Adventurous Art

March Spring Winds

A sequential animation with improvisational flute using a Japanese pentatonic scale.

March Spring Winds is a contemplation on tensions that coincide as seasonal change crashes into human emergence from the pandemic.  Created through a meditative practice on internal ecology, the video consists of a sequential drawn animation combined with an improvisational flute melody to evoke the interplay between complements. As plants sprout and animals emerge from hibernation, this is a reflection on how we can evoke joy and honor loss.

A swoosh of orange criss-crosses the green and blue background. A still from the video above

What has emerged?

In English, the word “emergency” indicates an urgent crisis, something that came up, an emerging need. During this year of acute slow-motion crises, this linguistic quirk of English has occurred to me more than once. In French and Spanish, a the wing of the hospital for treating trauma is Urgence or Urgencias, respectively.

As I was drawing, I watched as motifs slowly emerged, creating new layers of meaning and emotion .

Shadowy amoeba shapes on a red and gold background. A still from the video.

It made me stop to consider how with a crisis, there is potential for disruption and trauma. In my day job, which is at a school, there has certainly been a complete overhaul of our systems. There are things that are frightening about massive change, especially when it is accompanied by inequitable risks for marginalized members of our society.

However, transformation is not all bad. The acute injustices that have become visible– emergent– to more people have spurred people to push their own limits. Existing networks of care have mobilized deeper generosity and participation. Technology that seemed like science fiction when I was a child has become a broader everyday platform for education, art, and connection.

These emerging transformations have the potential to create sustainable and lasting change, but it requires everyone to make a conscious choice to continue troubling the waters of injustice.

The orange swoosh returns on multi-colored background with green zipper shapes and reddish footprints. A still from the video.

What will you carry forward?

This year has been full of barriers, pain, and sadness, but there have been moments that emerged for me that have deepened my sense of community and interconnected ness. As you watch this video, please think about how both pain and empathy have had an impact on your own life.

What challenges have you faced?

What has helped you get through this year, and how can you pay that forward to someone else?

This video was streamed through the FOOLMoon CommUNITY Facebook page, and at the Ann Arbor Art Center on April 9! Check out the event here to see some other stellar artists.


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