Tafseer Carabuena
Eventually Ill Stop and Rest
https://tcarabuena.wordpress.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1iJlr-N9qYObTbWv4Jb2IA
An Exploration of Runner's High
Tafseer Carabuena has for much of his life seen running as an escape from everyday issues, seeming to him almost like a solution. Representing a better vision of himself, easing his self image and providing a sense of control. Tafseer has increasingly become enamored with the concept of the ‘runner's high’ and wishes to delve into the phenomenon in his work. He has combined multiple mediums working in tandem with one another, to create an interactive experience to capture the energy of the ‘runner’s high’.
For this piece, immersion is of the utmost importance, running is far from passive and thus the kinesthetic elements of this piece are imperative. Utilizing a treadmill to replicate the physical sensations, a TV monitor for the visual and a custom made soundscape for the auditory. For Tafseer, this project is deeply personalized, a highly subjective experience for which this piece is attempting to convey.
Running to me represents an escape from the problems of everyday life; in many ways, it feels like a solution. It represents a better me. It eases self-image problems that I have struggled with, and allows for a feeling of being in control. When running, endorphins kick in, and I experience what runners call “runner’s high”. I want my work to translate this experience of “runners high” into moving image and sound, which combine in an interactive sculpture that replicates the energy of the moment. I understand this piece, ‘Eventually, I’ll Stop and Rest’ as interactive rather than performative – the viewer is the one driving the experience forward. Running is far from a passive experience, and as such, it felt right that the project is equally interactive.
The project attempts to interpret and capture my experience of “runners high". For me, the experience of runner's high is a state of mind one achieves after running for long periods, wherein my experience of reality becomes hazy. An exclusive linear focus on the act of running, music, environmental noise and other sensory stimuli all mesh into a blur, a flow state interlaced with a singular drive to push forward. In my work, multiple mediums work together to immerse the viewer as much as possible. My hope is to encapsulate the essence of the experience in such a way that it is accessible to any audience from any walk of life.
I have been interested in how running is experienced at various stages in life, its contextual meaning and how it’s temporarily relative. This is to say that running not only must take place for a short time, but the motivation to do so also dramatically shifts through different stages of life. As children, we see running as a pass time, a game. As we mature, it can lose its appeal, traded away for other modes of entertainment. For many, entering adulthood, running regains its charm; however, not for its own sake, it becomes a means to an end for maintaining one’s health. As our final phase of life arrives upon us, running often can manifest only in memory, a childhood memory, a time when we had our youth, a symbol of times now lost. This project is deeply personal to me. It is not intended to be universal as much as an attempt to communicate my subjective experience. Part of my curiosity lies in how I might best share such a personal experience through an artistic medium.
