Irma's first draft text on Method

Note to reader: There are two versions, this version on the wiki page and a version where I experiment with sounds and form to research a visual essay style. www.irma-paperworks.com/methods

In the last period, I've been creating short movies and audio installation based on a fictional company. The pieces involve around the theme of longing for a bigger other, this other could come in different forms but has a guiding role in a character's decisions. An important element of my artistic strategy implies the chain connection within individual works. I noticed I like to connect them, although the pieces work together, they should stand on their own feed. At the moment all these works communicate within the audio and visual field, but I don't want to limit myself to a technique, this is only a tool for the communication.

With this text, I want to find the structure and words to describe the connection between these works from the past and my ideas for the future. As a research guideline, I'm trying to nail down my plan to the Shannon and weaver's communication model. At this point, it gives me the structure to divide the topics.

So what's with the sound effects? I'm experimenting with audio-visual elements in the essay, I think adding audio to a story can be a big influence on the reader's perception of information. It's a new playfield I'm exploring, to test the influence of these elements. It's very important to me that the form doesn't take over the information, the goal is to add an extra layer within the communication process.

To understand where I'm coming from I would like to guide you trough my earlier work.

Just Jake is a short movie which introduces us the lives of two characters Jean and Jake Stewart, husband and wife who have spent all their lives together. Jean has found her calling as a popular lifestyle guru who inspires her followers on a daily base with her youtube tutorials and self-help books. Her motto is 'Just Jean! And that is good enough!' Her husband Jake is a supporting man, although he lost he lost his job he tries to stay relevant by helping his wife whenever he can. However, his help is often unnoticed or unappreciated by his wife. One day an email from FORTUNEWOOD arrives in Jake’s inbox, it takes him trough their website where they seduce him to scan his fingerprint to get a personal counseling feedback. Jake can't refuse. This short message kicks off his imagination, could this offer the answers that he has been searching for?

The installation called FORTUNEWOOD invites a person to stand under a soundtube that hangs on a black tripod. As they arrive at this spot they see a video on a small screen, hearing voices of famous film characters who seduce them to push the button on the touchscreen. This action scans their fingerprint, which offers them a short personal mentoring advice presented by a famous movie star.

At the moment I'm developing a short fake porn movie, with a twist. The video has cliché elements of an amateur porn movie where the girl next door is observed by her neighbor. The video is filmed in an amateurism style where the audience experiences the story from a point of view shot of this male character. The girl is wearing nothing but a towel when she is hanging about in her kitchen. The man sees that her window is open finds his way in her house. When there is an interaction with the two persons the hand of the men pulls the towel off her body and discovers a transparent part of her, he drops the camera and the video ends.

Technically this could be complicated, I will make some tests before working with the actors to be aware of all the practical problems which Barend Onneweer can help me with. When all the troubleshooting is done, I have the opportunity to use this great apartment in Amsterdam, I'm researching which actress I would like and could use.

I like to research the impact of the movie if I present it at a platform of amateur porn. Secondly, I would also like to use this video as a film prop in another short movie, based on an angry white man, this character gets confronted with the fake porn while he was longing for some relaxation. At the moment I'm still developing the script for this Angry Men movie. An important factor could be that the audience needs to feel sympathy for the angry way he expresses himself. I can imagine it would be a short film from about 10 min.

I would say that playing with expectations is an important element within the works. I like to analyze the expectations of a target audience, what are they looking for and what should the language of the medium be?

But there is also the longing for an answer from a "bigger" other that could offer a guideline in life. I'm debating that most people can't handle the responsibility for their own choices in life, by pedestaling someone or thing that knows "best" or has an overview of a "bigger" plan is comforting. I think I can add this more within the script of my angry man film, this could be something political like Trump or Wilders, although I think it could be deeper than this.

I want to research case studies of individuals who created a public persona. I'm fascinated by the quote 'Be the director of your own life!' Could it not be easier to just be the director and let someone else be the main character? I'm collecting examples, like Marlyn Monroe, Patricia Highsmith or Rachel Doezelaar who is a white woman pretending to be black. Besides of their motivations I'm want to investigate the "rules" of presenting and the groups that create a guideline, for example, a spin-doctors. Which brings me to Edward Bernays. And how do the receivers interpreted information, how does a human brain work and could you manipulate the viewer?

Bibliography :

The god Delusion - Richard Dawkins The engineering of Consent - Edward Bernays Het weerzinwekkende lot van Socrates – Connie Palmen (essay) De zonde van de vrouw – Connie Palmen (essay) This our Brian - Dick Swaab Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow - Daniel Kahneman Deleuze, cinema and National Identity - David Martin-Jones

Case studies :

                       Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who pretending to be black