When I die, I’d like to have my body left to science. First, however, I’d like a small gathering with my friends, family, and loved ones, where they could all talk and joke and sing together like they did when I was alive. I’d also like to have them take existing photos and video footage of me and arrange them, in chronological order; to a song that they feel best describes my life. Once the scientists are done with my body, I’d like for my body parts to be removed from their jars of formaldehyde, placed into a beautifully carved box, and thrown into the Venetian Sea. I always said I would get to Venice one way or another.
I went through the different assignments, and this one was the one that immediately caught my eye. I plan a lot of things, and I’ve wanted to leave my body to science since I was twelve. The part with the gathering and the song came much later, as I was sitting on the bus listening to the song “The Rose” sung by Bette Midler.
When I started working on Miranda July’s assignment, I not only thought up what I would like done with my body after I died, but also how I would like to die; almost as though I needed that information to complete the required information. I decided that I would like to die, not necessarily of old age, but by a disease. Shortly before I die, I would like my friends, and loved ones to take my deteriorating body to a garden; any garden. I want my friends to place me in a tree and sit in its leaves with me. If there isn’t enough room in the branches for everyone, the some people can sit in the flower beds. I want everyone to talk, tell jokes, sing songs,(like in the ceremony) tell stories, and reminisce; and when I do die, I want to be laughing.
I felt that in completing Miranda July’s assignment, I ended up questioning a lot of other aspects of my life and how I’d like them to be played out if I had the option of being in control. I know we cannot determine every second of our lives, but it’s still an interesting experience to think up how we would want them to be if we could. I realized a very valuable lesson about myself in doing this assignment; it doesn’t matter to me when I die, even if it’s tomorrow, as long as the minutes before are happy ones.
I think that Miranda July’s main goal in crating this type of website was to really get the mental juices flowing in the minds of myself and my peers. I think that my generation has become detached from themselves and lost track of who they are. Maybe M. July wants to give us these concrete, down to earth, assignments, of things to do that will heighten our desensitized and mostly unfeeling society. Some of the other assignments were: Assignment #15 Hang a wind chime on a tree in a parking lot, Assignment #30 Take a picture of strangers holding hands, Assignment #33 Braid someone's hair, Assignment #47 Re-enact a scene from a movie that made someone else cry, Assignment #56 Make a portrait of your friend's desires, etc... All of these assignments are about documenting feelings or doing something for another person, or appreciating beauty; Miranda July wants us to become human again. She wants us to stop and smell flowers and smile when someone is nice to another person. She wants us to recognise that what is happening around us all the time, and she wants us to think about what we see, analyze how we feel, and form our own opinions based on our observations.
What is considered art is generally a painting or a sculpture, but Miranda July’s website even challenges what constitutes as performance art! Everyone has a different view of what art is: some say it has to be concrete, others say it has to be abstract; some even evaluate the legitimacy of a piece by how aesthetically pleasing it is. It’s like how some people think all poems should rime and others think they shouldn’t. These assignments, however, are made by the audience, yet who is the audience? It’s a worldwide audience, so now what is abstract is who is “watching” the show? The assignments always remain the same; it’s the people doing them that vary. Can interaction this indirect be qualified as art? I think it can, but most people would probably be afraid of such a dramatic change.
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