Intervention 1

Intervention 1

My inspiration for this intervention was Ruben Ortiz Torres’s decorative lawn mowers. He brings together the machinery used for gardening with the style of those who often ended up working with those machines when they immigrated to America. This contrast of practical and decoration is something I wanted to show in my own intervention as a way to highlight the I wanted to bring awareness to mental health and the stresses of everyday life by showing how absurd it is to make it into something it is not. I wanted to use this format of vlogs because I've seen many of these on YouTube, where some people will wake up at ungodly hours to be productive. To make my intervention more effective, I took advice from the Trespassing Relevance section of The Interventionists, which states, “Their projects are made to operate within and upon systems of power and trade using the techniques of art,” (pg. 13). By showing how over-productiveness and a toxic positivity mindset can take its toll on a person, I wanted to bring light to the mental health struggles of students.

In his interview in The Interventionists, Torres is asked how humor functions in his work. He replies that "Humor is a way to sugarcoat the pill, to provide a point of entry, and to make what I do interesting for someone else," (pg. 56). Especially in political art, it can be hard to show or talk to people about negative or uncomfortable topics. Humor diffuses this tension, making it easier to let a message sink in, which is what I hope my video does. Yes, it seems a bit silly or might make you cringe, but maybe one day when you're stressing too much about your assignments or have too much weight on your shoulders, you'll remember that this kind of overloaded lifestyle leads to breakdowns like this. I hope it makes people more aware and compassionate to themselves in a world that values progress and production most.