and it is up to the audience to decide what they specifically take away from this. In the end, in this piece the body (mine in this case) becomes the art, not in only how it acts as a medium and the subject but also what it conceptually represents.

//Life Through Body// Spring 2011 Stephen Finnegan ARTS 235

This piece explores pacing and perception within our lives in modern day society. More specifically the ambiguity that comes with efficiency and the clarity that comes with spiritual peace.