Project #3: Poem Visualization

Project #2: Self-Visualization

Word Visualization: Isolate

Dia:Beacon Reactions

Going to the Dia:Beacon was an interesting experience because I had never been to a museum like it before.  The space was so large and everything was so spread out that it was a nice change from the norm and much less overwhelming.  I actually was able to view every work and that is certainly not possible in a trip to any of the other museums I have visited.

The piece that struck me most was Bruce Nauman's Mapping the Studio 1.  It was such a creepy piece that simply used film from his studio at night, which in actuality is not really that scary.  He managed to make something mundane evoke such a strong emotion out of me, and I think that is the sign of a good artist.  He incorporated the actual video, light, seating, and sound to make the piece what it is.  He also evoked a similarly eerie feeling from his piece Performance Corridor, which was intriguing and interactive with the viewer.  I really enjoyed his work and thought the entire lower level was very interesting, albeit creepy.

Project 3: Handmade Book [Poem Visualization]

Messy Room by Shel Silverstein

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!

This poem is the perfect room to describe my situation with my room this year. In addition, it is a fairly light-hearted poem that I don't feel will be difficult to work with.  I'll be able to create something easily using images from my room and then also simple graphics of messy, thrown about items. I want to make something fairly chaotic, like I did for the first project, to fit the poem. Aside from that, I do not have too many ideas yet, but I'm sure they will start to form as I move forward with this project.

Film Still Illustration -- Illustrator & Photoshop Versions

Concept for Self-Visualization

For this next project, I would like to do the three different settings that I am most used to being in: home (as in, my house), my college dorm room and surrounding environment, and the school environment. I feel like there are three different versions of myself when I am placed in each environment, and I would like to highlight that by showcasing both the surroundings and me in them. I think that this is how to truly define myself—I cannot say I act similarly in all three situations, so it would be difficult to characterize myself using only one.

My plan is to have my at-home self be more subdued and laidback, because that is what I am like when I am home. It is now the place for me to be able to relax and not have to think about work or any of the drama that goes on. My college self is a lot more outgoing and all-over-the-place, which I would like to show with a more vibrant and lively photograph(s). My classroom self is trickiest, because I feel like I can be a combination of both. I am certainly a lot quieter in class, but there is the whole art vibe that makes it unlike being the normal school environment.

Kahlo-Sherman-Xiuwen Comparison

Cui Xiuwen has a very ethereal, bright, and youthful vibe to her images; her Angel No. 1 image is the best example of this. She does like almost like an angel, with her bright white dress flowing in the wind and contrasted with the beautiful deep blues of the background. In Angel No. 3, there are many versions of her with her eyes closed, grasping forward and not knowing where she is going. In Angel No. 13, she again has her eyes closed, this time lying down with a pregnant stomach in front of a lush and beautiful sky. Through all of this, Xiuwen displays femininity in her work and there is almost a sense of repression. She is always either alone, or with other versions of herself, and always wearing white. There is a sense of purity and perhaps a sense of that being forced upon her. The message seems to be that she is forced to play the role of angel, with no sense of her own direction in her life.

Cindy Sherman mostly uses herself as the model, and creates pictures that inspire fear and anxiousness from the viewer. In her “Centerfolds” project, she looks afraid and vulnerable, curled up on the floor. “Fairy Tale Disasters” are also disturbing and not what you would expect out of a project with the words “fairy tale” in it. Sherman seems to take what is supposed to be considered beautiful, like centerfolds, and uplifting, like fairy tales, and showing the darker themes that one can find in them.

Frida Kahlo does mostly self-portraiture and always has the same very calm and stoic expression on her face, which implies perhaps indifference. She accentuates attributes of herself that are not necessarily considered beautiful, like her eyebrow. Las Dos Fridas shows the pain of her divorce from her husband, Diego Rivera, by showing the weaker and more vulnerable Frida dressed in white with her heart exposed and connected to her normal self. This allows her to really show off her vulnerability and pain, and again expose how there is a side to her that she makes visible through her artwork.

All three women seem to showcase vulnerability in their pieces in very different ways. Xiuwen does so by portraying herself as the angel who perhaps does not want to be, but is forced to by powers outside of her control as shown by her closed eyes in every shot. She is the unwilling angel. Sherman uses horror to show how the ideals of society, for women in particular, end up destroying the woman and leaving her in fear. Kahlo shows how vulnerability can be displayed the artwork, and how beauty is not always important. There seems to be a theme of femininity and exposing the negative forces in society that repress women.

Illustrator GIF Image Exercise

Photoshop Exercise #1

Assignment #1 Photo to be Altered

Artists

Gregory Crewdson is a very interesting artist, because his pieces are all very mysterious and eerie. I do not always understand what is going on, but there is a feeling of uneasiness that goes along with each piece. I think that provoking a certain emotion in the viewer is very important when it comes to art, so I think that he does well there. However, I do think that there may be a sense of repetition in his art. They are all dark, dim, and seem fairly grim. While he is consistent, after a while, this leads to a feeling of boredom. I was not excited to see each new image because I knew it would follow the same pattern. I do think that his work is very well-done and that his very distinct quality to his work is unique, I only wish that there was more of a variety.

Teun Hocks is very similar to Crewdson in that he has a very defined style, though his is much more upbeat and playful. There is that common thread of distress between the two pieces, but Hocks' are much less melancholy. However, he also restricts himself further by having each piece include himself in a different but similarly lighthearted state of distress. I do enjoy the pieces and liked looking through them, but at the same time, there was a sense of repetition there. He is also similar to Crewdson in that he makes his images appear as paintings.

Jeff Wall's images are much more photographic and realistic, and have a wider variety of subjects. Some, like The Destroyed Room, represent aggressive, dark themes through the objects that are placed in very specific ways by the artist. Many others use figures as the focal point, but there are some that are a little bit different. While Wall has a very distinct and noticeable style that makes it easy to tell which works are his, there is a sense of there being something new in each work.

Cindy Sherman uses an old-fashioned, black-and-white style in all of her images. She presents herself in very different ways, and utilizes the black-and-white to create a nostalgic feeling throughout her work. She uses herself as the model most of the time, but switches up things like hair color and style so that it does not get overly monotonous. Like the others, her images have a distinct style.

Although it may be a very generic inspiration, my biggest inspiration in my artwork has been nature. Photography is something that I have enjoyed because of the fact that it allows me to capture the beauty of nature. I like to try to translate this beauty of nature into a completely different form, which is the digital one. In addition, I like having a very organic and natural feel to my work; I do not like perfection in my work. The flaws are what make a beautiful work stand out, in my opinion. A particular natural image that sticks out to me is any type of snow-covered one.

About Me

Hey, my name is Domenick but I go by Dom. I'm a freshman graphic design major. I have always loved digital imaging and have worked with programs like Photoshop for a long time now, though mostly I have only taught myself how to use the program by playing around with it. I have a wide variety of interests, from cooking to writing, but I like just hanging out and doing random things.