"Borrowed Navigation Project"

To begin looking at my final project from a different perspective, I've created an assignment for myself. I'm calling this performance, "Borrowed Navigation Project." I will be exploring a random city using random directions given to me by anyone who wishes to do so. The concept is inspired by Guy Debord and his book, "The Society of the Spectacle". My journey into the great unknown will be documented via video and still images, and will be commencing this Thursday, October 25th at an undisclosed location. You can post me a direction to follow at a message board I've set up online (no longer availble). Or, if you wish to give me a direction during the actual day of the project, I will be accepting text messages all Thursday @ 503.419.7765. If you chose to post a direction I will be using it in my performance.

I hope that this experience will lead me to areas of a city I would not have otherwise found. I also help to gain a greater sense of the city as a physical space; one that can be mapped, charted, and recreated to fit an entirely new and different space.

Shanghai Mural

For the beginning of my project, I've collected several images from my recent trip to China. I arranged all of these on a mural. The large 6' x 3' mural is now hanging above my computer. I plan on referencing this mural frequently as I begin drawing in Adobe Illustrator. It's very important to me that I keep the landscape of my city fresh and exciting... I don't want a dull landscape of different colors of rectangles. The buildings in Shanghai, China (where most of the photographs in my mural were taken) are surprisingly diverse. The architecture is much more stylized, much more unique than it is here in the United States. There's an apparent effort taken by the architects in China to out-design everyone else in their field. The result of this unofficial competition is a distinct landscape of highly original (not to mention enormous) buildings, with no two alike.

The Studio

The studio is coming along, although a little slowly at this point. There are some excellent resources available here however that I hope to make use of (namely the coffee maker). Everyone has a large desk, and the computers upstairs in the studio are excellent. We even have a lounge! And a chandelier is on the way?

The Journey Begins

Student Name: Joel Mertz
College: University of Oregon
Major: Digital Arts
Web: http://www.joelmertz.net/

Welcome to my 2007-2008 BFA blog. I will be recording the year long process of my final project at the University of Oregon, my BFA terminal project. The pieces will be exhibited in Portland upon completion.