Week 7: Research



The stimulus I have chosen is Cog Head, this is an image of the natural human head on one half and the other half is mechanical with cogs, representing how the brain works and operates. This image reminded me of how important the human body is and how our brain operates everything we do and I then came to think what would happen if the brain stopped working and what it would be like to not remember childhood memories or even memories that happened the previous week or day.

My idea is to contrast these and incorporate the idea of memory loss, and how set routines everyday are forgotten about or change because of the memory loss.

After deciding on using the idea of memory loss, I decided to research the short and long term effects of memory loss and what can cause and lead up to memory loss.

I first researched the different causes of memory loss as I wanted to incorporate this in my piece so it built up as the piece went on, here are some of the causes I found when researching: medication, alcohol and drug abuse, sleep deprivation, head injury, dementia, strokes, nutritional deficiency, depression and stress. In my piece I want to lean towards more the idea of a head injury or possibly dementia.

This is because memory loss is often the first sign of dementia, to start of with it could just be forgetting something but then as time goes on this will then become more severe and persistent.

I also found it interesting when researching that is said memory loss affects people differently, as someone may forget events that happened recently but able to remember old family and childhood memories whereas, someone else could be the complete opposite.

As well as, memory loss can effect people in different ways emotionally, including their loved ones as they can start to feel stressed or worried for them. This can also lead to the person struggling with memory loss to stop doing daily routines and blaming other people for stealing their things after misplacing them. I think this is very important to add into my piece as it shows how it can affect a person emotionally as well as affecting their personal lives and those around them, such as family and friends.

I found this research to be really useful as this allows me to build up the idea of memory loss in my piece and I can understand the causes as well as the effects on those struggling with memory loss and how it affects their loved ones emotionally.

For the above research I used a variety of websites that spoke about memory loss and dementia, I found these really useful and they allowed me to understand the causes and effects of memory loss and dementia better:

https://www.webmd.com/brain/memory-loss

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/symptoms-and-diagnosis/symptoms/memory-loss-dementia

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/in-depth/memory-loss/art-20046326



Comments

  1. Lucy Athorns choreography2 November 2019 at 13:58

    I like how you want to incorporate memory loss in your choreography as it's something that has such a big impact on all generations. What decision led you to lean towards the head injury or dimentia side? Can you explain why?

    I found all your research interesting as I didn't fully understand how it could affect those who have it aswell their family and friends around them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Megan Foster5 November 2019 at 12:20

      Thankyou! I decided to go with head injury or dementia as when I researched I found a lot of information about this and I was able to understand a lot about it.

      Delete
  2. elizahill3 November 2019 at 04:39

    I really enjoyed reading this blog. I thought it was interesting that you got memory loss from this stimuli as it was something I hadn't considered.
    What choreographic devices of Wayne McGregor's will you use?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Megan Foster5 November 2019 at 12:21

      Thankyou! I will be using a technique he calls physical thinking, imagining the cogs are in front and moving around them with different body parts.

      Delete
  3. Rachel Donald6 November 2019 at 07:57

    Firstly, I really like your interpretation of the cog head stimulus. I also like the way you have gone into great detail about memory loss, and touched on the fact it doesn't just affect the person suffering with the illness. What sort of movements will you include in your choreography to show the affects of dementia?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Megan Foster6 November 2019 at 09:33

      Thankyou! For my idea of memory loss I’m going to repeat sections but miss out certain steps or do them in a different order to portray the build up.

      Delete
  4. Miss Norman14 November 2019 at 05:21

    You have made a good start researching behind your final idea. At the beginning of the post, you have clearly described what the piece will be about and have used research to give depth and greater understanding behind your idea. Further, discus how your observations will influence your piece and enhance your creative work as you move forward. I would say that the post currently sits around the 2:2 mark; if you wish to increase this towards a 1:1, you should consider the quality of your sources, thinking outside the box to incorporate further primary sources within your work. Think about how you can further your research to develop your idea as well as the movement and characteristics of your creative piece

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Megan Foster20 November 2019 at 06:26

      Thankyou! An idea I had from the research was using one section throughout the piece and as the piece goes on change the direction or order of the section to show how a daily routine can be forgotten about or changed due to memory loss.

      Delete
  5. Hannah Tinsley-Hope3 December 2019 at 08:55

    I really enjoyed reading this blog and seeing how you have you theme of dementia has linked clearly to your stimulus.
    You have mentioned in Rachel's comment above about what movements you will include in your choreography but I would like to know is what type of dynamics will you incorporate in your piece to help the idea come across even more clearer for the audience?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Megan Foster3 December 2019 at 09:24

      Thankyou! In my piece I am going to be using a range of dynamics, including very sharp dynamics as well as much more soft and fluid dynamics to portray the comparison between the mechanical and natural side of my stimulus.

      Delete

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