An Ode to Stress
Part 1:
On Tuesday, I had a lot on my plate: a soul-searching paper that wasn't writing itself, my Bible study's final meeting that I hadn't prepared for, a farewell letter and gift for our study leader, a dirty apartment that would soon be swarmed by a wonderful group of girls--in short, I had a lot to do. I gauged my stress level as a six.
However, the semester as a whole has been about a two: only one class pertains to my major, the rest are fun (like this class :D) or easy, and I only have fifteen credits. It's been less stressful than prior semesters to the point where I worry because I'm not stressed (can you tell I'm a type-A honors kid?!).
Before the presentation, I sat with Lisa and Kelsey (I just realized that we don't use names much in this class, so hopefully I remembered correctly) on the grass behind Rapson where there's like an inverted hill with stairs (I realize that's not a great description...) and just talked and enjoyed the sun and the air and the grass. It was really nice to forget about the day and just relax OUTSIDE.
I felt like an intruder in the installation; I wasn't sure if it was okay to walk inside, and I never would have thought to sit down or play with the rocks. I really did appreciate the sounds of the rocks under my feet, though--very soothing. The lights were really great too; I can't pinpoint why I liked them, but I really did. However, I did find myself wanting more privacy. Overall though, it was pretty exciting to step into this altered space; it was like a mini-adventure that showed up randomly on campus.
Part 2:
I would say that the Present Moment Project is an excellent two-fer: it provides a means of expression and research for University faculty as well as a relaxing moment for anyone who partakes in it. On top of that, it allows for dialogue between the two groups where there otherwise not have been any; admittedly, if I were not in this class I would have little interaction with the "artsy side of campus life," but this project may have been a way for me to approach the art world more readily.
I think that that is also how I see this installation as related to art: it is a created thing that allows for communication. This may be an extremely broad, encompassing definition, but it works for me.
Even though I didn't think of it myself, I think that the Present Movement Project would be a good project to address stress on campus. It would be nice to have several different installations with different variations so that you could create a space better suited to people who wanted more privacy, people who wanted sound, people who wanted something to do with their hands, etc. If there were more installations, people would probably talk about it more to compare notes. Maybe if we talked more about stress and de-stressing...we would de-stress more?