Ray Foliente

The End of Empire

Installation

Thesis show that tries to draw parallels of the downfall of the Roman Empire to the downfall of the American Empire. When entering the installation, you are met with several projections found throughout the room in large scale. When you look up at the ceiling there are two projections split across the ceiling and the opening where situated in the middle is a sphere. One projection is of space/the galaxy and other is a live stream of security footage of Fremont St. in Downtown Las Vegas. It was meant to represent how we look up to the sky for higher powers and the idea of the spectacle. The idea we can be distracted by these things through media and social media when there are more pressing needs to be addressed. There are also two projections on the wall. One shows a map of the United States with different states being lit at different times in several colors. The other shows simulated explosions. On the ground in mulch is an outline of the United States that corresponds to the map on the projection. The lit states are not meant to represent where states lean politically, but states that have suffered ecological disasters seen in places like East Palestine in Ohio. The installation is meant to be immersive and interactive. If one choose to, they could sift through the mulch and where the states are located, they could find pieces of paper describing the disasters as well as where and when they occurred. It was meant to show how we bury these things from the public psyche without truly solving these issues because it leaves a stain on the nation. The mulch was also outlined throughout the installation and you could also smell the mulch. The smell of the Earth was meant to also show how as humans we have destroyed the planet and just ignore it like nothing happened. There is a lighting sequence timed throughout your time within with several part being lit at different times. On the wall were printed in code, a pigpen cypher, different messages to be discovered. The only to see them was using a UV Flashlight which was located within the installation. When you entered the installation, if you took the artist statement before entering, the answer key was located on it. Also, upon entering, the light would reveal on the statement another coded message. One of the coded messages invited viewers to write their own messages on the ground to be discovered by others who entered the installation. The installation was meant to be a shared experience by people who don’t necessarily know each other and through art bring them together even for a brief moment. To show how are there more things that can bring us together than separate us which the American empire through propaganda and various other tools have instilled upon the population. The installation was meant to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but also met with several different layers that challenged eye discipline. It was up to the viewer to spend as much as time as they wanted. They could come for a brief moment and spend a good amount of time in it to discover as much as they wanted. 

Tomorrow Isn't Promised

Installation

Installation revolving around the concept of time and how human beings lose track of it because of the daily grind of life and work. The lighting sequence in the installation was done in morse code which was the message and title of the install, "Tomorrow Isn't Promised." Within the room were calendars, all marked in a.ten year span showing all the time dedicated to work and how little time is left to one's own enjoyment and other endeavors. Scattered throughout the room was mulch and buried within were journal pages of a life that one could choose to read if they wanted to interact more with the installation. It was meant to signify how as humans we tend to bury our past memories and are strictly compliant to the daily grind of work. A projection from the ceiling hit the ground with various dates flashing to signify how time passes and fail to notice it.