The first photograph of the blog showcases a person submerged underwater and potentially drowning. I designed the second photograph to represent the idea of suffocation through the containment of the plastic. Both pictures deal with the loss of breath of the individual, and I utilized the same material, plastic wrap for both picture. From all of the research that I conducted, I learned that water serves as a significant symbol in dreams because it could mean many different things such as the emotional stability of a person, death, change, life, or rebirth. Which in this case, the viewer can assume that the water represents the death of the person. In both photographs the model appears to not be able to breath which typically symbolizes the weight of external pressures on a person.
In both pieces, I hoped to showcase a mixture of tranquility, beauty, and horror. Even though I used plastic to cover the model in for both pictures, through digital editing, I was able to differ the ideas presented by the pieces. Furthermore, both portraits have an out of focus background filled with the plastic wrap. In the underwater picture, the out of focus background is used to mimic the quick, blurred motion of ripples of the waves. In the photograph of suffocation, the viewer can see the wrinkles in the plastic swirling into face of the model which exemplifies the lack of oxygen that she is experiencing. Both photos show a clashing between the cool colors of the background and the warm colors of her face, which shows the body's struggle to maintain a steady oxygen count. In both works of art, I used plastic wrap over top of the photographs in order to create additional layers and further the severity of the situation. In future projects, I hope to continue my exploration of contrasting coloration and creating layers over top of the printed out photographs for the purpose of contributing to the theme.
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After I conducted further research regarding common dreams that people have, I chose to capture two different situations portraying nightmarish types of dreams. Specifically, I decided to capture a person's potential visual in a dream about demons and in a nightmare about their own death, two very common types of dreams seen among individuals. When a demon appears in a dream, a person's mind is creating an embodiment of a threat that he or she might be facing in real life. If the demon possesses a person in the dream, the dreamer's mind might be trying to cope with feelings of grief or a loss of control over oneself. Death, on the other hand, symbolically represents closure in a certain aspect of life. Surprisingly, when an individual dreams about his or her own death, that person will normally never truly die in the dream since people do not understand all of the sensations that death would cause their bodies to experience; instead, he or she might wake up right before that occurs.
Both works of portraiture, I believe, effectively exemplify the themes that I hoped to capture. The resulting portraits not only display the horror one might feel while having a nightmare, but also a slight touch of beauty. The negative space that I incorporated into the demon piece showcases the vulnerability and the isolation of the model. The high contrast of the picture expresses the good and the evil in the situation and the severity of it. Furthermore, the black ribbon that is stitched into the picture across the model's mouth further expresses her helplessness against the demons. While in the other the photograph, death is symbolically showcased throughout the portrait. For example, the background of the piece showcases a winter scene; winter is the type of year associated with death due to the demise of many plants and animals during that season. The cloak of the symbolic representation of death flows through the majority of the piece. The only portion of the piece that does not directly represent death is the girl in the picture whose dress is covered in white roses, which historically signify innocence and purity. However, her dance with death associates her with the idea of death. Then, the black roses bordering the picture serve to contradict the white roses and further symbolize potential forthcoming death. For future photographs in my concentration, I hope to include further examples of juxtaposition which help to insure that the viewer understands the type of dream that each photograph strives to portray. In correspondence with my theme of dreams and the unconscious mind, I conducted a series of research in order to discover other types of dreams that people frequently experience. When I came across the ideas of flying and falling, I decided to create two images utilizing digital photography to depict each of these themes. I based my images on the memories that I have regarding the flying and falling dreams that I experienced as a child. After I created and digitally manipulated the photos that I took, I tried to come up with ways that I could emphasize the flying and falling themes in my photographs. Therefore, I chose to silkscreen wings onto the printed out version of my flying piece in order to allow for further distinguishing between the background and the foreground, and I decided to add red yarn to my falling piece to add to the perspective of it.
Overall, I hope that the works of art will have the emotional power to connect its the themes to the lives of those that view it. Therefore, instead of simply making a viewer see the beauty of an image, I want my work to stir feelings in people such as nostalgia or remembrance and make them view the photographs as being applicable to their own lives. Furthermore, I felt the overwhelming desire to connect allure to my subject in order to remind people of the amazing qualities of humanity. I hope that people will look to my work to gain ideas regarding ways to improve upon their own work. Through the creation of the two images, I also gained new ideas regarding ways that I could evolve my concentration, including the application of actual film photography for future works of art. In order to follow my concentration of dreams, I chose to create an image that portrays my subject having a dream in which she is trapped. Inspiration for my work of art developed due to my own fear of getting everything completed in school, for college, and in my personal life. I felt overwhelmed by the immense restriction of time, which made me consumed in worry. Therefore, my own fears developed the idea of visually showcasing the mental state of feeling trapped. Then, when I conducted some research online about common themes of dreams, I learned that the conflict of being trapped was actually a recurring dream for many people. Furthermore, I gathered that many professionals associate a trapped dream with worries about having too much to do and fear over a bad decision. Therefore, I continued to gather images in hopes of learning of some techniques that would aid me in incorporating my theme into an image. I concluded that I would have my subject press her face up against a semi-transparent sheet of glass in order to convey the idea that she has no way of escaping.
I believe that my decisions about media, technique, and the elements of design resulted in my piece having the ability to effectively convey the theme. For example, I chose to use a digital SLR camera in order to capture the image, instead of film photography, in order to employ color to convey a frustrated mood. Additionally, putting a frame around the picture adds to the idea that my subject has no way to escape. On the glass of the frame, I used glue to create handprints that one might view as the subjects futile attempts to escape. In consideration of compositional techniques, I employed the rule of thirds and divided the picture vertically between her left hand, face, and right hand. Since I had the ability to use the lighting in the studio, I directed the light source at her face in order to further increase the intensity of the image. Furthermore, I employed texture in the glass, her hair, the glue, and the frame. Also, I included the form of her face and hands for the purpose of emphasizing depth. All in all, creating the image stressed the importance of experimenting with different mediums, techniques, and elements of design for my future works of art. |
ThemeFor my concentration, I am focusing entirely on the creation of portrait photography using mixed media with an emphasis on the unconscious mind. Categories |