Final Valedictory Pieces

The central idea of my valedictory project is the exploration of the psychological disorder schizophrenia.  Schizophrenia is a disorder that causes someone to have multiple personalities that they cannot control.  It also includes delusions, hallucinations, unorganized thinking, and abnormal social behavior.  Symptoms usually begin to show during young adulthood, but only about 0.3-0.7% of people are affected by it.

 

 I studied this disorder in my psychology class and I was very intrigued by it.  Psychology is my favorite class, and I want to major in psych in college.  In particular, my favorite part of psychology to learn about is abnormal psych.  For my valedictory project I wanted to showcase artistically what goes through the minds of people with schizophrenia.  People with this disorder uncontrollably change their personalities within an instant.  There are so many different sides of them.  They could be perfectly content one second, and then start to feel absolutely insane.

 

For this project, I used myself as a model for every picture.  I think that it is much easier to have yourself model than someone else, because this way you can get every shot and position to be exactly as you envision it.  I wanted there to be a lot of emotion in the photographs, and its hard to get someone else to express that if they don't know exactly what you want.  I wanted my pictures to have sort of a "creepy vibe" to them.  Having schizophrenia obviously isn't a very enjoyable thing, so I wanted my pictures to show that.  Also, my favorite types of pictures are ones with a dark tone to them.  To do this, I made them all black and white, and I made them all purposely grainy.  To create the first two shots, I used a self timer and a low shutter speed, and shook just my head (so that the body would be semi-clear).  To create the last to shots, I used a self timer and positioned myself in different places, then created chrono pictures with photoshop.  I really enjoy how my photos turned out and I am glad that they came out how I wanted them to look.

Contact Sheet for Valedictory Shots

Valedictory Project Write-up

For my valedictory project, I chose to do self-portraits representing schizophrenia.  I really wanted to do this because psychology is my favorite class and I was fascinated when we learned all of the types of mental disorders.  I thought schizophrenia in general would be interesting to portray, because I can take photos that represent having a split personality.  Also, I love creating dark pieces, so this project is definitely something I am interested in doing.  I think I will use a variety of different styles of photos, such as blurred motion and chrono.  I'm really excited to see how my project will turn out.

Surrealism Final

color

This photo represents who I am on the outside because it shows that I am usually a shy and reserved person.  To show this, it was taken at a higher angle to make me look smaller, and I am looking away.  The photo shows who I am on the inside because I have a love for darker/creepy things.  I deal with depression, so the dark tone to this piece and the cracked stone in the background do a good job of expressing that side of me.

black & white

For this piece, I wanted to do something different by only using a small portion of my face.  Once again, I posed this way because I wanted to show that I am shy on the outside.  I really liked the secondary picture that I used with the bird.  That picture sets an "Edgar Allen Poe vibe" which I absolutely love.  I think that the bird can be used as a symbol to represent who I am on the inside, because I tend to isolate myself/prefer to be alone.

color

This picture of Lucy represents her on the outside, because to people that don't know her she can come across as uninviting.  People usually assume that she doesn't like them because she is very reserved and closed off.  The map represents who Lucy is on the outside because she loves to travel.  She just recently went to France, and she also has a room covered in maps.

black & white

This pose represents who Lucy is on the outside because she is shy around people who don't know her, and she hides her emotions.  On the inside, Lucy has a bubbly personality and is genuinely happy.  I chose a secondary photo of trees and nature because everything is in bloom and it gives off a happy vibe.  Also, Lucy loves to go hiking and camping with her family.

 

Overall, I really liked the concept of this project.  It's interesting to find out things about my classmates that you wouldn't know by just looking at them on the outside.  The project itself was stressful because it took me a while to find images that went with the portraits.  In the end, I liked how all of my pieces turned out. 

Abstract Inward Personality Shots

 

 

Rene Magritte & Surrealism Reading/Questions

1. Surrealism is art that uses two or more images that juxtapose each other.  The images combine to create a piece that looks both real and unreal.

2. The motif that Magritte uses in most of his works is a bowler hat.  The hat covering the face is significant because it symbolizes that he doesn't want people to know his full story, he likes to remain unclear.  Magritte has stated that the man with the bowler hat is him.

3. In Golconda, it is important that Magritte varied his work because he shows that he can add dimension to his paintings and that there are other sides to him.  In this painting the faces are not covered by anything and the painting is actually done with great detail.  This adds depth to his work because it proves that he can do more than one style and can change up what he normally does.

4.  Surreal artists tend to create strange worlds in their art because they like to play around with the idea of the subconscious mind taking over.  The subconscious is a term associated with psychology and psychologist Sigmund Freud.  It deals with what your mind is fixated on, but you are unaware of.  Surreal artists like to use worlds that would occur in dreams, which are controlled by the subconscious.

5. Juxtaposition helps Magritte create surrealistic pieces because he likes to put objects together that would not normally be associated with each other.  This makes the pieces more unusual and creative.  Magritte uses altered scale in his paintings to disorient the observer and leave his work open to interpretation.  Also, he uses language in his pieces to make you feel like a part of his work.

6. One theory as to  why Magritte might cover up the faces in his works could be because of the traumatic incident he witnessed when he was 12 of his mother drowning herself.  It is said that there was a piece of cloth covering her face.  However, others say that Magritte was not actually there to witness this, and that has nothing to do with what inspired his unique take on surrealism.

7. Magritte strived for realism and precision in his paintings because he says that realism allows the observer to focus on the subject of the work, not on the techniques used to paint.  He uses a vast amount of detail in his paintings to ensure that they look somewhat realistic.

8. Other work:

The Victory

Perpetual Motion

Some techniques used to enhance these works are realism, juxtaposition, altered scale, and mystery.

Examples of Surrealism from Artists that Inspire me

Tommy Ingberg

Noell S. Oszvald

Chiara Fersini

Brandon Kidwell

Surrealism Contact Sheet

Inward vs Outward Appearance

Outward Perception
based on what Jess and Lucy see:
-shy
-alternative
-headphones in (music)
-presented nicely
-not weird
-try to look nice
-reserved
-pale goth


Inward Perception
-extremely anxious
-depressed
-sad
-not important
-self-loathing
-into dark things
-very into music
-alternative
-untrusting
-self-conscious


Poses:

Exquisite Corpse

This picture was made by taking a piece of paper and making 4 sections.  Each person in the group was in charge of one section, and they weren't allowed to see what the other person drew.  This activity relates to surrealism ideals because the picture we drew is very abstract and creative.  The picture is chaotic and is not supposed to make sense.  The pieces from the 20th century art movement were abstract like this as well.

Dada Final

1. Cut / Copy / Rearrange (B&W)

2. Color Blocks

3. Text

4. Halftone Screen

I thought it was really cool to do an abstract project.  This project was a lot more creative then the ones that we usually do.  I like how everyones projects look different and unique.  These pieces showcase our personalities better and also who we are as artists.  I like how my pieces turned out because I used colors that went well together and I tried a ton of things on each piece until they looked good.  This project ties into aspects of Dada because we created unconventional/abstract art instead of pieces that look normal and pretty to the eye.  Also, certain types of the abstract art, like the text/dada poem were actually popular pieces to make during that time.

Dada Studio Experimentation

MoMA & Dada

Questions from the article

1. Dada is a unique form of art that originated during the World War II era.  This type of art is special because it used many types of unconventional art that kept people talking about it.  Originally, a ton of people hated this movement because they just didn't get it, and they didn't understand how these pieces could be considered art.  Dada came into existence to give true criticism and perception of that time period.

2. Marcel Duchamp's "Readymades" were pieces of art that challenged the perception of art in that time period because people were used to art being handcrafted, beautiful creations.  These pieces were not exactly pretty to look at, and they were quite ordinary.  The Readymades change your expectation of what art can be because they "defy the notion that art must be beautiful".  Duchamp's pieces led to the creation of conceptual art (art in service of the mind).

Duchamp's "In Advance of the Broken Arm"
 

3. Dada artists turned to non-art making strategies and embraced chance, accident, and improvisation.  This led to many forms of abstract art.  The artists used these new techniques in order to rebel from the perception that art must be controlled and intentional.  They also used the techniques to criticize the mechanized and violent world that they were living in at that time.

Man Ray's "The Rope Dancer Accompanies Herself with Shadows"

4. The value of art made by Dadaists was NOT in the work that they produced, but the act of working with other artists to create new visions of the cruel world that they were living in.

5. Dada artists worked with words because they liked the idea of "destroying words and disrupting syntax".  They wanted to undermine rational and ordered society by creating more unconventional pieces of art.  This time, they did it by turning words into abstract and illegible forms.  Also, they used the techniques of chance and fragmentation again.

van Doesburg and Schwitter's "Kleine Dada Soiree"

Questions About Art

1. What is a work of art?

A work of art is anything that is seen as beautiful or creative in the eyes of the viewer.  Art can be anything as long as someone thinks it is.  There are no limitations to what a work of art can be.  A work of art to someone might mean absolutely nothing to someone else.  Art is very subjective.

2. What should an artwork provide to both the maker and the viewer?

 

To the maker, an artwork should provide happiness and the feeling of accomplishment.  The artist should be proud of their piece and be excited to show it to others.  To the viewer, an artwork should provide new intellectual experiences and the encouragement to try something new.  Art should be used as an expression of yourself and also as a tool to help people open their mind to new things.

 

3. Why do people make art?

People make art for many different reasons.  It could be to express themselves, showcase creativity, or it can even act as a source of therapy for some people.  Every artist has a different reason as to why they want to make art, and it really depends on the person.

4. Where does one encounter art? 

Art can be found in all places and anywhere you look.  It depends on what the individual views as art.  For some people, art means paintings or sculptures.  For others, such as people involved in the dada movement, art can be anything.  So yes, art could be a painting, but for others even something like a shovel is art.  

5. What is the role of the artist?
 

The role of the artist is to create a piece that represents who they are as a person.  They also aim to tell a story to a viewer just through things like pictures or paintings.  Artists want their creations to challenge people to think about what their pieces mean.  Art is open to countless interpretations. 

Dada Poem

original quote: "I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies"

scrambled quote: "beg dream to lies and hollow from the I"

Social Issue PSA

• The social issue I chose to do this project on was suicide and depression in teens
• I chose this topic because I have personal connections with it.  I know people who have struggled with contemplating suicide, and I have my own issues with depression.  
• I hope that when people or teens see my ad, they change their thoughts on suicide.  I want them to know that there are other ways to cope with how they are feeling.  Suicide is a temporary solution to a problem that is occurring only at this point in their life.  Life goes on, and they shouldn't be stopped by depression.
• My target audience is teens both male and female.
• My unique selling point is using things associated with suicide and depression (like guns and cutting) and making it artistic/creative.  I wrote my slogan on the arms in my poster to represent cutting in a different way.
• Slogan: Permanent solution, temporary problem
• Tagline: It's impossible to have a future if you feel like you don't have one
• I really like how both of my projects turned out.  They convey the message i'm trying to send, and I showed the message in a creative way.
• Some tips that I would give to someone doing the same assignment would be: 

1. take your time when editing and reshoot if your shots don't turn out how you want

2. use all of your photoshop skills and add interesting things like cool fonts and textures to make your ad more interesting

3. sometimes simpler is better

• The most challenging part of this assignment was doing the yellow sheet and trying to find a tagline and slogan that I liked
• Something I did well was photographing my subjects.  I really think both my poster and billboard have nicely photographed pictures.  I like the angle I used for the arms, and how I photographed the eyes.

Social Issue Ad Shooting Assignment

My social issue is teen suicide and depression.  The shots with the hand gun are for my billboard, and the shots of the arms/wrists are for my poster.  I really like how my shots came out for my billboard.  I have a good idea for how to incorporate both of the models into both of my final pieces.  I like how my shots turned out for my poster, but they aren't as strong as the others.