DIGITAL COLLAGE
Process
1.) Intro to Photoshop 2.) Before I even started manipulating, I took a look at my process journal from Sophomore year and looked for an artist and a movement that would inspire me. I then looked in an art book and I was drawn to Pablo Picasso. The way his subjects looked distorted and geometric made me think it would be easy to try on Photoshop. 3.) Sketch ideas 4.) Take Pictures
Before I made a final decision on what I wanted to do, I took multiple pictures of myself, because I knew for sure that I wanted to incorporate myself into the piece.
5.)Begin Manipulation / experimentation
Know Thyself Digital Collage Essay
Growing up I would look down at my arms and back up to my friends. I was a delicate porcelain doll compared to them. Their beautiful brown skin screamed hardworking and ambitious. While mine said privileged white girl. Little did they know that both our hips were created in the rhythm of merengues. Both of our first languages were spanish, we were taught all the spanish we know through stories of the llorona and the chupacabra. We both were threatened daily with the chancla. But they didn’t know that because of my porcelain skin. Soon I started to see myself a little less Mexican, everyday they would ask “ Porcelain doll, why do you speak our language? Why do you dance with our culture and eat alongside our heritage?” I could recite the prayers and scriptures. So why couldn’t I fit into the dining table of friends and family member? In the fifth grade, my body had already developed. Thats where the taunting started. They’d call me all sorts of things. I felt inadequate and up to the standards at that time. A time where thigh gaps and exposed ribs were “in”. I was the opposite, my thighs loved each other a little too much and never separated. And my ribs were too shy to peek through my skin. My hair, too careless and wanted to be set free. By the fifth grade, I was questioning who I was. I was questioning whether or not I could be part of that culture. Who was I? I was not my mother whose R’s rolled off her like a child rolled off a hill. I was not grandmother who sang Mexican lullabies putting los pollitos to sleep. Who was I?! I was a girl whose pale skin contradicted with her culture. I was girl who chose to not pull the dandelions out of my thighs. From the moment I started high school, my body was viewed differently than in middle school. All of a sudden I was envied and desired by everyone. My body is like a hill; curvy and covered in flowers. And it seemed to have had an invitation somewhere saying “PIT STOP FOR BOYS THAT NEED A PLACE TO REST” My body read, “ Go ahead pour that weed killer into my mouth.” In high school, bodies like mine are praised, praised like the chapel. These bodies, girls repeated 10 prayers to wake up with. I was blessed to have a body like this one. I was blessed? Being blessed means to have people pick and pull at the weeds that grow out of my body, to step and stomp on the Baby’s Breath that come out of feet? Is that what being blessed means? God, I hope not. I’m envied and desired by multiple people but yet I’m not. I’m called amazing and light-hearted, but I’m not. I’m all these things, just not me. How I define “me” is being beautiful, Don't see yourself in the eyes of others. Don’t compare yourself to others. Not everyone is born with rich, milk chocolate skin, or ocean blue eyes. Not everyone is born with the rhythm of their ancestors in the tips of their fingertips. |
Mediator
61CM X 90CM Medium: Digital Manipulation Date: September 2016 Exhibition Text: Throughout the making of this digital collage, my goal was not only to represent my views and beliefs but also my idealistic and introverted personality. My goal was to create a piece that spoke about my insecurities. To produce this piece, I incorporated self-made photos, which were later manipulated using the Adobe Photoshop C6 Program. I was inspired by Pablo Picasso and his works during the cubism period. I was inspired by his distorted faces. Such as the Weeping woman and Dora Maar au Chat. Artist Inspiration
This collage was inspired by the paintings, "The weeping woman”, “Maya with doll” and "Dora Maar au Chat.” In my piece, I wanted to portray the idea of perspective. In my essay I expressed how I was viewed growing up and how that affected the way I viewed myself. In Picasso's art, I felt I could incorporate his artistic style (Cubism) into my piece. "The Cubist painters rejected the inherited concept that art should copy nature, or that they should adopt the traditional techniques of perspective, modeling, and foreshortening." (The Met, 2004) In other words, Cubists took an everyday item and instead of painting it the way it is 'supposed' to be, they painted it in a non traditional way, based on what they saw. That is how I connected my piece to the Cubist art movement. I see myself in a said traditional way, and the rest of the world are cubist painters. They began to "paint" me in a different way. This directly connects to my essay. There is a line that goes "Don't see yourself in the eyes of others," The idea that Cubism was made in many different perspectives relates to how people are viewed today. The different ways people view you begin to distort the way you will be seen.
Reflection
Overall I think that this project was pretty successful. I was able to incorporate my ideas, and feelings of my essay into my piece. When I look at it, I feel the artist connection and emotion I wanted to leave off. I also feel like it does a good job on catching the people's attention because it's not common to see Cubism and digital manipulation going with my each other. I did a little trial and error until I ended up getting what I wanted. Throughout the whole process of using Photoshop, I would just play around with the tools to get what I wanted. I guess one thing I would change is to actually get some help rather than letting my shyness in the way, and letting myself do it alone. Overall, I had a good time completing this piece since I love learning new skills. |
ACT Questions
1.) Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your work.
When I compare my piece against my artistic inspiration, there is a visual connection between the pieces. I explained in the my artistic inspiration section how the cubist movement distorted the way a normal subject looks. In my piece I accomplished that. I also talked about how I applied the techniques and tone that the artist used for his work.
2.) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Overall I wanted to make a piece that would incorporate key ideas in my essay. Such as, the line that says "don't see yourself in the eyes of others." I used cubism as my inspiration because it really tied into my ideas.
3.) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspirations?
I have come to the conclusion that Art is just a deeper meaning for real life situations. Cubism is meant to show (In my interpretation) that everyone in the world is a painter and you're the canvas. The painters see you in an ordinary way but perhaps the way you come off to them, determines the way you'll be painted.
4.) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was to create a piece of art inspired by the tone and mood created by the different factors that composed Picasso's work and the Cubist movement.
5.) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your
research?
Artist make art in a fashion that they are comfortable in, and us as students think too deep into the piece and make meaning for it.