The purpose of the Senior Innovator Project is use your own passion to innovate, create, and develop your own project.
Film about a muralist
Cross between an experimental film and documentary
Showing graffiti/mural process
Talk about his/her view on artform and process
If not a muralist, an independent artist- document art process and final piece
Different type of film I’ve never done before
Working with an artist who goes at his/her own pace
The lack of rules and regulations presented by the Innovator Project initially excited me; I was being given the opportunity to explore and create something I was truly interested in. It was the first time school had allowed me to take complete control of a project, from the subject matter to the deadlines to the type of project I was creating. I brainstormed different projects I could potentially do, and what really interested me. I’ve always had an appreciation for the arts and spend my free time going to art galleries and painting. A specific type of art that I particularly enjoy is street art. I am fascinated by the idea of public art with the sole purpose being to share art with the public, not tainted by the pressure to make money off it. Graffiti, specifically, is a form of public art that many young people across all backgrounds and economic standings share a love for. For my innovator I decided I wanted to center it around a graffiti artist and document a large mural they would create. I reached out to several artists and art galleries and inquired about murals they would be working on that I could film. Many artists were working out of the area or their schedules didn’t match with mine. Some artists had very specific rules about how they wanted to be presented and filmed, oftentimes going against my creative ideas. After several failed attempts to get in contact with an artist, I decided to change the subject of my film. Initially, I wanted to create an experimental documentary on an artist, documenting their entire creative process, and editing it together in an experimental fashion. After failing to find an artist to center my film around, I decided to turn towards a different artist, me. Since I originally wanted to focus on a graffiti artist, I decided to incorporate graffiti art into the piece I was working on. After planning out what exactly I was going to create, I decided to film myself creating it and edit it together into an experimental film.
I centered my research around graffiti in the Bay Area, including the history, controversies, and different perspectives regarding graffiti. My paper held the stance that graffiti is a legitimate form of art and that artists in the Bay Area need a space to do public art without the constant fear of legal ramifications. Centering my research around something as controversial as graffiti, as it is illegal, really shifted my perspective in how public art is portrayed and dealt with. It strengthened my views and opinions on street art and how vandalism is dealt with in California. I became a lot more educated on public art in the Bay Area and how much history there is. When I go to the city, I can now point out several iconic graffiti artists and their work painted all over town. Centering my research around graffiti in the Bay Area allowed me to incorporate different styles of art I had never experimented with in my innovator project. My perception of art was broadened and I learned new techniques and actually got to incorporate it into a piece.
I collaborated with others throughout my project by having people help me film and give me feedback on my creative process. I discussed my project with others and got my classmates’ input and thoughts. As I was editing, I had my peers view my film and suggest areas of improvement. For the most part, it was a successful collaboration, as I got help with many of my shots and got multiple opinions throughout the creative process. It could have been improved with more collaboration in the filming and the initial process, rather than the editing.
If I could do the project over again, I would stick to my deadlines and not fall behind. The complete freedom given to me by the innovator project made it easy for me to miss my deadlines and after I initially fell behind, it was really hard for me to get back on track. Without someone making sure I was getting everything done, the work I missed kept piling up. If I would have stuck to my deadlines and kept the schedule I had initially created, it would have saved me a lot of stress and I would have in turn been able to make to make a better film.
The 21st century skill I improved upon the most is creativity. For this project, I did something I’ve never done before and pushed myself to try to step outside my comfort zone. From the type of art I created, to how I filmed and edited, everything was brand new and something I had never experimented with. Although I feel as though the skill I improved upon the most is creativity, the skill I learned I have to work on the most is self direction. Without someone directing me, I had a hard time staying focused and pushing myself to work. This project not only allowed me to build upon a skill, but also showed me where I can improve and what I can build upon.
I plan to use the skills I gained in this project in the future and improve upon the areas I struggled with. I value this project as it allowed me to pursue something I am genuinely interested in and let me experiment with different styles of film while being guided by my teachers and classmates.