Blessed Are Those Who Are Angry (2024) is a symphonic visual work of digital animation that navigates the space between immersive cinema and communal health. The animation is exhibited in the form of a participatory meditation room, where audience members become fellow travelers on a journey exploring the shifting landscapes of the emotional world.
The animated compositions are created with hand-drawn and frame-by-frame animation techniques, transposing mechanisms for mindfulness to an art form increasingly devalued by advancing commercial creative manufacturing processes.
Born from the artist’s confrontation with grief, the work centers themes of transformation, where the Fight, Flight, and Freeze responses morph into mysterious stewards of an oasis where respite is possible, and the isolation of private emotions is lifted. The work was awarded a grant from New York Foundation for the Arts.
A still from "Blessed Are Those Who Are Angry," 2024, animated installation, 25'x 16' participatory mediation room. Photo credit: Garland Quek.
A visitor contributes a drawing to the animated projection of "Danse of Ofeelia" (2024). Photo credit: Garland Quek.
The installation was presented as a half-hour immersive experience aimed at providing psychological safety and refuge for the Long Island City community and its neighbors.
A still from the animated projection of "Visitation" (2024) with visitors' drawings. Photo credit: Garland Quek.
Visitors engaged with the 4 animated works by contributing their own creative input through designed prompts. Their drawings were incorporated into the installation, dynamically interacting with the animated projections. The prompts also encouraged interaction with others’ drawings, fostering a sense of connection and honoring the shared, private experiences of strangers. This transformed the space into a collaborative environment where participants connected both with the art and with one another.
Visitors to the meditation room are given guided prompts to interact with the animation and the provided art materials. Photo credit: Garland Quek.
A visitor considers the drawings of other participants taped onto the animated projection of "Ofeelia in the Moment of Consciousness Before Her Rebirth" (2023). Photo credit: Garland Quek.
A still from "Blessed Are Those Who Are Angry," 2024, animated installation, 25'x 16' participatory meditation room. Photo credit: Garland Quek.
A still from "Sediment of the Soul" 2023 interacting with the drawings of the meditation room participants. Photo credit: Garland Quek.
This project was made possible by a partnership with ReNew Queens, and in part with public funds from the Queens Arts Fund, a re-grant program supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.
A still from "Blessed Are Those Who Are Angry," 2024, animated installation, 25'x 16' participatory meditation room. Photo credit: Garland Quek.
- A still from "Blessed Are Those Who Are Angry," 2024, animated installation, 25'x 16' participatory meditation room. Photo credit: Garland Quek.
Photo credit: Garland Quek.
Photo credit: Garland Quek.
Photo credit: Garland Quek.
Photo credit: Garland Quek.
Credits
Artist-Animator: Christen Smith.
Sound design, Christen Smith; Music, “Deep Breaths” by Eric Kinny licensed through Music Bed, and “Dancers” by Denise Mei Yan Hoffman Hartwig.
Photo credit: Garland Quek.
This project was also made possible by the support of many individuals, including: Joy, Garland, Autumn, Reji, Matt, Debbie, Brett, Micala, Amanda, Kendra, Danae, Fannie, Kimetra, Christine, and Carrie.
Photo credit: Garland Quek.