Exquisite Text

Nearly every creative class discusses the Chauvet Cave paintings at some point, and for good reason. When considering the elegant lines, bold colors, and ancient shapes it is crucial for us as creators to remember that creative processes do not improve, they change. And they change frequently as society progresses. There are always new opportunities and thought processes that are formed with each generation that comes forth.

The exquisite texts are an example of a new, progressive creative process. As students of the art of film, it was interesting to explore and experiment with the nuanced nature involved with the texts. The fact that we couldn’t see the narrative characters intrigued us, and we had to consider what kind of situations people would utilize texting in and how those people would realistically react to the situations being created. We talked about Kidnapped and how it made some sense that the two characters would be texting each other but also how it was kind of unrealistic in some instances. Also, due to its spontaneous nature, we allowed ourselves to be influenced by our own situation while we brainstormed for the texts.

We found ourselves in quite the situation, as we decided to create on the fly. While discussing our ideas, we were driving up the canyon with a large group of friends to a bonfire. It was dark, cold, and confusing due to a serious lack of directions within the group. We headed towards a meadow up by Squaw Peak to where the fire was supposed to take place, only that the members in our car had only be to the meadow once.  We got lost on the winding trail towards the meadow by Squaw Peak. We even passed the location when one of our friends reluctantly suggested we had gone too far and we decided to call one of the other cars. We got in contact with them, and they met us by the road where they directed us to a winding trail through the woods, and got lost, again! So twice now we had lost our way on the trip to the increasingly elusive bonfire. When we finally arrived at our location and started up the fire with several massive pallets, it wasn’t too long before a trio of Utah Forest Officer’s approached our group. There was an awkward miscommunication when the first cop came up which heightened an already tense situation. We inquired if it was alright that we were having a fire. There were awkward jokes being made between us and the officer’s and one Officer tiredly responded “yes,” paused, and then said He needed to rephrase as the other two officers surrounded our circle of friends. With subtle hands placed over the holster of the 9mm pistols, the Officer’s told us we were not allowed to be burning pallets in the forest.  We promised to leave as soon as the fire was out, as well as to clean up the pallet debris, and the cops let us off the hook as they proceeded to go hunt out other hooligans in the forest. It was tense and awkward, and while as a whole we were relatively good natured, I believe we were all anxious to leave.

Afterwards, when considering the nature of exquisite texts and our experience, we decided to use horror to create a suspenseful situation in which one person describes something paranormal to the other person. We wanted to do this because the reader can’t see what is being described either, helping them to relate to the characters and, hopefully, get their imagination going. After all, a person’s imagination can create far more fear than a visual image, in most situations. We also chose to bring in a third party to help drive the narrative arc of our story. In our exquisite text, Catherine was brought in to help us propel the plot forward and give nuance and hooks to each character. We also did this to heighten the conflict between Claire and her husband. Claire felt so distrusted and angry, that we felt it would make sense for her to turn to someone she felt would actually help in that situation. This highlights the miscommunication between Claire and James. We also illustrated this miscommunication when Claire literally stopped responding to James, leaving her fate a mystery and her husband at a total loss, scared for his life and family. Elements of the story such as the fire, the husband in the woods, and the police were definitely derived from our own experiences that Friday night.

It was motivating to challenge ourselves, both by collaborating and by trying a new form of art. Seeing our “exquisite text” take shape and change as it went along reminded us that it is imperative to challenge ourselves artistically. Consistently challenging ourselves allows us to mold, albeit in a small way, human creativity individually and as a generation.

My partner was Kaily Goodro!