For my performance piece, I wanted to play on the idea of wearing make up. I was inspired by Bruce Nauman’s piece “Art Make Up” and wanted to do something similar. Essentially what make up is, is different liquids and colors/textures that you put on your face, and that is what I am putting on my face in this piece.

This assignment was particularly difficult for me because there are not too many exciting things happening in Easton, PA. Citizen journalism can be defined as the analysis of news and information reported/collected/shared by the general public. In this day and age, one does not need to have the official title of journalist to report like one. Anyone can whip out their phones, and with the touch of a button, record anything they think will grab an audience’s attention.

At first for this assignment, I tried to gather videos from a Coldplay concert I went to a little while ago. I enjoy watching concert footage other people have recorded to get the feeling I was really there. Weeks leading up to the concert, my friends kept telling me how Coldplay puts on one of the best performances they have ever seen with all of the fireworks, and I wanted to capture it on camera. That footage was only about 10 seconds long and did not fit the needs for this assignment.

While thinking about what I was going to do for my plan B, I saw this black cat crossing right in front of me. My next thought: great, now something horrible is going to go wrong in my life. So basically with my citizen journalism piece, I’m warning others of this bad luck roaming around on Lafayette’s campus. I also think the fact that our encounter was unplanned speaks to citizen journalism.

My project is about technology and how much its impact has changed the world we live in today. I used JFK’s “To The Moon” speech from when he announced the United States would be headed to the moon.

Not only did I include sounds from technology we are familiar with today (iPhones, airplanes, cars) but I also included an airplane safety demo from 1987 and an instruction video of what long distance operators used to have to do before the advanced technology we have today.

I wanted to make it feel like The Twilight Zone by adding in alien sound effects and futuristic noises. I did a lot of layering with my sounds to make this eerie feeling possible. I ended the piece with a real space shuttle take off to relate it back to JFK’s speech and tie it all together.

1. Air conditioner
2. Coughing
3. Typing
4. Refrigerator door close
5. Soft music
6. Tassels blowing
7. Nose sniffling
8. Sore throat spray
9. Text message sound
10. Locking phone
11. Cracking knuckles
12. Water bottle crinkling
13. Door opening
14. Taking out the trash
15. Brushing teeth
16. Sink running
17. Shower
18. Light flick
19. Drawer close
20. Microwave

1. The Gym Junkie2. The Baseball Player3. The California Bro4. The Gentleman5. The Chef