in Research, Typographic Portrait

Two weeks back we were told that project one has been downsized to four A5 portraits instead of six. In light of this new development, I’ve decided to pick these four characteristics to represent me:

  1. Clumsiness personified

  2. A product of the times

  3. A chronic bookworm

  4. A square peg in a round hole

Before I got down to creating the compositions, I felt that more research was needed on the techniques I intended to use because I’m either not too familiar with, or completely new to them. In addition I’m still not 100% sure on how all 4 compositions will fit together as a whole. Everything’s still pretty vague but I think I have a semblance of an idea – will see how it goes during creating, posting more updates over the weekend (I hope)

Clumsiness personified

As preparation for this composition, I had to find images of bruises, scabs, and scars to use in my photomontage. (They’re a little graphic, you might want to put your food down before opening these links)

this image from ehow.com

this image from wisegeekhealth.com

this image by Falln-Stock on Deviantart

this image from SkinEvolutions

this image from webMD.com

Maurizio Anzeri embroiders on found photographs of people, turning something ordinary and almost mundane into a whimsical and even slightly disturbing work of art. I particularly enjoy his use of colourful thread against the monochromatic photos, an aesthetic that I will be experimenting with for this composition.

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L-R: Enrico, 2014 / Rita, 2011 

I will also be manually cutting and pasting the images for the collage instead of using photoshop

A product of the times

While contemplating the best way to convey the message of this piece – in essence society and personal changes – I came across an example of lenticular printing, a printing technology used to produce images with an illusion of depth so that it changes when viewed from different angles.

This technology was used in a campaign by the Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk (ANAR) Foundation against child abuse. Based on the principle that adults and children would view the poster at different angles because of the height difference, a poster was created to showing a different set of messages and images when seen at eye level, and when seen from bottom up. The rationale was that only a potential victim viewing the poster could see the confidential hotline number even while accompanied by the aggressor, who just sees a regular poster.

There is a way to create this with some fancy lenticular sheet, but for the purposes of my composition I’ve decided to go with the old school way: by folding paper like an accordian so that it presents two images (the before/after) when viewed from both sides. I feel that showing both images would help to enhance the implied message of change, as well as make the piece more interactive for the viewer.

A chronic bookworm

The general idea for this still remains the same, but I think I’ve a clearer idea on how to construct a box or screen that I can light up from behind. Because of the A5 size limitation, the wooden picture frames from Ikea would be the perfect size for the frame.

A square peg in a round hole

I researched on different printing/printmaking methods to come up with a variety of different textures and effects for this composition. Will be experimenting with different methods to create different visual textures.

1) Bubble printing

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From The Chocolate Muffin Tree

2) Plastic wrap printing

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From Alisa Burke

3) Linocut

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from GardnerStudio

4) Relief print with styrofoam

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from My Printmaking Journey

5) Silkscreen printing

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By Kirra Jamison 

6) Marbling

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From HonestlyWTF

7) Embossing

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By Seanwes

8) Foil

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From iheartorganizing

9) Stamping

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From sketchy-notions