Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall- Four Seasons

Just plain and simple

Assignment 3

This is what a game of pool looks like when mapped out.  I chose to map a game of pool because it has been something in my family home for years and I thought that it would look interesting when mapped out.  I created the image by taking several pictures of my dad and I playing a game of pool.  I took an image of each shot until game end.  After that I used the shape tool to create the circles and line and just put the circle over top the ball after each shot.  The images were my own so, there is no copyright infringement.  It makes me feel average, its colorful bu on a grey background and it is also simple.  I think the simplicity helps convey a calming and bright message.

Assignment 3 WIP

Cue ball is done, the layers are made for the solids, and the pool table will probably be taken out by the end of the project.

Old News Assignment

The image I chose was of the schoolhouse on fire.  I liked the image because it has a surreal aspect to it and was visually eye catching.  The image was created by using images taken through photography.  So it is made out of I think photo paper that is displayed with a white border and framed.  I consider the work size as medium-small and they are presented in black and white format.

To me the image as I mentioned is presented in a surreal way because of the stillness of the fire in the image.  The stillness makes the fire less raging and this is further connected by the fact that the black and white eliminates the red-orange flame.  The content reminds me of the artwork I've seen from old protesting posters and commercials to help the needy.  Each piece had dates and times from when they were taken so it seems he grew up or at least gathered images from around Ohio.  In particular he got them from Mansfield, surrounding townships, and a few other cities.

I think the image represents stillness and beauty in tragedy.  Fire is normally associated as destruction and it is presented in a visually astounding way.  The black and white creates a white fire similar to almost looking at a house with too many Christmas lights.  The water from the hoses also matches the same shade of white almost like it is coming from the fire itself.  The fire also takes the shape of almost a roof creating an aesthetically pleasing shape for fire which has no definite shape.  All in all, it shows that something chaotic and formless into something still and definite.

Assignment 3 proposal

I'm thinking about mapping out a game of pool or trying to do one of the photo color spectrum thing.  It interests me because I like to play pool and I think it would be interesting to map out.  I would take my own pictures of a game of pool and either map each ball with a different color or layer them on top of each other (similar to the cat image).  Right now I need to find the right angle to take the pictures from without moving the camera.  If I did the picture thing I would have to borrow images from the web but transform them enough as to remove its original meaning and concept.

Visual Complexity

The images were created by measuring cymatics, the study of wave phenomena and the effect of sound vibration on matter.  The process involved a flat brass plate excited by a violin bow to give the visually stunning effects.  The effect used was called crop patterns.  It interests me because I like music.  In particular I like how music looks on music players with the effects that move to the music my favorite looks like the line for a heartbeat.

http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/project_details.cfm?id=690&index=29&domain=Music

Assignment 2

The Sauron Monument
 

The image was constructed using several images around the web combined with mask layers and various uses of the clone stamp.  The area in front at the bottom of the tower was created with copy and paste and clone stamp. The sky and the Washington Monument was masked out in order to insert the sky, Mount Doom, and Sauron's Tower.  The sky was also created using the clone stamp and various masks and layers.

The images came from various places from the web.  The Washington Monument is a government image so that allows public use and it is also distorted from its original purpose.  Sauron's Tower is actually a model of it from a buying website and it did not include the eye, so it is also not being used for its original purpose.  They eye and Mount Doom came from a free Official Lord of the Rings background and the image itself was distorted.  The background was also removed from its original meaning and purpose.  It falls under fair use merely for the fact that it is being used for educational purposes.

The meaning the image conveys is 1: the government is always watching you and 2: what we see is not always reflected by what is actually there.  The first meaning is conveyed by the fact the Sauron could see anything with almost no restriction, especially in the case of the ring.  The second meaning is conveyed by the fact that we see the Washington Monument as a white, pristine, perfect tower that reaches to the sky.  Sauron's Tower is the complete opposite: black, jagged, and looming.  Some people believe that the perfect America is only here to cover up the America we don't want to see or believe.

WIP #2

Ok so, something hit me on Tuesday and made me want to do this.  Swap the Washington Monument with Sauron's Tower from Lord of the Rings.  Still needs the eye and I might add it into the reflection depending on what the critique is. I also need to fix some edges and possibly add the ashen sky and mount doom in the background.  So it looks like a government critique, but not the same as I originally planned.