Caitlin Phelan

 Abstract: This project that I'm going to try to achieve is going to be similar to my project of "alcohol kills". I believe that addiction in our lives is such a huge issue, and I feel like it's truly not talked enough about. This project is going to be me going into public spaces and holding a sign that says "addiction kills". This is somewhat of a trend that's been happening for years, and I think it will be successful. This is a topic that I'm truly so passionate about and want to maybe even talk to some people about it. Artist Statement: I've known so many addicts in my life, and still have that continue to this day. Many of my family members were/are addicts and even went to jail because of the chains that hold them down. I think that our society points to partying and drugs to be something to aspire to and it looks inviting. It's so much worse than it's painted out to be, and there are many, many consequences to the actions from thi...

            I feel like throughout this course we have focused so intensely on the senses we experience on an everyday basis, and Infernal noise was such a complimenting writing to the class. Whitney wrote such a compelling piece of how music, or even just simple noise can be used as a form of political resistance. When I was reading I immediately thought of this, and though it was a bit of a reach, but the more I read, it kept adding more and more to prove the accuracy of my feelings. The infernal noise brigade was something I don’t think I had ever heard before, so I decided to watch a video of this marching band, and I was genuinely so shocked. The band performed such a wild and an all over the place performance, that it was so entertaining to watch and experience. Their sound wasn’t one that was necessarily enjoyable to listen to, but that made it more realistic to hear? It felt like a bunch of people angry about something, and trying to get a poin...

 For this "walk" I decided to do something that I knew wasn't going to be extremely difficult, but would get the most reaction from my family. Growing up I was extremely shy and honestly almost mute, it wasn't until my junior year of high school that I came out of my shell and really started having a personality and voice. I mean, my mom would literally order my food for me at restaurants. I decided to try and go back to that and not speak as much, only if I was asked a question. This was honestly a lot harder than I thought because I realized how much I love to talk to my family, and my sister in law is currently staying with us. Over the day I noticed that my parents felt like something was wrong, my mom kept asking me if I was grumpy or mad, and I kept having to say no and reassure them, but it didn't change anything and so I think like they felt they should just leave me alone. I'm currently engaged, and I think they thought I was fighting with my fiancé, ...

 For this walk, I knew immediately the person I wanted to ask. I chose my mom because of her brain and her beliefs, she's someone who believes whole heartedly, and is the fairest person I know. I showed her the assignment and it took her awhile to give me an answer on what she would want to walk for. My mom is a strong woman of God, and cares about the safety of other, and how their lives are affected. She decided that her "walk" would happen in the middle of downtown Gilbert on a Saturday afternoon because it is the busiest time of day. This walk would be a walk defending the faith of others. She believes whether you believe in something or not, you should be able to practice it freely and without judgement. Of course she will always try to spread the gospel, but she knows that there is a way we can all coexist. When she had given me her answer, I was not shocked one bit, this seemed exactly like what she would want to walk for. She also mentioned it would be the most pe...

Alcohol kills is a project that I have always felt like I needed to do but never knew how to execute. People think going out and partying/ getting drunk and blacking out is cute. When in reality, blacking out is not a normal thing, it's a response your body has because it rejects alcohol. Alcohol goes against our every move in life and in our nature as humans. I chose to use a beer bottle from the house I'm currently dog sitting at, my family is avidly against alcohol because of how many addicts in our family exist. I chose to use this bottle as a sign, and document places that are dying or show no signs of life. This project is meant for people to see how alcohol may feel good in the moment, but the dying nature in these pictures is exactly what's going on in your body.

Maps were a way for people to take control of the geography around them, some may see them as a weakness, but others depend on them to take them to every destination. I believe that their creation was important and very vital to how we live in this world. I love D’ignazio’s writing, because he recalls maps as being used in a powerful sense. These traditional types of maps and location documentation serve governments, corporations, and everyday civilians. I think that we as artists tend to put our own personal twist and humor into something as simple as directions. We see maps as instructions, and most artists don’t enjoy being told exactly what to do step by step, so we break those barriers and show our art within the space of them. I think taking back the power of these types of items is such an interesting way to use what is called cartography as a form of creativity. His writing used mapping as a way of activism and art. My favorite reference of the series is No Dead air by Michael ...