context for this post: this post relates to my video work ‘i sweat and i sweat’ which looks at real and idealised ideas about landscape, body, femininity through movement in the landscape.
i just spent the last few evenings going through some of the videos i captured last week on the galtee mountains. came across some videos which captured the sound of my breath as i struggled up the mountain as well as my trips and falls. i’ve been thinking about getting a new pair of walking boots but keep thinking about all the images that advertisers feed you projecting perfect lives and women in perfect clothes and shoes that are impractical for the mountains and most walking daily activities. thought id look into some of the language used by advertisers. because you’re worth it.
came across a girls guide to high heels …. working with your body type, if you have large ankles, if your legs are short etc. (https://www.collegefashion.net/fashion-tips/a-girls-guide-to-high-heels-part-2-how-to-buy-high-heels/)
also came across some info on how to walk in high heels – how to walk like a lady or in a feminine way, i used some of this text with one of the videos to see how they work together. ties in with everything i have been exploring about real and romantic ideas about landscape and gender … i swear and i sweat. or is it perspire and glow.
reflection: interesting dynamic. is it too contrasting? i feel i could take it a lot further in terms of distance of walking and length of video – reach physical limits and breaking pints of the body. also the ‘how to walk like a lady’ could work as a voice over like internal thoughts rather than text. i guess i didn’t want to mask the sound of my movement so used text instead. i wanted to keep it fairly simple and not make it forced or contrived. i deliberately placed the text unevenly as when i tried an even pace of text it didn’t suit my movement on the landscape. i also only selected bits of the text so as not to be too explicit. i intend to submit this as a piece for assessment as it ties in with my exploration on many levels; landscape, body, gender, real, idealised etc etc…. feels like a rough cut but maybe that’s the point.
next steps: i wonder if the text from advertisers for women’s clothes and products could become part of the text for a print series also – print is a natural media for advertising. how about advertising for a landscape and how a place / landscape is presented in words to sell it as a a place worth visiting for tourists…..
elaine crowe 
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