Foreshortened Self Portrait Artist Statement

Artist Statement

For this project, I knew that I wanted do something that had a very deep meaning to me and portrayed an actual emotion that I feel. I spend so much time in my room (where this picture takes place) and I wanted to capture that feeling that I get when I am finally able to escape away from the day and be alone. I wanted to capture that feeling where everything comes crashing down to you at night and you drive your self crazy with your own thoughts. For me personally, I keep everything bottled in and when I get to my room at night thats when I am able to let everything out and sometimes it takes a huge toll on me (which is what this picture depicts). Overall, I love the way that this photo turned out. I worked foreshortening into the poses that I took and think that I did a nice job of it. Also I think that I had great craftsmanship with all of the editing that I had done. I was able to create a complex composition through a very well thought out design and different poses which give depth to the piece. Also, I think one of the strongest parts about this piece is the nice rhythm that I have throughout it. I think I could have done a better job with shaping the figures in photoshop but it was also very hard because the quality was not very high. The second picture that I have posted was made from pictures that I took for fun when it has snowed. I had some extra free time for this project and decided to put together a piece that showed how we are still able to be young at heart even though we may be getting older each day. While this photo isn't as strong compositionally as my other one, it does a very nice job of demonstrating foreshortening which is why I decided to show it. Overall, I was able to create pieces that show a high level of concept and composition as well as foreshortening. 

Self Portrait Proposal

I will meet the criteria of this assignment by creating a very complex composition with at least 8 of my own original photographs. I will show foreshortening in the figure by positioning the camera at different angles/places which will accentuate a certain spot of my body. I want to show foreshortening through my hands somehow and the placement of them because I feel like hand gestures are something that portray so much emotion just in themselves. Throughout this portrait, I really want to portray my true inside feelings although you can not see them from the outside. I really want to portray what it really feels like to deal with anxiety and how it really impairs you to do certain things. What I have planned for this piece is multiple ghostlike shots of myself in a woods like setting all combined into one. This will portray the idea that I am haunting myself everyday and my mind is always consumed. This is a very significant topic for me because I deal with it everyday and also not many people know it about me. 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/572309065118829970/

Self portraits in square by Aneta Ivanova:

I love the ghostly feel that this self portrait has and I want to portray something like that in mine.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/452752568761350680/

This piece is very inspiring to me because it makes me feel the same emotion that I want to portray, It also gives off the effect of that I want to create.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/69383650480272386/

Photography by: Michelle Ferrera

I love the foreshortening in this picture and the placement of the body. I want to do multiple photographs with foreshortening just like this one in my piece.

City/Landscape Artist Statement

I was able to create two complex compositions (one cityscape and one landscape) by having great craftsmanship, compositions and creativity. For my cityscape I knew that I wanted to do something with some of the photographs that I took at MIAD. There was one photograph in particular that stood out to me, that reflection of buildings in a puddle. It was one of my favorite picture I took that day and it sparked a great idea for me. My concept for this piece was about the idea that we are slowly losing so much history each day and things are just slowly being forgotten about. I portrayed this idea by creating a mixed media piece where the reflection of the buildings in the puddle represent all of the history and the marked cityscape represents all of the new things in life that are slowly overpowering the history. Overall, I love the way that this piece turned out, it has an almost abstract feel to it and it was one of the first true mixed media pieces that I have done. For my landscape piece, I decided to use collage. As I was scanning through some magazines I came across a photograph of all of these new windmills and that that sparked my idea for the piece. This collage represents the idea that we are so incredibly consumed in technology now-a-days and how if we would just look up from our screens we would see such a beautiful world. I love the way that each part of the collage was very separate but I was able to put them together in a way that could be mistake as a true photograph. Overall, I believe that I had great compositions and concepts for both of my pieces but if I could change one thing, I would have loved to do something different with the boarder of my cityscape. Overall, I was able to create two complex compositions by having very strong concept, craftsmanship and creativity.

Breadth - 2 Free Choice Pieces

Artist Statement

From the start, I knew that I wanted to do something with portraits for this project. After filming for my experimental video class, I fell in love with the footage that I had produced and decided that I wanted to experiment with taking stills from the film. While I was planning on going on a separate photo shoot for this project, I decided to turn my film into photography. I was able to use strong composition, craftsmanship and creativity through combining multiple edited stills from film into two beautiful photographs. I wanted to continue the theme of my video into my photographs; my film was showing the inside emotion of my brother who deals with bullying at school. I wanted to portray the idea of hurt and pain, both being stuck but wanting to run away from it all. Both of these images really hit home with me because I feel that I did an excellent job with portraying the exact mood. Not only that, but I believe that the viewer will be able to feel emotion when looking at my pieces. The one thing that I had wished was a little better was the quality of the images but you have to remember that these are multiple stills from film and in some ways, the slight fuzziness adds to the mood of the pieces. Overall, I was able to create two very complex compositions for my breadth section by combining multiple stills from film into 2 complete photographs.

Third Ward Field Trip

This sculpture was made using ceramic and acrylic and is titled 'Undecided' by Beverly Mayeri. I was  particularly drawn to this sculpture because it did a very good job at portraying an emotion. The artist utilized emphasis a lot in this piece. There is a huge emphasis drawn to the eyes of this sculpture. The strongest thing about this piece how amazing and realistic it was sculpted which is evident when you can see how beautiful the highlights and shadows are on her face. I would say the least effective thing would be the color of this sculpture, I think it would have been a little bit stronger if she had used more contrast.

This piece was created using sand cast glass and steel and is titled 'vector' by Jeremy Popelka. I was really drawn to this sculpture due to how beautiful it was in the natural light. I have never really seen a glass sculpture like this one and was really intrigued by how it was created. This sculpture utalizes the use of symmetry very well. The strongest thing about this piece is how beautiful the coloring is on it. This photograph doesn't really do it's beauty justice. I would say one of the least strongest things about this piece would be the size. I would have loved to see this on a bigger scale.

This piece was created using acrylic on canvas and is titled 'Navigation' by Jason Rohlf. This was one of my favorite pieces that I had looked at all day due to how strong it was from a design stand point. It kind of reminded me of the look you get through 'glitch art'. It also does a great job using balance, you can tell that each portion of this piece was very well planned out for optimal design. The strongest thing about this piece would be its use of lines, it is so well designed that I would love to see this pattern on clothes! The least effective thing about this piece would be it's size, I think it would be a lot more impressive if it were on a bigger scale.

When I was walking back from lunch I was drawn to this barb wired fence. It was on the boarder line of the area that was very run down and shady and I felt that this fence almost acted as a divider from the 'good and bad'. It really got me thinking about safety because you usually don't see barbed wire anymore. I chose this picture of one of my three because I really loved how well the feeling that I felt in that place was portrayed through the photograph. This picture reminds me of the idea of freedom and how at our age all we want to do is escape and grow up.

As I was walking past an old building I decided to peer into the window which showcased a huge, empty warehouse. This photograph was actually shot through the dirty glass window but truthfully I think that it really adds to the effect. I love how solitude this photograph feels. This is such an unique space because it was hidden away and you would have no idea that this was the inside of the building looking from the outside. Also, I am always drawn to abandoned places and the lighting in this space was extremely beautiful. This place reminded me of the idea of death, my dad owns a warehouse for his wood working business and this space reminded me of his but only worn down and empty which is what his currently life filled warehouse will become in the future.

As I was talking a walk along the river, I was drawn to all of the beautiful sight lines and archetechure on the strip. Everything seemed so still and perfect walking down this path and noticed how beautiful the reflections were in the puddles. All of the buildings down there are beautiful and most are fairly old. I decided to take some shots through the puddles and they ended up being some of my favorite shots I took all day. This is such a unique point of view because it portrays looking back into the past of Milwaukee and just how beautiful the city actually is. Not only that but I have never seen puddles that were as clear as these were. The overall feel of these pictures remind me of the idea of looking back into the past on something that you miss. 

Free Choice Proposal

For my next free choice project I plan to take a set of three portraits. I want this portraits to portray the idea of walking away and out of someone's life that you have been in for a long time. I want them portray that feeling of being unsure because you are about to make a decision that will change your life completely. Also, I loved the portrait unit in Photography 1 and really want to try taking more portraits have them portray a certain mood/emotion. I love taking pictures of people because there are so many emotions in the world to capture and there isn't a better way to do it then through human beings themselves. Although I do not have an exact plan on who or where I am going to take these pictures, I know the emotion that I want to portray and those decisions will most likely be on the spot depending on what my mood is.

Word Project (Ephemeral) Artist Statement

I was able to create 10 finished quality works of art related to my word, 'Ephemeral' within the given time requirements. I was also able to interrupt my word in a literal and metaphorical way. In the beginning, my plan was to run with the idea of 'beautiful things never last.' I started out with wanting to create works of art that show the opposite side of beautiful things. With that being said, my mind decided to run off and I put my own spin on my word. I decided to bend the word to fit into my own life. I decided to run with the idea of time and that it is the one thing that all human beings chase after. We all want more time in our life and feel as if time just flies by and by the time you know it, your life is close to over. Therefore the idea of 'time' is ephemeral. With that being said, I created 10 quality works of art by having good time management and spreading my projects out within the time limit. I also was able to use a range of media (collage, watercolor and acrylic). Overall, I used this project to really let myself go and let my mind take me from project to project. This was the first time that I was truly able to let art flow out of me without feeling pressured. Overall, I was able to create 10 finished quality works of art related to my word, 'Ephemeral' within the given time requirements.