Tara's SMP

I went to Tara’s SMP about her dolls, and a couple things struck me especially. One the absolutely wonderful job she did in crafting her dolls and the interactive scenarios that went with them, and the other being the point she brought up about people’s drive to create an ideal persona of themselves or a made up persona in computer games and other outlets.

I started playing with Barbies when I was five. I loved her despite her unrealistic proportions, and would create stories that took her through her fabulous life. I transitioned to the computer game “The Sims” in middle school, and I adored creating beautiful perfect women and the different circumstances surrounding them. Enter Facebook; when I was in 10^th grade I got my account, and like everyone with a Facebook account, I had the opportunity to represent myself in the most magnificent way ever—pick the most flattering profile picture, reveal my sense of humor and interests. The evolution of the ways to project personas is really phenomenal, and Tara’s presentation got me thinking about that.

Tara’s dolls challenged the cookie-cutter “fabulous woman” persona by introducing multiple dolls with unique shapes and personalities. I she brought in people from different walks of life, races, sexualities, and portrayed them in a warm and flattering way. I love that she also included nude versions of the dolls- realistic nudes that were perfect in their imperfection. Throughout her presentation, I wished that growing up all the Barbies in my life could have been replaced with Tara’s dolls. She did an absolutely fabulous job in not only executing her dolls and the online scenarios, but in getting me to question on a deeper level  the meaning behind dolls, the purpose they hold, as well as how they are and should be represented.

DA DA ART

During class we went to a Da Da art performance. We scuttled in single file and took our seats. On the floor there were models of humans wearing clothes and stuffed with grocery bags, some had hair. Surrounding each human model were strips of tape, as though they were marking the bodies. At first there was some chit chat while we waited for things to get started, then everybody quieted down in anticipation. Students were positioned in each corner texting, and occasionally you’d hear someone’s phone yelp “to infinity and beyond!”

It seemed like nothing was going to happen any time soon. Side conversations picked up in waves and soon the entire room was roaring with chatter. Jana and I were suspicious, noticing that some of the students in the corners were endlessly texting.  Only once did a student look up and talk to the person beside them, muttering something about “YouTube.” Our class continued to pursue side conversations while waiting for the “performance” to begin.

Fast forward fifteen minutes, I am antsy. My classmates continue to talk, and I think they are waiting for complete silence—perhaps for a certain stretch of time—in order to begin. Jana and I remain silent, but occasionally in the louder waves of chatter speculate about what’s going to happen. Our classmates leave, but since we were suspicious from the beginning we stay back.

Sure enough, five minutes after our class leaves, the performance picks up. One of the texters leaves and rolls in on a bicycle. Another texter leaves and emerges with a box of magazine clippings. Soon all the texters are up and taping magazine clippings on the bicycle. Members of the audience join, and I tape several pieces on the bicycle. After all the magazine clippings have been used up and all the bike is covered, the texters rip the magazine clippings off the bicycle and the owner of the bike rolls away. Gradually the rest of them leave, a couple of them kicking the human body models on their way out.

I interpret this as a reflection of our preoccupation with technology. We spend so much of our modern daily lives absorbed with our cell phone and receiving fast information or quick validation, we don’t take the time to stop and appreciate art or be creative. We have come to expect quick jolts of information with quick time for processing, technology has dampened our patience. We take advantage of things that could be considered interesting or beautiful if we slowed down.

Recently, I have been having issues with my phone. For many people, their phone is your lifeline, and as a teenager I feel this is especially relevant. Since my phone was malfunctioning for over two weeks, I was left to my own devices if I wanted to meet up or communicate with others. It was the most freeing experience I have had, I felt all my perceived obligations drifting away despite the isolation being without a cell phone brings. I think the Da Da performance was a good lesson in taking a break from the screen and looking at the world around you, as well as appreciating it for more than the moment that was demonstrated in their show.