littleOne19

I always find that starting out a blog is the hardest part of writing one in the first place. I feel like once I get started, the ball starts rolling, the words just flow, which coincidentally is one of the themes I'm writing about tonight. I guess I could start by talking about the film showed in class, featuring Andy Goldsworthy. Immediately, I was drawn in, unable to think otherwise, amazed at how his mind works and how well he connects with nature. I was out of my element, never even considered the idea. And it instantly inspired me. I was overwhelmed with school thinking about how hard it was transferring in from UMD this semester, how I couldn't last, and this film made me realize why I chose this field in the first place. I love art, I love creation and making my ideas come alive. Right away I thought about going out and buying the video, and sending it to one of my friends who is an art major at UMD, and sometimes loses confidence in herself. I knew it would inspire her too. Anyway, back to the assignment! The question calls for an investigation about the energy, flow and transformation of the city.

When I think about energy, I think about the way we move, the way we communicate. I see someone running, and think about the way we envibe energy, with rest. But energy is more than just our individual energy. It is the light we turn on, walking into a room. I comes from a company, we pay money for it. And driving through Maple Grove the other day, I saw a large windmill in the middle of a huge development, in the middle of streets, shopping facilities, restaurants. And I thought about the huge windmills in the countryside, turning in circles, creating this vast amount of energy. It's amazing that something can come from a concept so simple.

As far as flow, and image of the city comes to mind. Like in movies, when a camera stays focused on the same spot for several hours, and then the film is sped-up, and you see thousands of people moving through that point in the city in a matter of seconds. This is my idea of flow. In orientation, we were told that 100,000 people move through the University on a given day. These people have a destination, a place to go. And the way they move with the stoplights and bus stops gives me the idea of flow. The way that the buses circulate, are at the same place at the same time everyday, because if they were not, something would be wrong. There is flow for a reason. In a city, it is the way we move, our motivations that get us from one point to another. If there were no flow, we would never get anywhere, we would stand still, without reason. It also ties into the idea of rivers and tides. The tide comes at the same time everyday, as I mentioned earlier. A river flows, and continues to flow even when the surface is frozen. Without this flow, nothing would move, nothing could get anywhere, and everything would stand still. In a city, flow is everywhere. From the people to the traffic, it is what motivates us, what gets us from Point A to B, which is a huge part of life.

Now for transformation. I think this is a huge part of Andy Goldworthy's film. The way that he transforms things from nature into art. It is truly amazing. Transformation is not always amazing and positive. Sometimes things transform into something bad, like the way we have been treating our environment. Looking at the effects it is having, like global warming, should be a warning sign that things need to be transformed to the better. However, many do not see these negative effects as a transformation. They don't realize what we have had and what it has turned in to. But in all essence, it is a transformation. Most people view the word transformation as a vessel of architecture. Thinking about the city, I envision the way things are transformed, from renovations in a small building, to transformations effecting an entire city. I see Uptown, the way that people are working to transform it, and my biggest hope is that it doesn't ruin the authenticity and the crowd that Uptown draws. Transformation is also everywhere. From a person transforming their image, as they are part of the city, even small, is a transformation. From small businesses to an entire city, transformation is everywhere. Andy Goldsworthy really touches on this in his movie and it gives inspiration that transformation can be good and beautiful.

So like I said, I had no idea how to start this. Similarily, I had no idea it would be this long. The words just flowed, and without that flow, there would be no blog. :) Enjoy your night.