Week 4

The Paint:  
Initially I had purchased acrylic paint to mix with a gel medium.  However, after talking to my hair stylist Kate, and a body painting artist, Edin, it became apparent that acrylic could be a difficult medium to work with and could ruin our hair if it got in it.  I decided to head over to Ace Hardware where I picked up latex paint.  This paint is slow drying and easily comes off the body and does not crack when it dries on the skin. 

The test run:
Using an extra canvas and the latex paint, 2 girls came over to help go through the test run.  I was covered in turquoise paint from neck to toe.  Stepping on the canvas, my first reaction was how slippery the pain felt.  The postures had to become more slow moving and calculated.  As the paint began to dry on my body, it became increasingly sticky and in some cases moved the canvas as I pulled up. 
I was concerned about the paint drying and felt rushed, however, after looking at the end result, I believe that not only is the drying paint not a concern, but it makes the painting kind of nice in its variations of saturation. 

The sequences:
Because doing yoga covered in paint on canvas is challenging, there are modifications that need to be made to my original sequences.  I was also concerned that the having same sun salutation postures within each sequence may have been too dominating in their mark making not allowing for each painting to be as unique as I wanted.  To figure this question out, the girls repainted me and we went through a different sequence.  I was covered in the same color paint although in reality these will be different, but it helped to see how different the marks actually are. 
It turned out that the paintings are not only very different, by they speak to their intentions in very interesting ways.

 The Throat Chakra on the canvas with gesso

The Root Chakra (will be in red paint) on the natural canvas

The Process:
Throughout my planning of the project, I did not anticipate the social, spiritual conversations and connections that would occur between the girls who are participating.  Almost immediately, their were very insightful and creative conversations that ran deep and shared a common holsitic thread.  Over the course of the test run, there were conversations that stemmed from sexuality to racism to overcoming traumas and the dominoe affect of energy.  I stood back and watched as these intelligent women spoke of profound concepts and their high awareness of life.
Because not everyone can understand what the chakras or yoga truly mean, it can be frustrating to convey such a meaningful and serious message without sounding redundant or preachy.  I believe that the best way to share what this project truly means to ask the girls to offer a quote for their chakra that they help create to share at the exhibition.  I think it will be touching and inspiring and as unique but as unified as they are.

Why Women?
Although I have not fully explored this concept, I did read an interesting article in Yoga Journal.  Apparently, in the West, 77% of yoga practitioners are women.  The article outlined many reasons why, along the lines of the actual postures and holistic body movements, the discussion of feeling and the exploration of one's inner spiritual side.  Women tend to naturally understand yoga as a whole as they are more naturally connected to their bodies and their bodies rituals, as well as being more nurturing, sensitive and emotional.  In my classes alone, I often have 1 man to every 10 women. 
Because these paintings need to be as authentic and true to the yoga postures and their connections to the chakras, it is critical that the performers are able to embrace and truly feel what the process means.  Furthermore, the idea of offering and giving of oneself is innately feminine which is found in our own infantile experiences with the female body. 
Aesthetically, the female figure is beautiful and pleasing to look at, while it seems that the nude male body can add a level of discomfort for the audience, as men are socially dominant and nudity is equivelent to volnurability.

Technology:
I met with Clint ot discuss Eyecon and will head down to TLT to rent a video camera and recieve training.