BRANDON - Acting on an assignment for a University of Tampa art and technology class April 19, Brandon resident Martin Mozzachiodi filmed two costumed singers at Westfield Brandon mall. The two young women, Mozzachiodi’s 19-year-old daughter, Maria, and her friend Alyssa Hidalgo, 20, of Brandon, burst into the food court with a yell. They then played ukuleles while singing One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.” About 14 minutes into Mozzachiodi’s unscripted video art performance, mall security ushered them out. “If security gets involved, that’s all part of it,” said 49-year-old Mozzachiodi, quoting his professor, Santiago Echeverry. “He said to keep filming.” Since Mozzachiodi kept filming it proves he will never be afraid of talking to anyone, said Echeverry, adding the worst they can do is say no. “That is the hidden purpose behind this assignment: use performance art in a way that can transform (students’) lives and impact those who surround them,” Echeverry said. “It is a cathartic process that will make them grow.” ***** University professors selectedMozzachiodi as student of the year from about 40 others working toward the new media production/electronic media art and technology major. He wasn’t chosen because of his 3.68 grade-point average, said Echeverry. Mozzachiodi best represents the interdisciplinary major, which attracts curious, motivated, nontraditional, mature students. Mozzachiodi began college at age 45 at Hillsborough Community College after being laid off from his job as inventory control manager and floor-plan analyst for a car-dealership consortium. At the time, he weighed 430 pounds, a problem he said started after a 1986 injury while serving in the Navy. He vowed to lose half his weight by the time he graduated college. He entered the University of Tampa in 2010, underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2011 and is down to 215 pounds, ahead of his December graduation. ***** After graduation, Mozzachiodihopes to work for the Department of Veterans Affairs, to assist other veterans the way he has been helped. “If not for the VA, I couldn’t have afforded to stay in my house," said Mozzachiodi. "They made sure I got my education, gave me a laptop, desktop computer and software for school and future work. They paid for my surgery and give me a stipend to live on while I’m in school. They’ll help me look for a job, create a résumé and prepare for interviews. “I’ve always worked hard," he said, "because I’ve been on their dime.” Mozzachiodi, who is a “devoted father, grandfather and husband and very proud of his history and culture,” helps his fellow students, veterans and others, and has “an amazing learning attitude,” said Echeverry. “He was already able to transform his own body; now he is proving he is able to confront anything,” said Echeverry. “We need more students like him, especially in such a difficult and competitive field that requires thinking with both sides of the brain. And his personal health story is an inspiration for all of us.”
Send inspiring story leads to Barbara Routen at Neighbors@tampabay.rr.com.
I liked the idea of letting others know about the accident.
The only problem I saw with this performance piece was the location. The bus
stop bench was at a busy intersection, with lots of traffic, but you could have
been mistaken for some one going to practice wearing their sports gear. I
probably would have picked a spot that had more foot traffic. The person
filming you could have come in closer so the video audience would be able to
see you and the sign for a better understanding of the performance. A drunk
driver, who hit me, broke my hand, my back and I almost lost my right leg, and
so I can understand where you were coming from with this performance. Nice job.
Agnieszka Black:
Your performance reminded me of the artist Franco B, where
he cut his arms and waked back and forth on a white paper catwalk. The fact
that you used gunpowder was very original and very much unexpected. The smoke
of the gunpowder was a great effect. The white sheet to me represented Franco B
completely painted white. This performance was a great way to tie in your concept
piece to the iconic Franco B.
Bradshaw Brittany:
Your project was a great concept for a performance art piece.
I really liked when you took a copy of the computer screen shot to the Grand
Prix Fun Center in Tampa, and started to dance around with it. By dancing
around in the busy arcade, you brought more attention to you self. This
promoted more interaction with the patrons of this establishment. The only critique
I can give you is maybe zoom in closer when you were on the dating site on your
computer.
Cable Miles:
I really enjoyed the video editing of your performance
piece. You showed a very artistic and unusual way of doing panorama shots.
Being able to show what you see at the same time, as what the audience would
see is very clever. The only critique I would have for you is location. I would
have picked somewhere busier, maybe even inside the food court of Vaughn
Building at lunchtime.
Cannella Jonathan:
This performance was probably my favorite of all the
performances. The fact that you picked a very public place and used a hidden
camera, allowed the people involved to act as naturally as possible. The sped
up pace of the video really gave the piece a comical feel to it. I couldn’t
help but laugh while watching it.The
fact that you placed your self in the middle of the playing field made it
impossible for the people-playing ball to ignore you. Great job!
Ester Michael:
Your project was a very interesting performance art piece.
The fact that you ere completely disconnected from what was going on around you
increased the level of personal venerability on your part. Turning yourself
into a human canvas by wearing a white body suit from head to toe was
brilliant. Your projects this semester have shown great thought and
imagination, this one was no exception, Great job. I loved the fact that you
brought the body suit to class as part of your presentation.
Ellis Kerrijo:
Your performance art piece was very interesting. I love the
fact that you are involved in issues that face the youth of today. The sign
hanging from your neck about beauty being skin deep was a great idea. Many
young women today think that there is a certain way you must look to be
beautiful. The poster of the same girl, side by side, one with lighter skin was
a great conversation starter. You had a good location where lots of young
people frequent. I would have likes to seen your face with one half your
natural skin tone, and the other side with a much lighter base color. I think
that would have brought more attention to you.
Falk Lindsay:
The dialogue in this particular performance really added to
the piece. The three pairs of glasses kind of reminded me of some sort of a
cross between a human and a bug. Very entertaining. I thing you may have gotten
more interaction with the public if you had more than three pairs of sun
glasses on you. You could have hung several more pairs on your collar as well
as your clothing. A little more outlandish outfit may have brought you more
attention.
Farrell Austin:
I loved the video and sound of your performance. It had an
artistic sense to it. The concept was fantastic and the fact that you stayed
there for three hours showed your conviction to your craft. The video had a
professional feel to it, great job. I do not have any critique for you. It was
very good.
Geronimo Nick:
This type of performance was a popular one. I liked the fact
that you made yourself a human canvas with no protection, just your shorts. The
fact that you could see the people painting you and interact with them, took
away some of your vulnerability, but still a great performance. People seemed
to enjoy painting you.
Nguyen Thao:
Your projects are always wonderful. This was no exception.
The use of three camera angles was a great touch for the video. It showed a
higher level of creativity. The location you picked showed a lot of thought
went into this performance. Cutting your hair with garden sheers, and wearing a
mirror on your face, made it impossible for patrons of the Vietnamese
restaurant to ignore you. Great job, as usual.
Smith Lindsay:
Your performance art piece was a lot of fun. I really liked
the frame with the arrows pointing inward. It showed a lot of creativity. I
would have liked to have seen you dressed more outlandishly. This would have
brought more attention to you, and made the people more apprehensive to joining
you in the frame. It seemed like most of them came to you instead. Fun
piece!
Tillet Cindy:
I really enjoyed your performance. I thought it took a lot
of courage on your part to perform in your neighborhood, where people know you.
Bound in chains and blindfolded really made this piece the attention getter
that you were looking for. The poem you kept reciting was great. The fact that
it was your own original poem really showed me how talented you are, great
job!!
Varrino Marco:
Our class had three body painting performance art projects,
and surprisingly, they were all different from each other. Each one gave
something different to me. Your piece had a feel of aggression on the part of
your friend. It was almost like a feel of a public lashing. I loved the fact
that you went around your neighborhood all covered in paint, and not answering
back to the people asking you questions. That showed your commitment to the
performance.
Caracas Morphosis version 2.0.0.8 (original HIGH QUALITY VIDEO)
This video is video art to me because it is literally showing the transformation of each of the city location of the past and showing the present time transformation. The original pictures from the 1960's are transformed to the 1990's by what looks like Photoshop tweening. This effect gives the pictures a feel of video. The sounds of the city and the nostalgic radio station announcer, drawers the audience into the video.
I parking
This video caught my attention because it looks like someone playing with toy cars. It wasn't until I saw the people walking that I realized this was two videos superimposed on each other. Giving the appearance that the hand is doing the driving of the vehicles. This action transformed a parking video into an interactive game of sorts.
Pixels
The video editing for this piece is breath taking. the pixels escape from an old TV and take over the city. The graphics interact with the real life object with great precision. This is video art because the artist has changed the city into a video game.
"I Wish to Say" at the San Diego Museum of Art: Van Tran dictates a postcard.
This would make for a great performance art piece. Anyone can come in and dictate to you a post card message for the president and you mail it to the president.
The artist in this piece is Sheryl Oring, who used to be a reporter, With the use of a manual typewriter she has people dictate to her your presidential message. She is dress in 60's style clothing for this show.
I really enjoyed this video. The amount of work back then was just staggering. They did not have computers to do the animation for them. Thousands of pencil drawings are copied onto celluloid and hand painted. this process can be done three million times to finish this movie. At a cost of one and a half million dollars, this was quite an undertaking for that time. Knowing the amount of work that goes into an animation film today, I can really appreciate the hard work that went into creating Walt Disney's first masterpieces.
The effects in this video are so fluid at certain points that they look like video instead of still shot animation. The guy floating in air is amazing. I loved how the artist would draw a box and in the next frame there would be an exact 3D object in reality that he would interact with.
Hudson - Against The Grain
The animation in this video is beautifully synced to the words of the song. The artist was so creative in bringing the visuals of the animation to life through the meaning of the words.
MÖBIUS: a collaborative stop motion sculpture in Melbourne
The sculpture is so mesmerizing that you do not even realize what is going on around it. Great piece to watch. I could not copy the URL for some reason, but you can see it on YouTube, just paste in the name above.
My Desk is 8-Bit
This video was so realistic I thought I was looking at an ATARI game. This brought back some great memories of my childhood. Great piece!
