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.

Word Project Research

This photo is a really good inspiration of what I want to capture for this project. I want my project to revolve around the idea that beauty never lasts. With that being said, for all of my final pieces I want to capture the decay or downfall of these once beautiful things. This photograph of a wilted and dead flower captures exactly what I hope to do in my work; the decay after beauty.

Ron Pope - Fireflies Lyrics

Above is a link to the lyrics of the song 'Fireflies' by Rob Pope. These lyrics are a good inspiration to the type of emotion that I want my pieces to give off. The song talks about young love and all of the beautiful things that never last for long. The song captures the downfall/decay of all of those beautiful things and does not focus on the actual beauty of them. If there was one thing that I want to accomplish with my pieces it would be to bring the emotion that this song has and have the viewers feel that.

Aging Father's Decline: A Son's Photo Journal

The link above brings you to a site with a very deep story. Just to summarize, a son photographs the aging decline and death of his father. Each photo is very moving but the main point of this as inspiration is that I want to create pieces with the feeling of these pictures. The idea that beautiful things never last (beauty being anything from emotions to true beauty).

Overall, all three of these examples are a great inspiration to what direction I want to take with my pieces.

Final Project 3

This photo is by far my favorite one of the entire summer. We had taken a super short 3 day trip up to Michigan for my Dad's job. On the way up there we came across this giant sunflower field! Naturally we had to stop to take some cool photos. I had never seen a sunflower field before but I had easily learned that they are one of the most peaceful and beautiful places on earth. This is one of my favorite photos shot there! I did a lot of editing on this piece to take out somethings in the background and jet trails in the sky but in the end I am super happy with how it turned out. I also tried to do an image transfer with this but it did not turn out so well so I decided to paint some acrylic over it, which also did not turn out so well! I decided to keep it thought incase someday I wanted to go back and turn it into something beautiful!

Final Project 2

This is my second final project. I took this photo on a photo shoot I had with my friends in mid August. It was a total blast and I had so much fun. It's hard to believe but this photo was not staged! she just started frolicking down this path and I was able to take some awesome pictures. Not only that but using Photoshops Lightbox allowed me to do some pretty awesome editing to it! I really love this photo because it shows the free spirited mood that this girl always has! The coolest part about this picture is that I also did an image transfer of it onto a canvas which I had explained earlier in a blog post. I have the image transfer here which I will be able to show you guys as well!