Maia

Symposium Proposal

I’m making a 10-minute piece of music portraying trauma and it’s aftermath; I was hoping to split this idea I have into four parts, each section being 2.5 minutes. Splitting it up into “the before”, “the come-up”, “the peak (ie. traumatic moment)”, and “the after”. My creative goal in all of this is to create a mixed piece of multiple artists’ music, as well as incorporating sound clips from my life and the internet; to create an entirely new piece in itself.

1. The Before (0:00 – 2:30)

• Mood: Normalcy, safety, or even monotony.
• The same repeating beats at the same bpm, creating a comfortable setting that the audience may grow used to, or even potentially tired of.
• Learning Focus: Establishes a baseline of “ordinary” to contrast with what’s coming.

2. “The Come-Up” (2:30 – 5:00)

• Mood: Uneasy/tension building, chaotic
• I’d really like to include sound clips from some of the parties I used to attend, and the kind of life I used to live, not by seeing, but by listening.
• I like to put in clips of arguing and fighting over top of the artist I choose, probably not my own, since that’s a bit much
• Sound Choices: Increasing dissonance, distorted echoes, off-kilter rhythms, sounds that “don’t belong” quickly rolling in, climbing up, like a rollercoaster climbing to the very top
• Learning Focus: Teaches the audience that making bad decisions is the cause of your own actions

3. “The Peak” (5:00 – 7:00)

• Mood: Intense, overwhelming, big drop
• Sound Choices: Abrupt volume changes, harsh noise, distorted voices or instruments, fragmented beats, sudden silence or cut-outs could hit harder than constant sound. I really wanna make this part a surprise more or less, and I still don’t really have it fully figured out yet, I might create a drop by combining a bunch of other beat drops together from different songs, and score it together with vocals on top.
• Learning Focus: Gives the audience a visceral, embodied sense of how trauma feels in the moment (confusion, sensory overload, loss of control)

4. The After (7:30 – 10:00)

• Mood: Hollow, fragmented, repetitive
• Sound Choices: Sparse textures, fading sounds, broken repetition of “the before” (like distorted memory). Possibly end unresolved, leaving tension hanging.
• Really want to have a repeat of a voice from the “come-up”, maybe even sound clips of parties again, really kind of giving a lost atmosphere
• Learning Focus: Demonstrates the long-lasting impact of trauma—the way it reshapes experience, not just in the moment, but also afterward.

Bibliography:

Tame Impala – End of Summer

Parker, Kevin. “End of Summer – Tame Impala.” YouTube, July 25, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulkdUfItyxI.

Slayyyter – BEAT UP CHANEL$

Carter, Catherine Grace. “BEAT UP CHANEL$.” YouTube, August 1, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhvW8qB-W3M.

Ben Lukas – Boysen

Boysen, Ben Lukas. “Medela.” YouTube, May 6, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE7qCA6koWU.

Audio/Piece:

Artist Statement:

Live Art Ritual Proposal

• This Live Art Ritual reimagines the act of stoning and what it would look like in a much more playful setting.
• Historically and culturally, stoning has been tied to violence, punishment, and communal judgement
• By transforming one act of collective violence into something simultaneously playful, humiliating, and catharic the piece explores themes of power, vulnerability and communal complicity.

Performance Description:

I’ll be placing myself in the middle of campus just like how the guilty would be brought to the town centre, or placed in a large gathering spot for all to see the spectacle; i’ll be in all white so the dye/blood will be easier to see, and will be making direct eye contact with the camera the entire video.

The audience will be provided a bucket of water balloons, some with dye and others without to give a more realistic display of some stones that may hit off the body while others break skin.

Once all of the balloons have been pelted, i’ll remain in the same position still silent continuing to stare at the camera.

Ritual Elements:

Preparation: Balloons filled with water and a couple drops of dye

The Act: The throwing is a ritualised release of mass hysteria and aggression, guilt or complicity, echoing communal punishment practices

Aftermath: The silence and dye highlight the residue of violence and the vulnerability of the marked body, this can translate to many other different scenarios as well, such a trauma and even symbolising sexual assault as well.

Safety:

Audience/participants will be instructed to avoid the face!

Video:

Artist Statement:

Sound Object Assignment

For this assignment, I wanted to create a piece of music to compliment a painting inspired from trauma, as well as something I felt very strongly for while painting,  I named it “Lily” to give the piece a vague meaning for those who know what the lily stands for. Lilies are often associated with purity, renewal & transience, and youth; they can also be seen as signs of joy, fertility & rebirth. “Lily” is supposed to be a visual glamourization of my childhood trauma and what was ruined by the hands of another. A rainbow field of lilies represents the beauty of childhood, playfulness, youth, and purity. The tear forcefully ripped open and destroyed my lilies too soon; a gray sky and dead grass peak out of the rip; my lilies deflowered. As I try to fix it with all my might, I cannot close this gaping wound; the lacey pink ribbon used to distract others from what is underneath, creating a physical tension on the original beautiful field, or what was once beautiful now ruined, and an attempt to fix it. 

• For me, creating a music piece to go with my art just makes sense, whenever I create something, I always try to get a feel or a vibe going, I’ll watch certain movies, or listen to certain music as it helps with the creative process.
• I’ll be using an art piece I made last year as a “vessel” through which sound files are played through a speaker
  

I took the song “Silver Soul” by Beach House since I felt it really fit with the idea I was trying to portray within the piece, for those who don’t know the meaning of the piece, I wanted the music to feel nostalgic and remind the viewer of their childhood.

Performance Description

The piece is a diptych, I wanted a good place that wasn’t too big and wouldn’t drown out the piece itself, and decided to go with a corridor in the staircase in Zavitz.

• The plan was to place the painting in between the 3rd and 4th floor corridor, and place my phone inside the painting itself as it has two layers and would be able to hold my phone as well as have an exit point for the earbuds to hang out.
• The audience is expected to wait their turn to use the earbuds
• While everyone can view the piece of course, only one person is actually experiencing the full-piece which also delivers the message about trauma, while everyone can hear about your struggles and the things you’ve seen, you are the only one actually facing the music.

Audio for the Piece:

Artist Statement

Speculative Video Proposal

I had so much fun creating the outline and idea for this assignment! I wanted the idea to be perceiving being perceived.

Perceiving Being Perceived relates back to the digital self and the real-self and how those two people are different. You are not the person people see online, and when you die, you won’t really ever be gone, the internet is forever and you’re on it.

The idea at it’s base is me stalking me, except “stalker” me is a digitally rendered AI model, kind of like how those online disfigure and change themselves to fit the socially accepted beauty standard; except my form will be everchanging and not-human at all times. I really want the film to be seen as something like “found footage” like the Blair Witch Project, or Incantation.

1. Final Scene Footage

✰ Planning of Final Scene

Artist Statement