ART 214: INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL MEDIA
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COLLAGE 1, 2010. (DIGITAL IMAGE)
THE PURPOSE FOR THIS PORJECT WAS TO BETTER FAMILIARIZE OURSELVES WITH PHOTOSHOP BY TAKING 10 IMAGES THAT MY PEERS SCANNED IN AND CREATE A BALANCED PIECE. I HAD A BIT OF A DIFFICULT TIME TRYING COMBINE ALL OF THE IMAGES WITHOUT HAVING IT LOOK TOO BUSY. ALTHOUGH I WANTED TO STOP AFTER THE FIRST 7 IMAGES, I AM STILL HAPPY WITH THE OUTCOME.
SERENE MYSTICISM, 2010. (DIGITAL IMAGE)
OUR ASSIGNMENT WAS TO CREATE A FABRICATED REALITY ON PHOTOSHOP. THE IMAGE WAS CREATED WITH ONE IMAGE THAT I CAME ACROSS ONLINE, ONE SCAN FROM A PEER, AND ONE SCAN THAT I MADE. THE IMAGE I CAME ACROSS ONLINE IS OF THE ROAD, PLANTS, AND HORIZON. I DISTORTED THE COLOR AS WELL AS THE TEXTURE. MY PEER'S SCAN IS A DRAWING OF THE SILHOUETTES, AND MY SCAN IS A SCAN OF MY HAIR, WHICH IS IN THE WATER AND THE NEON PINK FLOWERS. ASIDE FROM THAT, THE REST IS DRAWN IN AND CREATED WITH PHOTOSHOP TECHNIQUES I PICKED UP. I THINK THAT THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THIS PROJECT WAS TRYING TO GRASP THE CONCEPT OF WHAT A 'FABRICATED REALITY' ACTUALLY IS AND HOW I COULD APPLY IT TO WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE IN THE DIGITAL AGE. ONE OF MY FAVORITE ART MOVEMENTS IS SURREALISM. I ENJOY THE RANDOM JUXTAPOSITION OF OBJECTS AND HOW THEY CAN COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER TO MAKE A COHERENT AND FITTING MASTERPIECE. THAT IS WHAT I WAS GOING FOR WITH THIS PORJECT; I AM VERY HAPPY WITH THE WAY IT TURNED OUT.
REFLECTIONS: A DIGITAL SELF-PORTRAIT, 2010 (DIGITAL IMAGE)
MY SELF-ASSESSMENT AS IF IT WERE WRITTEN BY SOMEONE ELSE:
THIS PIECE LOOKS LIKE IT IS TRYING TO CONVEY VARIOUS MESSAGES. THE ONE THAT TRULY GRABS MY ATTENTION IS THE IDEA OF REFLECTING ON SOMETHING. THE SUBJECT IN THE IMAGE SEEMS TO BE LOOKING INTO SPACE, AND HER EXPRESSION ON HER FACE SEEMS VERY CAREFREE YET PENSIVE AT THE SAME TIME; YOU CAN TELL THAT SHE IS THINKING AND REFLECTING OVER SOMETHING. THE REASON I SEE THE SUBJECT IN A REFLECTING STATE OF BEING IS BECAUSE OF THE EXPLICIT VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF REFLECTIONS.
THE REFLECTION OF THE TREE BRANCHES IN HER SUNGLASSES ARE WHAT MOSTLY DEMONSTRATE THIS EFFECT. THE BACKGROUND IS A COMBINATION OF PASTEL COLORS UNDER REFLECTING LIGHT WITH TEXT RUNNING ACROSS THE IMAGE BACKWARDS. THIS TO ME ALSO IMPLIES THE THEME OF REFLECTING. THE TEXT, TO THE VIEWER, DOES NOT MAKE MUCH SENSE UNLESS YOU TRY TO READU THINK OF YOURSELF BEING IN THE SUBJECT’S POSITION AND PERCEIVING THE WORLD FROM THE SUBJECT’S POINT OF VIEW, WHICH IS THE ARTIST HERSELF, THE TEXT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. IN FACT, THE IMAGE HAS A SORT OF “THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS” EFFECT TO IT, WHILE CONVEYING A NOSTALGIC AND REFLECTIVE THEME TO IT.
THE LAYOUT AND COMPOSITION OF THIS IMAGE ALSO IMPLIES THE SENSE OF THOUGHTFULNESS AND REFLECTION. THE ARTIST PLACED HERSELF TO THE FAR LEFT OF THE CANVAS AND DECIDED TO PLACE THE TEXT IT BACKWARDS. HOWEVER, IN THINKING OF THIS AS A SELF PORTRAIT, IT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THE ARTIST AND HERSELF AS THE SUBJECT IN THE IMAGE. IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOALL ON THE RIGHT HALF OF THE CANVAS. THIS TO ME INDICATES THAT THERE IS A THOUGHT PROCESS GOING ON. IT IS AS IF SHE IS SHOWING US WHAT IS GOING ON IN HER MIND. HAVING THE IMAGE A SEVERE CLOSE-UP HEAVILY INFLUENCES A TRAIN OF THOUGH, SINCE THE TEXT IS AT SUCH CLOSE PROXIMITY TO HER HEAD.
THE COLORS OF THE IMAGE AS A WHOLE ARE BALANCED. HER CLOTHES AND THE BASE OF THE BACKGROUND MATCH APPROPRIATELY WITH PASTELS AND BRIGHT COLORS WHILE THE EARTHY TONES ARE PRESENT IN THE TEXT AS WELL AS WHAT IS REFLECTING IN HER SUNGLASSES. AGAIN, WE ARE REELED BACK INTO THE IDEA OF REFLECTION.
FINAL SELF-ASSESSMENT AND CLASS EVALUATION
AT FIRST, I DID NOT KNOW WHERE THIS PROJECT WOULD TAKE ROUTE—BUT THEN AGAIN, I SAY THAT ABOUT ALL MY PROJECTS. THE DIFFERENCE WITH THIS ONE IS THAT I HAD SO MANY MORE OPTIONS AND TECHNIQUES TO EXPERIMENT WITH. NOT ONLY DID I HAVE THE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE AND NEW SKILLS ACQUIRED WITH PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR, BUT I HAD THE OPTION OF USING OTHER APPLICATIONS SUCH AS GOOGLE SKETCH UP, GOOGLE EARTH, IMOVIE, OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT I COULD APPLY TO MY IDEA FOR THE PROJECT. SINCE THIS WAS THE FINAL PROJECT, I WANTED TO MAKE SOMETHING AS CLOSELY RELATED TO MY INTERESTS AS POSSIBLE AS WELL AS HAVE MY PROJECT EMBODY WHO I AM.
THE PROJECT IS SUPPOSED TO BE BASED OFF OF EXPLORING AN UNKNOWN LOCATION, SO I GOT ONLINE TO FIND A PLACE THAT I WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH AND PRINT OUT DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO REACH MY SITE FOR “GETTING LOST” IN. I STUMBLED UPON MYRTLE POINT PARK IN CALIFORNIA, MARYLAND, RIGHT OFF OF ROUTE 4, AND BEFORE CROSSING THE BRIDGE TO SOLOMON’S ISLAND.
BEFORE SETTING OFF ON MY JOURNEY, I THOUGHT ABOUT PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE COLORS I WOULD ENCOUNTER AT THE SITE. I ALSO THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT I WOULD BE USING TO CAPTURE THE AREA I WAS EXPLORING. GOING BACK TO THE IDEA OF MAKING THIS PROJECT RELATE AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE TO MY INTERESTS, I THOUGHT ABOUT HOW I CAN CONNECT MY VIEWERS VISUALLY WITH VIDEO AS WELL AS DIGITAL IMAGING. BEING A FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES MAJOR AND AN ART MINOR, I WANTED TO COMBINE THE TWO TO MAKE MY PROJECT STAND OUT AS BEING A PART OF WHO I AM. I TOOK BOTH MY REGULAR PHOTO CAMERA AND A FLIP HD VIDEO CAMERA TO CAPTURE ANYTHING THAT I THOUGHT WOULD BENEFIT MY PROJECT.
I SET OFF ON MY SHORT JOURNEY OF GETTING LOST IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THE FIRST PHASE OF MY PROJECT; LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT I WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO GET LOST. AFTER TELLING THIS STORY TO A FRIEND OF MINE, SHE SAID, “YOU WOULD BE THE ONE WHO GETS LOST WHILE TRYING GET ‘LOST.’” GOING OFF OF WHAT SHE SAID, I REALIZED THAT THIS PROJECT WAS BUILDING ITSELF CLOSER THE EMBODIMENT OF WHO I AM. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO SHOW HOW I USUALLY AM IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS THROUGH DOCUMENTING MY JOURNEY IN REAL TIME. IN OTHER WORDS, CAPTURE WHAT I WAS DOING AT THE TIME EXACTLY HOW IT PLAYED OUT.
AS I CONTINUED ON MY EXCURSION, AND THE MORE LOST I GOT, I BEGAN TO FEEL A LITTLE FRUSTRATED AND OUT OF MY ELEMENT. I HAD NO IDEA WHERE I WAS, OR WHERE I WAS GOING. I DID NOT EVEN KNOW THAT I WOULD EVENTUALLY MAKE IT TO MYRTLE POINT PARK AT ALL! EVENTUALLY AFTER MAKING IT TO THE SITE, I DISCOVERED A CORRELATION BETWEEN ME GETTING LOST AND THE SITE I WAS AT—THE IDEA OF “BELONGING.”
GOING BACK TO WHAT I SAID EARLIER ABOUT COLORS, AS SOON AS I STEPPED ONTO THE TRAIL, I NOTICED THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE COLORS AND TEXTURES IN THE OVERALL LANDSCAPE. AT FIRST GLANCE, THE WOODED TRAIL IS COVERED IN EITHER GREEN OR BROWN. HONESTLY, I WAS EXPECTING TO SEE MORE REDS, YELLOWS, AND ORANGES AS THE TREES ARE CHANGING COLORS FOR FALL. HOWEVER, WHEN APPROACHING SPECIFIC PLANTS, YOU WILL SEE COLORFUL SEQUENCES THAT DO NOT SEEM TO BE A PART OF THE OVERALL COLOR SCHEME. I PROCEEDED WITH THE IDEA OF BELONGING AS I CONTINUED DOWN THE TRAIL AND CONSTANTLY CAM ACROSS THINGS THAT SEEMED AS THOUGH THEY DID NOT BELONG OR WHERE OUT OF ELEMENT TOWARDS THE OVERALL FRAMING AND LANDSCAPE OF THE LOCATION.
TAKING ALL OF THE IMAGES, VIDEOS, AND CONCEPTS I GATHERED, I WENT BACK TO MY WEBSITE AND PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER. I USED SPECIFIC LINES AND ARROWS THAT INDICATED WHERE I WAS AND WHERE MY PROJECTS ULTIMATELY TOOK ME. IN USING ONLY TWO STYLES OF ICONS, THE MAGNIFYING GLASS AND A QUESTION MARK, I WAS ABLE TO PORTRAY THE CLARITY VERSUS CONFUSION OF WHAT HAPPENED AND WHAT NEVER HAPPENED. PUTTING ALL OF THE PIECES OF MY PROJECT TOGETHER, IN A WAY, WAS ME TRYING TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED AND HOW IT HAPPENED. I MADE SURE TO EXAMINE THE MAPS THOROUGHLY AND CONNECT EVERY IMAGE TO THE POINTS OF THE MAP, AND IDENTIFY THOSE LOCATIONS AS WHERE I ACTUALLY WAS AT WHAT MOMENT.
THIS CLASS CERTAINLY HELPED ME EVALUATE MY THOUGHT PROCESS IN TERMS OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION AND UNDERSTANDING. SPECIFICALLY IN THE DIGITAL AGE WHEN EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE SO NORMAL AND STRAIGHTFORWARD, IT HAD BECOME SOMETHING I CONSUME WITHOUT QUESTIONING OR EVALUATING WHY AND HOW THE PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL WORLD CAN BE CONNECTED. I AM SATISFIED THAT THE COURSE WAS NOT A MONOTONOUS DIGITAL ART COURSE WHERE ALL YOU GET OUT OF IT IS THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF THINGS. I ENJOYED THE CONCEPTS AND THEORIES BEHIND DIGITAL MEDIA AND NEW MEDIA, AS WELL AS THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN DIFFERENT AGES OF ART. FOR EXAMPLE: DIGITAL DRAWING TO MUSIC, LIKE KANDINSKY, AND DIGITAL SELF PORTRAITS THAT CAN ABSTRACTED OR ADAPTED TO YOUR STYLE RATHER THAN TECHNIQUE, LIKE PICASSO. OVERALL, I THINK THAT THE COURSE IS GOOD THE WAY IT IS. THANK YOU!