Project No. 3

Alison Koybayashi: Say Something Bunny

Alison Kobayashi's work was definitely kind of confusing when i first heard about it. Initially i thought were were just going to listen to voice recordings for the entire lecture because I heard it was a sound based project. However upon looking at her Sofia Coppola-like films, I sensed that i was in for something quirky. And "quirky" is the best way to summarize Kobayashi's work, from the way that she explained how the recorded the sound, to how she discovered the history of her project, all to how it all came together!

She did go into how she pulled the project together, but I have much respect for Kobayashi as pulled "Say Something Bunny" from the bare minimum! She was very resourceful as she thrifted all or most of the clothing for the sketches that she did. Also, it must have been extremely tiring (and frankly annoying and maddening) to listen to audio again and again to individualize each one of her characters. Although the end product just looks like a small performance art sketch it is her process and determination that really elevates her work.

Speaking of process and determination, I don't really think its the editing or how she recorded the sound-what really stands out about "Say Something Bunny" is how she dedicated herself to uncovering history that one would find completely inane and boring. This dedication is marked by the seemingly crazy connections that she seems too pull out of the blue. For example, the grandfather in her story sang yankee doodle dandy towards the beginning of her story, and then she makes the connection to how he is the son of two immigrants actually making him a yankee doodle dandy! 

Overally, "Say Something Bunny" was just ok to me, but obviously has others that appreciate it more.