Creatives @ the Barnett

Pictured from left to right: Ben Kerger (Music), Emily Straughn (Design), Brian Harnetty (Mentor)

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Vignettes of Home: All the Mangos From My Mother's Hand creates a physical and sonic experience that transports the viewer to a "home like space" in order to question the definition of home. in a literal and physical sense, there is the structure itself; in addition, we've considered associated smells, sounds, visuals, memories, and relationships. Music is central to our retelling of home. By presenting our work through a CD format, we are able to reference an era of physical media where memories were stored, collected, and passed along from generation to generation through physical mediums. 

At the center of the "home-like" space is a CD pop-up booklet that explores home as a concept attributed to one's relationship with a parent. Crafted by design student, Emily Straughn, the appearance of the booklet mirrors the sliced form of a mango. The written memories within describe a relationship between parent and child that perhaps, like a mango left sitting for too long, has begun to warp and rot with time. 

The CD booklet contains a functional CD with three musical vignettes of home, composed by Benjamin Kerger, each sampling specific sounds sourced from a survey of others' experiences of home. in order to impart personal relationships to home, Kerger's family voicemails and statements are spliced throughout. As the piece progresses, sounds sometimes become distorted, again addressing warped perceptions of home. The music intends to transport the listener, demonstrating that the non-material is just as influential as the material on our perceptions of home. 

All aspects of our installation are meant to be interacted with. Viewers are invited to wander through the furnished set, interact with any elements within the space, and explore the different features of the CD booklet, all while listening to the music playing on the CD from the provided stereo set. 

Pictured from left to right: Emma Robinson (Creative Writing), Elizabeth Thompson (Visual Art), Dionne Custer Edwards (Mentor)

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In the Victorian Era, it was common practice for mourners to carry with them a small piece of their lost loved one. These relics were discrete and mundane; a name engraved into the inner edge of a ring, a lock of hair encased in glass worn close to the chest, a tooth polished and set in silver. Yet, their effects on the memory were potent. With every readjustment of a misaligned necklace or sensation of cold metal on hot skin, a mourner was reminded of their loss and, more importantly, their love. The dead were thus never truly dead as they existed in the minds and memories of the living. Such practices have evolved based on new cultural practices and evolving ways of life as part of a modern society. In a time of mass consumption, waste, and casual disregard, remembrance is now a remarkable and unfamiliar experience. That which needs to be remembered thus goes unacknowledged, unknown, and forgotten. The the traditions of our Victorian predecessors, Emma and I sought to break this cycle. We sought to remember our homes and the homes of our mothers and fathers. We sought to carry these memories with us and, eventually , to share them with you. Remembrance is a painful thing, particularly in the wake of great loss. Though there is always respite to be found in memory, the dissonance of a past reality and the present one is deeply jarring. It takes time to reconcile this, time which has not yet been had. So, we invite you to carry these memories with us and let them remind you of your own. 

Pictured from left to right: Hailee Franklin (Theatre), Ky Smiley (Photography), Gina Osterloh (Mentor)

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When someone asks you if you feel like you belong somewhere, how do you respond? What factors would you consider in your answer? Would you interpret it in a literal sense, as in, "Do I myself belong here?" or do you interpret it in a global sense as in, "Do the people who share the same attributes as I belong here?" This is the question Jordan seeks the answer to in our creative expression. She longs to feel accepted and when she isn't, she grapples with what the underlying cause of the rejection is and comes to terms with the reality of the situation she's in. 

Jordan's story resembles the life that many Black people attending Predominantly White Institutions (PWI) live. She begins the story feeling hopeful, and by the end, she must reconcile with the fact that no matter what she does, she will always be one step behind her white counterparts. 

In this story, Jordan will experience suffering, loss, hope, love, joy, and contentment. She will try and fail at the things she loves, and she will seek solace in the ones who love her.

Pictured from left to right:  Meg Brosneck (Creative Writing), Eryn Toppin (Dance), Kylee C. Smith (Mentor)

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It is through others that we find strength, yet many of us are forced to suffer through our tragedies alone- boxes of isolation are the greatest barrier between us and kinship. Using both dance and creative writing, writer Meg Brosneck and choreographer Eryn Toppin have created a work which explores the way that, if we break out of those boxes, we can find community, belonging, and home within one another. 

Not Alone is really three stories in one. It follows three individuals as they suffer from a lack of something essential. Known only as "he", "she", and "they", the individuals reveal their sufferings through their respective dances, each alone on their screen. It is only in the end that they all dance together, representing the way their stories have united into one. Though the characters in this work are fictional, they were inspired by real issues that the author, choreographer, and their loved ones have faced. By combining the forms of dance and writing, Brosneck and Toppin were able to explore the emotions that isolation conjures within all of us. It was important for them to split the work up visually, which is why Not Alone is presented on four screens. This physical exhibition voice allows the viewer to feel the solitude of one person dancing alone. It is only in the end that they all come together. 

Brosneck and Toppin would like to thank Kylee Smith for her wonderful mentorship over the course of this project, as well as, Dr. Scoot Jones. Additionally, they'd like to thank the talented dancers who took part in Not Alone: Ava Hunt, Sydney Jones-Rumph, and Sean Johnson

Pictured from left to right: Lydia Gokey (Visual Art), Ana Fierros Haro (Creative Writing), Michael Rene Torres (Mentor)

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Where is the home of our souls? What do we do when we're displaced, removed, unattached from the place we used to settle in? These were some of the questions Lydia and I set to ask and perhaps answer with our collaborative piece. 

I write best under pressure, but this project allowed me to work on a piece that was rearranged, thrown out, and restarted over period of six months. In this period, I thought about my own experiences as a first-generation immigrant who grew up only an hour from her first home in Mexico. On the other hand, Lydia thought about her father's stories of needing to leave home to find solace in another. She put together a series of structures, a house, and a pair of shoes, among other items to reflect on our three stories. Collectively, we thought about the people in the world who've endured in the place they came from despite efforts to get rid of them. 

Together we created a piece that resembles a common thread of childhood narrated by three stories that remind us of the pain of never going home again. 

Pictured from left to right: Ira Graham IV (Photography), Brittni Van Dine (Dance), Terron Banner (Mentor)

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