A week ago I submitted a thick-packet proposal (cut down, thanks to Maria's brilliant eye!) for the $1000 Corrigan Travel grant. It rose from my desire to continue the project which I began in the interdisciplinary studio course Art & Biology taught by Patricia Maurides at CMU. (Good news by the way! I was just notified that I am a finalist and we shall see what we shall see.)
The project is called Human Being: An Exploration of the Human Body & Soul.
And it is based off this yearning (ever since I began with Dr. G) to delve into the disconnect and/or the connection that exists between the aesthetic exterior of a person and that exquisite essence that lies within.
And while "soul" has a religious connotation, I find it is indeed the only word (I should ask Dan, if he can think of any good synonyms!) that can convey some sort of driving life force--some fragrant core that comprises people's every desire, passion, idiosyncracy, etc. But I think Khalil Gibran put this best when he wrote in Sand & Foam: "Only once was I made mute. It was when a man asked me, "Who are you?"
The greatest trouble I am facing is figuring out the means in which to convey this project. It is a mix of two polar ideas (I always want to use the word mezcla, which is the English equivalent of "mix" or "amalgamation," in Spanish but I find "mezcla" is FAR more suited for this concept, because it is a more lyrical term for this notion,)-thus, a "mezcla" of two elements (BODY and SOUL) and I am still ruminating on how to convey all these facets I come across.
As of now, I will use photography to capture the physical beauty of the people I come across--most likely by asking them to show me their most beautiful feature/body part. And then, I guess I would let them speak a little freely about the body and the soul and how they hold these concepts in their mind's eye. I may barrage them with a questionnaire I have composed, but as of now, everything is in some wispy smoke because it is freeform and I am not so lucid about my strategy.
But does everything need a strategy? I feel some of the greatest thoughts I've had just come to me after I've let them stew in the back of my mind for a while, (this is why I am such a grand advocate of the subconscious) and then something sort of comes to me whether or not I am completely aware of it.
So, in essence--I am trying to explore this connection between the tangible and intangible. I will take photographs and connect them to some aspect of their internal being. Is there some question that really conveys some aspect of a person? Is there a certain concept that I should only focus on e.g. love, religion, soul?
Anyways, please give me your feedback and ideas!
6 comments:
Alia, this sounds amazzzingg. I'm so jealous! It's late, so that's all I'll say for now. But but…so jealous! I hope you have a wonderful time, and you better keep this up to date!!
-Robyn :]
beautiful.
i await your stories when we meet again at CMU.
im gonna "subscribe" to this blog so ill be reading...look for my input here and there. what you're doing is absolutely amazing, im glad you're sharing the experience with us. the blog was a great idea.
robyn-
thank you! are you in bsa now? i'm telling ya, being part of the program opens tons of doors like this. i will keep it up!
nitin-
it means alot--and thanks for subscribing :)
will think of future convo starters based on my encounters for those hot dog lunches behind tepper with malavika and you! ;)
Hey Alia,
CONGRATS! Knew you would get it!
Ok to your project! I am not sure if I will make sense, but here is
what I thought-
Your idea is fabulous-also look into
-religion- and see what various religion says about the link between body and soul and then create a short doc for your reference on that
-then when you meet diff ppl, ask them which religion they belong
to and ask them about the connection and see if it correlates or not
-also as you are working in the hospital
-especially neuroscience(which
i hope i can do some research in some day), you should meet patients
and get their perspectives- whether it be a person who is severly ill and another who is recovering......i am not sure if u heard about people who die and then come back to life entering into the other world for a
really short time
- ask docs what they feel especially as they work in a field where they even have to motivate ppl to keep hope cause believing itself can make so much diff and can makely you live too.
I hope that helps....will let you know if i think of more...whichever
you think is not a valid pt, let me know why so that even i can learn from my mistakes!
Enjoy yourself!
sruthi
Wow Alia, congratulations on the fellowship grant, I gotta say your project sounds intriguing, kinda broad but it will be very interesting to see how it develops. so many layers and possible approaches, exciting stuff. will have to keep tuned over the summer. kudos once again!
Hey Alia--
"Soul" is a tricky one...there are synonyms, to be sure, but each of them also carries some pretty weighty connotations.
"Persona" isn't bad, provided you don't get all Jungian about it, but the problem here is that it conveys personality and disposition without the whole spark-of-life angle.
Likewise, "animus" is a decent one too (minus the Jungian definition again), but it describes vitality without the psyche.
Quite a conundrum...you should devise a word of your own that eschews the religious undertones, and make it part of your project to distinguish your new definition from a "soul".
But hey, what do I know?
Congratulations on the grant, and have fun out there.
--Dan
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