Portfolio Progress 3-25-11

I believe my concentration to be clear, and focused. My works metaphorically, symbolically and allegorically define each icon's memorable life and highlights their tragic deaths. Some even go as far as to illustrate the methods by which their blood was spilled as in my piece "Abraham Lincoln" where John Wilkes deceitfully rests his pistol upon the shoulder Lincoln's corpse. By uncovering the poignant emotions that spring from their deaths, I am able to create a connection between the subject and the viewer. Understanding the life, and the death, of these prominent figures, the viewer becomes familiar with their essence and their beauty--which was cut short by treacherous plots or untimely accidents. I think this concept is easily traced through all my pictures.

My technical ability is evident in each of my pictures, and affects all aspects of my digitally rendered images. Over the past few years I have become very familiar with the workings of PhotoShop, and I am able to utilized this tool to the fullest. By collaging, and editing my images I am able to make them my own and avoid misrepresenting the work of other artists. For instance, in my piece "John F Kennedy" I compiled three different images into the final composition--each adding another layer to the next. This effect allows for a multi-tiered interpretation, and unique conception of the underlying idea.

Ey Blinkin'...Get it?

My first piece for my concentration was based upon the tragic story Lincoln's last moments of life. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, who was a banner-child for the ideal of  "Sic Semper Tyrannus", in the Ford Theatre. Dressed in his best, a bullet-hole offers escape for a geyser of red. My piece highlights the tragedy of this horrible historic event, and the implementation of the "murder" poster adds to the over all effect. By linking all of the separate images the total work comes to like, and by editing Lincoln's face i was able to add some emotion. The texts adds complexity to the background, and has a smooth flowing rhythm to it. And the unity of the foreground even-though the images are completely unrelated allows for the piece to become one piece of work. Also, the contrast of the streak of blood adds a necessary flare to the plainness of the black-and-white images.

BRINGING LOMBARDI HOME!

Today, Packer fans living with the pathogenic, and highly communicable "Packer Fever", take a sigh of relief. The newly crowned Green Bay Packers brought home the trophy that bears the name of the man who brought initial honor to our humble, but prestigious state. My goal was to honor the achievements of the green and gold, and Lombardi himself. I achieved this by incorporating a ghosted image of Vince Lombardi into the trophy, and placing that trophy in the hands of and edited image of Ben Rothlisberger. Ben Rothlisberger, our hated opponent in Super Bowl XLV?! Yes, ironically the only picture I could find of someone holding the trophy was of Rothlisberger, so I place Aaron Rodgers' face on his body. The asymmetrical symmetry of the image puts the foreground into perspective, and the Green Bay colors incorporated into the scheme add a sense of unity. The angled hand holding the trophy also draws your eye up in the trophy, and through the rest of the piece. I wish I could have found a more high quality image to work with, because it would have been cool to print it onto a poster sized paper. But overall I think my piece displays my message well, and illustrates the pride we Wisconsinites have in our Packers. Go Pack!

Senior Gallery

My progress over the past semester can be fully mapped out with the exploration of the space I designed. With interior design elements that are ambiguously incorporated within each piece, I created a connection; the curtains hint at the comfort of home, the netting reveals a connection to the methods of overfishing, and the the crazily painted board with my name on it is similar to the colors used in my early works. These elements are symbolic of my metamorphosis into an experienced artist. I've transitioned from being an artist primarily using drawing tools and mark-making to create art, to an artist utilizing the aid of digital media to create my pieces of art. Art for me isn't about creating something that appeals to others, or the desire to achieve profit. For me, art is about the passion, the feeling, the emotion. When I look at a piece that I've created, I need to feel some sort of overpowering emotion in order for my work to be successful. I've discovered this powerful experience over the 4 years of my involvement in PHS's art program, and its has been essential to my development as an artist, student, and man.

Home Isn't A Place...

Home, for everyone should inspire feelings of warmth, comfort, and happiness. It is an unscathed memory of the past that remains in our minds for the rest of eternity. A house, technically may become a home, but a home is not defined by the material house itself. A "home" is defined by the people who live there and lay their hard-working hands on the objects within. Their influence, and presence is the heart and soul of a homely atmosphere. My mom, dad, sister, and dog all make my Victorian-era house into a Modern-era home. Each of the backgrounds they are portrayed in, illustrates their usual dwellings and activities. For me, imagining them in those place will send my thoughts hurdling homeward from wherever in the world I am. The colors I used are warm, inviting, and hint at the tones of human flesh. This, therefore, aids in the comprehension of my "Family make a house a home" message. Also, the heart image on each of my family members shows that home(family), is where the heart is. 

Half of a Green Face Mounted on Plexi-Glass?

For my free choice, I decided to dabble in the 3D world of artistic expression. I have always wanted to try my hand at sculpting, but the opportunity never really presented itself to me. This was my chance. I wanted to create a face with a expressionless or stoic expression, and for the color of the clay itself to model the feeling of the subject. I chose an eery green, and I believe it fits well with the black and clear composition of the rest of the piece. On another level, I decided that water running down over the face would add another aspect to the overall complexity. This was an a,most overwhelming challenge for me, as I set out to hand-make the frame, pump-housing, and water-tight base. Everything that could possibly have gone wrong, went wrong, and I almost abandoned the whole thing. But thankfully, a spare pump was found and utilized, and the whole thing started coming together. The piece uses asymmetrical composition, and movement to capture my emotion.  

Social Justification

Overfishing is becoming a huge problem for the global population. With numbers of fish stock rapidly and exponentially decreasing, the worlds oceans are being netted into an oblivion. How would we feel if our populations become caught in the nets of some other species, causing our culture to teeter on the precipice of extinction. My piece illustrates this idea, and opens your eyes to the problem before us. I used movement, and similar colors to tie the images together, and create what I think to be a strong and meaningful piece of propaganda. To add a personal flare to this image, I added silhouettes of people I actually know in real life, and put them in the path of destruction before the net. I even created a logo for an imaginary foundation against the overfishing of the world's oceans.