Natural Translations with John Peña

“We are investigating what it means to observe. And, how explorations of beauty, value, object-ness and transformation through our perceived perceptual and technological limits, can expose changes that take place internally.

We have created a short video work that presents two distinct investigations that are connected by a shared interest in our relationship to the natural world. The first is called “Letters to Nature,” and it consists of a message we wrote to a patch of grass that physically appears and disappears on that piece of grass depending on the wind, position of the sun and movement of the clouds. It is intended to be a whisper that just touches the landscape and quickly disappears.

The second video sequence is called “Nature Studies.” In these videos, we are using our bodies to replicate natural elements and forces. In one video, we use our arms to become treetops while in another our hands act as a tide washing over someone’s feet. These experiments grew out of a desire to use our bodies and our surroundings to create playful gestures in the landscape. We discovered that by doing so, we were able to create a brief but magical moment that provokes both laughter and contemplation.

Project Blog

Student Artist:
Alexa von Bargen, Xavier University

Youth Participants:
Chloe Bolger, Oakwood
Rachael Jancaukas, Dayton
Mollie Martin, Kettering
Megan McRae, Kettering
Hwa-Jeen Na, Centerville
Shannara Olmstead, Fairborn
Rebecca Riffle, Kettering
Christany Wiesemann, Kettering