Melissa Sclafani
“Virtuous/Vicious Cycles” Documentation
Excerpt from Final Thesis Paper
The exterior of the rooms are all stark white, pristine, sterile, they appear to be almost perfect. Upon closer inspection and entering the rooms, the viewer realizes, these rooms are far from both perfection and a comfortable nature.
The floor plan for these rooms is intended to create a cyclical motion with no real beginning or end, much like my relationship. I see one of the rooms being the starting point, but I like the idea of allowing the viewer to pick where they start and end the work. I have learned that people are very unpredictable and if you try to force them in a certain direction, it usually doesn’t work. I designed the rooms that you could go in them multiple times and in a different order to create a narrative.
This push/pull, internal struggle was something I faced daily within my relationship. I wanted to recreate this for the viewer by engaging them enough to want to stay in the rooms but be conflicted with some form of discomfort, fear or disgust that would make them want to leave. Each room has both an alluring element and a repulsive or uncomfortable one.
The room that I see as the starting point, is the sound room. The first room is a small, pitch-black room with surround sound in it. The audio is phrases that are seared in my memory. The good and bad things that have been said to me. I wanted to use both ends of the spectrum within the phrases to make the viewer question whether to stay and listen to see if things will get better or if the nice things are enough, or, as the audio says to, “get the fuck out”. I can remember exactly how these things were said, where I was, how I felt, everything. I wanted to allow sound to be three-dimensional and really attack the viewer. Sound is something many people don’t see as three-dimensional and I wanted to create an environment using solely sound. The phrases I decided to use vary in content. Some are very specific while others, almost everyone has heard or said at one point or another in their life.
The next room was modeled after a Venus fly trap, a plant that actually had a strong connection to my relationship. Instead of flowers, we had fly traps in our house. Venus, refers to the Roman goddess of love. As a plant it should not harm anything, but it is inevitable that this love will eat its prey. This room is intended to look and smell chocolate. After the viewer is inside for a few seconds, the walls will begin to close in on them. Chocolate has a very sensual, sexual reference and the idea of it closing in and “eating” the viewer intrigues me.
The last room is covered almost one hundred percent in latex. The walls, ceiling, floor and door are covered except for a small screen at the end of the long narrow hallway that plays a video. From the doorway, the video is calming and requires further inspection. As you walk through the latex you are forced to touch it and interact with it. When the viewer finally reaches the video, it is slowly moving and the different layers of images create a motion that can be uneasy for some. Again, this room brings up the idea of wanting to stay and wanting to leave at the same time.
“Virtuous/Vicious Cycles” Documentation
Excerpt from Final Thesis Paper
The exterior of the rooms are all stark white, pristine, sterile, they appear to be almost perfect. Upon closer inspection and entering the rooms, the viewer realizes, these rooms are far from both perfection and a comfortable nature.
The floor plan for these rooms is intended to create a cyclical motion with no real beginning or end, much like my relationship. I see one of the rooms being the starting point, but I like the idea of allowing the viewer to pick where they start and end the work. I have learned that people are very unpredictable and if you try to force them in a certain direction, it usually doesn’t work. I designed the rooms that you could go in them multiple times and in a different order to create a narrative.
This push/pull, internal struggle was something I faced daily within my relationship. I wanted to recreate this for the viewer by engaging them enough to want to stay in the rooms but be conflicted with some form of discomfort, fear or disgust that would make them want to leave. Each room has both an alluring element and a repulsive or uncomfortable one.
The room that I see as the starting point, is the sound room. The first room is a small, pitch-black room with surround sound in it. The audio is phrases that are seared in my memory. The good and bad things that have been said to me. I wanted to use both ends of the spectrum within the phrases to make the viewer question whether to stay and listen to see if things will get better or if the nice things are enough, or, as the audio says to, “get the fuck out”. I can remember exactly how these things were said, where I was, how I felt, everything. I wanted to allow sound to be three-dimensional and really attack the viewer. Sound is something many people don’t see as three-dimensional and I wanted to create an environment using solely sound. The phrases I decided to use vary in content. Some are very specific while others, almost everyone has heard or said at one point or another in their life.
The next room was modeled after a Venus fly trap, a plant that actually had a strong connection to my relationship. Instead of flowers, we had fly traps in our house. Venus, refers to the Roman goddess of love. As a plant it should not harm anything, but it is inevitable that this love will eat its prey. This room is intended to look and smell chocolate. After the viewer is inside for a few seconds, the walls will begin to close in on them. Chocolate has a very sensual, sexual reference and the idea of it closing in and “eating” the viewer intrigues me.
The last room is covered almost one hundred percent in latex. The walls, ceiling, floor and door are covered except for a small screen at the end of the long narrow hallway that plays a video. From the doorway, the video is calming and requires further inspection. As you walk through the latex you are forced to touch it and interact with it. When the viewer finally reaches the video, it is slowly moving and the different layers of images create a motion that can be uneasy for some. Again, this room brings up the idea of wanting to stay and wanting to leave at the same time.