Installation Proposal

2/20/07

Lauren Haile

My installation will show the power of positive thinking, and at the same time the humor in negative thoughts. There will be two separate “rooms” which will be created by curtains. They will be on different sides of the room and utilize one side of the wall as part of their room. Inside each contained room (there will only be enough space for one person and a stool for them to sit on) will be a television and a pair of headphones for them to put on. There will be a room in which the narrator’s thoughts are purely negative and a room in which they are positive.

In one room dialogue that ranges from “I’m a terrible gay person” to “I hate my thumbs, they’re so huge it’s hard to find bowling balls that can fit them” plays. In the other, phrases like “I’m a wonderful gay person, because I’m being true to myself” and “It’s redeeming that my thumbs are weird”—basically everything counteracting the negative thoughts. This tape will go on for five minutes while video clips are being shown. I will be the narrator and the thoughts will be true to negative thoughts I think (quite frequently, may I add). It will also focus on serious thoughts like “I wish I were someone else” and “I hate that I’m a perfectionist.”

In the film clips, I will be acting, carrying out daily activities and interacting with the people (the same situations in both rooms) but because my attitude is so different in each movie clip, the outcomes will be different. The timing and setting of each “scene” will be the same, everything will be controlled, and the scenes will be quite stylistic.

In the negative room, it will be dark and gloomy—a black curtain and no light. The positive room will be well lit and have a yellow curtain.