final proposal daniela
redefining
daniela stepensky
To expose to the observer, by means of a video sculpture, the inner search that I’m going through by which I am trying to understand the place religion will have in my life.
As one grows into oneself, we seem inclined to decide which values we want to maintain or not in our lives. We often undergo a stage where we evaluate what was taught to us as kids, at home, in school, or simply what we learned from the society that we grew up in. In life, we have the opportunity to come across and experience other realities, belief systems, and cultures, some of us being confronted about our own values and considering what we could adopt from others. I have reached a point where I have to decide what route to follow, make personal choices; to find a way to compromise what my parents taught me and what I have learned and seen and wish to incorporate.
To be aware of other realities can draw someone towards moments of deep thought and reflection in order to understand what is of significance in ones´ life. One encounters a search of identifying what is the moral/value structure one wants to pursue, what you deem of significance towards happiness. Each ones’ path to achieving this is different, based on what we prioritize in life; I believe, when there is a conscious decision about the path we select, it should be easier to reach the objective.
My introspection of what it is that makes me happy has been one of burden and struggle. I have realized that there is a part within me that steers my feelings beyond my intellect, perhaps a soul. Yet, being raised in a household with a lack of spiritual teachings, the concept of a soul was both an unfamiliar notion and feeling for me. How do I begin to cope with the concept of having a soul? How do I interpret all these feeling that are outside of my rational comprehension? How do I get in touch with these feelings that drive me but I don’t know how to communicate with?
I was born and raised Jewish and feel very strongly about it. Judaism was always part of my culture, history, background, and community, however it was never a spiritual ground or did we abide to religious laws. In the past few years I have had the opportunity of learning and becoming closer with other aspects of my religion. Being part of a modern western society, I have recognized that many of the social behaviors perceived as standard don’t work out for myself. Some of these conducts are approached differently from a religious point of view, and even though they might seem archaic to many, they often have a better result with less emotional sorrow.
Coming upon this appreciation, I realized a need to start making changes in my own life. It was then that I encountered a vast amount of laws I would have to follow, implying a great deal of change in my life. I wondered: is there a way within Judaism to obtain the spiritual and life benefits of the religion without feeling entrapped by the rules? Is there a way of breaking out of the constraints of religion without failing to benefit from it?
Some laws of Judaism are simple for me to understand from a rational standpoint because of the immediate benefits they can bring into my life. I have gone through a strong inner battle concerning what I take on and what I don’t. Until this day, I have chosen not to adopt many laws because they conflict with the way I grew up and it would require a radical change in my current lifestyle.
I find some other laws in Judaism that cannot be explained logically. Although religion should not be rational but based on faith, my current perspective does not allow me to do this, and therefore I still have to resort to my rational reasoning and logic. For example, I find the laws of Kashrut that refer to the Jewish dietary laws to lack reason, which is problematic since they are regarded as the fundamental laws of following a Jewish life.
Project overview
To expose to the observer, by means of a video sculpture, the inner search that I’m going through by which I am trying to understand the place religion will have in my life. Techniques of collage and layering are used to illustrate the complexities inherent in the project. Having images in different gradients show the depth and different intensities in which religion can be understood, taken upon, and interpreted. The use of a grid format is used to show the constraints and structure of the laws within Judaism.
Mediums
Video projection
Digital photography
Laser printing on tissue paper
Watercolor
Sheet metal
Acrylic Medium
Execution
A large format put together with several squares. A composition will be created out of b &w photographs creating a large image from 8.5 in x 11 prints on tissue paper. These prints will be collaged together to form some kind of representation of the original image. Watercolors will be used in conjunction with the collage to create the finalized piece. Video content will be projected over the previously mentioned.
Interaction
On each side of the main piece there will be another piece. One will have religious content while the other one will have secular content. When the observer is far from the piece the religious content will be in focus while the secular content will be blurry, as the observer comes close the religious content will become blurry and the secular content in focus.
