It’s What’s For Dinner
Our professor asked us to create a new media installation employing techniques we learned over the course of the semester.
It’s What’s For Dinner from Kawita Kandpal on Vimeo.
Installation Forthcoming
Because life would feel so small without them
Our professor asked us to create a MAX patch employing a sensor.
I employed the previous video of an exotic bird and fruit that flowed together through a potentiometer sensor.
Our professor asked us to create a MAX patch employing two media.
Our professor asked us to create a mash up employing two different kinds of media and there by creating a third.
Downton Disco from Kawita Kandpal on Vimeo.
Our professor asked us to create a film about anything we wished around the theme of intersections.
I wished to explore the notion of intersections between the city and the country employing images from the farm such as a seed saver and juxtaposing this against images of the city such as the subway.
You are Here : Now from Kawita Kandpal on Vimeo.
Summer. My first summer in New York City. I’m enrolled in two courses, seeking employment, seeking an internship, and seeking to find myself. OK, maybe not the last one because wherever I am, I am never far from Far Road Farm & Field.
Our professor asked us to select a Missed Connection from Craigslist and construct a narrative consisting of 10 still photographs.
The objective is to create a film employing still photographs.
Per the assignment, I also viewed the film La Jetée to better understand this process.
Narrative of Still Photographs
Extra special thank you to Sara Al-Bassam, Monica Bate, Ingrid Gabor, Manuela Donosa Lamas, Lisa Lokshina, Olya Mikhaliova, and Filippa Tomaz.
I look forward to Taxidermy Tuesdays. I may have found a mentor in the area to apprentice with this summer. I love New York City. I find the taxidermy of small animals exceedingly difficult, as there is an even smaller margin of error, as opposed to large animals where my experience lies.
I had a host of challenges looking after my mouse. He is considered smaller in size than the average mouse and he has what appears to be a skin condition and/or skin cancer. I may make some minor revisions to his torso where the skin was damaged by disease.
At day’s end, I feel like the craft of taxidermy is a means of honoring a life that was once. On a personal level, it also closes the distance between me and the Midwest. City. Country. The circle is complete. Without further ado, I introduce you to Mr. Mouse. Mr. Mouse came into my life, so I could honor him with a second one.
Time Lapse Farm Ledger
Time Lapse Farm Ledger is a narrative that follows the introduction of Monsanto to Southeastern Michigan and its adverse effects on my family’s health, our farm, and regional wildlife.
Description
In preparation for the foreclosure of our farm in May, I began the process of collecting our farm ledgers. The purpose of these ledgers is to record the day’s accounting; however, my Father also employed the ledger as a diary and there were entries that gave me pause, as there were observations about Monsanto. Considering this, I retrieved seven ledgers from our home, one for each day of the week and selected a gestational stage to be represented in each ledger of a common field sparrow indigenous to Michigan. I am in the process of creating a space in each ledger as a place holder for the developing sparrow. I have extracted content from my Father’s ledgers and these will be placed on the left hand page in proximity to a narrative about his interactions with Monsanto. On the right hand page, I will render seven stages of embryonic development of a sparrow in clay.
Keywords
Narrative, Economics, Ecology, Monsanto, Farm, Farmer, End of an Era
External Project Link
http://itp.nyu.edu/~kk1985/blog/
Personal Statement
In preparation for the foreclosure of our farm, we are pricing all of our possessions for auction day. During this process, I came upon our farm ledgers and after perusing them, there was an entry that gave me pause. The entry indicated a Monsanto representative had come to court my Father as a potential client. The entry reads “Monsanto rep. says we can do this together, two heads are better than one.” Upon reading this, I felt compelled to offer a narrative of what was once. The American farm and farmer are the final link from field to table. As farms foreclose at an unsettling rate in my region of the country, I am deeply concerned about how we will acquire food when there are no more farms and farmers.
Background
I possess a background in biology and have always been interested in exploring a narrative about the life of the American farmer and the livelihood that may be evolving toward extinction.
Audience
Anyone who is interested in farms, farming, and farm life from a first person point of view.
User Scenario
I consider this piece contemplative and it is my hope the participant is able to engage with the narrative, while being present as a witness to a bird’s birth. I am in the process of adding a projector to place video images upon the final gestation stage of the sparrow. The final stage consists of a baby bird with two heads. The person of interest whom I would like to highlight in the video is former Monsanto executive and current Deputy Commissioner for Foods at the FDA, Michael R. Taylor. Should video footage of Taylor be insufficient, I shall employ video of Monsanto representatives and farmers discussing product safety on the record.
Implementation
The piece is made of paper and clay. The gameplan is to offer a narrative of farm life and the livelihood that was ours.
Conclusion
We possess complex attachments to a place. For myself, my life and livelihood are interconnected as there is a proximity that exists between the professional and personal, the economic and ecological.
References
I wish to extend my sincerest appreciation to the following people, without whom this project would not have been possible: Red Burns, Katherine Dillon, Nancy Hechinger, Lisa Lokshina, Melissa dela Merced, Marianne Petit, Dan O’Sullivan, Marina Zurcow, and my beloved Mother & Father.